ergonomics

The new LiberNovo Omni office chair isn’t just ergonomic — it’s dynamic, responsive and built to understand how you move. With a motorized mechanism that supports your back, four positions (up to a full recline) and a built-in massage function, it’s a new way of sitting that’s actually good for you, according to its makers.

“We didn’t set out to build a chair,” says LeYan, founder and CEO of LiberNovo. “We set out to fix sitting.”

You can preorder the amazingly responsive chair at a $50 discount off the Super Early Bird Kickstarter price starting Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time.

In an unusual move from Keychron blending ergonomic comfort with high-performance gaming specs, the keyboard specialist released its new M5 Wireless Ergonomic Mouse earlier this month. The device makes for an interesting peripheral launch because you don’t see a mouse mashing up professional ergonomic features and technical gaming capabilities every day.

With all the mousing and typing people do, you’d think products designed for ergonomic comfort — and to help avoid repetitive-strain injuy — would crop up in more computer setups. Well, today’s MacBook Pro and Mac Pro rig answers the call. The user, a smarty-pants undergrad at Harvard, relies on a Logitech MX Vertical wireless mouse setup plus a Logitech Pop Keys Mechanical Keyboard for data input.

Looking for a better office chair? You don’t have to spend several hundred dollars or more. I’ve found the Silybon Ergonomic Office Chair does a good job for about $110 after a discount.

With a history of back trouble, I was a little nervous about the purchase. But it’s a good, comfortable chair paired with a standing desk, so my back is fine.

If you’ve ever suffered hand or wrist discomfort from long sessions at the computer, you probably wished you could switch mousing hands, or maybe use a trackball device. Now Targus has addressed that very issue in ingenious fashion with its new ErgoFlip wireless mouse.

With a magnetic top and a stationary base, the mouse lets you “flip” it anytime you want, using a comfortable, ergonomic grip with either hand, with no need to adjust for right- and left-clicking.

Logitech just unleashed a new entry-level wireless trackball that feels good, looks fine and works wonderfully. The new Ergo M575 adds some features previously found only in its high-end MX Ergo trackball, including one that port-deprived MacBook owners will appreciate.

Plus, at $49.99 list, it won’t break the bank. If you’re interested in trying a trackball, for whatever reason, this is a smart choice.

If you have a low desk, or you just hate bending your wrists back, then you might consider turning your Magic Trackpad upside down, and using it with the lower end of its wedge away from you. With the trackpad upside-down, its slope will better watch your hand’s natural shape and position.

But flipping the trackpad also flips the direction of the mouse pointer, right? Up is down, down is up, and left and right don’t know where they are any more. Wrong! If you have an older Mac, you can just type a command into the Terminal to allow automatic orientation detection. And on newer Macs — from Sierra onward, I believe — there’s an equally easy trick.

Many of us spend tons of time at the computer. That’s bad for your neck, back, wrists — pretty much every part of your body — so it’s no wonder standing desks are catching on. Unfortunately, they often prove super-expensive. However, there’s another way.

To create its new vertical mouse, Logitech borrowed from its expertise creating peripherals for players of first-person shooters. The goal? A kill shot aimed straight at the ugly heart of repetitive strain injuries.

The result of the company’s efforts is the Logitech MX Vertical. The ergonomic mouse, unveiled today, offers appealing features in a strangely beautiful design that looks something like a seashell.

Every employee at Apple Park works from a standing desk, according to Tim Cook. The reason? Because, as Apple’s CEO previously noted, “sitting is the new cancer.”

Cook shared the factoid during a recently interview with the Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein, published this week.

Your next MacBook will get more than just a speed bump, with Intel’s powerful new Skylake chips bringing intense performance (and maybe better battery life) to the new laptops we’ll all be drooling over soon.

Find out exactly how these new processors will make new MacBooks rock, plus what you need to know about iOS’ brick-inducing “Error 53,” how to make Siri work even harder for you on your Apple TV, and which are the best ergonomic accessories for your Mac in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.

Here are the week’s top stories.

This post is brought to you by Hulltex, maker of the Hullo Buckwheat Pillow.

If you’re one of the millions of people sitting at a computer for eight hours a day, keeping proper posture is a constant concern. You buy all kinds of stopgaps — yoga ball chair, curved keyboard, ergonomic mouse — but how often do you think about keeping your spine lined up while sleeping?

Do any of these sound familiar?

• The Strunch
• The Cocoon
• The Take It In
• The Trance
• The Smart Lean

Now, I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking the exact same dirty thoughts; but no: they’re not fun “adult poses” to enjoy with another human or similarly-sized biped. They are in fact some of the new postures that chair-maker Steelcase has noticed in hours of actually watching how we slump in our seats.

In late 2010, Steve Jobs commented on the sudden influx of 7-inch tablets by calling them ‘tweeners. He said that Apple had considered 7-inch displays for the iPad, but after extensive testing, a 7-inch screen was too small to really be useable.

Android tablet makers, of course, scoffed… then rushed to market with their own 10-inch tablets once they discovered that Steve Jobs was telling the truth. So how long until Amazon updates the Kindle Fire to 10-inches? The results of Kindle Fire usability studies are in, and the 7-inch Kindle Fire is an ugly, hideous mess of missed taps and users screaming out of frustration.

As iPad use continues to grow, assessing how we use them becomes an important topic of study. This includes what kinds of tasks we use the tablet for, and ergonomic issues related to using the device.

Boston University is launching a study this fall among children of military members in an effort to help improve their math skills and teach healthy computing. They are currently looking for additional iPads to help in their efforts.

Since Apple started popping out the first mouse to be packaged with a personal computer with the Macintosh back in 1984, designers have been trying to find alternatives to the ubiquitous rodent. Apple itself seems to be out front in terms of interesting creations, experimenting on their mice with intriguing, if not always satisfying results. In this case, Smartfish, with their Whirl Mini laptop mouse ($50), have focused on perfecting the ergonomics of the mouse instead of trying to reinvent it. Did they pull it off?