Do you use your right hand or your left hand when you...

[JNB]

...use your mouse?

The reason I ask, is that I'm a natural southpaw, but I mouse with my right hand, mostly so my left is free to write something down while I work.

[mad jew]

Right hand. Or I push it 'round the desk with my forehead sometimes. This is less efficient though.

[lancestraz]

Where's the option for the middle hand? Cause that's what I use.

[mikes63737]

I voted right because that's what I use the most, but sometimes (very rarely... <0.1%) i use my left hand.

[PlaceofDis]

i write with my right and use the mouse with my right as well.

[MrSmith]

A mousedebating thread... :D

[dsnort]

Right hand.

My left arm exists mostly to keep me from listing to starboard.

[Eric5h5]

Both...I'm not normally ambidextrous, but I switch from one to the other anyway. Just because. It probably helps ward off repetitive stress injuries too. Although I think I've been using my left hand for a week straight now.

--Eric

[siurpeeman]

there are things i do with my left (like eat), but i mouse with my right. even if i wanted to mouse with my left, i couldn't; my mice are contoured for righties.

[SuperCompu2]

Sometimes I'll use my left for fun, but I find it less efficient for real productivity. Right hand for me.

[CanadaRAM]

They say if you mouse with your left hand, it's like going out with a new computer...

[dmw007]

Right hand for me. :)

[erickkoch]

I'm a lefty but I mouse with the right.

[DolemiteJackson]

Right handed but I mouse with the left.

[tristan]

Right handed but I mouse with the left.

Me too... then I keyboard with my right at the same time. That way you don't have to move your hand back and forth.

[JNB]

A mousedebating thread... :D

Free pass on that one - just no Onan the Barbarian jokes now...:cool:

[thejadedmonkey]

I use my left hand with a touchpad, my right hand with a "real" mouse.

[Fearless Leader]

both
trackpad: left
mouse: either
the wacom tablet and pen: right

oh and I'm ambidextrous.

[Angrist]

Depend on which machine I'm using at that instant.

Normally right hand, but ..
If I'm sitting with my laptop and reach over to grab the mouse on my iMac, I'll use my left hand.
OR if I'm eating I'll use my right hand to eat and my left to mouse.

Having three machines on one desk kinda breeds this behavior. I can similarly type fairly competently with either hand alone.

[cubbie5150]

I'm right-handed, but mouse w/ my left hand (since Fall of '06) b/c the repetitive stress on my right hand was starting to cause me pain... Sucks, b/c it makes a "nice" mouse like the MX Revolution pretty much unusable for me...

[fuzzwud]

I'm a lefty when I write or draw, but I use my right hand when I use a mouse. I wonder subconsciously how that affects my thinking b/c if I use my right hand to design on stuff on the computer, am I using the left side of my brain? Isn't the ride side of the brain more creative? Anyhow, I've had repetitive injuries using a computer too much so I've had to try to use my left hand for the mouse and even try to use a wacom tablet.

[4God]

Where's the option for the middle hand? Cause that's what I use.

Is that the same one you use to ring the doorbell? :D

[Zwhaler]

I use my right hand on my mouse. And my right hand on my, ahem, larger mouse..

[sthpark7791]

I'm a lefty but I use my right hand for the mouse. I can use either for a trackpad though.

[OwlsAndApples]

both
trackpad: left
mouse: either
the wacom tablet and pen: right

oh and I'm ambidextrous.

Both for me as well, I'm left handed naturally but was taught to write with my right hand so they're both pretty good now (or equally bad?)

[Reflow]

Right hand baby, left for writing

[mkrishnan]

I'm right-handed and use the mouse predominantly with the right hand, but occasionally with the left. I feel like my deficit in mouse ability with my LH is much lower than, say, my deficit with writing LH. I can do it nearly as well LH without a lot of extra practice as I can RH.

I don't know if that's typical of other people's experience, also?

I could understand then using RH, just because the keyboard/mouse relationship was not really well-designed for sinistrality.

That kind of reminds me of my pet project... I am making an effort to play all my stylus-based DS games left-handed (stylus in left and right hand on buttons). It's been challenging, but I've been progressing through Trauma Center, Metroid, and most recently Brain Age in this way. :)

[MrSmith]

If any Mac newcomers wonder what the hell the ever-helpful and congenial mkrishnan means by sinistrality just point your cursor over the word and press Control-Apple-d ;)

[Father Jack]

Right on. :)

FJ

[dartzorichalcos]

I use my right hand for the mouse and mostly left hand for typing.

[Eric5h5]

I feel like my deficit in mouse ability with my LH is much lower than, say, my deficit with writing LH. I can do it nearly as well LH without a lot of extra practice as I can RH.

I don't know if that's typical of other people's experience, also?

Somewhat. I can't write left-handed at all, but mousing left-handed seems natural. At worst, maybe a little slower, which would explain why I prefer to do gaming with my right hand (except for strategy games and stuff where speed doesn't matter).

I could understand then using RH, just because the keyboard/mouse relationship was not really well-designed for sinistrality.

The only thing I seem to have a problem with in that regard is command-tab. Because you can't really select icons with the mouse that way, so you're stuck cycling through them with the keyboard.

--Eric

[mkrishnan]

The only thing I seem to have a problem with in that regard is command-tab. Because you can't really select icons with the mouse that way, so you're stuck cycling through them with the keyboard.

Yeah, Cmd-tab and cmd-` are probably the most egregious. On notebooks, unless you use a hack, there is neither a right Ctrl key nor a right Opt key, so also any commands that use those will be hard (although you can get one back by using doublecommand to change the function of the enter key next to the right Cmd key).

Anyway, I'm on day two of my project to see how my LH writing improves. In addition to the DS playing, which I've been doing for a couple of weeks, I'm now also trying to force myself to do block writing exercises daily. Just the capital A-Z, lowercase a-z, and 0-9. :)

Who knows? I'm curious to see how much better my LH dexterity can get.

If I were really good about this, I'd also be tracking my performance using a grooved pegboard (http://www3.parinc.com/products/product.aspx?Productid=GROOVE_PEGB) and a finger tapper (https://www3.parinc.com/products/product.aspx?Productid=FINGER_TAP) from our Clinic. :D

[iBookG4user]

I use my right hand. I couldn't comfortably use my mouse if I used my left hand as it's made for use with the right hand.

[Tangerine]

I can't imagine using left hand, it would be complete opposite and weired because you have to move your keyboard to the right and the mouse to the lef. It doesn't seam right anymore, even for people with left handed.

[DavidFDM]

My first Mac was a Macintosh 512 enhanced. The port was on the right side of the back of the Mac and the cord for the mouse was a bit on the short side so you really had to have it on the user's right side so I became right-handed for mousing, normally I am left-handed.

- David

[Mpulsive81]

A mousedebating thread... :D

Classic!

[Erendiox]

Left handed but mouse with my right. :)

[Le Big Mac]

Right handed but I mouse with the left.

Same here. I think it came from a desire to be able to use the numeric keypad while using the mouse. Can't recall if that was because I liked to use spreadsheets or because I liked to play games. Now it's ingrained.

[justG]

Don't use a mouse, but tablet/pen with right hand.