You can make your own. People have been experimenting with wearable computing since the 90s. I almost but not quite got into it myself. It's mostly home-made, but there's a few bits of commercial stuff. With minituarization, 3D printing, and powerful but tiny electronic devices, there are more options for making it look decent than ever before.DavidCooper wrote:I've just read something that says you can get DVT from standing too. A walking desk is a better solution, though it would me more environmentally friendly to be able to walk around while programming, and that means wearable computers. I hope we don't have to wait much longer before we have those.
A few years ago, I bought a Tekgear Twiddler handheld keyboard for a different ergonomic health issue. Learning to use it went better than expected, but it did take time. Alphabet, numbers, and symbols were separate stages of learning. Unfortunately it makes my fingers ache; as small as it is, curling my fingers across that range hurts. It's partly because my fingers are very different lengths; I concluded hand-held keyboards should be tailored to each user. I have considered making my own hand-held keyboard, but was too ill to really do it. Incidentally, you want to make keys register on key-release rather than key-press because it's impossible to press all the keys precisely together.
Display is an issue. Handheld screens such as phones and tablets are ergonomic horrors; I really don't recommend them. If you have to use one, you'll want a lightweight screen and that means a small one. Perhaps the biggest part of the weight is the glass, so a screen with a resistive touchscreen or none at all might be a better bet. A small-tipped stylus (which is necessary with a resistive touchscreen) is a vastly superior pointing device to even the most delicate finger, anyway.
Without seriously toughened glass, you probably do want something to protect the screen. My Palm m515 once survived having a bike dropped onto it; a heavy bike with extra-spikey pedals right onto the screen side while protected only by the thinnest trousers I've ever owned, (nearly killed my leg!) but that must have been a fluke. My first Zaurus screen was cracked simply by getting out of a car with my keys in the same pocket.
But that's assuming a handheld screen. I have wondered if Google Glass units are hackable, but in my case it wouldn't be compatible with my glasses. Contact lenses are great for my eyesight, but too much hassle. I've also thought of projecting a screen image onto the curvature of my glasses, but I can't work out the optics and I don't know where I'd mount it anyway. It might be quite easy to make a neat opaque one-eye HUD these days; a smooth mirror 'lens' with a tiny projector from the side. Some people have used military HUDs, but my opinion on wearing them is just no!
I suppose you could spray one copper-color and put together a full steampunk outfit, but I find full steampunk outfits are just too much hassle. My other issue with HUDs is I like show a friendly face, hence the transparent HUDs being my first choices.Edit #935: Instead of a screen, audio is an option. It is a bit tricky because it's 1D instead of 2D; you need to use your memory, but I knew a blind chap once; he got on all right. He had a Z180-based computer with a virtual 80x25 character display, and I think that could read out lines and paragraphs. His PC could do stuff like read back what he just typed. I haven't really tried modern screen reader software myself, but I see the potential. Ethin might have something to say about this.
One idea I had was not really wearable, but somewhat better than a phone or tablet. It would be a chording keyboard held in both hands, with a screen folding up and perhaps extending on a telescoping arm. I have an unusual old remote control which is about right to be cradled between my hands and worked as a chording keyboard with only my thumbs. With each of my thumbs pressing up to 2 buttons and not crossing the center, I could get over 300 key-combinations with relatively few buttons. It's also good in that the buttons face toward you; the Twiddler's buttons face away from you and if you turn it around to look at it, you have to mirror the layout in your head. I wanted to build this with that old remote and an old phone which has a jewel-like laquered red finish and is still in perfect condition, but the phone is a bit heavy to be mounted on the end of a telescoping arm and the remote's keys are perished; they feel awful. It would be better to have just a plastic screen on the arm and perhaps a wider body to grip.
But having written all that about wearables, I don't understand how they would be more environmentally friendly. Surely, you could generate power with the treadmill of a walking desk.
I'm glad you're getting better.DavidCooper wrote:By the way, the problem that I've had with sitting down for even short lengths of time also appears to be diminishing a bit now just by taking Aspirin, so I may be able to avoid going on anything stronger if this progress continues. This was not the normal kind of DVT with one big blood clot reaching the lungs, but a "pulmonary embolism shower" of small clots.
I'm already feeling better from my diabetes with just a little care for my diet. But speaking of diet, I need to stop typing and eat. (I shouldn't have rushed the post.)Edit: I forgot to note my thoughts on programming with a small screen. I didn't find any really wonderful ideas, only trying to figure out how various languages would work with flowing text because that gets more on the screen. I think Forth could work quite well if the start of each definition is colorized. "Plain English" obviously could, although its authors prefer one sentence per line. Oh huh... now I remember your machine code editor already makes maximal use of the screen, David.
I'll never forget the good or the bad of espeak!