Question So difficult to find a comfortable laptop. Any suggestions?

[matthewmontagupollock]

Nowadays it is so hard to find a comfortable laptop. I've given up. I bought a 13" HP Envy 13, and gosh do I loathe this machine. I don't exactly get repetitive stress syndrome, but my palm gets very uncomfortable on the edge of the keyboard, the laptop is freezing cold. I find that after 10 minutes or so I am stressed out and revert to my 9 year old Samsung RF511, with its nice rounded edges and somewhat warmer temperature (in its time it was considered unusually cool).

Apple Macs are a byword for discomfort, with their sharp edges.
I bought a Thinkpad and sent it back - it actually has a join at the front edge of the keyboard which scrapes your palm as you type. Weird.

Asus seem to be slightly less awful than the others, but not by much.
Microsoft?

A school of critics will jump in and say: "Well you're not using your laptop right! You should be sitting upright at your desk, and then your palm wouldn't be cut by the edge of the keyboard!" (Hey dude this is a LAPtop - for using on laps. Not a desktop. I already have a desktop.)

There's not a single laptop these days which has the rounded edges of old.
Why not? I can't understand it.

 

[LordVile]

Nowadays it is so hard to find a comfortable laptop. I've given up. I bought a 13" HP Envy 13, and gosh do I loathe this machine. I don't exactly get repetitive stress syndrome, but my palm gets very uncomfortable on the edge of the keyboard, the laptop is freezing cold. I find that after 10 minutes or so I am stressed out and revert to my 9 year old Samsung RF511, with its nice rounded edges and somewhat warmer temperature (in its time it was considered unusually cool).

Apple Macs are a byword for discomfort, with their sharp edges.
I bought a Thinkpad and sent it back - it actually has a join at the front edge of the keyboard which scrapes your palm as you type. Weird.

Asus seem to be slightly less awful than the others, but not by much.
Microsoft?

A school of critics will jump in and say: "Well you're not using your laptop right! You should be sitting upright at your desk, and then your palm wouldn't be cut by the edge of the keyboard!" (Hey dude this is a LAPtop - for using on laps. Not a desktop. I already have a desktop.)

There's not a single laptop these days which has the rounded edges of old.
Why not? I can't understand it.

I use a MacBook laid down constantly and never have that issue.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

I use a MacBook laid down constantly and never have that issue.

Obviously, 95% of clients don't have that issue, otherwise laptop makers wouldn't be able to sell their current laptops.

This post is really addressed to those of us who are somewhat sensitive about these things, and do have that issue!

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

I use a MacBook laid down constantly and never have that issue.

Obviously, 95% of clients don't have that issue, otherwise laptop makers wouldn't be able to sell their current laptops.

This post is really addressed to those of us who are somewhat sensitive about these things, and do have that issue!

Here is a sufferer: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-file-the-sharp-edge-off-a-macbook-pro-5506658

 

[LordVile]

Obviously, 95% of clients don't have that issue, otherwise laptop makers wouldn't be able to sell their current laptops.

This post is really addressed to those of us who are somewhat sensitive about these things, and do have that issue!

But it’s not sharp...

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

But it’s not sharp...

You don't find it sharp. Other people find it sharp. "Sharp" is a relative term, different people will apply it differently, according to their experience.

 

[LordVile]

You don't find it sharp. Other people find it sharp. "Sharp" is a relative term, different people will apply it differently, according to their experience.

Sharp is an objective term, and in any case your palms shouldn’t be on the edges there’s enough space to rest your hands between the keyboard and edge of the laptop is if
designed properly.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

Sharp is an objective term, and in any case your palms shouldn’t be on the edges there’s enough space to rest your hands between the keyboard and edge of the laptop is if
designed properly.

Sorry, you didn't explain you are a midget whose hands are less than 10 cm long.

 

[LordVile]

Sorry, you didn't explain you are a midget whose hands are less than 10 cm long.

Um the smallest MacBook is around 21cm deep bearing in mind you type with your hands crabbed vs flat out you should be able to reach all the keys with proper form and bot hands on the wrist rest portion of the laptop either side of the trackpad.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

Um the smallest MacBook is around 21cm deep bearing in mind you type with your hands crabbed vs flat out you should be able to reach all the keys with proper form and bot hands on the wrist rest portion of the laptop either side of the trackpad.

The distance from the keys nearest to the typist is much shorter than 21 cm, let alone from the trackpad. My hand from end of index finger to base of palm is around 20 cm long. But the distance from the up and down keys to the edge of the laptop is only around 10 cm. I often do not use these keys in "hand-crabbed" position, but with my hand resting on the laptop's edge, because much of my keyboard /trackpad use doesn't actually involve typing but other web-surfing activities. It is these other movements which cause the palm to scrape the edge and so cause discomfort.

