New furniture summary..

[William=E -dot- =Newkirk%Pubs%GenAv -dot- Mlb -at- RODES -dot- CCA -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM]

As promised, here's a summary of the responses about office furniture -
thanks for the responses...bill (wenewkirk -at- collins -dot- rockwell -dot- com)

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From:         <LINKVI -at- MAIL -dot- STATE -dot- WI -dot- US>
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 18:53:25 -0600

Well, one suggestion:  if you "mouse a lot," get yourself a pull-out, under-
the table keyboard with place for the mouse attached, or a keyboard with a
trackball (if new hardware is part of the deal).  My new pod/modular setup
leaves me sitting at a strange angle and exerting pressure on the mouse at a
weird angle.  Doesn't feel good.

Some kind of incandescent, nonfluorescent lamplight, too, helps soften the
glare and give a more "friendly" feeling, I've found.

Good luck.

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From:         Jean Weber <jean_weber -at- compuserve -dot- com>

I have two must-haves in furniture:

1) A (preferably corner) desk with adjustable keyboard section. I want the
keyboard low, but the desk surfaces on either side to be high. I prefer a
corner one, as it puts the desk bits closer to me for taking notes, laying
out papers, etc.

2) A slantboard between the keyboard and the monitor. This can be built in to
the monitor stand, or a separate item.  Much better than any of the usual
copy-holders that typists use, because I can put an open book on a
slantboard.  I have several portable fold-up plastic boards (that double as
clipboards when closed) to carry with me to clients' offices or if I have so
many references open at once that they won't all fit on one board.

Both of these items have saved immense amounts of strain on my neck.

I got the portable slantboards from a university bookstore, but I would
imagine that office supply stores would carry them as well. I've seen ads (in
Australia) for more permanent versions that are part of a unit that encloses
the system box and holds up the monitor (since I have a tower case, I would
use the space to store miscellaneous desktop junk.

The corner desk is one of several standard modular furniture types available
everywhere, I think.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Jean Weber
Technical Writing, Editing and Publishing Consultant
Sydney, Australia
jean_weber -at- compuserve -dot- com

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From:         Dee Gardner <Dee_Gardner -at- exchange -dot- QR -dot- com>

a keyboard tray and preferably the mouse pad attachment unless you have
invested in a keyboard with mouse control built in.  we're stuck with
standard style desks so I had the company order the keyboard tray that you
install in place of a middle drawer.  many of these keyboard trays have a
mouse pad attachment available.

if you go modular, the pull our, height adjustable keyboard tray would be the
thing.

Regards,
D

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From:         DURL <durl -at- buffnet -dot- net>

Dear Bill,
        When I moved my business from my home into my office, the saleswoman
turned me onto my FAVE piece of furniture: a stand-alone keyboard tray! The
one I bought (about $200 a year ago) is from Herman Miller, and it's called
The Scooter. It's light enough for me to move around even though it doesn't
have wheels. It's a plastic doohickey, and you can adjust its height from 22
" to 30". You can also adjust the angle of the tray. It even incorporates
(arguably) a footrest.
        I have some sort of pinched something somewhere that can result in a
lot of scary tingling in my arm & hand. This tray has eliminated at least 90%
of that, plus I can adjust my closeness to the screen and maintain some kind
of untortured posture. And, when I get a stand-alone keyboard for my laptop,
I'll be able to move this tray to wherever I park that computer.
        I wouldn't be without it. The downside is that, at about 20" wide,
it's a tight fit for both my mouse and my (non-extended) keyboard. If you
work w/ extended keyboards, you'd have to attach a mousetray, if that's
doable. The flexibility of this keyboard tray has been so great that I'd
invent a way to make it long enough to fit board & mouse.
        If you can think of any questions, I'll be  more than happy to answer
them. I urge you to explore this...it's been just great for me.

Mary Durlak
Erie Doc Inc.

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From:         Sella Rush <SellaR -at- apptechsys -dot- com>


Robert P. commented on adjustable keyboard trays.  My new workspace has a
second shelf attached to the computer desk, which can be lowered and pushed
back under the computer desktop.  Using a lever, I can set the height
anywhere within about a 6-inch range.  Also--and this is very important.  The
shelf is wide enough for both the keyboard and a mouse pad.

How about bulletin boards or white dry-erase boards (these are *extremely*
handy for planning, scheduling, or whatever?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sella Rush
Applied Technical Systems, Inc. (ATS)
Bremerton, Washington USA
Developers of the CCM Database

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From:    Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>
Subject: Re: New furniture

Some things to look for are:

* A color that isn't blinding white.

* Computer tables with great big holes near the back to snake cables through,
and a shelf below on which to hide external disk drives and other stuff you
don't need access to.

* A layout by which all boxes with cooling fans are muffled by being put
underneath a tabletop or around the corner of a piece of furniture.

* No glare anywhere.  Turn off all the overhead fluorescent tubes.  Don't put
your monitor in front of or behind a window.  Windows to the sides are better.

* Adjustable height for the keyboard and mouse is very helpful.  Many
keyboard drawers still don't hold a full-sized keyboard and a mouse pad,
forcing users to do a Quasimodo imitation with their mouse on the tabletop or
in a desk drawer.  Don't do this.

* Great big tables and desks are very useful when dealing with multiple
projects or large projects.  Your computer table should be at least as wide
as your desk -- five feet.  I have a six foot by three foot desk and a five
foot by two foot computer table.  The desk is fine, but the computer table is
too small.

* While I'm at it, let me put in my perennial plug for high-quality 20"
monitors, IBM keyboards, and optical mice.  I have two big monitors on my
SPARCstation.

        -- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139
http://www.pioneer.net/~robertp

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From:    Ginna Watts <gwatts -at- PIM -dot- BC -dot- CA>
Subject: Re: New furniture

At 10:00 AM 2/20/97 PST, you wrote:
>Some things to look for are:
[snip]
>* Computer tables with great big holes near the back to snake cables
>  through, and a shelf below on which to hide external disk drives and
>  other stuff you don't need access to.

Gotta be careful about this though.  My (custom made without my input) desk
is so wide, with holes in the corner, that my monitor cord won't reach my
box. So we got an extension cable, and now my display is terrible due to
power interference!  (A big fancy 17" monitor, with a big fancy 3d graphics
card, and I can barely stand to look at it.) We are looking now for a big,
heavy duty well-insulated cable, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ginna
Ginna Watts - Technical Writer
Pacific International Mapping Corp.
gwatts -at- pim -dot- bc -dot- ca

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From:    Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>
Subject: Re: New Furniture

Gina Watts writes:

>Gotta be careful about this though.  My (custom made without my input) desk
>is so wide, with holes in the corner, that my monitor cord won't reach my
>box. So we got an extension cable, and now my display is terrible due to
>power interference!  (A big fancy 17" monitor, with a big fancy 3d graphics
>card, and I can barely stand to look at it.) We are looking now for a big,
>heavy duty well-insulated cable, but I'm not holding my breath.

Well, there's nothing very complicated about drilling holes.  Put one where
it belongs.  You'll probably have to buy a large-diameter drill bit for the
purpose, so don't forget to put it on your expense report! If anyone asks,
tell them that you can't make the desk any more nonstandard, since it was
already custom-built for you.

(Also, there's no such thing as a big fancy 17" monitor.  17" monitors are
toys.)

" Robert

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