Blu-Ray Or Streaming?

Upload / Download (Photo credit: johntrainor)

Blu Ray, DVD or Streaming?

A 'Blu Ray versus Streaming' discussion (argument?) is going on at the moment, across the internet.

Some Prophets of Doom have been pronouncing the end of Blu Ray, just as it appears to be getting fully established.

This article will explore the theory and reality of movies in home entertainment.

We'll examine the pros and cons of each option and help you to make up your own mind on the subject!

Time? What Time Do We Have?

In my last post, I talked about the Hobbit DVD release date being announced and ready for pre order.
However, the purpose of this post is not to talk about The Hobbit per se.

I noted then that the gap was only 4-5 months from movie release to release on Blu-Ray/DVD disk (depending on where you live).

The days of waiting for months and months (or even years) to own our favourite movie is well and truly over!

There is obviously a marketing thing going on here for the Hobbit.

They want to get us to buy the disk so we get thinking about the next movie, due out in December.

However, looking beyond that, how much pressure is coming from streaming services?

Is there a perceived threat to disk sales in the salesman's mind?

More important to me, will my precious Blu-Ray and DVD collection go down the pan when my Blu-Ray player breaks down?

The Battle Of 5 Companies

An emphasis on streaming and/or downloading video is coming from the big players.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Amazon all want a piece of the pie: iTunes and Apple TV being a case in point.

"Smart" TVs and set top boxes are standard and many people already watch their favourite programs via BBC iPlayer on their iPads, Kindles and mobile phones.

In the light of this, it's interesting that Kevin Spacey made the news with a new TV series of Michael Dobbs' "House of Cards" which has gone direct to the internet via Netflix.

Netflix was previously doing well in the US, but is taking a while to get momentum in Europe.

But if you want to watch House of Cards, you can't even see it on your TV over the air waves.

The End Of All Disks?

Bly-ray Disc logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In response to this, there has been some industry comment pronouncing "the end is nigh" for Blu Ray, even as it gains more traction in the marketplace of people's hearts.

I know some people who have already given up on physical media and gone all-out downloading all their music and movies onto hard disk.

But I'm not ready to give up on my DVD and Blu Ray discs just yet!

To my mind, the speed of the internet is just not fast enough in most homes (including mine), to allow for streaming movies over the air.

As an economy minded internet user, neither do I have a large enough usage allowance each month to be able to download movies on a regular basis - particularly if they are in High Definition.

All You Have To Do Is Decide...

I don't have space in this post to discuss all the pros and cons of streaming/downloading versus Blu-Ray in detail.

However, here is a simple list that I hope will serve to illustrate.

Streaming/Downloading Pros

• No need for physical media to take up space in your house
• All you need is a computer with a big hard drive or other storage device to download it to
• Or you could 'store' it all in the cloud and stream from there
• Can be cheaper than the equivalent disk

Streaming/Downloading Cons

• Need a good, fast broadband connection for streaming/downloading to work properly
• May exceed broadband download limits with your ISP, particularly with HD movies
• Need to have backups of downloaded media. Otherwise, the whole lot goes if your hard drive goes.
• Standards for media files are often closed or proprietary. This means you can't always play something you bought from one company on different equipment
• Not all "HD" material is true HD when you download it. It may have been broadcast at a different resolution

Blu-Ray Pros

• Best possible HD picture and sound "out of the box"*
• No waiting for the movie to download
• Often get 'extras' on the disc, which can add to the enjoyment if you're a fan
• Sometimes get a digital copy on the disk, or as a download code (!)

Blu-Ray Cons

• Take up space in your house
• Scratch the disk and it could be ruined
• Not all Blu-Ray disks are sourced from HD material and some are "updated" in ways that people don't like*
• Sometimes more expensive than a pure digital equivalent
• Not all digital copies/download codes are necessarily equal**

*I have seen reviews by Blu-Ray aficionados that this movie or that movie hasn't been transferred to Blu-Ray very well.

I am no expert on these things, but I have never noticed a problem and all the Blu-Rays I have seen have been head and shoulders above anything else.

**I have seen complaints and negative articles about the "Ultraviolet" digital copy included on many recent Blu-Ray disks.

This is an alternative to the likes of iTunes, but has its own player.

The complaints vary from difficulties to get it running on PC or iPod/iPhone, etc through to time limits on when the download expires.

