Guest post by Blake Watson.

I've tried a lot of remote apps, but for me, HippoRemote gets the nod. Once you go through a surprisingly painless setup process, HippoRemote will connect to your computer and hand the reins over to you. Your iPhone is now a fully-featured multi-touch trackpad. Tap the keyboard button at the top of the screen and HippoRemote will provide you with a standard iPhone keyboard with some extra features attached. Explore further, and you will see that HippoRemote turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an advanced media browser that lets you interact with some of the coolest media programs on your Mac, including the built in stuff like iTunes and Front Row as well as third party apps like Boxee and Hulu Desktop. Let's walk through some of HippoRemote's features. HippoRemote comes in a few different flavors, so we'll be looking at HippoRemote Pro.

The Keyboard

The keyboard behavior of HippoRemote is arguably the best available on a remote app. Most standard iPhone keyboard behavior is present. For example, spacing after a period or a comma will change the keyboard from the punctuation layout back to the alphabet layout. Tapping the shift key once will keep it activated until you tap a letter, then it is deactivated. If you want CAPSLOCK then double tap the shift key to activate it, then tap it once when your done. These behaviors are the Apple standard, but many remote apps do not use them because of the way characters are sent to the computer. I find that these behaviors are important because they increase typing efficiency.

In addition to replicating iPhone's standard keyboard behaviors, HippoRemote takes advantage of iPhone's built-in ability to predict what you are writing. HippoRemote displays what you are typing in a text field on the phone at the same time that it is sending it to your computer. If you misspell a word, you can tap on it to see substitutes and HippoRemote will make the correction on your computer automatically. HippoRemote also displays a list of the last few strings you've typed. Touching one will re-type that string.

Besides standard keyboard layouts, HippoRemote provides arrow keys and modifier keys (command, option, etc.) as well as the full range of function keys.

HippoRemote adds one feature that I haven't seen in other remote apps: it has support for TextExpander Touch. TextExpander Touch allows you to create snippets of text that can be automatically triggered by specified shortcodes (eg, "fn" could expand to your full name). You don't need TextExpander on your Mac for these to work, as TextExpander Touch expands the snippets before they're sent to the computer.

The keyboard supports vertical and horizontal orientations. And in the Basic or Lite versions of HippoRemote, the keyboard and the trackpad can be displayed at the same time.

Multi-touch trackpad

The multi-touch trackpad features left and right mouse buttons as well as the ability to use tapping, two-finger scrolling and other gestures. If you are like me, and have trouble using more than one finger, you will appreciate HippoRemote's unique scroll button. By moving your finger from the bottom of the screen to the middle, you activate a scrolling knob that allows you to scroll by moving your finger in a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion. That means you can use one finger to scroll without the need to look down.

Like the keyboard, the trackpad supports vertical and horizontal orientations.

Profiles for Remote Control Panels

HippoRemote Pro can change its interface based on what application you are using. For example, I am currently in the Mac OS profile. At the bottom of the trackpad area, there are several buttons that allow me to do things like trigger Spotlight and Expose or run macros that control volume, press eject, open Dashboard and other functions. Switching to the iTunes profile provides a control panel for manipulating playback. Switching to the Pandora profile allows you to control the Pandora web app. There are dozens of profiles installed with HippoRemote and more can be added from inside the app itself. If you are technically inclined, there are instructions for making your very own profiles.

Extras

On top of all these great features, HippoRemote includes a native web browser and Twitter client. You can even open links from HippoRemote's Twitter client directly in your Mac's web browser.

Different Versions

HippoRemote comes in three flavors: HippoRemote Lite (free, ad-supported), HippoRemote Basic ($1.99USD), and HippoRemote Pro ($4.99USD). Unfortunately, it's a bit confusing as to what features are found in which versions. For the purpose of this review, I used the Pro version. If you are looking to replace a keyboard, I recommend getting the Pro version. At about five bucks, you'll be getting all of HippoRemote's features at a fairly inexpensive price compared to most assistive technology software. However, if having the trackpad and keyboard display simultaneously would be useful for you then you will want to grab the basic version.

If you need to know about a specific feature and you can't find it on the HippoRemote website, feel free to contact the developer. He actually has an interest in making HippoRemote even better for people with disabilities and will value any feedback you provide. That being said, you can always send me an email too.

Alternative Apps

Here are some other apps that are similar to HippoRemote. Depending on your needs, one of these might work better for you. I have these apps installed on my iPhone. Although I am not planning to review them at the time of this writing, you can email me if you have questions about them.

Rowmote Pro, $4.99USD, by Evan Schoenberg

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, can simulate the Apple Remote Control including support for dozens of applications.

