Sunday, December 12, 2010

why don't laptops have ergonomic keyboards?

One more acquaintance of mine got added to the growing list of Carpel Tunnel disease sufferers. She's a consultant and works with her laptop for a good amount of her day whenever she's not busy with meetings at client sites.

It's a shame that none of the laptop makers have come not up with an ergonomic keyboards. Also, it's a shame that in a litigant society such as the United States of America anyone is yet to sue laptop manufacturers for the same.

The day will come when laptop manufacturers, similar to cigarette manufacturers, will be asked to put a note on their products - "prolonged use of laptop is injurious to health" ! The reasons contributing to it would be:
  • poor keyboard designs leading to carpel tunnel syndrome
  • fertility issues in males if laptop is kept on laps for prolonged periods of time due to poor heat management designs by manufacturers 1
  • toasted skin syndrome
Given that laptops are unhealthy for humans by design (... because if you put it in a position to rest your hands, your neck will be in pain and vice-versa), here are some tips for healthy mobile computing. I believe every consultant, sales person, etc. must be aware of these tips.

1. "Laptops Can Damage Male Fertility," M. Hachman, Extreme Tech, 12-09-2004.