Article

Touch screen computer can make a user fatty

Written by Tamim Adam

Topic: Business Accounting Software and QuickBooksPublished October 23, 2011
Rating pending652 viewsSign in to rate

Many of us not familiar with some of fact about touchscreen interfaces. The fact is called "Gorillia Arm". This fact is very effective at painting an interesting picture in someone's mind. It brings to mind the image of a big hairy ape pounding away on a computer. But the reality is a bit different. Gorilla arm is precisely used to describe the phenomenon in which a person's fine motor skills become clumsy after a prolonged period of time using a touch screen computer.

Users have figured that if a computer operator is using a touchscreen interface that is vertically oriented such as is on a computer monitor, that after a very short period of time their arms may begin to feel tired and heavy. When the operators of arms begin to feel this way, their fine motor skills become impaired and they are not able to do accurate movements with their hands. This impairment can cause operators to make input mistakes. Most importantly, prolonged use of a vertically oriented touchscreen can result in repetitive motion injuries.

Touch interface is relatively new to the personal computing world. There are only a handful of computers equipped with touch screens. A small percentage of computer users own computers would have touch screens. Due to the fact that so few people use touch screens for personal computing, it's still too soon to fully understand how big of a problem Gorilla arm will become or if it will become a problem at all.

One thing is almost certain. This new type of computer interface is making it's way into more and more Computer Devices. The day will soon come when many if not all computers are equipped with touch input devices.

Article author

About the Author

Touch technology are rapidly gaining in popularity. Someday soon, all computing device will be equipped with touch screens. Time will say what impact this technology will have on the computing world.My recent article: Interactive Digital signage

Further reading

Further Reading

3 total