My comments are on a slight tangent:
I have been dis-satisfied with "The Mouse" as a practical device. I have found that even a wireless mouse is very clumsy and requires a lot of desk/tray space. Additionally, in manipulating the mouse, eg. side to side; picking-up to re-position; and maintaining a grip, my hand can become numb. In my search for a compact keyboard to allow more space for the mouse, I found that I could eliminate the mouse altogether.
My new keyboard, a Logitech di Novo EDGE has an integrated "touch disk" for positioning the cursor and I have learned how to substitute the Fwd/Back buttons on the mouse by using ENTER/BACKSPACE instead. I find that the Scroll and Page keys are adequate and I am becoming more proficient with the touch disk as I gain experience. I will not be using a mouse any time soon, although I will need something for Photoshop use; maybe a stylus and pad.

Having a mouse is pretty difficult when it comes to surfing the web/other internet applications...aside from that, I actually prefer to not use it. Call me lazy, but it's a bit easier to just key things in when you aer saving things, opening things, copying and pasting things, etc. I love keyboard shortcuts but there are definitely times that a mouse is essential. Or not so much, since there are ways to get around not using one. This assignment did make me learn ways to cope with the internet and my lack of mouse, which I have integrated into my everyday obsessive compulsive internet habits.

My two days without a mouse have made me appreciate whoever the person was who invented it. I can, however, understand how someone who strictly uses a keyboard could develop skills to be just as fast as someone who soley uses a mouse. My experience in using a keyboard without a mouse was minimal prior to this exercise. If I always had to use the keyboard when working on a computer, I would have no need for high-speed internet. I could use dial-up because by the time I figured out how to navigate through the web the page would have already loaded. It definitely takes more time and effort to use the keyboard for browsing the web. There are the typical shortcuts that are helpful. Most of these I knew, but my memory was refreshed with this exercise. Ctrl+t, Ctrl+n, Ctrl+v, Alt+E+C, Alt+E+P are all shortcuts that I've learned can make navigation much quicker. The main thing that slowed me down in my time without a mouse was having to tab through webpages to reach buttons. I've realized a mouse is something I definitely take for granted. I haven't appreciated it in the past probably because when I was first introduced to a computer the mouse was already there. Because using computers, email, internet, and programs has become a daily task for almost everyone, it is only natural to take something such as a mouse for granted. I'm glad I have learned some new shortcuts that I can use to save a little bit of time each day and use in supplementation with the mouse.

My two days without a mouse were difficult, but not as difficult as it was for most people probably. When I was younger I use to constantly be on the computer and my parents felt the best way to stop this is to take away my mouse and so they did... SO I learned to adapt without it for a week as funny as that sounds. Obviously I couldn't use Photoshop or things like that but the basic things as writing a paper I had to write or just doing the basic checking email and browsing the web wasn't as difficult for me but it is obviously an inconvenience and very difficult. But it was made easier on me because I am pretty familiar with all the short cuts. But it was definitely interesting to being forced to not touch my mouse at all because i do use it occasionally.

For the most part I think I can still do my work on computer without a mouse. I know enough keyboard shortcuts to make me able to log in and log out to a computer, check email, browse the web, and copy file from different folder. But I find it inconvenient and it takes me more time, because I have to go through a lot of tabs to get to the link or to get to a button that I want to click.
There are things that I can't do without a mouse. I actually attempted to do the Adobe Lesson1 without a mouse. But I realized that I can't do any drag and drop on the picture. I can't draw a line or put a dot on certain position without using a mouse. Maybe there's a way to do this without a mouse, but I don't know how to. Even if I can do all work without a mouse, I still prefer to use a mouse. It's just much more convenient.

I already had a good bit of hotkey knowledge, but it was still quite difficult not reaching for the mouse everytime I wanted to extend my hand as a pointer. I felt naked. Most the time, I was just browsing the internet or chatting with friends. The task can be completed, but there are some extra steps to get where you want to go. I found it difficult trying to navigate through menus or links. I found a higher appreciation for the mouse. It creates a bridge between what you want the computer to do and actually getting it done, because you can click anywhere on the screen. With the keyboard, I found it hard to make this bridge, because I had to go through top secret shortcut keystrokes or had to press tab a bunch of times. I can't imagine having to draw a picture in paint without a mouse. That would be challenging!

