You say "mice," I say "mouses." Even though not everyone can agree on what the plural of those devices we use to direct our computers is, we can all agree on two things: they are useful and they could be better designed.

Thanks to all the squeezing, reaching, moving you have to do with your arm to manipulate the mouse, it is one of the main reason for bad ergonomics and, as a result, carpal tunnel and similar injuries.

So I thought I'd look at two kinds of mouses that I hadn't reviewed before.

KidzMouse: Most kids find the normal mouses too big for their hands and therefore put more strain on them than they should. KidzMouse makes a line of cute mouses designed for little hands. Though aimed at 2- to 10-year-olds, even adults with smaller hands will find it better than the regular kind. They come in versions that feature Sesame Street (with separate Elmo, Cookie Monster and Ernie designs), Nickelodeon (with separate Blue's Clues, Spongebob Squarepants, Rugrats and Dora the Explorer designs) and Disney (with separate Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh designs) characters. Some of these are traditional ball mouses, and others are optical ones. I tested the optical Dora and Cookie Monster mouses and found them to be superior to my regular mouse (thoug a bit small for my monster paws). They vary in price from $24.95 to $36.95. You can buy them at such stores as CompUSA, J&R, Gateway and even FAO Schwarz, or through KidzMouse.com.

ContourDesign RollerMouse: When I first saw the RollerMouse at my colleague Joe Appio's desk, I didn't know what to make of it (for starters, the "mouse" part of it is below the keyboard, instead of being a separate unit - so it looks at first like there's no mouse at all!). But he told me to take it for a spin and I can tell you there is almost no tech gadget which I liked as fast as I did this one, telling Joe in less than 90 seconds - "This is amazing" (except perhaps when I saw my first Atari 2600 at age 9). Since then, I have had the chance to extensively test out the RollerMouse and my impression has only gotten better. It works with a kind of horizontal bar that rotates and moves from side to side to direct the cursor. It takes some getting used to, but the fact that you don't need to reach for a mouse every time will save your arm a lot of harm (and may even speed up your work; it has mine). Another good feature is that you can click the buttons with either your right or left thumb, spreading out the strain. The unit, which uses your PC's USB hub, isn't cheap at $189 (beige and black models), but I can tell you from seeing friends who've developed major problems in their arms - if you're injured, that price will seem like a real bargain. Consider it several ounces of prevention. It even allows you to connect a regular mouse to it, in case you share your PC with someone who prefers to use the other kind. You can order it online at ContourDesign.

Resources:

• KidzMouse.com
  
• ContourDesign.com

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