I even heard of one example where the digital copy itself expires after a date in 2014 and will no longer be playable (please note: I have not used it myself, so cannot comment on these claims).

English: Front side of a 200GB Blu-ray Disc (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm Glad You're With Me, Sam

or The Return Of The Disk?

I still like the feeling of owning something.

Yes, I have a Kindle and an iPod and I have already made an adjustment with books and music.

I may at some point buy the Kindle version of Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but I could never part with the real thing sitting on my book shelf.

There's just too much emotional attachment to them!

In the same way, I suspect that disk based movies will stick around for a bit longer than some are predicting.

I can see that I may start doing more of the streaming/downloading, but still buy my favourites on disk.
- The Dark Knight and Marvel Avengers movies spring to mind (see my Marvel Avengers Box Set post!).

I'm already doing this via my Panasonic Blu-Ray Recorder, which has an internal hard drive.

Programs get recorded onto the hard drive first and those I want to keep I burn to rewritable Blu-Ray disks.
The capacity of Blu-Ray means that I have entire series recorded and with no adverts, due to the flexibility of the recording and editing system.

What will be next?

Back to the original point: the speed with which a movie goes from the cinema to the home.

Perhaps in the future we will go to the cinema, pay for our tickets and for a small extra premium, pick up the disc (or a download code) then and there, or maybe on our way out the door?

What about you?

Do you still prefer physical disks, or have you fully embraced the digital cloud for your movies?

Will you get The Hobbit on Blu Ray/DVD, or will you simply put your hard disk recorder to "set and forget"?

Let us know in the comments!

Related articles

• War Of The Ring Board Game Review
• Blu-ray discs: 'We're not dead yet'
• Blu-ray players on their way out, while streaming gains steam: study
• Famous Five Titles That Never Were!

The Hobbit DVD Release Date Announced

The Hobbit Available For Pre Order

For all you J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson fans, The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey is now available for pre order from Amazon on DVD and Blu Ray (see picture).
It will be released on April 8th 2013 in the UK, just after Easter.

I missed this one at the cinema and I am really looking forward to seeing it in the comfort of my own home.

I'd like to reflect for a moment on the fact that it's available now and that the DVD release date is so close to the original movie release date (November - December 2012): that's only 4-5 months from cinemas to disc!

Now the marketing gurus no doubt want to "push it out" to whet our appetites for the next installment (due out in December), but it's a trend that's fast becoming the norm.

I'm intrigued, so I am going to explore this in another post: stay tuned!

**Update**

The Hobbit is now out - Hooray!
You can find it on Amazon via the picture links above or follow these text links to buy the Blu-Ray, 3D Blu-Ray, or DVD.
Have fun!

Related articles

• Top Ten Xbox 360 Games Of All Time: Vote For Your Favourite!
• Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury With My Anti-RSI Setup
• Top Ten Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
• Why I Love Lord Of The Rings
• Marvel The Avengers Box Set
• War Of The Ring Board Game Review

Top Ten Xbox 360 Games Of All Time: Vote For Your Favourite!

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (Photo credit: ChipperMist)

Do you have an Xbox 360?
Do have a list of favourites?
Well now is your chance to vote on the best of the best!

In my previous post Do You Squidoo Or Do You Blog?, I wrote about some of the advantages and disadvantages of using these sites for your online writing.
The Squidoo folks are always experimenting with things to improve the experience of writing and reading on their site and this includes sections that allow readers to vote on their favourite subjects.
Well, now they have improved the voting module to allow it to be embedded in your website!

I wrote an article on the Top Ten Xbox 360 Games Of All Time on Squidoo, which has the said module in place.
So I thought I would use the opportunity to let you vote too and here it is.
Just click on the up/down arrows to vote a game up or down: simple!

Which is your favourite?

Related articles

• Top Ten Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
• Lastpass + Evernote = No Problem
• 5 Free Software Tools To Help Prevent RSI And Make You More Productive
• Evoluent Vertical Mouse Driver: How To Use It
• Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury: Improve Your Handgrip Strength
• Lego Star Wars Gifts For Boys And Girls

Lastpass + Evernote = No Problem

English: Redesigned LastPass Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lastpass To The Rescue Again!

A little while back, LinkedIn was "hacked" and many users were naturally very concerned.

I wrote an article at the time entitled LinkedIn + Lastpass = No Problem! explaining why I wasn't worried about it.

This weekend, Evernote became the latest high profile victim of hacking.

