Laptop Tips

Laptop Tips

Many users of computers, specially those who travel for business,trust in Laptops and Laptop

PDAsbecause they are small and easy to transport.

The design of laptops violates a basic ergonomic requirement for acomputer, namely that the keyboard and screen are separated. In theearly days of personal computing desktop devices integrated the screenand keyboard into a single unit, and this resulted in widespread complaintsof musculoskeletal discomfort. By the late 1970's a number of ergonomicsdesign guidelines were written and all called for the separation ofscreen and keyboard. The reason is simple - with a fixed design, ifthe keyboard is in an optimal position for the user, the screen isn'tand if the screen is optimal the keyboard isn't. Consequently, laptopsare excluded from current ergonomic design requirements because noneof the designs satisfy this basic need.

This means that you need to pay special attention to how you use yourlaptop because it can cause you problems.

Last Updated - 9th October 2005

Tips

Laptop User Type - how to you use your laptop? Are you anoccasional user who works on your laptop for short periods of timeor are you a full-time user with the laptop as your main computer?Occasional users will have less risk of problems than full-time users.All users should pay some attention to how they use their laptop,but full-time users may have more problems.

Laptop Posture - as indicated above, laptops violate basicergonomic design requirements, so using a laptop is a tradeoff betweenpoor neck/head posture and poor hand/wrist posture.

Occasional Users - because the neck/head position isdetermined by the actions of large muscles, you are better offsacrificing neck posture rather than wrist posture. For occasionaluse -
- find a chair that is comfortable and that you can sit backin
- positioning your laptop in your lap for the most neutralwrist posture that you can achieve
- angling the laptop screen so that you can see this withthe least amount of neck deviation
Full-time Users - if you use your laptop at work as yourmain computer you should -
- position this on your desk/worksurface in front of you sothat you can see the screen without bending your neck. Thismay require that you elevate the laptop off the desk surfaceusing a stable support surface, such as a computer monitorpedestal.
- Use a separate keyboard and mouse. You should be able toconnect a keyboard and mouse directly to the back of the laptopor to a docking station
- use the keyboard on a negative-tilt keyboard tray to ensurea wrist neutral posture
- use the mouse on an adjustable position mouse platform
- follow the postural guidelines for working at a computerworkstation

Laptop dimensions - many laptops offer large screens (15"plus) and can work as desktop replacements (giving the viewing areaof a 17" monitor). However, think about where you will most useyour laptop to help you choose the best size. The larger the screenthe more difficult it will be to use this in mobile locations (e.g.airplane, car, train). There are a number of smaller notebook andultraportable laptops on the market. Consider issues of screen sizeand screen resolution. A small screen (e.g.12.1") will be usefulin mobile settings, but if the resolution is high (e.g. XGA - 1024x 768) make sure that you can read the screen characters and can easilyuse the input device to point to areas on the screen. The smallerthe laptop, the smaller the keyboard, so make sure that you can comfortablytype on a keyboard that may be only 75% the size of a regular keyboard.

Laptop weight - if you are a mobile professional who willbe frequently transporting your laptop think about the weight of thesystem. By the word 'system' means the weight of the laptop plus therequired accessories (e.g. power supply, spare battery, external diskdrive, zip drive, CD_RW etc.). Many lightweight portables can becomeas heavy as regular laptops when you add the weight of all of thecomponents together. If your laptop + components weighs 10lbs or morethen you should certainly consider using a carry-on bag that you canpull along. If you want a smaller bag and can comfortably carry yourlaptop consider a good shoulder bag design

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