TouchPad, $4.99USD, by Edovia, Inc.

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, great user interface, Windows compatible, media remote.

Touchpad Elite, $0.99USD, by iTeleport LLC

Good keyboard behavior, can type locally and then send a paragraph at once, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote.

Air Mouse Pro, $1.99USD, by R.P.A. Tech, INC

Optional accelerometer-based "air" mouse activated by physically moving the iPhone/etc in the air, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote, separate iPad compatible app.

Conclusion

If you can operate an iPhone or iPod Touch, you might find that typing with HippoRemote is faster and more efficient than typing with an onscreen keyboard. And as an added bonus, you get some powerful, easy-to-use controls for interacting with popular media applications. And if you happen to be a Windows user, you're in luck. HippoRemote is compatible with Windows and Linux as well as Mac OS X.

- Blake Watson

I've had "wireless multi-touch trackpad" at the top of my person Apple wishes for several years now, so I was thrilled at Apple's announcement announcement of the Magic Trackpad yesterday. The announcement itself was somewhat hidden amongst announcements of updates to the iMac series, which now have faster processors and better graphics capabilities, but the Magic Touchpad is of special interest to users with disabilities.

From Apple's website:

Desktop users, your time has come. The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer. It uses the same Multi-Touch technology you love on the MacBook Pro. And it supports a full set of gestures, giving you a whole new way to control and interact with what's on your screen.

And by "full set of gestures" they really mean all of them - this device uses the same preference pane as the MacBook touchpads use. This is fantastic news especially for iMac and Mac Pro users who use the VoiceOver screen reader, as the revolutionary "touchpad as screen" where you can control the screen reader using gestures like an iPhone or iPad.

Daniel Rowe, from the MacVisionaries group - a mailing list for blind Mac users, took the plunge yesterday and bought himself a Magic Trackpad. He said:

I've only used VO [VoiceOver] with multi-touch trackpads briefly before as I have an iMac. But because I use the iPhone I could see the benefits such an interface would bring to Mac OS.

Having spent nearly two days with the trackpad, I personally thing that it is the best thing to happen in assistive technology recently. To be able to visualise how things are laid out on the screen is just amazing. It's larger size is also an advantage. It has really changed the way how I use my Mac and I won't be going back to using the numpad commander unless I have to.Daniel Rowe

He mentions the larger size - I can't find any specific dimensions on Apple's website but from looking at their photos of the Magic Trackpad beside a bluetooth keyboard and judicious use of a ruler on my own Apple bluetooth keyboard I think the active area on the Magic Trackpad must be close to 11cm by 11cm, or just under 4 1/2 inches in either direction. That's a lot larger than the MacBook trackpads, which should also help those who have trouble with fine motor control, or find making small gestures difficult for any reason. Reviewers on the Apple website also mention it makes it possible to use two hands to make gestures needing more that one finger.

The Magic Trackpad also has a physical click (the entire trackpad depresses if you click it) as well as a tap-to-click, either of which can be enabled or disabled as desired. Many other features can be customised to fit the users needs and preferences too. I'm sure I'll be writing more about the options and set-up when mine arrives, but until then here's a peek at the preference pane:

The Magic Trackpads seem to be available from all Apple stores around the world immediately (including online stores), but those countries served by non-Apple-branded stores will have to wait a few weeks. The Australian online Apple store is shipping these currently and estimating 24hr delivery time, for example, but my local Mac-licensed stores are estimating the end of July as the earliest they'll have stocks available.

-- Ricky Buchanan

Selecting and using the keyboard layouts for Dvorak, Left-handed Dvorak, Right-handed Dvorak, or Dvorak with Qwerty commands is now easy with OS X Snow Leopard.

First you need to set up your system so you're ready to switch to the Dvorak layout of your choice. This won't actually switch you to the Dvorak layout, so don't panic yet! Firstly, use the Apple Menu to open System Preferences:

Now select the "Language and Text" icon in the top row, and then the "Input Sources" tab on the right:

You'll see a bunch of flags and country names, mostly all in alphabetical order. Scroll down until you see the "D"s and right under "Dutch" you'll find four Dvorak layouts. Here's what you should be looking at now:

Select the checkbox for the Dvorak layout that you want to use, the four options are:

Dvorak

This is the standard Dvorak keyboard layout which is optimised for use by touch-typists using both hands.

Dvorak - Qwerty ⌘

Standard Dvorak keyboard layout but when you hold down the command key (⌘ key) the command characters work from a Qwerty layout. This might be useful for people who memorise command keys by where they are on the keyboard instead of remembering which letter the command uses.