Computing without a mouse is awkward for someone accustomed to always relying on it. With that said, here is how my time went:
I wanted to jump on the web so after plugging in my wireless card, I decide to make my way to the wireless icon located on the bottom task bar. That wasn't too tough since I already knew the keys for bringing up the start menu and I also remembered Cody saying that pressing alt+tab switched b/w windows. So I give that a try and voila! I opened the wireless utility. I need to change a connection setting so I alt+tab my way on over and start to change....CRAP! I'm stuck now, trying to figure out how to make a drop down menu drop. I really wish I had the internet to look for some help.

It ended up I never could figure out how to manipulate the drop down box, and therefore, was never able to change my internet settings and get online at all. This whole thing really makes me appreciate the mouse, and wish that I had a better understanding of keyboard shortcuts.

I had a very huge initial problem with my mouse-less experience. I had almost no possible way of getting programs open from my start menu. Long ago I went through the windows system registry and edited the code for the windows key so that it disables it. I did this because every time I would play videogames, the button would get in the way and take me to the start menu in the middle of intense gaming. For my mouse-less experience I just selected the program then went from there. First I selected my web browser of choice Opera. Opera is incredibly mouse-dependent to me because I use mouse gestures. This means all navigation of new and existing pages can be controlled through one hand on the mouse. It wasn’t too hard making new pages and getting to sites. I could easily get to links I wanted by holding shift and moving to whatever link I wanted with the keyboard. I decided to go to a forum I frequently visit since there are a lot of links there. The whole process wasn’t too frustrating, but it was tough being patient with each page as you had to slowly go through it. The main thing about the internet and mouse is the speed at which you can quickly cycle through pages and read information. This great accessibility is greatly limited once the mouse is removed from the picture.

It took me awhile to get used to not using the mouse. The keyboard shortcuts I normally use are not really something I think about so when I knew I had to rely on them it threw me off a bit. Alt+Tabbing through the programs wasn't terribly new, same with tabbing through links in a webpage, but I had to learn new ways to access my browser elements such as my bookmarkered websites. I found myself simply typing in URLs because the address bar was easy to tab to and took a lot less time time Alt+arrowing my way down the complex hierarchy that is my bookmarks folder. Because my laptop has a trackpoint (go IBM!) it was VERY tempting to use it (it's right in the middle of the keyboard), and I cheated a few times without realizing it, but they were simply things I felt more natural doing with a mouse..not soemthing I felt i wouldn't be able to do with only the keyboard. Eventually I got used to just the keyboard shortcuts and found myself relying less on the mouse and the natural jump to the mouse faded a bit.

When I first heard of this assignment I thought it was going to be very difficult to find my way around without a mouse. Ever since I’ve known about computers, there has always been a mouse of some sort around. It seemed as important to a computer as its processor. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you can, with a little practice, navigate your computer without a mouse at all. Prior to the exercise, I knew a few of the common shortcuts, so I was able to get started quickly. It wasn’t long before I ran into trouble with applications. At first I couldn’t do much. So I used the mouse to get started and to start learning shortcuts. For example, once I learned the shortcut to open my finder and open applications then I had no problem getting to common applications like mail and safari. Then I had to cheat again and use the mouse to find out what the shortcuts were for the particular program. So a little cheating and a little memorizing later, and I could get around my computer with little trouble. In fact, it is probably quicker to use the keyboard than it is to use the mouse. My one problem that I couldn’t find the answer to was how to go to the different links on a webpage. For instance, if I opened a news website, I couldn’t get to the links to the different articles on the page. I thought pressing the tab key would select each one, but it doesn’t. It only selects specific items. Learning the shortcuts was fun, and hopefully I will remember them. But for now I will be happy to use my mouse.

Wow, what an experience! I constantly found myself reaching for the mouse. I finally had to unplug the mouse and hide it in my desk to prevent me from using it. My favorite short cut keys became alt+tab on the windows system. It comes very handy, even with a mouse, to switch between programs. When browsing websites, I used the alt+right & left arrow to go back and forth on pages. Listening to music on winamp became almost impossible because I never used the shortcut keys for the program. F1 became useful also because it brings up the help screen for programs. Text messaging was not a problem because the alt+tab helped me switch between IM boxes. It was sometimes a struggle "clicking" a particular link on a website, especially Yahoo!, which is my homepage. Yahoo! contains a gazillion links on their homepage, so it takes forever just to get to the news section. I found that bookmarks that I made previously were even more useful than before. For long pages, I used the page up and page down keys to help view the pages. Despite the Winamp problem, most, if not all, of the tasks I use daily on the computer were not a problem. I mainly use the internet for checking e-mail, occasionally browsing the net, and IMing some friends. All these tasks were fairly easy to use without the mouse. Luckily I don’t' play games on the computer much, about once every couple of months, so that wasn't a problem.

