The Comfortable Computer

I’ve talked before about resters and diggers–people who use wrist rests properly versus those who don’t. However, even resters can have difficulty trying to use wrist rests with laptop computers; there’s just no room for a traditional rest on airplane trays and similarly small workspaces. Enter the Intelligel, which is designed specifically to fit on the bottom portion of most laptop keyboards, with a hole cut out for the trackpad. One commenter on the Intelligels website notes that it also cuts down on the amount of heat you feel emanating from the laptop as you type. Just make sure that when you’re using the Intelligel or any other wrist rest, you’ve got the heels of your hands touching it and not the wrist itself.

Sometimes the most elegant and useful solutions for making computer use more comfortable are also the easiest and cheapest to find. Craft stores are a great resource: I spend a lot of time hanging out in them anyway pursuing my hobbies, but it’s nice to have the added excuse that they’re filled with products surprisingly relevant to technology use, like the following:

• Some typists press too hard on the keys or keep accidentally bumping the keyboard, with the result that the keyboard moves around on the table. This can easily be fixed with about fifty cents’ worth of Velcro, which will keep the keyboard in place but still allow it to be repositioned at will. If even that’s too permanent a solution, try using dycem, which is a rubber fabric available in most hardware stores; it has bumps on either side that eliminate friction and gently hold the keyboard to the desk.

• The little nubs built into most keyboards as a tactile guide to help you keep your hands on the home row are fine, but sometimes are too small to feel or aren’t on keys where they’d be useful. Puffy paint (also known as fabric paint or 3-D paint) comes in a wide variety of colors and can be daubed on any key to provide a more tactile option. It’s particularly good for indicating keys that require a long stretch to reach. In addition, you can use it to label keys whose location you don’t always remember–for example, I often use it to draw a big “T” on a client’s Tab key, or a “B” on the backspace.

• If you have to grip any devices during the course of a day, such as a stylus or a pen, you know how your hand can cramp around them. Foam sleeves for making gripping easier are available, but if you can’t find the right size or they’re too expensive, it works just as well to get some cheap foam from a craft store and use a bit of duct tape to wrap it around the device.

Anyone else have suggestions about useful products that aren’t just for crafting any more?

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that comfort and efficiency don’t automatically trump other considerations. For example, I had a client some years ago who came to me because of her difficulties with typing and mouse use. She had arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome—and gorgeous, four-inch fingernails. I nagged her subtly, blatanly, and every other way I could think of to pare them down, until one day she cut me off and looked me in the eye. “Honey,” she sighed, “I can’t put on rouge any more. I can’t use eye makeup or mascara, or fix up my hair. Long nails are the last thing that make me feel feminine. I’m keeping them.” End of discussion.

This type of situation is actually golden for product development. I thought of this client, and several others, a couple of weeks ago when I ran across the TAD, a simple but ingenious device. The TAD is a silicone ring that comes with three interchangeable tips; slip it on to a comfortable position, point the tip of choice towards a keypad or touchscreen, and voila: an input option that circumvents the nail. Although the designer/vendor is in Glasgow, my TAD arrived in California only about three days after I ordered it. I can’t see people using one on each finger for computer keyboarding, though, so there’s still a need for other creative solutions. Watch This Space.