What is RollerMouse Station?
Contour Design Inc.'s RollerMouse Station is an ergonomic replacement for your mouse. It looks like a keyboard tray with a built-in wrist pad, a roller, and some buttons.

I've used an MS Intellimouse since 1994. I've made limited use of a notebook touchpad. I've never used a trackball.

What Does the Box Hold?
I received a demo unit so I can't tell you exactly what will be in a retail box. I would assume that it has the following items:

RollerMouse Station
PS2 adapter
Instructions
It might also have a driver disk for Windows 95 and NT and Mac OS 8.6-9.x.

Description
The RollerMouse Station has a roller bar and a scroll wheel to control the cursor and three buttons for clicking. You can use the fingers or thumb on either hand, or both, to move them.

The roller bar takes the place of the mouse, touchpad, or track ball. It slides from left to right and rolls like a scroll wheel. If you push it down it performs the actions of a single click.

The Contour Designs website states, "Due to varying monitor sizes, the cursor sometimes hits an invisible wall. Moving the bar will activate a switch that moves the cursor in the direction you desire. This is similar to picking up a mouse and placing it in the center of your workable area."

You can adjust the amount of pressure needed to click the roller bar by moving the dial on the bottom of the unit. The small dot requires the least amount of pressure to click while the large dot requires the most amount of pressure. Adjust the roller bar sensitivity through Start / Settings / Control Panel / Mouse Properties as you would do for any other mouse cursor.

By default the left button provides a standard single click, the middle button provides a double click and the right button provides a right click (contextual menus). Roll the scroll wheel for scrolling, "press it to perform middle mouse button events (it usually enables the Auto Scroll function)". You can change the defaults by accessing the dip switches on the bottom of the unit.

An auxiliary PS2 port is built into the right side of the RollerMouse Station for additional input devices such as your regular mouse. The Contour Design web site claims, "this port is hot pluggable (the PS2 mouse can be plugged and unplugged while the system is turned on)". I didn't try this out since I found the port position awkward to use. You have to plug your connector in at an angle, which faces away from you.

Adjusting the RollerMouse Station
Locate and lift the tiny removable panel on the underside of the RollerMouse to access the dip switches. Use a paperclip or similar item to change the settings; don't use a pen or pencil.

The dip switches do three things: enable/disable the Roller Bar click, change the end detection mode from fast to slow, and program the left, middle and right buttons to perform click, double click, right click or drag lock.

Using the RollerMouse Station
The purpose of the RollerMouse Station is to enable you to keep your hands near the keyboard and reduce muscle strain and large arm movements. In theory, this allows you to be more productive. I found if very hard to get used to the finger reaches necessary for efficient use of the station while typing. It did ease surfing the web and saving pages and images once I got used to it.

After I started using the touchpad on a notebook, I found it easier to use the station. I believe for truly effective use, you must have a straight edged keyboard with very little space between the keys and the bottom edge of the board. I also found that my unit wobbled and was hard to use. I also didn't have enough room in front of my monitor for the keyboard and station. My desk isn't deep enough to move the monitor further back.

Currently I can easily switch back and forth between the station and the mouse. However, to become a master user I will have to disconnect the mouse so that I'm forced to use the station.

The cord for the station is on the left side and barely reaches to the back of my tower, which is on the right side of the monitor. Ideally, a longer cord should be at the back of the unit. Moving my tower is not an option.

I kept wishing for a typing manual to show me the best way to reach the roller and buttons from the keyboard.

Using the RollerMouse Station with Linux I didn't test the RollerMouse Station with my Linux system. However, I'm including the information I found on the web site's driver page verbatim for Linux users.

"No driver required.

(Thanks to Eric S. for his tips)
Here is the mouse configuration I use:

#########################
Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Mouse0"

Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "imPS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"

EndSection
######################### "

Other Comments
The RollerMouse Station is clearly aimed at the business market. It has a high retail price. Videos at the web site are from business news and conferences. The web site emphasizes the high costs of on the job injury. Computer users from any major industry, education, or government institution (continental USA only) are invited to obtain a "30 Day FREE Trial" by completing a form on the web site. Others can order the station, use it for 30 days, and return it for a full refund if not satisfied.

Installation
All I had to do was unplug my Intellimouse from the system tower and plug in the RollerMouse Station. Then I plugged my mouse into the auxiliary port on the RollerMouse Station. All the buttons worked as described without installing any additional drivers. I already had Intellimouse software installed on my system.

Bottom Line
This product may make computing more efficient and comfortable for intensive users. It's worth a trial in a business environment. Its cost is prohibitive for the home user however, unless there are overriding health or physical ability considerations involved.

RollerMouse Station Specifications
20-7/8" Wide x 11-3/8" Deep x 1-1/4" High (all measurements from maximum locations) PC and Mac compatible (USB device with PS2 adapter included. Use USB if you have both ports.)
Works with Linux Systems
Secondary PS2 port for connecting one additional input device
Lycra wrist rest support. Removable for easy cleaning.
2-year warranty
Color: beige or black.

System Requirements
PC with available USB or PS2 port, serial ports are NOT supported Macintosh with available USB port only, no ADB support available Recommended for use with 101 key "straight" style keyboards Supported by virtually all operating systems with USB or PS2 support. (Some Operating Systems (Windows 95 and NT and Mac OS 8.6-9.x) require a driver to enable Scroll Wheel support. If they don't come with the unit, you can download it at their web site.) (It's a Plug and Play device under Windows 98, Me, 2000 and XP so they require no driver.)

My System
I plugged the RollerMouse Station into a PS2 port on a system running MS Windows 95. It has a Gateway 2000 Anykey keyboard.

Vital Statistics
The suggested retail price is $189.99.You can purchase it direct from Contour Design through their web site. When I submitted this review in November 2003 the beige unit was available for $169.99 through November 30, 2003.

Mailing address: Contour Design, 10 Industrial Drive, Windham, NH 03087, Phone: 800-462- 6678.

Web addresses:
Contour Design Website
Flash Demo shows the RollerMouse Station features in animated diagram & text boxes.
Drivers for Windows 95 and NT and Mac OS 8.6-9.x: