I recently received an e-mail I found most interesting. Dominic Valentino had written me about a website he constructed called Button Board, which allows an individual to surf the web using just the mouse. He built the website for his own personal use but was wondering if it would be helpful to other people who have limited range of motion or other similar problems. I tried the website and it works great. You simply place your cursor on the letter you wish to “type” and left click. The letter will appear in the Button Board window. The process is hastened by a button for .com, .org, .net and .edu so it is not necessary to type these postfixes. If you do not specify an ending domain the board assume you mean .com. There is also a button to let you surf or go directly to a website. It amazes me the technological skills that some people have.
There are two other commercially available products which may make your computer more user friendly. The first is the UBS Haspel 4 Port Web Hub which connects to a UBS port in the back of your computer. A 3 foot long cord, on a reel, allows you to place the plug in device anywhere you want it. There are four UBS ports located around a 4” circular hub. If your dexterity is limited when you go to connect something like a scan disk at least one port is usually facing the right way. The cost at Radio Shack is less than $10. The second product, also available at Radio Shack, is a Logitech Trackman Marble (Computer Mouse) The mouse ball is on the top as opposed to the bottom. The entire device stays in one place and you just manipulate the ball. It can be setup for right or left-handed people. You can choose what function you want the easily accessible button to perform. It also enables you to control the speed of the cursor. It cost about $30. I encourage you to try the Button Board website and forward it on to anybody you believe would find it useful. Please if you have created something like Dominic which would be useful to others contact us.