Dvorak - Left

A left-handed Dvorak keyboard layout, optimised for typists using the left hand only.

Dvorak - Right

A right-handed Dvorak keyboard layout, optimised for typists using the right hand only.

Also check the checkbox labelled "Show input in menu bar" - see the red arrow in the above picture if you're not sure. This will cause a picture of a flag to appear in the top right corner of the menu bar, and currently it will be the flag of the keyboard you are already using. If you're using a standard US or International keyboard it will be a USA flag, but for those using a different keyboard layout you'll see the flag for the country the layout belongs to. Here's what mine shows:

Now you can close the system preferences window, you're done setting up.

To start using the Dvorak layout, click on the flag in your menu bar and then on the Dvorak line. Notice how the "flag" that's showing now is the one for your Dvorak keyboard layout - you can always tell which keyboard layout is active by seeing which flag is showing.

You can easily go back to your usual keyboard layout by clicking on the flag again and selecting your original keyboard. You can always switch between the two this way, using only the mouse, so even if you get thoroughly confused about which key is which you can still go back to the one you know best. You can also select "Show Keyboard Viewer" from the same menu and OS X will pop up a picture for you showing where the keys go in each of the different layouts. The keyboard viewer also flashes the image of any key you press on your keyboard, so it can be very helpful for practising.

I suggest that you pop over and read Dvorak Keyboard Layout - Resources For Switching now, so you have more tools to help you learn about your shiny new keyboard layout.

- Ricky Buchanan

Two of my friends with Mac computers lost precious files within the past week because their hard drives failed and they didn't have their files completely backed up.

Do you have backups? Do you know how easy, simple, and cheap it is to back up your computer? What would you do if you lost all your files because your computer's hard drive failed?

Nobody wants to think about their computer breaking down! Nobody wants to spend money they don't have to on an already-expensive computer system. But it probably will happen to you. Yes, you.

On the other hand, you can buy a portable USB hard drive for less than US$100. When you get your drive, plug it in to your OS X machine running Leopard or Snow Leopard, and you'll see this prompt:

Click on the "Use as backup disk" button, and that's all there is to it!

If you want to make things even easier, you can buy a Time Capsule from Apple, or plug your USB hard drive into one of Apple's Airport Extremes and then your backups will happen wirelessly, so you don't even have to remember to plug the drive into your computer! These options are a little more expensive, but especially for laptop users they can be very handy.

The first backup will take quite a while so I suggest you set it up before you go to bed and let it run overnight. After that try to leave your drive plugged in as much as possible - at least plug it in to back up once a day. You can tell when it's done backing up several different ways, but the easiest is to look at your Finder's sidebar - when your Time Machine backup is happening, the two arrows beside the Time Machine drive will circle endlessly. Here's a snap taken while my backup is active:

Remember to click that "eject" symbol (or turn off your computer) before you unplug your USB drive each time!

For Time Machine, that's all there is to it. There's no complicated geek knowledge needed to do this! Apple designed Time Machine to be backups "for the rest of us". There are other ways to back up Mac computers, and some of them may suit some people better, but for simplicity and ease of getting started Time Machine beats everything else hands down!

So, are you getting yourself backups for Christmas this year? Can you really, truly, honestly tell yourself that spending $100 on USB backup drive now is worse than dealing with losing all your files and your assistive technology set up and your applications and your work or school files when your hard drive fails? Because odds are, you'll probably have a hard drive fail at least every 5 years - you really should take out the insurance of getting this drive for yourself. Go out now - or use the links in this article - and order yourself a hard drive or a Time Capsule. You really do deserve it.

- Ricky Buchanan

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Are you like many people in this keyboarding age whose arms, wrists, or hands hurt from typing or mousing too much? Even if you don't have full blown RSI or carpal tunnel, pain after using the computer too much can be disabling. Also, pain that only happens for a little while after you use the computer can be a signal that you may be in store for worse if you don't change the way you do things.

These suggestions are arranged roughly in order of how drastic they are - I suggest that you go through the list in order, doing the things suggested at each step before proceeding to the next step. And please, see your doctor about any unusual pain or other symptoms - a blog article is never any substitute for proper medical advice!

Take Breaks

Edited to add this section 19 Jan - Thanks to Ian for the reminder in the comments section.
Taking regular rest breaks - even if they're only 30 seconds long - is vital to give your body time to move and relieve the strain of using a computer.

There are applications which can remind you to take both short and long breaks - short breaks are usually under a minute, just time for you to shake out your wrists and look away from the screen, where long breaks are 5-10 minutes for getting up and stretching and moving totally away from the computer where possible.

