I don’t like laptops because of their poor ergonomics. I don’t like the small flat keyboard and I don’t like where the screen is positioned. If the keyboard is at the right height for typing then the screen is too low for comfortable viewing. It’s an ergonomic disaster.
I spend a good amount of effort to make my desktop workspace ergonomically comfortable. Can’t do the same with laptops unless you plug the laptop into a docking station.
My parents are going to be switching to a laptop as their primary computer. They need the portability now since they are going to be moving between two homes now.
I was looking at something like the Logitech Alto keyboard and laptop stand. Looks like it addresses the primary ergonomic issues as long as you’re using the laptop at a desk.
i was about to suggest the Logitech Alto then i saw you had posted it.
My parents run one in the office and it works great, i use it sometimes for writing scripts when my brother has homework. They love it, Dad can sit in there and work all comfotable like, then pick up the laptop, take it to the shop and work there too.
not quite as good as a computer, but i would recomend it, it is rather comfortable once you get used to it (which doesn’t take long)
My laptop was always at its best when it was mounted in its stand, and I was typing on an external (complete) keyboard.
Now that I have a desktop machine again, the laptop doesn’t get used so much, and the stand is sitting unused. It’s this one or similar, with a powered 4-port USB hub. If you haven’t already bought ant slick-looking logitech thing, would you be interested in a used one of those? Adding a keyboard is cheap. It won’t look quite as nice but it’ll be cheaper and possibly be able to lift the screen up a little higher. Let me know!
My back feels much better since I stopped lugging my PC, monitor, and keyboard onto airplanes for every business trip. My seat mates are much happier too.
I use a docking station at the office too.
Whether PC or Laptop, proper posture is important all the time.
My laptop exists purely for portability reasons. It gets limited use, but that occasional “on the road” use is essential. When I have to use it at home, I set it up somewhere and access it from my desktop machine via VNC over the wireless network. I do that even if it’s sitting right next to me. I can’t stand the flat, stupid keyboard (and I can’t use it at all without a real mouse plugged into it).
That being said, my desktop setup is not as ergonomic as it could be…
Laptops also emit dangerous radiation which may cause cancer.
many laptop users already have reported numb fingertips, and loss of fingertips, as well as loss of the cornea of the eye from looking directly at the screen.
They will ban laptops but for the lobbyists from the multinational laptop industry stopping your lawmakers from protecting you. It’s all very top secret.
The next fad will be everyone will be carrying boom boxes again, with MP3 files in them!
Nonsense! Don’t let them brainwash you with their scare tactics! Laptops are just as safe as cell phones, genetically-modified food, vaccines, extruded breakfast cereal, fluoride, and amalgam fillings.
I’ve used a laptop almost everyday for the past year and my back still seems to work properly. Maybe all of those years I spent crouched over a Gameboy prepared me for it…
I rarely use my laptop at my desk, and when it is at my desk, it is plugged into a standard monitor. I also don’t type in the typical style that we’re all trained to do, so typing with my hands at angles actually feels quite ergonomic.