Workrave is a
free software application
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
intended to prevent computer users from developing or aggravating
occupational disease
An occupational disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevale ...
s such as
carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic
An idiopathic disease is any disease with an unknown cause or mechanism of apparen ...
,
repetitive strain injuries
A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress disorders, cumula ...
, or
myopia.
The software periodically locks the screen while showing an animated character, “Miss Workrave”, walks the user through various
stretching exercises, urges them to take a
coffee break
A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer' ...
and sets a daily work time limit after which it automatically triggers an action, such as suspend the machine.
The program is
cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...
and dependent on the
GTK+ graphical
widget toolkit
A widget toolkit, widget library, GUI toolkit, or UX library is a library or a collection of libraries containing a set of graphical control elements (called ''widgets'') used to construct the graphical user interface (GUI) of programs.
Most widge ...
as well as other
GNOME libraries on
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
.
It is also available for Microsoft
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
.
See also
*
List of repetitive strain injury software
Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) are injuries to the body's muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, or nerves caused by repetitive movements. Such injuries are more likely if the movements required force or were accompanied by vibrations, compr ...
*
Repetitive strain injury
A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress disorders, cumula ...
References
Further reading
"Operating Your Body at Peak Performance" a ''Linux Journal'' column about xwrits, RSIBreak, and Workrave
*
an ''InternetNews.com'' column by Sean Michael Kerner about Workrave
External links
*
Health software
Cross-platform free software
Software that uses GTK
Repetitive strain injury software
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