Once again, a large and popular service company has had to send out emails apologising to its users, and advising them to change their passwords.

To give Evernote their due, they have responded very quickly to the situation, and backed it up with new versions of their mobile applications making it easier to make the change.

And I'm still not worried.

Password Love

Evernote (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I simply logged into my Evernote account and followed the prompts to the password form.

I checked my details in Lastpass and saw that I had a decent pass phrase set up for Evernote.

It was certainly strong enough, but I had to assume that it had been compromised.

I clicked on the Lastpass menu and chose to "Generate a password".

Lastpass showed me an 8 digit random password.

I added an additional digit to it for good measure by changing the number in the dialog and clicked Generate again.

Now happy with my change, I clicked "Accept" and Lastpass filled out the Evernote password form for me and I saved it down.

Lastpass then detected that I had updated my Evernote password and asked if I would like to save it: one last click and the job was done.

At work this morning, I opened up Evernote and logged in with my new password as though nothing had ever happened.

I may change my password back to a pass phrase in the future so it is easier to remember.

Until then, I'm cool.

Are you using a password manager like Lastpass?

If not, then why not?

Related articles

• Evernote Hacked, Time to Change Your Passwords
• 5 Free Software Tools To Help Prevent RSI And Make You More Productive

5 Free Software Tools To Help Prevent RSI And Make You More Productive

How Do I Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury...And Stay Productive?

RSI Prevention Part 10

So far in this series, I have been looking mainly at hardware of some kind; either as part of your computer (such as your mouse) or related to it (your chair).

In this post I will change tack to focus on software.

I have found a number of small and more importantly free programs which can help to reduce the effects of RSI.

What's more, they can even help to improve your productivity into the bargain!

1. Take Breaks With Workrave

Workrave (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have posted elsewhere on the importance of taking breaks from the computer, but did you know there is a break reminder program to help you with that?

Workrave runs on Windows as well as GNU/Linux

It takes up very little space and spends most of it's time hiding in the program notification area.

While it doesn't seem like it's doing very much, it monitors your activity on the PC to see when you are using the keyboard and mouse.

As you use these tools, Workrave runs a timer and at pre-determined intervals, will pop up a dialog to remind you to take a break.

In fact, Workrave has several different timers for different kinds of break:

• A rest break for several minutes (usually 5-10)
• A micro-break (20-30 seconds)
• A daily limit (optional) which tells you when you have done too many hours

A micro-break is just to "down tools" and/or look away from the screen for a short while.
With a rest break, it will encourage you to step away from your desk and do some simple stretches.
This stretching software (pun intended) shows some simple animations at the start of a rest break, which helps you to understand what to move and how.
Over time (pun not intended!), it does a great job of showing you all the different muscle groups you need to keep moving.

You can customise it to your heart's (and body's) content.
Some of the things you can choose:

• Change the frequency and length of breaks
• Whether you are 'allowed' to delay the prompts for a few minutes
• Lock it completely to force you to take the break, so you can't ignore it

Sadly, Workrave has no version for Mac users.
However, there are alternatives and if you get an Evoluent Vertical mouse and install the drivers, then it comes with its own break timer software.

2. Use Your Optical Mouse Drivers: Change Mouse Settings

windows_7_logitech_mouse_settings (Photo credit: DrJohnBullas)

Many people suffer with pain in their hand from using the mouse and I have posted elsewhere about some hardware alternatives.

However, some simple changes to your mouse pointer settings can help while you are waiting for that alternative to arrive in the post.

In Windows 7, open up the Control Panel > Devices and Printers > option then right-click and choose Mouse Settings.

There you can see ways of:

• Speeding up or slowing down the pointer movement
• Auto click when the mouse is paused somewhere (so you don't have to press the button)
• Doing a double click with a single click
• Click lock simulates holding down the button so you don't have to (useful if you struggle with drag and drop operations)
• Make a larger pointer so you can see it more easily
• Make the middle button scroll at different speeds

Making clicks easier is a bit of a no-brainer, but the other benefits are not so obvious.

The key point to make here is that increasing the speed and the acceleration of your mouse, means that the pointer moves a larger distance across the screen for a relatively small movement of your hand.

A small movement of your hand each time = less distance 'travelled' overall = less strain at the end of the day.

"A small movement of your hand = less travel = less strain"

There can be a delicate balance to this:

The mouse needs to be fast enough to give the distance boost described above, but slow enough that it is still easy to position when you need the really small, accurate movements such as when you are trying to click on the 'X' to close a window.

