My colleagues and I are going around the university campus, checking various computers to get them ready for the fall semester. Most of these machines have not been touched since the begin of the pandemic. At best, you’d just need to run some updates and be done with it. At worst, the PC won’t even boot into the operating system. Macs are definitely easier to deal with under this unprecedented situation.
It seems some users prefer ergonomic keyboards for their workstations. You know, the type with the split in the middle and a heavily contoured typing surface. Having never used one regularly, the ergonomic keyboards alway trip me up, difficulty with finding the keys I want. My muscle memory simply isn’t coded for this! I was raised on the “regular” keyboard.
A more wizen and experience colleague reminded my why people use the ergonomic keyboard: to (hopefully) prevent the inevitable decay that comes with using a computer every single day for many hours. Arthritis of the hands is not fun. Never mind the other stuff that can happen, too: pain at the neck, shoulders, all the way down to the lower back. If sitting in front of a computer is your thing, then you’ll want to optimize the position as best as possible.
Perhaps I should rethink having a laptop as my only device at home. An external monitor to raise the sight line, and an external keyboard to make typing more comfortable. I do enjoy the minimalist appearance of having only the laptop on the desk, and would hate to give up any more space for computer accessories. What I also need then is a bigger desk, ideally one that can adjust for height.
It’s definitely something to ponder on seriously. My hands and fingers are already not in so good a shape, as evident by my ongoing struggle with learning the piano in my 30s. Longevity is the game, so I really ought to optimize for that, instead of maintaining the status quo because of aesthetics.
There’s also another problem: the monitor I want is $5,000 dollars…
Summertime campus.