ergonomics

Turn your keyboard into a recliner with uChair

LAS VEGAS--We've seen more than a few innovative, stylish keyboards at CES this year, but few can claim to be pieces of furniture.

Meet uChair, the keyboard that lets you type in true comfort. It's basically a recliner with a split keyboard embedded in the armrests.

You sit back, adjust the headrest, pull up a screen, laptop, or tablet attached to an articulated bracket, and get to work. Or fall asleep, depending on how comfy you find it. … Read more

Philips ErgoSensor monitor keeps you on your toes

As is the case with an increasing number of health- and fitness-related gadgetry, Philips' new monitor that aims to improve posture will be a welcome advance to some and a niggling reminder to others.

The 24-inch desktop LCD ErgoSensor monitor employs a built-in CMOS sensor that tracks the distance between one's pupils and the monitor, as well as the angle of one's neck to the screen, and alerts the user via a Webcam-like display when either measurement indicates bad posture.… Read more

Why my iPad can't replace my laptop: It's the trackpad

I'll let you in on a little secret: I haven't been thrilled with any iPad keyboard case solution, despite testing and reviewing about half a dozen of them.

Sure, some of them are excellent products. Still, I don't find them essential. This is why I don't use my iPad during mission-critical trips to trade shows and live-blogged events. This is why I don't use my iPad as a laptop replacement. Not entirely. Not yet.

I agree with a lot of what Harry McCracken refers to in his experience with his iPad and the ZaggFolio keyboard case. Ideally, having such an ultraportable, flexible device with a long battery life would be a perfect travel tool. For me, however, that perfect tool hasn't materialized yet.

I'd love to have some sort of evolved hybrid of an iPad and a MacBook Air. I've been dreaming of it for a while, actually. Apple's clearly leaning toward a fusion of sorts between iOS and Mac OS X. Lion was the first step. iOS gets a bit more advanced every year, taking baby steps toward being a true operating system for hard-core computing tasks.

There are several reasons it won't work right now, and the biggest by far is the good old-fashioned trackpad--or lack of it.… Read more

Microsoft Mobile Keyboard 5000 hands-on: Do ergonomics matter?

How much do ergonomics matter when you're using a tablet as your primary mobile computer? Microsoft is betting that the answer might be "very," if the newly released Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000, available today, is any indication.

The $50 keyboard is "ergonomist approved" with a curved design that claims to be better for wellness. Does that matter for a wireless keyboard you'll be using with your iPad, Android tablet, or other Bluetooth device? I decided to give it a quick try to find out.… Read more

Want better posture? Let your Webcam spy on you

It's not just your mom who's telling you to sit up straight anymore.

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel have developed a new training method that uses Webcam imaging to tell workers sitting at computers when their posture needs a boost.

In their six-week study of 60 university and hospital workers using the Webcam pop-up photo method, the researchers report in the journal Applied Ergonomics that while traditional ergonomic training and photo training both resulted in short-term improvements in posture, only the Webcam approach resulted in longer-term gains, and it had the most impact on … Read more

Back Straight Boys want to fix your bad posture

Baby, it's the way you make me kinda get me sit straightly, never wanna stop.

The Back Straight Boys aren't singing that tune yet, but they probably should be. The teenagers did, after all, name themselves after the boy band Backstreet Boys. But instead of targeting screaming teens, they're targeting screaming adults--screaming in pain, that is--with a device that aims to prevent poor workstation posture by monitoring wearers' stance and training them to correct it when needed.

Sean Colford, Ethan Epstein, Brandon Loye, and Michael Walsh, all of San Diego and just out of their freshman year of high school, came up with the idea for Posture Pad back in middle school after experiencing firsthand the discomfort computer use can cause.

"We noticed that at school, all the computer workstations were the same size, but Ethan and I had a 15-inch difference in height," Loye said. "I had to hunch my back to see the monitor, and Ethan had to sit on his legs. This caused us discomfort, and we thought we could do something about it."

So the longtime pals decided to delve deep into improper posture at computer workstations and the consequent musculoskeletal problems it can cause among kids and adults in classrooms and offices.

Many hours of research spawned the "Posture Pad," which strategically embeds sensors and microcomputers in an ergonomically designed seat pad to gauge a computer user's positioning and connects to the user's computer to deliver visual and/or audio feedback via special software. … Read more

Microsoft keyboard throws curve at ergonomic design

The latest addition to Microsoft's family of ergonomic input devices, the Comfort Curve 3000, shows that Microsoft still sees value in iterating in this product niche. While Logitech's ergo keyboard ambitions have seemingly been satisfied by its 2-year-old Wireless Keyboard K350, the Comfort Curve 3000 offers a fairly substantial departure from the Comfort Curve 5000 and 2000 designs.

The new model is curved along a more severe arc than Microsoft's previous keyboard. Its uniformly sized keys should help minimize the initial awkwardness we felt with the older Comfort Curve designs. It also incorporates a slightly elevated portion in the middle of the keyboard, which can help minimize joint pressure. We can't confirm whether those features will offer tangible physiological benefits to everyone who uses the new keyboard, but you can also find out with relatively little risk when the Comfort Curve 3000 goes on sale in August for $19.99.… Read more

Amazon.com has the Microsoft 7000 WTA-00001 Wireless Ergonomic Desktop Keyboard for $87.99, after $62 savings.

Save $62 on the Microsoft 7000 WTA-00001 Wireless Ergonomic Desktop Keyboard from Amazon.com >> Regular price is $149.99 >> Sale price is $87.99 >> Savings $62 (41.34%) >> Click here for deal

Don't let your PC wear out your eyes

If you spend more than 2 hours a day peering at a computer display, you have at least a 50-50 chance of experiencing vision problems or other physical ailments related to your PC use. That's according to Dr. Wendy Strouse Watt, O.D., in her 2003 article Computer Vision Syndrome and Computer Glasses.

The advent of flat panels may have minimized the risk somewhat, but most office workers now spend more time each day at a computer than they did at the time of the study. In a series of articles on Computer Vision Syndrome, the American Optometric Association (… Read more