The internet is unarguably the most powerful force for change today, an incredible channel for communicating and transmitting ideas world-wide and instantly. One aspect of the truly incredible gifts that the Net and current technological breakthroughs has given us is the gateway it opens for people who otherwise have difficulty moving around in the regular world, due to disabilities they have.

For example, by the very nature of the manufacturing process, Braille books are painfully expensive, and hard to get for everyone who needs them. With specialized equipment though, a blind person can access the internet and a whole world beyond the one his blindness has previously limited him to. People with restricted physical mobility can use the internet to 'see' the world.

Previously in part four of the series You and Your Computer, we mentioned the special ergonomic requirements that kids need when they use computers. To wit:

"Children's hands are smaller. A mouse and keyboard for adult use may force kids to use their hands in awkward, stretched positions, stressing the developing muscles, bones and nerves. You can check for child-sized Little Fingers keyboards from Datadesk Technologies."

You can go to Cornell University Ergonomics Web, CUErgo,  to see before and after pictures of properly set up workstations for children and teens in their Guidelines for Parents.  I highly recommend you visit their "Interesting Sites" page to see more resources on  ergonomics and computing.

Healthycomputing.com also has a special section for kids and their parents. And you can also download Stretchbreak (kiddie version) for free, or try out the 10-day trial version for adults.

Typing Injuries FAQ (TIFAQ) has 2 special sections for this special concern, one written for children and  a resource page for their parents .

In a 4-part series called from last year, titled "You and Your Computer" we mentioned several free programs you can download and use to remind you to take mini-breaks while you work. Here they are again:

RSI Break - for Linux users. Aside from micro-pause pop-ups, to remind you when to take a break, RSIBreak also records how much time you've has been active, and how much was idle time.

Workrave  - - for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows. Workrave is currently available in nine languages. Danish, Dutch, English, German, Polish and Spanish among them.

 Xwrits prompts you to take wrist breaks. A window pops up when you should rest; you click on that window, then you take a break. Designed for Unix systems:*BSD, Linux, Solaris, and so forth.

Typing Injuries FAQ  is a huge collection of research that helps point out the best and most helpful online information and resources on typing injuries like Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). You can also check their software recommendations here. (Click on the links in the left-hand column)

Alertbox: a very informative newsletter on Web Usability. Their bookmark's tagline:


You can bookmark Dr. Jakob Nielsen's site to learn more about usability and accessibility principles that can enhance your website and teach you about the principles behind why we use our computers the way we do.  Dr. Nielsen has had extensive and intensive experience in charting the development of the Internet and the evolution of electronic design and usage. He has articles dating back to 1995 that still offer relevant information on how our usage and technological changes influenced each other and the way the internet developed.

Here in the Articles section of the JROX news we mentioned many sites we've found helpful in making your online business run more smoothly. We also offered articles on tips for improving your decision -making processes, pointed out websites you can visit for better computing practices, and lots more.

JROX.COM's Resources Section here in the news will include the sites we've mentioned in our articles, plus other on-line resources that we think could help your off-line life. It works along the principle of, "Hey, this is so cool, how could I have missed this?" plus, "Man. I gotta share the happy thought."

Occasionally, we will also include sites we feel just can't not be shared -- maybe they won't be mainstream, maybe they're not about marketing, or business-related, but they will definitely be interesting, and still helpful. Who knows, maybe they can change your life.

We are not affiliated with these sites. We want you to know that from the start. These are services, reviews, places, what-have-you's, that we found helpful and interesting in doing the research for our articles, plus sites we just "gotta share." If you have something interesting you want to share, a viewpoint, a rebuttal, another site or service you think is awesome, please tell us in the comments so we can have a look-see too.