This checklist is designed to help you choose the appropriate software for reminding you to take regular breaks to avoid or recover from RSI problems.
| Question | Albion StopNow! |
Other Product |
|
Is it appropriate for my working environment?
While a product which plays music, shows soothing images, or takes you through a five minute work-out program may be appealing for home use, such products may draw unwelcome attention at work. |
Discreet Reminder |
|
| Does it affect my mouse movement or typing? Some products impose such a high overhead on every mouse movement or keystroke that mouse movement and typing are slowed down on a heavily used machine. |
No | |
| Does it adapt to my work pattern? Products which do not do this require you to stop work at regular intervals even if you have not been using the computer! |
Yes | |
| Does it encourage me to stop, or does it prevent me completely from working during a rest period
While being totally prevented from working may sound like a good feature, in practice it generally isn't. If the telephone rings and you need some information, or you are right in the middle of some critical task, chances are you will end up turning off the product so that you can continue working. And chances are, you will forget to turn it back on. |
Encourages, Never Prevents |
|
| Does it use Pop-up dialogs? When a pop-up appears, it typically interrupts what you are doing. If you are a touch-typist this can be particularly annoying, as you may have typed a line or two of text before you realize that everything you are typing is being lost. Similar problems may affect heavy mouse users: a sudden change of context when manipulating a drawing can be disastrous. |
No Popups! | |
| Is licensed to the individual or to the individual's computer? Some products require a separate license for every machine on which you use them, meaning that you need one license for home and another for work. |
Licensed to
user, not PC |
|
| Are site licenses or volume discounts available? A cheap product may actually cost more for your company if no volume discounts are available. |
Yes | |
| Can I try it before I buy it? |
Yes |