Laptop ergonomics

I spend most of my computer time at home in front of my Powerbook laptop these days. I’ve never really been a big laptop fan in the past - too slow, too expensive, too buggy - but I’ve really come to like the Powerbook. It’s the first time ever in my life that I’ve had a laptop that’s quick enough for most of what I do, and is actually a pleasure to use. I like it enough that it’s become my primary computing device. Ergonomically, however, a laptop is far from ideal.

The first problem is that a laptop screen sits very low compared to where you would normally place a conventional monitor. I started to notice that my upper back and shoulders were aching after spending a few hours at the computer. I figured this was due to the fact that I would end up hunched over the laptop looking down at the screen. So I picked up an iCurve from Griffin with the idea that it would raise the LCD up to eye level. At CAN$55 I wouldn’t call it cheap, especially since it is just a piece of clear moulded plastic… but it does get the screen up to the correct height and is attractive, so I can’t complain. Based on my usage so far, I’d recommend it.

Of course, with the laptop pirched high upon the iCurve, you can’t use the keyboard or trackpad. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since even the well respected Powerbook keyboard can’t hold a candle to a proper full-sized keyboard. The Matias Tactile Pro keyboard caught my eye back in March, with its clickity-clack ALPS mechanical keyswitches, some Apple-specific buttons including volume, eject, and command, and a nice design modelled after the previous version of the Apple Pro keyboard. Darren Warren has a fantastic review of the Tactile Pro that goes into great detail about why this is an exceptional keyboard. The secret sauce is the feel of the mechanical keyswitches Matias uses (the same switches that Apple used in the beloved “Apple Extended Keyboard” from a company called Alps - hence the name). There are of course articles about the superiority of mechanical keyswitches, but if you’ve never typed on a keyboard that uses this type of mechanism, the only way you’ll appreciate it is to try one out yourself. If I was still using a PC, I’d probably spring for an IBM Model M derivative from Unicomp, but since this keyboard was going to be used in front of a spiffy looking Powerbook in my living room, I was pretty happy Matias decided to build the Tactile Pro. I picked one up for CAN$99 (quite a bit less than the US$99 on the Matias website!) and I’m happy to report that it’s a fantastic product. The Tactile Pro is a pleasure to type on, and while I still give the nod to the IBM Model M and its patented buckling spring mechanism as my favourite keyboard of all time, the Tactile Pro really does live up to its name with excellent tactile feedback. And really, with two builtin USB ports it represents good value too. It is worth mentioning that this keyboard does make a racket. Any bit you’ll read about keyboards that use Alps or IBM buckling keys will talk about that infamous clickity-clack sound. Make no mistake about it, it’s a lot of click compared to the $5 mushy keyboards used today. Some people, of course, will hate the noise. Personally, I think mechanical keyswitches sound lovely. I grew up associating this sound with the high-powered computers that I dreamed of one day using. When I sat at my first computer science course that used IBM RS/6000 UNIX workstations equipped with badass Model M keyboards, I felt like I had come of age. A room full of these keyboards in use is truly something to behold, something I’ll always remember as the sound of pure productivity. So I’m not the right guy to ask about whether or not the noise will bother you. Overall verdict: If you like to type, you’ll love this keyboard. Highly recommended.

Side note: I did look very seriously at the current Apple Wireless Keyboard. It had two things going for it over the Tactile Pro: The biggie is of course the fact that it’s wireless. No ugly cables. Especially attractive since my Powerbook has builtin Bluetooth. Secondly, while both keyboards are housed in clear plastic that exposes all the little hairs and dirt that falls between the keys, the new Apple keyboard is an “open channel” design that makes it fairly easy to blow the nasties out of the keyboard with a can of compressed air. I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with the current Apple keyboard at work, as well as do a side by side comparison with the Tactile Pro at London Drugs and in the end I just couldn’t live with the poor key stroke action on the Apple. It’s hard to explain why I don’t like the feel of the current Apple keyboard, but I can tell you this: Everyone I know that tries it almost instantly comments that it’s weird. The keys are too stiff, and while they do have a nice depth to the stroke there’s just no tactile feedback. I tried to like it. Tried to conclude that it was an improvement over the previous Apple Pro Keyboard. I tried to get used to it. But I just couldn’t.

The third item I picked up in my quest to help keep my carpal tunnel problems under control was the Griffin PowerMate. It’s the little silver knob to the left of the Tactile Pro in the photo above. The PowerMate has been out for a while now and has gotten a lot of good press. So all I’ll mention here is how I use it to reduce the amount of time I spend with my right hand operating the mouse. I use it as a scroll wheel. Over the last couple years, I’ve found that most of my carpal pain has been in my right wrist and pinky finger all due to using the mouse. With the PowerMate I can scroll up and down in web pages, email, and documents without having to use the mouse. Which means my right wrist gets a break. Which is good. I also love using the PowerMate for scrubbing through video in iMovie and Final Cut. Like the iCurve, at CAN $69 it’s a fairly expensive gadget. But I have no trouble justifying (and recommending) it since it’s a small price to pay to help reduce my mousing pain.

It may seem excessive to go out and spend $250 on some gadgets that improve the ergonomics of my computer setup. But when you consider that using computers is how I make my living, and that I’ll likely be doing it for another 25 years, I’d be an idiot to not take every step I can now to reduce the likelyhood that carpal tunnel will put me out of commission down the road.