For those who use or have used both Max and Maya AND who suffer from tendonitous and carpel tunnel.
Which do you think is better or worse for carpel tunnel or tendonitous sufferers?

I am a max user for many years finally taking a look at Maya.
My first impression was that maya has lots of holding down mouse buttons and dragging. Lots of tools requiring keyboard combos which also requiring holding keys down for periods of time. etc which can be hard on RSI sufferers over time. Perhaps Maya can all be remapped to be like max in terms of controls?

Like rotate in max is click one rotate button once and then press and hold LMB to rotate an object with mouse.

Maya requires holding alt key AND pressing/holding mouse button to rotate object.
I am interested in other RSI sufferers opinions and solutions and comparisons of the products regarding this subject.

and I know I am opening a can of worms here but does Maya really have more tools than max?
I am not sure if the more crowded interface in Maya really means it has more or not.
And is it me or is Maya as easy to pickup in terms of learning compared to other products?

Learning either program just makes you more versatile . Autodesk obviously see the value in all 3 of it’s animation programs because they are all selling as well as can be expected in this economy.
I think Maya might need more presses but the presses are faster and require less mouse travel.
6 of one half dozen of another. The fact that many 3d Programs use the Maya navigation keys means that they must work for many people . I use max day in and Day and use some older Max key strokes but use a lot of the Maya ones as well because I think they are faster and need less mouse / finger travel. For RSI the Wacomm if you can get the hang of it really helps.

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Its better to use the channel box or attribute editor for rotation than the manipulators in Maya due to the way the camera sees the object it can only be rotated so far which leads to many clicks and drags and accidents id say.

I can’t imagine choosing which software to use based on RSI, but that’s just me.  I’m a Maya user, and I use a Wacom tablet.  It’s great for the previously mentioned reasons, but I’ve got the RSI problem too. 

I’m trying to wean my right hand away from too much mousing, so that leads me to a question… does anybody have suggestions about hardware that helps do just that?  I’m thinking about trying a trackball mouse, or 3d mouse.  Any suggestions about how to use Maya faster/smarter?

Maybe someone could find a way to control Max and-or Maya using a joystick. You know, the ones used for games like a flight simulator. I think that might be easier on someones hands, and would possibly only require the joystick to move, rotate, and scale things, and to go around your scene in Maya or Max. The reason I think it would be easier is because of the joystick being vertical rather than horizontal on a desk. It might not be second nature at first for anyone, but I was just trying to give my idea on what might work for people with that condition in their hands from using the mouse and keyboard too much.

Sorry, I forgot the name of the condition, and how to spell it right.

with either software, there are many options to help RSI sufferers such as already suggested using a wacom tablet, there are also pen-mice and usb footswitches for key commands and mouse clicks, plus as stated the space mouse

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