If you read the article I referred to on Lifehacker you'll see that many people share my experience. Of course many also do not. We live in a world where people have diverse experiences. You seem to be insisting that everyone should experience things as you do, which seems quite intolerant.

 

[LordVile]

The distance from the keys nearest to the typist is much shorter than 21 cm, let alone from the trackpad. My hand from end of index finger to base of palm is around 20 cm long. But the distance from the up and down keys to the edge of the laptop is only around 10 cm. I often do not use these keys in "hand-crabbed" position, but with my hand resting on the laptop's edge, because much of my keyboard /trackpad use doesn't actually involve typing but other web-surfing activities. It is these other movements which cause the palm to scrape the edge and so cause discomfort.

If you read the article I referred to on Lifehacker you'll see that many people share my experience. Of course many also do not. We live in a world where people have diverse experiences. You seem to be insisting that everyone should experience things as you do, which seems quite intolerant.

You thumb the trackpad and you know your fingers do bend right?

It’s standard typing form mate, fingers on the home row, hands in a crab shape.

Lifehacker is BS maybe you should just learn how to type properly?

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

You thumb the trackpad and you know your fingers do bend right?

It’s standard typing form mate, fingers on the home row, hands in a crab shape.

Lifehacker is BS maybe you should just learn how to type properly?

Aha "Learn to type properly" - that intolerant streak again.
Enough said.
We recognise the type - the know-all who thinks his way is the only way.

 

[LordVile]

Aha "Learn to type properly" - that intolerant streak again.
Enough said.
We recognise the type - the know-all who thinks his way is the only way.

You can’t blame equipment if you refuse to learn how to use it correctly. It’s like saying a camera is crap because you don’t know how to use the correct shutter speed.

There is literally a correct way to type.

 

[geofelt]

Best I can suggest is to go to a store like office depot and try out the laptops they have on display.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

You can’t blame equipment if you refuse to learn how to use it correctly. It’s like saying a camera is crap because you don’t know how to use the correct shutter speed.

There is literally a correct way to type.

Since 10 finger typing brings no benefits in terms of speed or accuracy, I can't see what justification you can have for claiming it is the only "correct" way to use a laptop: https://phys.org/news/2016-02-ten-fingers-fast.html

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

Best I can suggest is to go to a store like office depot and try out the laptops they have on display.

The problem with trying laptops in a store is they are usually chained to a desk, so that you are trying them standing up. This doesn't replicate how the machines are used in real life. My current (very uncomfortable) HP Envy was bought after carefully trying it out in the store. It seemed fine, but in real life it is very uncomfortable.

 

[vov4ik_il]

Check on Thinkpad "P", "X", or "T" series. Those are comfy to me.

 

[LordVile]

Since 10 finger typing brings no benefits in terms of speed or accuracy, I can't see what justification you can have for claiming it is the only "correct" way to use a laptop: https://phys.org/news/2016-02-ten-fingers-fast.html

Would say the study is erroneous, over long typing periods as the "self taught" method has a high reliance on a couple of fingers it would slow down due to fatigue.

It also doesn't invalidate my point as the reason you likely have issues with "sharp" laptop edge is because you don't have your hands in the correct position and typing with both wrists on the laptop would solve your issue.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

I did explain that it is not so much about typing as other manoeuvres, which I don't believe anyone does in the "crabbed hand" position, because it would give one repetitive stress injuries. So this nonsense about "correct positions" doesn't apply.

One gets this nonsense all over. I get backache. There's a whole host of idiots who believe there's a "correct position" for sitting in. Read the literature and you'll find that different kinds of back pain sufferers benefit from different positions, after all it is a little hard to imagine during the many thousands of years of human evolution people have been sitting in the "correct position". These correct this and thats, when they concern human body positioning, are mostly myths designed for popular consumption, and now poorly paid SEO writers are seizing on them as easy material for 400 word articles at $3.50.

For my part I'll pay you $3.50 to stop spouting this nonsense, it is getting irritating.

 

[matthewmontagupollock]

Check on Thinkpad "P", "X", or "T" series. Those are comfy to me.

Thank you for this suggestion.

I did order a T590. There were rave reviews. Obviously the keyboard was excellent, though the machine was woundingly described by my children as a "previous generation laptop" because of its size. But I found that there was a join between the body and the keyboard which scraped my palm. Of course you can never see this kind of detail in the marketing images, and stores in UK don't tend to stock ThinkPads. And I don't understand the makers' passion for putting squared-off edges on laptops. So I had to send it back at a loss, as I was buying it from a 3rd party seller who claimed they would not be able to re-sell it new.

That's why I am using a Samsung RF511
Note the rounded edge: https://www.reevoo.com/p/samsung-rf511-s02uk
Comfy, nice keyboard. I recently bought another one, though they are 9 years old now
Only half the power of today's laptops, but that doesn't bother me. And I use a lighter modern laptop when travelling.