How to operate efficiently without a mouse?

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

I hate using my mouse for most tasks.  I do have a really crappy mouse.  I mean, it's, like, anti-ergonomic.  Fricking thing won't die, though.  Remember back in the good old days of 2002, when your favorite ball-mouse would die after a few months of use?  This crappy laser mouse just won't die.  Oops, I'm really digressing...

Anyway, I've been thinking about how inefficient it is to use a mouse lately with all of these horrible graphical user interfaces everywhere, and I'm wondering if there is a good operating system that would work well for almost all modern tasks, but which doesn't use a mouse.  I am aware that Windows doesn't need a mouse to function, but anyone who has tried to use it extensively without one knows that it can be a pain.  Maybe there's a trick to efficient web browsing without a mouse, but I haven't found it.  

For instance: Browsing the web - It is not at all fun holding down tab for 1/2 and hour just to highlight that link you're trying to get to.  There are many problems with using just a keyboard on the web.
Even writing a word document is a nightmare without a mouse. Menus are arranged in a seemingly arbitrary manner.  Sometimes, you need the arrow-keys.  Other times you need tab.  And the highlighter never moves to the thing you want it to.  Hitting the same key over and over again 20+ times gets old pretty fast.

Here's what I don't expect to be able to do:
- play games - Most games are meant to be played with a mouse or joystick.  Nothing wrong with that.
-MS_PAINT/Photoshop/video_manipulation/other_artsy_crap/etc.

Is there some software that would make all this more efficient, or do any of you have some advice for more efficient mouse-less computer use?  Are there any other mouse-less users in the house?

[CodeChef]

Why not just get a better mouse?

Anyways, if you want an OS without mouse support (or a GUI) try Arch linux, Gentoo, Ubuntu Server, etc. Plenty of distros that ship without GUIs.

[Keymonger]

Is there some software that would make all this more efficient, or do any of you have some advice for more efficient mouse-less computer use?  Are there any other mouse-less users in the house?

Look into tiling window managers. I don't know about GUI programs, but many programs can be run in terminals that do stuff like music and file browsing. Mouseless browsers like Vimperator and uzbl are good too.

Head over to the Arch Linux forums. There you'll find users using a setup that is virtually mouseless.

[doebedoe]

I recommend Linux with a tiling window manager such as awesome or ratpoison. They are both graphical, but (esp. the latter) are anti-mouse. For working in webbrowser, like keymonger suggests the Vimperator extension for Firefox or the vimium extension for chrome both work well to avoid using the keyboard.

I work on a largely mouse-avoiding setup with the follow: Crunchbang Linux Statler (openbox with lots of keyboard shortcuts preconfigured), Vimium/Vimperator, and  keyboard with a trackpoint for when i really need a mouse.

[nathanscribe]

This is a real issue for blind users too.  I work with blind and partially sighted computer users, and with software like Jaws you can hear them tabbing through pages like there's no end to it... I often wonder if there's a better way.

[netwebber]

Some browsers (or browser extensions) let you navigate spatially (rather than sequentially using Tab) - holding down a modifier and arrow keys selects links visible on different parts of the screen.

[HaaTa]

I avoid mouse usage like a plague (though happily use a trackball otherwise).

Grab yourself a Tiling Window Manager (awesome, xmonad, wmii, or even dwm, etc.), learn shell scripting (bash, zsh, etc.), and a descent terminal emulator.

Outside of this, I'd recommend some sort of vim plugin for your web browser. My personal favourite is uzbl. Though it's not really for novices as there is a bit of a learning curve to getting a "usable" setup (this is to force people to learn good habits).

Virtually, the only "GUI" app I use on a regular basis is my web browser. So everything else ends up being in a terminal.


Takes a while to get used to not having the mouse though. But the speed of being able to script common tasks, definitely helps in the long run (scripting GUI apps sucks, a lot).

[shrap]

Have you tried the Opera browser? It's got tons of keyboard shortcuts and they're all customizable.

[HaaTa]

Have you tried the Opera browser? It's got tons of keyboard shortcuts and they're all customizable.

This is very true. *HaaTa used Opera for a good 3 years*

[Daniel Beaver]

For the web:

firefox has link find command, just press '

You can scroll through links easily without a mouse that way. I hardly ever use the mouse when I'm browsing.

[shrap]

This is very true. *HaaTa used Opera for a good 3 years*

I actually purchased Opera when it was trialware, around 1997.

It was a godsend in those days of slow modems and terribly-designed Geocities pages. Turning off images and stylesheets made things fast and readable; multiple windows made loading pages in the background easy and smart.

The entire program fit on a floppy disk (1.44 MB).

Most of its new features (Opera Unite, mouse gestures, voice) are useless to me.