Alternatives To a Mouse for Mac OS X User

If you are among those who spend long hours working on a computer, there may be several instances when you suffer from a wrist injury that might be a result of the continuous use of mouse. However, on a Mac operating system, there are several alternatives available that can provide some rest to your wrist while still letting you use your Mac operating system in a very effective and efficient manner.

Using of Keyboard Shortcuts

There are various ways through which a keyboard can replace the mouse in a very effective manner. The user can setup several shortcuts for menu items by making use of the options on the pane of Mouse and Keyboard located in the System Preference in a Mac operating system. Moreover, there are several other options for setting up keyboard shortcuts for the purpose of launching different applications and making use of menu commands with the help of Logitech or Microsoft keyboard along with the software offered by these two organizations.

Use a Graphics Tablet

If you are an owner of a graphics tablet, you can also make use of the stylus pen that is made available with the tablet that is an easy replacement to the system’s mouse. As soon as the graphics tablet is connected to the Mac system, the user should have the ability to use the stylus pen so as to move or select any objects that are being displayed on the screen. Moreover, if you also own a Wacom tablet and then install the software of the said tablet, you can configure the pen of the tablet to perform in a way which is similar to that of a mouse.

Using Speech Recognition

Mac operating systems are equipped with a technology of advanced speech recognition feature which allows the user to give commands by making use of the voice as well as of a microphone. It should be mentioned here that the feature of speech recognition is not compatible with Mac OS X 10.6.2.

Using Universal Access

The System Preferences pane of Mac operating systems includes in itself a very special option on the preferences pane of Universal Access which in turn allows the user to use the numeric keypad on to their keyboard as a replacement of a mouse. Once the Mouse Keys have been properly activated, you can make use of the numeric keypad so as to move the pointer of the mouse up, down, right, left and even diagonally. Moreover, the keypad can also be used effectively replace clicking of the mouse.