This is another reason I love my Evoluent mouse, as it has a physical button on the side and an indicator light, so I can change the speed on the fly without having to find the control panel software.

You may also find it needs a couple of days to adjust to the new speed.

When I first turned my mouse speed up I initially found my hand ached more for a day or so, before then settling down to a better level than before I made the change.

I would therefore advise to give it a try and make one change at a time, with some time in between to allow for this.

3. Mouse gestures

Magic Trackpad (Photo credit: N0fX)

Some people have the opposite problem.

They find it easy to use the mouse but struggle when they have to type too much on the keyboard.

That's when something like mouse gestures for Windows can be helpful.

These are very similar to the "swipe and tap" or multi-touch concepts that we have got used to on our smartphones.

In fact, if you have an Apple Mac then it is already built in with either your Magic Mouse, or the multi-touch tablet.

There is a program called StrokeIt which provides mouse gestures for windows.

It's not actively developed these days but I believe it still works on most PCs.

There are a number of other programs that have been set up for specific browsers.
However, the advantage of StrokeIt is that it will work anywhere in Windows.

Direct alternatives to StrokeIt include http://justgestures.com/ (free for non-commercial use) and http://www.strokesplus.com/

Whichever platform you use, the idea is to make a swipe or other movement with the mouse pointer (often with the right mouse button held down).

The gesture is then interpreted as an action in the operating system, common ones being to minimise or maximise windows.

The theory is that a large movement of the mouse is physically easier to perform than the fine movements that are required to click on the small icons we typically see on modern PCs.

"A large movement of the mouse is easier to perform than fine movements"

We are most familiar with simple movements such as "swipe left or right" to move back/forward when surfing the web.

However, the gesture can represent anything.

Examples I have used with StrokeIt:

• Diagonal top-right towards bottom-left - Minimise the current window
• Diagonal bottom-left towards top-right - Maximise the current window
• Draw a big "C" on the screen - close the active program

4. Clipboard, Clipboard! (a.k.a. History Of The Clipboard)

We all know how the copy/paste keys work with the windows clip board.

Most of us know the keyboard shortcut for cut (CTRL+X), but don't you find it annoying when you have to do lots and lots of it?

Even if you are a keyboard junkie like me, you have to keep on pressing CTRL+C then CTRL+V, over and over (and over) again.

It's repetitive (what we're trying to avoid), boring, and why doesn't it remember the things I've been CTRL+C-ing if I want to paste one of the items again?

The answer is to use a clipboard manager.

There are lots of these programs around and about (many people wonder why it wasn't included with Windows in the first place...)

However, the one I will talk about is the free clipboard ArsClip by JoeJoe Soft.

ArsClip is another program that sits in your task tray, acting all quiet like, but in the background it records every single copy/cut/paste you do to the clipboard.

When you want to recall something you copied earlier you just press CTRL+SHIFT+Z (you can change the combination if you want), and up pops a dialog listing your most recent items.

You can either click the entry or type the number or letter that is displayed in the dialog and bingo: copy/paste heaven!

To avoid the list getting too long, ArsClip automatically moves older items into another section, but you can still access these clips via another menu.

You can also pin specific items to the menu so if there is a word or phrase you are always using, you can save even more time!

5. Launch Programs With Keyboard Keys

Why not use keyboard shortcuts instead of clicking with the mouse?

If you have Windows Vista/7/8 you can use short cuts for windows.

You know that you can press the Start key to see the programs menu, right?

I'm guessing that you also know how to use the arrow keys to move the selection up, down, left and right too?

Well, did you know that you can also search for your favourite program too?

Just press Start and begin typing the name of the program.

You should see the standard list of programs disappear and a "searching..." prompt appear.

Then a list of possibilities appears, often before you have finished typing and you can use the arrow keys and Enter/Return to open it.

For example, on my system I can type "ever" and Evernote will appear as the only option.

I then press enter and voila, it starts up.

Launchy Dialog

If you are still stuck on an older version of windows, or don't like the Start menu, then there are other options too:

Launchy and Find and Run Robot (FARR) are both good choices.

Launchy looks nicer and opens up with a key combination of ALT-SPACE.

FARR also opens with a similar key press and with both programs, you start typing and they start to give you suggestions of what to launch.

I have used both of these programs extensively over several years.

