You may not be curious about how many keystrokes you use on a daily basis, or how many clicks you make on your mouse or trackpad. But some of you are…
As a former engineer (and bonafide computer geek) I’ve always been drawn to measurements, statistics and data. How I use my computers helps me better understand what I’m doing with them, on a much larger scale.
And that’s where WhatPulse comes in.
WhatPulse is a cross-platform tool (Mac, Windows, and Linux) that measures your keystrokes, clicks, used applications, network bandwidth and much, much more. Over a period of time, WhatPulse will provide you with measurable data about your on-screen habits and which apps are true time-wasters. It can even track time by project or client.
Like the “About this Mac” menu, WhatPulse’s OverView screen shows your Mac’s vitals, including model, processor, and total available / used RAM. But unlike Apple’s built-in tools, WhatPulse will also display uptime (a measurement for how long your Mac has been on before a reboot) along with the number of keys, key combos, clicks, scrolls you’ve tallied throughout the day, week, month, etc.
WhatPulse’s interface is both clean and intuitive, making it easy to understand the data you’re looking at. The Input tab will display a color-coded version of your keyboard, indicating the keys you’ve typed along with the frequency of usage. The Input tab also includes a Mouse sub-tab that provides a heat map that shows where most frequently clicks occur on your display, along with the amount of usage that occurs on both the mouse’s left and right buttons.
Scrolling measurements are provided in either metric or imperial distances. According to WhatPulse, I scrolled my mouse roughly 6 miles, 172 yards and 30 inches last month.
WhatPulse also provides stats on which apps are most frequently used, and provides data on the number of keys, clicks and scrolls on a per app basis. Another fun fact: my most often used keyboard shortcut combo over the last 6 months is Command –.
Stats can be kept standalone or “pulsed” to a central leaderboard, where you can compare your computing usage stats to other WhatPulse users. WhatPulse includes a Privacy Settings page that allows you to change the visibility of different aspects of your profile, and sharing is completely optional.
WhatPulse comes in two flavors. The free version is what I had been using for over 6 months, before upgrading to the annual $30 US subscription. WhatPulse also has a $3 US/month subscription, if you’re curious but don’t want to commit.
In my view, the free version should be more than enough for most enthusiasts, but if you want even more stats such as data visualization, dashboard widgets, heat maps and much more, the Pro version is worth getting. The Pro version also allows for unlimited installs – perfect if you manage more than 3 computers in your home. WhatPulse is not only useful to me, but it’s also a delight to view. The insights I’ve received from WhatPulse are the icing on the cake. If you are curious about how you’re using your computer, the free version of WhatPulse is well worth your consideration.
