Alternatives to the Mouse

• Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred 9,  from , is the world's best-selling speech recognition software! (formerly ScanSoft)
  
  With over 170 awards for accuracy and ease-of-use, Dragon NaturallySpeaking products set the standard for voice recognition. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 is a fast, easy and accurate way to control your PC and turn speech into text more than 3 times faster than typing by hand. Dictate into almost any window application with up to 99% accuracy. Manage your desktop, surf the web, control applications and edit documents simply by speaking! It will change the way you think about PCs.
  
  Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 9 gives small business users and PC enthusiasts the power to create documents, reports, e-mails and more - all by speaking!
  
  Fast, easy and amazingly accurate, it's over three times faster than typing. Just use your voice to dictate and edit in Microsoft Word and Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and virtually all Windows-based applications. You can even dictate into a hand-held device when you are away from your PC, or use a Bluetooth microphone.
  
  Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard 9 is an easy-to-use product that gives you everything you need to get started, including a free high-quality headset microphone with noise canceling technology. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard 9 you can talk to your computer and watch words quickly appear in documents, e-mails and instant messages, and even surf the web simply by speaking! There's no script reading or "voice training" required, so you can get started right away. Perfect for the whole family - busy parents, kids just learning to type, and even grandparents!
• Logitech Stereo USB Headset 20 - with USB headset for superior audio clarity and noise-cancelling mic; Simple USB plug and play connection; Dynamic stereo sound for games and music; Adjustable headband; Microphone can be worn on right or left side; Noise-cancelling microphone filters out unwanted background noise; Leatherette ear pads for comfort and durability; Two-year manufacturer's guarantee.
  
• Logitech Premium Stereo Headset 30 with Inline volume and mute control with soft-touch surface for fingertip convenience; Dynamic stereo sound lets you immerse yourself in games and music; Premium adjustable headband is engineered for superior comfort with the flexibility of right or left microphone placement; Noise-cancelling microphone filters out unwanted background noise; Plush ear pads cushion your ears for hours of continuous enjoyment:

Keyboard Accessible Software

So many software developers these days create software using a mouse and don't seem to consider those of us who would rather not use a mouse. So this page contains a list of outside of the mainstream software that can be used without using the mouse. Some of them are free applications. Others you will need to pay for. Many of these, though, have a demo version that you can "try before you buy".

The lists that follow are by no means exhaustive, and will certainly be added to over time. If you have any software recommendations please let me know via email. The only claim I make on behalf of any of the software mentioned is that it is keyboard friendly. Please check that what you download will be applicable to your system. Each of the links on this page will take you to someone else's web site. caveat emptor.

The list is separated into the following sections:

• Security
• Mind Mapping Software
• HTML editors
• OCR (scan to text)
• Games

Security

• AVG - free virus guard for individual home users, available from Grisoft. This software includes an automatic update facility to make sure that you keep your computer protected.
• A free software firewall for individual users is ZoneAlarm, which can be downloaded for free from www.download.com. ZoneLabs who produce this now do a version which includes a virus guard, although this is not free. Check out the ZoneLabs website.
• On the spyware front, to get rid of any lurking nasties that might have found their way onto your system try SpyBot Search and Destroy from www.spybot.info.
• Anti Spam software -

Mind Mapping

• Mind Manager

Web Page Creation Software

I use Macromedia HomeSite. This isn't free but you can try it out for 30 days. I love it and used it to create this web site. It isn't WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) so you do need to know HTML code to use it. It has keyboard access to absolutely everything and lots of nice features. You can get hold of it from Macromedia

OCR (Optical Character Recognition = "scan to text")

Ever had those times when you have some printed text and you need to transform it into electronic text? That's where OCR software comes in. Most scanners come with some basic OCR software. If you want something with a bit more power try:

•  OmniPage, which its makers describe as " ". It can also convert PDF files into text.

Games

I'm hooked on Sudoku and have just found that the game from RegSoft can be used without a mouse. It isn't the default option put you can at least change the option without using the mouse through the Option dialog (F4)