My two days without a mouse weren’t that bad, but for the average user it’d probably be a major problem. I’ve had a broken mouse before so I’ve gone through all the hassle of keyboard shortcuts and constantly tabbing through web pages. I could’ve just waited until i bought a new mouse but I just can’t live without using the computer. I use a lot of the same shortcuts even when I do have access to my mouse, so it was similar. The windows key really makes it easy to open programs through the start menu and I know how to easily switch between programs using ALT + TAB. I also know that CTRL + F4 closes programs. Most of what I was doing was browsing the web and one thing that gets annoying is using the tab key. Trying to get to the link I want to go to is just so much more time consuming using the keyboard. Then if you pass it up, you have to use Shift + Tab to go back to it. Right now I’m switching back and forth between Word and AOL Instant Messenger and I’m really wearing out the ALT + Tab. Overall I don’t think it was so much of a big problem for me to do my regular stuff, but it is definitely a big hassle. It really makes me appreciate my mouse a lot.

Having been without a mouse before for an entire week (mouse broken, roommates all have laptops, couldn't borrow from friends and too poor to buy a new one), I knew that this assignment would make me relive the frustrations all over again. This time however, I was better able to navigate around my PC and any that I used because of the prior experience. I also have grown to become more patient when pages take longer to load (remembering back to my 28.8k modem days) and taking the long way to access certain applications. Luckily for me, I have an awesome keyboard with many shortcuts integrated into it so if I wanted to open a web browser, I would just hit the appropriate button. Cheater? Perhaps.

However, not everything went as smoothly as I have poured liquids once or twice on my keyboard accidentally and the keys sometime stick. All of a sudden there are 25 web browsers open and alt+tabbing through them to find the application I need became a slightly daunting task. Other keyboard short cuts I utilized included ctrl+f to quickly find what I needed (I usually do this anyway), ctrl+alt+del to access the task manager should I need to close down certain applications & ctrl+n to open a new window. There were times when I was not able to tab over to the desired link on a webpage, or I was flustered over the insane tab order some websites had. At times, I also called over one of my 4 roommates to use the mouse for me (aha! a loophole!). I did not go the entire two days without touching the mouse myself, but I clearly remember what it was like going a week without one, and not by choice or for an assignment. It's not pleasant, but it's doable.

First, I have to confess my prideful stance on the mouseless assignment. I'm pretty familiar with the keyboard and when we were first told to do this, I thought to myself, "piece of cake." It was for a while. I checked my email, googled some things, and even did opened up new windows in my browser.

More than anything, it took longer than usual. I had to tab my heart out and everytime I wanted to go back to my inbox after checking the email messages, I had to start from scratch as if I just signed onto the site.

As far as google was concerned, the only reason I could do it was because my homepage is google. If that wasn't the case, I'm not sure how I would have gotten from the site that I found on google back to the google search page.

The interesting thing about not having a mouse was that I was trying to move too fast. I found myself moving so fast with the tab that I would pass the link I needed and have go back. I even got a page to the point where no keyboard command would work anymore. I guess I was moving too fast and it got to the point where I did have to use the mouse to get off the page.

Overall, I am grateful for my mouse. I am spoiled and I never want to give it up.

My time spent on the computer without a mouse was quite a challenge. First, I went to open my web browser. I did this by clicking the Start Menu button on the keyboard and using the arrow keys to navigate to IE. Whenever I opened any program on my computer, this is how I did it. When I was browsing the web, I used ctrl+f to find certain things on a page. When typing in web addresses I used the F4 key. Also, if I wanted a new window, I hit ctrl+n.

When I switched between applications in my taskbar, I just hit ctrl+alt+del to open my task manager, then chose the application there, and hit enter to open that application's window. When chatting on AIM, I was able to type the first letter in a person's screen name, then scroll using the arrow keys to find that person. I'd hit enter to open a window and then the rest was easy.

