You must have MultiFinder active to use ErgoMinder. Install ErgoMinder by highlighting the icon in the Finder and selecting Set Startup from the Special menu. On Restart ErgoMinder will launch automatically.
System 7 & beyond:
Make an Alias of the ErgoMinder icon and put it in the Startup Items folder inside your System Folder. On Restart ErgoMinder will be activated. A good place for ErgoMinder to live is in the Apple Menu Folder - it will then be selectable from the Apple menu.
After ErgoMinder is activated proceed as follows:
1. Choose Preferences… from the Edit menu
2. Select "Demo Mode" from the reminder interval pop-up menu, click OK
3. Use the OK button on the ErgoMinder window to cycle through the exercises.
4. When you have finished exploring the screens go back to Preferences to set a suitable time interval. Note the variety of the setting options. Get information on these by clicking the Help button.
5. Also check out the information contained under the Help menu, especially the "Instructions" and “The Big & small Print"
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Please note that the included DEMO version contains only 3 of the 16 exercises and none of the detailed information such as extensive exerice descriptions or how to set up your workstation.
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What is ErgoMinder?
Sapiens Software’s ErgoMinder is a people-saver (much like After Dark is a screen saver). Most people know that they need to take breaks from computer work, and that they need to move and stretch. The problems are remembering to do this while your mind is at work and to exercise properly.
ErgoMinder gives friendly reminders, showing you quick and effective exercises demonstrated by the Ergo-Dudes in a light-hearted fashion. The program works in the background on your Macintosh (and soon on your Windows PC) by alerting you at set time intervals.
You can customise ErgoMinder according to your time and physical constraints and you can find out how to best set up your workstation.
Conceived by Australian Physiotherapist Michael Roberts it is based on the latest ergonomic research findings. Implemented by computer consultant Adrian Keil ErgoMinder is witty, elegant and totally user-friendly.
Who is Sapiens Software?
ErgoMinder's concept was developed by an Australian physiotherapist, Michael Roberts, while treating hundreds of office workers who kept coming back to him in pain after a few days work at their computer. He recognised three recurring themes in all of these patients:
As a professional, Michael knew that your body is not designed to sit down and stay still for long periods. The muscles need to move and stretch, your eyes need to look away and focus on something other than a flat, static computer screen. Your arms often need a break. Your ears need to hear something more challenging than the whine of a hard drive or the screech of a printer.
Michael looks at it like this: the body could be compared to an automobile - built to move frequently and smoothly. Sedentary work is like driving your car on a straight road, in first gear, for long periods. That's not good for a car and it's not good for your body. Doing this to your body for months on end puts you at risk of many health problems like postural abnormalities, eye strain, headaches, heart and circulatory conditions, a weakened immune system, maybe even twisted quarks (who knows)! But if you move, circulate, stretch, relax, refocus, breathe . . . you'll feel better and work better too.
So the idea of a remedy for the problem began to emerge in Michael's mind. Initially he developed short training sessions for office workers to educate them about the simple solutions to their problems.
It soon became clear that an even better way was to have a software program that popped up reminders on a computer screen to remind the operator to look after herself.
Michael teamed up with Adrian Keil of MacSolutions to develop a software program. Adrian, through his years of experience in the field of computer consulting knew how to implement an effective but unobtrusive program which uses little computer memory and is easy to learn & use. Sapiens Software, ErgoMinder and the Ergo-Dudes were born.