FARR can find more stuff (apart from just programs), but doesn't seem to remember your favourites quite as reliably as Launchy when there could be a choice of similarly named programs.

In either case, I would heartily recommend either program to anyone needing to cut down on their mouse use.

So there you have it:

5 free programs. Less RSI. Better productivity.

What are you waiting for?

If you liked this article you may also like My Current Anti RSI Setup, over on Squidoo.

Related articles

• RSI Prevention Part 9 - Gripmaster Hand Exerciser From Prohands.Net
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Do You Squidoo? ...Or Do You Blog? - Where To Do Your Online Writing

Image via CrunchBase

Squidoo? Sounds Fishy To Me

Speaking of blogging...

I recently started writing articles on a site called Squidoo.

This is an interesting alternative to blogging, in that every article (or 'lens' as they call it) is a single page on a specific topic.

That's it, no more, no less.

You can create and update as many lenses as you like for free and in fact, they positively encourage you to update old lenses.

One of the things I like about it is how the site automatically guides you towards making great posts.

While you are working on a lens, you get a green meter on the right hand side which lets you know what else you need to do.

This ranges from "Add an introduction", or "add a photo/image", to "Add 5 modules with great content"

A module is a short section within the page which can be as simple as some text with an optional picture, or as complex as a voting or comments section.

You can add all sorts of modules to each page including link lists, big pictures, and Amazon search results (either picked by you, or by them).

Common or Market...
Marty Snyderman
Buy This at Allposters.com

Just Putting Out Feelers: Looking For A Writing Alternative

I have been using it to post about things I like, but which don't quite 'fit' into any of my blogs.

The thing I really like about it are the sense of community involved and the points system which appeals to the gamer in me.

Blog writing can be lonely, but Squidoo encourages you to read other people's lenses, link to them and comment on them.
You can "squid like" someone's lens and they will often like yours back or send you a message or a comment -nice!

And every time you do, you earn some points.

Points for Articles? 

What You Could Win

Yep. You read it right.

When you do things on the site, you get points for it at varying rates.

For example, the first time you publish a lens, or squid like a lens, you'll get some points; or when you hit certain milestones such as 5 or 10 lenses published.

I don't know all the details of what gets you points and what doesn't, but let me tell you that it can be very addictive, if you are so inclined!

If you're not inclined that way and just want to write without any distractions, then don't worry: you can turn off all those things.

However, if you involve yourself in the community there do seem to be rewards.

They even interviewed me!
You can read all about it here: Introducing Tim Bader

I Have An Inkling: So Should You Squidoo Or Blog?

Well, as you can tell, I am now doing both.

I think blogs are great for posting a series of articles about things you find interesting.

Squidoo is great for creating pages about specific subjects close to your heart, and then building on them over time (if that's what you want to do).

Blogs can also be used to build more of a "presence" for yourself in a particular niche on the web.

On the other hand, it's 'just you' doing it; while Squidoo has a great, friendly community who will help you get up and running and there are all sorts of interesting topics there.

Blog vs Squidoo Conclusion:

Blogging and Squidoo certainly aren't mutually exclusive and the added bonus is that you can refer people from one to the other.

I plan to write a lens about blogging, with some links back to my blogs, so everyone's a winner!

If you are interested in Squidoo, then have a look at my lenses below and don't forget to leave a comment if you like them!

Marvel Avengers Box Set

I Love Birds of Prey

Christmas 2012 whats on your amazon wish list

Why I Love Lord Of The Rings

Christmas Gifts For Your Teens

My Anti RSI Setup
Top 10 Xbox 360 Games Of All Time

Improve Your Handgrip Strength And Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury

Vertical Mouse Review

Evoluent Vertical Mouse Driver: How To Use It

War Of The Ring Board Game Review
How To Play War Of The Ring (Part 1)
Famous Five Titles That Never Were

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RSI Prevention Part 9 - Gripmaster Hand Exerciser From Prohands.Net

Another Ergonomics Blogger

I recently read a great blog post on ergonomics, which recommended a number of things for programmers.

Amongst the recommendations were some things that I have previously written about here, here and here, so I was pleased that it wasn't 'just me'.

He also recommended strength training using Your Shape 2012 on the XBox 360.

Well, I already use Your Shape and had noticed a difference with my shoulders and neck, so much so that I left a comment on Evan's blog to that effect.