I can definitely see how much I rely on the mouse. It's so much easier to use than the keyboard and it's just become second nature to me. I appreciate the mouse much more now after having to use the computer without it. I think that the keyboard can do anything the mouse can, it's just much harder to. It's amazing how I forgot about some keys that are on the keyboard after using a mouse for so long, like the Page Up and Page Down keys. I hope that I'm always able to use a mouse in the future, or some form of one, because it's very convenient and easy to use.

I have to admit that "My Two Days Without a Mouse" was maybe "Two Hours Without a Mouse," and that was my combined time not including typing. Not that getting around the websites I was on was hard. Between tab and enter, I was set for the most part. I just had so many things to do that I couldn't be tabbing through everything. It was so difficult I was forced to do homework (go figure) and organization related work because I couln't not be on the computer and not be able to work. I don't know if that statement made sense to you, but it did to me.

I did wonder who exactly uses the keyboard or other devices to get around. I imagined myself without arms or without feeling in my hands. I imagined those who I've seen on TV who are paralyzed from the neck down and how they use sticks to type keys. I got frustrated just thinking about how much patience and skill would be required of hurried, clumsy me to be able to simply type and email. Would I type emails or simply call?

I don't know. I just know that my mouse is my new best friend.

I haven't played a lot of computer games lately so not using the mouse for two days was not bad. My computer was already on, but didn't have anything open. I usually browse the web first so what I did was try to get my cursor on the desktop by using the arrow keys. Then to select Internet explorer I pressed I so it would go to a program that begins with "i". That was easy, but when it came to inputting the address of a site I had to press F4. The F keys control functions which allowed be to browse the web. When I was opening other programs I pressed the "windows flag" button on the bottom of the keyboard to access them. I didn't really use other programs except BlueJ when I was coding. What made browsing easier was using ctrl+f to find what I'm looking for. I used alt+tab when I had multiple windows open in internet explorer. This made it easier to view them and I was able to get to the desktop this way. I did use instant messenger. The difficult thing was trying to select a buddy I wanted to talk to because a lot of my friends name begin with the same letter so it took some time tapping a letter and scrolling with arrows. It was not easy accessing stuff without a mouse. The mouse makes everything easier and allows you to work faster. Those who are not able to use a mouse have used the keyboard to control everything. It is good that the keyboard has many different controls because someone who is unable to use the mouse can press a button to access something. I think that if we had to get rid of the mouse it would be hard to play games or do something that requires a lot of mouse movement, but it would probably improve our knowledge of the keyboard and its functions.

For the majority of the time that I use a computer, I am generally using the internet. For this mouse-less experience, I had to use the keyboard to find Firefox through the start menu. I had already gotten accustomed to some of the firefox keyboard shortcuts, such as ctrl+t for a new tab, so opening new windows wasn't a problem at all. However, navigating the webpages proved a very difficult task. I found that many websites took a tiresome amount of time just to find a link that I needed and click on it. the "find" function was handy, as I could just ctrl+f to search for something specific on the page. Image links were harder to navigate because I actually would have to tab to them to use the navigation. Some forms including checkboxes and radiobuttons were harder to navigation as well. Sometimes I would hit "enter" wanting to select something, but a different object on the webpage would be targeted. I succeeded at completing the majority of the tasks I needed to do, some with a lot of difficulty. I just noted that everything that usually seems simple generally took a lot more time and became very frustrating. With practice, this could get much easier. It's easy to see that most computer and web users today take a lot of little tasks for granted, not just the use of a mouse. I can see that a lot of what Clark talks about is very relevant- it seems like most web developers have the “why bother?” mindset because they themselves have never experienced a sort of handicap that would keep a person from using the web to its fullest extent.

So I decided to try some of the things that I do most often on the computer without a mouse and see how it went. First I would try browsing the web. This posed a few challenges, the first of which was actually even opening the web browser, which I eventually did through the start menu and many keystrokes, as opposed to 2 mouse clicks. Then using webpages was also a very trying experience, as when I found any link that I wanted to click on, getting to that link took quite some time and effort. I would say that the internet was designed with the mouse in mind, not the keyboard. Next, one of my primary uses for my computer at home, gaming. This proved all but impossible without a mouse. I was able to change the configuration of the game to accept keyboard strokes for anything the mouse could do, but it caused my reaction time and anything else important with the game to lag quite a bit behind regular pace. I would say that operating a computer as much as I do, I never really realized just how dependent I was on the mouse. I think it gave me a perspective into how people that are unable to use one have to function.