[gui-talk] Still hassling with my laptop keyboard

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

One article I read about ergonomics several years ago pointed out that the 
upward slant of a typewriter keyboard was to accommodate the 
mechanism.  This expert stated that it would be better if computer 
keyboards were lying flat, or even sloped downward toward the rear, for 
better wrist positioning.  I usually run my laptop on a table, even if it's 
a TV tray.  I clutter up my work areas so much that I don't have a lot of 
flat surfaces, either.

At 12:55 PM 1/2/2010, you wrote:
>David,
>
>You've got me smiling broadly. So I've been making the challenge
>unnecessarily difficult by trying to go by the book. Holding the laptop on
>my lap when using it. I'll bet normally-sighted folks accomplish this more
>easily, right out of the box, because they can glance down to see where
>their fingers go on the tight little keyboard.
>
>But I think you've got a very good point. I barely have enough room on my
>writing desk to accommodate the laptop right beside the desktop, and it must
>look a bit silly. And to put it on the coffee table will require me to bend
>forward in a way that isn't good touch typing posture, but then neither is
>holding it on your thighs, I guess. I know, by the way, that they sell
>accessories that will tilt the thing up a few degrees at the back, and
>although the product descriptions on Amazon all stress that this allows for
>a better viewing angle of the screen, I'm sure it tilts the keyboard up at
>its rear more like the conventional instead of flat way, although that huge
>blank slab beneath the keyboard sure isn't much help. I never needed
>anything like a palm rest before when typing. You're taught to keep your
>hands elevated and just strike with your fingertips. Sort of like piano.
>
>Well, good suggestion, and heartening. Thanks. Now I'll open your second
>message with this subject line to see what else you might have thought of to
>say, a moment later.
>
>Joel
...

Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Project Engineer, Engineering Section
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress    (202) 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls>
HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent 
those of NLS.