Use The Force, Luke: Get A Hand Exerciser

I had also been considering getting a hand exerciser, or grip strengthener, which I had seen on Amazon. 

So I was prompted to 'go get it' and here are my results.

To explain, I usually start the week with my hands feeling ok because I have rested them over the weekend.

But by the end of a working week, particularly if I have done a lot of typing, they are aching again.

I thought that since exercise for my shoulders had helped, then perhaps this would too???

The "GripMaster" hand exerciser (pictured left) is a small, simple gadget that fits in your pocket (well, a decent sized pocket anyway!).

It consists of two pieces of shaped plastic with a set of smaller finger-sized plastic pieces attached, with springs between them.

To use it, you just squeeze it for a few seconds and then release the tension or at least, that's the theory.

How Tough Are You(r Hands) Mr Ergonomics?

There are several 'versions' of this gizmo available, with easy, medium and high tensions.

Even though the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, they were mostly written by people who were into a particular sport (like rock climbing) or were musicians trying to improve their guitar or [insert name of instrument here].

So I was still a little bit in the dark about whether it could help me with my mouse and keyboard problems.

After checking each one out, I eventually decided to buy the middle/medium tension one.

"Nil point"

When it arrived, it was well packaged and there appeared to be a nice little instruction leaflet with it so I eagerly opened it up to see how it worked.

Sadly, I was disappointed to find a glossy double-sided page, advertising all their other products with just 2 pictures of exercises, or more accurately, hand positions you could use with the thing.

As they say in Eurovision "Nil point"!

However, there was a web address for Prohands.net where I could get more information.

The first chance I got I fired up the Prohands website, which opened up with a helpful screen for either sports pros or musicians.

I was just going for basic strength, so went down the sports route to reveal a page with lots of example exercises and better still: instructions!

Why bother?

Why am I making a point about this?

Well I'm glad you asked.

You see, without even thinking about it, I had assumed that I should just 'pump' on the exerciser and increase the number of repetitions.

This is what you would do for standard weight training at the gym if you were toning your arms, for example.

- You either increase the weight for more strength or add repetitions for more stamina once you have the basics in place, right?

Wrong!

According to Prohands, you should squeeze the GripMaster gently, hold it for a few seconds and then release.

You can do this for your whole hand or individual fingers, depending on the exercise.

If I hadn't gone to the website and learned this fundamental piece of information, then I could have damaged my hand unwittingly.

To be fair, there is a warning in the leaflet to "be careful" when exercising and go slowly.

However, the website is great, but it really should be in the original packaging too.

So that's +100 for the website, -1000s for the 'boxed product', IMO.

The Good Stuff: How The Gripmaster Works

Ok, now I've got that off my chest I can get to the good part!

The explanations on the website were excellent: clear, concise and with extra videos in case I wasn't sure of anything.

With a little common sense, I located two or three exercises that seemed to fit with my situation.

I soon found out that my third and fourth (ring and little/'pinky') fingers were a lot weaker than my fore- and middle fingers.

Perhaps it should have been obvious, but it was still a revelation to me quite how much difference there was.

What Has It Got In Its Pockets?

The great thing about the GripMaster being a small device is that I was able to put it in my pocket (I love pockets, a subject for another day! -no kidding) and bring it out whenever the mood took.

It came with me to the kitchen and the toilet; basically anywhere away from my desk where no one would think I was weird. (Hmmm...?)

Over the first 2 - 3 days, the discomfort in my hands was just as bad as before, or maybe even slightly worse.

However, after that it started to settle down and by the end of the week, there was a definite improvement when compared to the end of the previous week.

I have now used the GripMaster over 6-8 weeks, exercising my hands a number of times per day in the first two weeks and settling down to 2-3 times per day after that.

And I think it's working...!!!

It's still early days, but I can feel my hands are stronger than they were and although the ache isn't completely gone I feel that my hands are recovering more quickly after the end of the working week.

I will update this post again if anything changes, but on balance so far, I would have no hesitation in recommending this product to others.
You can also find out more about the Gripmaster in my article over on Squidoo.

Related articles

• Preventing RSI Part 1
• RSI Prevention part 3 - The Evils of Mice
• RSI Prevention Part 7 - Mouse Alternatives (Ergonomic Mouse)
• RSI Prevention Part 4 - The Ergonomic Keyboard
• RSI Prevention Part 8 - The Importance Of Posture
• Do You Squidoo? ...Or Do You Blog? - Where To Do Your Online Writing