Proficient use of keyboard shortcuts is a hallmark of the diehard PC user. By using these commands, the hands don't have to ever leave their position on the keyboard, and general PC use becomes much faster.

Now think about what these users are doing with their feet. Probably nothing, right?

Today, Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI) launched the SoftStep multi-touch USB foot controller and free KeyWorx software for Windows and Mac OS for users looking to assign tasks to their otherwise idle feet.

KMI took MIDI foot pedals, not uncommon in the music world today, and built software to turn them into general computing accessories. With the free software, users can assign up to 100 different commands to 11 different foot pedals and save them in different "scenes" depending on what the user is doing. For example, the pedals can be used to flick through open windows, bring a browser window forward, scroll through folders and open documents, X/Y cursor control and mouse clicks, zoom in and out, control volume, and even output complex key macros for gaming.

Though the KeyWorx software is free, it is optimized for use with the SoftStep pedalboard which costs $289.95.