Generally these applications are very configurable and some offer fancier functions such as guiding you through body-friendly break exercises or offering a way to postpone a break for a short amount of time. Here are some that ATMac recommends:

• MacBreakZ
• Time Out!
• AntiRSI

Ergonomics

Make sure that your work area is arranged as ergonomically as possible. This will reduce strain on all parts of your body including wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, and back. Simply rearranging the height of your monitor or keyboard, for example, can make a huge difference in comfort.

It is a little more difficult for laptop users to arrange their space ergonomically, but it is still possible to make improvements. Here it is some information about optimal ergonomics for desktop and laptop computer users:

• Ergonomics for computer workstations
• Ergonomics for laptop users

Keyboard Shortcuts

It's generally accepted that using a mouse requires more arm movement than the keyboard, and according to the MouseLess website it also puts more stress on the neck and underside of the forearm. Certainly moving between keyboard and mouse requires significantly more movement than staying with the keyboard.

The good news about all that is you can reduce the amount of stress on your "mousing arm" by minimising your use of the mouse. Print out the basic OS X keyboard shortcuts handout and stick it up near your screen when you can easily refer to it while you're computing. Use a program such as KeyCue to help you learn and remember keyboard shortcuts specific to the programs you use. With just these two simple techniques you can drastically reduce the number of times you reach for the mouse each day, and hence reduce the extra stress on your mouse arm.

Change Your Mouse

A different type of mouse won't remove the stress entirely but an ergonomic mouse can reduce mouse-related strain on your arm. If the new mouse is sufficiently different then it could also move the stress around to different arm muscles - this might give the currently-strained parts of your arm time to heal if you also use the other techniques in this list.

There are a lot of different options for moving your mouse pointer around the screen, these are just some of them:

• External trackpads and tablets (can't do multi-touch)
• Use your iPod Touch/iPhone as an external multi-touch trackpad with an application such as PearPad
• Vertically oriented mouse
• Left handed mouse
• Joystick mouse

These are just a smattering of the possible pointing devices. With a little research on google, using terms like "ergonomic mouses", "ergonomic trackball", and "mouse alternatives" you should be able to find many more which could suit you.

If you don't use the mouse much or you're somewhat ambidextrous, you might try mousing with your other hand for some of each day. In my experience this drives me nuts in short order, but some people swear by it.

Ergonomic keyboard

There a lot of ergonomic keyboards out there, some more ergonomic than others. I have a Kinesis Advantage ergonomic keyboard which I use to great advantage sitting directly in my lap. I suggest you visit somewhere that you can sit down and try different ergonomic keyboards in an environment like your usual environment before you spend money on them. Ergonomic keyboards can be quite expensive and it's a very individual thing - something that helps one person may harm another, and vice versa.

Ergonomic keyboards, especially those like the Kinesis where some of the keys are moved about, take a bit of getting used to. Try to give yourself several weeks before you "give up" using a keyboard, it's always going to feel awkward when you start.

Here are some ergonomic keyboards - again, google for more.

Dvorak

Dvorak refers to an arrangement of keys which is different to the usual one found in English-speaking countries. The keys are arranged so the most used letters are on the keys are directly under your fingers and the letters and symbols which are used the least are further away. It takes a lot of effort to re-learn where all the keys are but typing with the Dvorak layout is much easier on the fingers because they move less. It's worth it in the end.

I've written about different keyboard layouts and about learning typing with the Dvorak keyboard layout.

Dwell Clicking

Dwell clicking is done by a piece of software that tracks your mouse movements as you move your cursor around the screen. When you move your cursor to the position where you would like to click and bring your mouse to a stop for a short amount of time, the software generates a click for you. Most dwell clicking software can do double click, right click/command click and also do mouse dragging as well as regular single clicks. These are done by selecting the requested type of click from a small palette which sits on your screen.

ClickNoMo is the only stand-alone dwell clicking software for OS X that I am aware of.

Speak Instead Of Typing

[msd] is the only software currently available for OS X which lets you dictate to the computer. The Dictate software converts your speech into words on the computer screen instead of you typing them, and contains commands for editing and moving around documents and other application commands. It works best if you use it when you will be typing long passages, like this article. Dictate is new software and still has many kinks to iron out but if most of your computer use consists of typing reports and documents, it can replace almost all of the keyboard use needed for these chores.

Hopefully one day we'll have Star Trek level understanding of speech, or neural interfaces where the computer is activated by thought, but until then take a stab at these methods. With all of them together - or as many as you need - you should be able to use the computer more effectively and with less pain.

- Ricky Buchanan

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