This they attribute to the fact that men “make ‘umm’ and ‘err’ sounds more frequently.”

I can attest to this. It is a common problem in general, and I was guilty of doing this in presentations in between lines as I paused to catch a breath. It’s also common when pausing between words when using voice recognition. A bad habit? Perhaps, but a common habit nonetheless.

In addition, the scientists found that, “Variations in pitch, tone and speed can also cause the system to misunderstand voices” – which goes without saying. No two people talk in the same way or style. If we did, we’d be a very boring species! Dialects and regional variations also come into play, and as such I can certainly see why speech recognition software has its work cut out to achieve results.

My own experience with trying out speech recognition wasn’t great. I think my low toned Scottish accent with plentiful doses of ‘umm’ and ‘err’ didn’t help either, but I did feel a bit aggrieved at its inability to learn my accent. It was some time ago so the software may well have changed and improved a lot since then, but I remember feeling frustrated at the many hours I had sunk into the system hoping it would learn my voice, all for naught in the end. Voice recognition in my mind has always had great potential for relief of over-used arm and hand muscles, but the effort involved in learning how to use the software, ie teaching the software to recognise your voice, for was a soul destroying and futile task!

It’s a sad but true fact that for me there really is no comparable alternative to the keyboard in this day and age!

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“Tweeting by thought alone is a somewhat slow process using this prototype technology –- we speak at approximately 120 words per minute. But, as with texting, users can improve as they practice using the interface. “I’ve seen people do up to eight characters per minute,” Wilson says.”

Ouch.. that would be a significant downturn in workload!  I can see this form of input being a considerable benefit to people with severe disabilities, however I do wonder what the long term health impacts are of having an electrode implanted in your brain. My guess is that it must surely at this stage be a large unknown. It is, however, an interesting area of research.

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Having been an RSI sufferer for the best part of a decade, and having come from an identical background to my colleagues (and no doubt had been prone to thumping keyboards in my time), I fully realised the implications of the use of excessive force as people interacted with their keyboards.

Keyboard thumping (the act of hitting the keyboard keys with exaggerated force or heavy pounding) can be barely noticed by the user, but is usually attributable to them being overly frustrated with the computer/piece of software being used or or emotionally involved with an angry ‘flame’ mail etc. During these times it is not unusual for this anger and stress to build up and be vented in this way. There is really no place for emotional frustration and computer use. Your body needs to be ergonomically positioned, relaxed and fluid when interacting with computers in order to minimise the exposure to RSI causing effects, and not demonstrating emotional reactions like the guy below!

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In reality the keyboard (although it may well be suffering long term wear and tear from such actions) isn’t what’s ultimately paying the price, it’s the user’s health in the form of forearm/wrist/hand tendons/muscles, coupled with joint impact, especially if this behaviour becomes habitual.

The best approach for users when frustration and anger creeps into computer use, is to take a break (mental as well as physical), go cool off somewhere and let the emotions settle down. Rarely are any problems solved by emotional responses to computers or for that matter ‘flame’ emails, and ultimately you need to be aware that you are risking your health if you do. Try to recognise when you exert heavy pressure on keyboards, ask yourself why you are doing it, and if the cause is anger or frustration, go take a break.

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One prime factor I found that helps is the pressure it takes to hit an individual key stroke. Some of the most ergonomic ‘angled’ keyboards, which enable a user’s wrists to be held in a neutral position, have keys that need a lot of downward pressure to operate. I personally find this painful on the finger joints and the back of the hand. By comparison, some of the cheapest non-ergonomic keyboards available these days (costing approx £5 GBP!) have very slight feedback pressure, and can be operated without much downward pressure. This far outweighs some of the advantages of many of the ergonomic keyboards I have encountered, and something that manufacturers should take into account during the design process. It may be best for them to offer keyboard models with different tactile responses for different users.

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