Ask HN: What is your height, your keyboard/mouse surface height? And any pain? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What is your height, your keyboard/mouse surface height? And any pain?

#11

Post by talktime » Fri, Dec 09, 2016, 2:43 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #8

Caveat: I'm old and fat. A few years ago, I had knee surgery and could not sit with my leg under the desk so I moved my keyboard (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000) to my lap. No less convenient to switch between keyboard and mouse, it's hands off either way. A couple of years ago, I went to a laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad) as my primary machine. I also use my laptops in my lap. With the pointing stick, the where to put the…

I'm sitting here with my keyboard in my lap. I've recently noticed it is a lot more comfortable too. I'm alternating with keyboard on lap to mouse on lap depending on what I'm doing.

This hands at lap level seems crucial, I don't know how I've missed it for so long. However a laptop doesn't strike me as ideal unless coupled with a monitor at eye level as I'd be looking down constantly.

Re: Ask HN: What is your height, your keyboard/mouse surface height? And any pain?

#12

Post by brudgers » Fri, Dec 09, 2016, 7:10 PM UTC

talktime wrote: post #11

brudgers wrote: post #8

Caveat: I'm old and fat. A few years ago, I had knee surgery and could not sit with my leg under the desk so I moved my keyboard (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000) to my lap. No less convenient to switch between keyboard and mouse, it's hands off either way. A couple of years ago, I went to a laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad) as my primary machine. I also use my laptops in my lap. With the pointing stick, the where to put the…

I'm sitting here with my keyboard in my lap. I've recently noticed it is a lot more comfortable too. I'm alternating with keyboard on lap to mouse on lap depending on what I'm doing. This hands at lap level seems crucial, I don't know how I've missed it for so long. However a laptop doesn't strike me as ideal unless coupled with a monitor at eye level as I'd be looking down constantly.

I tend to lounge when I work (it's why I mentioned the chair) and the top of the screen is about at eye level.

I guess I'm advocating lounging too...hmm, maybe I'm not the best person to give advice.

Anyway, the trackpoint [1] on the keyboard makes a mouse unneccessary. Trackpads are ok, but still require fingers to move off the home row.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick

Re: Ask HN: What is your height, your keyboard/mouse surface height? And any pain?

#13

Post by cauterized » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 1:54 AM UTC

talktime wrote: post #9

cauterized wrote: post #4

One size fits all desks are so non-ergonomic it's not funny. The trouble with your question is that user height is a poor proxy for what desk height should be because how much of your height is in your legs vs torso also affects it. Anyway, here's another data point: I'm 5'4". I keep my desk at 24" when sitting, 41" when standing. I use an external keyboard plus a riser for my laptop to avoid having to look downwards…

Thanks for the detailed reply. If, at 5'10, I am experiencing problems related to desk height, I can only imagine problems are worse for those shorter. I wonder if there is a correlation between height and these kind of problems. Standard desk height seems to be designed for someone who is 6'2. I was considering adding a keyboard tray, but I'm thinking that I mostly use my desk for a keyboard and mouse, I might as we…

Yeah. Keyboard trays also tend to feel cramped once you add a mouse.

I wonder whether the desk height issue has to do with changes in work? It may be that when desk work mostly involved reading and writing papers (I sort of picture someone leaning over their desk to be closer to the paper), a higher surface was more ergonomic. And then nobody thought to change the default because the transition to computer dominated work was so gradual and unrelated to office furniture replacement cycles?

Re: Ask HN: What is your height, your keyboard/mouse surface height? And any pain?

#14

Post by talktime » Sat, Dec 10, 2016, 10:58 AM UTC

cauterized wrote: post #13

talktime wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the detailed reply. If, at 5'10, I am experiencing problems related to desk height, I can only imagine problems are worse for those shorter. I wonder if there is a correlation between height and these kind of problems. Standard desk height seems to be designed for someone who is 6'2. I was considering adding a keyboard tray, but I'm thinking that I mostly use my desk for a keyboard and mouse, I might as we…

Yeah. Keyboard trays also tend to feel cramped once you add a mouse. I wonder whether the desk height issue has to do with changes in work? It may be that when desk work mostly involved reading and writing papers (I sort of picture someone leaning over their desk to be closer to the paper), a higher surface was more ergonomic. And then nobody thought to change the default because the transition to computer dominated…

Probably something to do with the market supplying what the customer wants, and the customer being uneducated. Like me . . . If I had seen a 26 inch high desk when I was purchasing the thing, I probably would have passed on it . . would have thought it too low at the time.