I have never before been as thankful as I currently am to have technology that has advanced as it has, here in 2009. A little background to explain why this is the case and how our technology is coming in as “handy” (a pun — as will become clear in the moment), as it is.

A bit of background without going into the gory details — I suffer from a form of inflammatory  (Rheumatic) arthritis that leaves me reliant upon heavy medications and, despite the medications, in fairly constant discomfort and/or pain. About five years ago I slipped on the ice and damaged my right wrist. Three surgeries later the damage was repaired, but over the months following the pain returned and grew. Ultimately we discovered that, while the damage was repaired, the rheumatoid arthritis had destroyed the joint.

Things deteriorated to the point where a little over two weeks ago I underwent an operation to fuse my wrist by embedding an 8 inch plate from my arm into my hand. The result will be that I will no longer have any movement (and, as a result, no pain). Everything has gone “well”, but two weeks – and an additional surgery later – I’m still in horrific pain. Fortunately, my left hand is my dominant hand, but even with that being the case, I’m exceptionally limited in what I’m able to do right now.

I share all of this only to explain why it is that I currently have use only of my left hand, and I am so appreciative of the current state of technology.

Like many of us, I spend a good portion of my day writing. Between writing for work and the sites, responding to e-mail, writing talks and preparing classes, I’m on my computer far more than I ever expected. Having just one usable hand is more than a “slight inconvenience”. Fortunately there are some excellent solutions.

For My Mac

MacSpeech Dictate-

In my current state, my most useful tool is MacSpeech Dictate. Over the last few years I have used Dragon NaturallySpeaking on my TabletPC. It was a key productivity tool for me. One of my favorite things about using a TabletPC has been the dual array mic on many of them (including, most recently, my Fujitsu Stylistic ST5030). The dual array mic meant that I could dictate with exceptional accuracy and without having to wear a headset. It was a great way to write, especially after I initially damaged my wrist.

One of my biggest concerns when I moved to Mac, was the fact that Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a Windows application. While I could dual boot with XP, I did not want to be reliant on that. I bought a version of MacSpeech’s Mac-compatible iListen and found that, while it worked acceptably, it was often more trouble than it was worth. MacSpeech’s current product, Dictate, is an entirely new world. It uses the same speech engine as Dragon, and with the right headset and training, works quite well. The built-in microphone on my new MacBook is of such high quality that I can often dictate without wearing a headset and have good results. When I use a high-quality noise canceling headset however, the accuracy is even better. While it certainly takes some time to get used to, the way in which one needs to speak to get the best accuracy (for example you need to speak and phrases not words, articulate each word as clearly as possible, make a noticeable space before stating punctuation, and attempt to make corrections in the text only using speech) when dictating carefully, the accuracy is somewhere between excellent and fantastic.

I used Dictate on a regular basis before, but I find myself using it all the time right now. It has been a lifesaver.

LogMeIn-

There are, of course, many things that I need to do on the computer other than straight dictation. Much of this can be done with one hand, but it’s rather difficult if the number of keys need to be pressed at the same time or the trackpad needs to be used at the same time as the keyboard. In fact, after a very short period of time trying to navigate the keyboard with one hand gets rather tiring.  While doing a review of the new iPhone application LogMeIn Ignition for whatsoniphone, I realized that the remote application makes it possible for me to type on my computer and/or navigate the computer with one hand on my phone. The remote application works so well, in fact, that I find myself using it to type on my MacBook or iMac more often than not, thanks to the small easily navigated screen. A full review of the application can be found on www.whatsoniphone.com.

For My iPhone

My iPhone Has become a particularly important productivity tool for me (in addition to the fact that it is a fantastic entertainment device). While the device works quite well when used with one hand, it is so powerful, and the range of applications so remarkable, that there are many situations in which the iPhone makes it possible for me to not need even the one hand. These applications allow me to do web searches, dictation, and much more by simply using my voice. Some of the best are–

1. Jott-

Now that I can record 30 second messages at a time, and I have a great speakerphone in the car, I use Jott regularly. Most of the time however, I send my Jotts to myself. Since Jott is a great way for me to automatically transcribe words into text, I’ve set up my account to Jott a number of my most frequent email contacts. Even though the transcription is pretty darn good, it isn’t perfect—so when I send out an email I’ll warn them. That way, when they get a message that says something completely stupid, I can blame Jott (even if Jott was completely accurate in its transcription). In addition, since Jott works perfectly with Toodledo and Evernote, I’ve been using it to add items to those important productivity apps.

2. Google-

I’ve been absolutely thrilled by Google’s implementation of voice search, and the more I use it the more I am impressed by it. In the same way that I have to speak in a specific way in order for the voice recognition program I use on my Mac (and I’m using it right now) to have any degree of accuracy, I’ve had to learn how to speak to Google so that it returns the results I want. When I do speak that way, however, the accuracy is nothing short of remarkable. Something tells me it’s going to come in very handy for the next couple of months.

3. Note2Self-

As much as I like Jott, and appreciate its ability to transcribe my voice notes, all too often 30 seconds just isn’t enough time. When I’m writing something to myself, I can leave a number of Jotts in a row (and then later come back and merge them), but that doesn’t work when I’m trying to leave a message for someone else. That’s where note2self comes in. With note2self, I can leave as long a note as my iPhone has space available, and then note2self compresses it and sends it to anyone of  my choosing. In addition, although the implementation is different, like the Google application it has an automatic start feature that means even less tapping. It’s an invaluable tool on a good day, and will become even more handy now.

4. Wide Email-

I started using wide email shortly after it was released because it, along with a number of other applications, finally enabled landscape typing on the iPhone. A recent update however, introduced macros (we’ve linked to the post from last week). In anticipation of the next few weeks, I put in a number of my most used phrases and will be adding more along the way. The great thing about it is that while I still have to type on my iPhone, it saves a lot of tapping on the device. As is the case with many other applications, the more you use it the more useful it’ll become.

5. Maildash-

This is a great application for sending quick, preformatted email messages. It can be especially handy because it means that I can return a good portion of my emails without having to actually write anything.

In all, the current state of technology means that, while I’ve had to make some changes, I have not found myself limited in the least. Between high quality voice recognition on my Mac  and the number of voice powered applications on my iPhone, I have been able to do almost all of my computing “hands off”.

What a world we live in.

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