4 ms·

> keyboard + trackpad alignment is wonky (it's off-center in a lot of cases! How weird is that???) Those are laptops with numeric keypads, the trackpad is stil

> keyboard + trackpad alignment is wonky (it's off-center in a lot of cases! How weird is that???) Those are laptops with numeric keypads, the trackpad is still centred relative to the "main area" of the keyboard (the home row and in particular the rest keys - the two keys with a little bump, F and J on a QWERTY) but it is off-centre relative to the body of the laptop due to the presence of the keypad. Macs don't have numpads so if you've always used Macs it's understandable that you're not familiar with this type of layout. In any case that type of placement makes no difference while you are using the laptop, because keys and touchpad are still where they are supposed to be relative to each other.

areoform 6y ago
I use my laptop on my lap, and usually when I sit with my hands folded in my lap, my hands fall along the center axis of my body. We are bilaterally symmetrical beings (with some internal asymmetries). So unless I scoot the laptop off-axis or I have to move my hands off axis to type. I'm unsure how this isn't unergonomic. It's not something to get used to. It's bad design. Period.
- Jedd 6y ago
  If you're using a laptop on your lap you've already given away any chance of ergonomic comfort.
- mastazi 6y ago
  Yes this is true, I see your point, with a laptop on your lap, in order to balance its weight optimally, you need to centre it relative to its mass, not relative to the hands rest position (F and J keys) so then when you have to type you need to move your hands sideways and it's not very ergonomic.
- robotmay 6y ago
  Yes this has always annoyed me; having it centred under the keyboard makes no sense except in some weird universe where everybody uses only their thumbs to operate the trackpad. Trackpad alignment was one of the major causes of my RSI due to the horrible bend in the wrist it causes. I haven't used a Mac in years but the one thing they always nailed was the trackpad. It's big and actually centred on the laptop body.
  - mastazi 6y ago
    I think it depends on how much you type. If you type most of the time, your hands will tend to stay centred on the keyboard. Of course this is highly variable based on so many factors...
WillPostForFood 6y ago
A lot of laptops, Dell for example, offset the touch pad to the left even though there is no keypad. You might be right that these are technically centered on the q to p span of the keyboard. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Dell_Inspiron_1525_250618.jpg/1200px-Dell_Inspiron_1525_250618.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/De... https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/05RhNkV9HnULG0LW4YRfKzZ-27..1580337225.jpg https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/05RhNkV9HnULG0LW4YRfKzZ-... https://www.tec-int.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/1100x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/D/6/D630-2.jpg https://www.tec-int.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/...
- mastazi 6y ago
  Good eye! I had never noticed those before. Yes I think those are centred to j and f. on the Macbook Pro I'm using right now, if you look carefully, the touchpad is centred relative to the body but it is slightly off centre relative to the home row.
pmontra 6y ago
But you want to align the keyboard and the touchpad with the vertical axis of your body so you end up with 2/3 of the screen to your right. That's why I'm advocating no number pads on laptops.
- lloeki 6y ago
  I’d rather align myself with the screen, otherwise I’m mostly constantly looking towards a slight right, which is a terrible twist for the spine. It’s much easier and more comfortable to adjust my hands over a slightly offset keyboard.
  - pmontra 6y ago
    Is this what you're actually doing? I gave it a try for one minute when I unpacked my new laptop in 2014 and I immediately shifted it to the right: typing as you suggest was terrible for wrists, shoulders and probably the spine. My workaround: I move the windows I work more often (eg: the editor) to the left part of the screen. To be fair: there is no way to fix an ergonomically broken design. There are only mitigations and those a probably subjective: everybody is a little different and muscles/skeletons/etc can accommodate different twists.

areoform 6y ago

I use my laptop on my lap, and usually when I sit with my hands folded in my lap, my hands fall along the center axis of my body. We are bilaterally symmetrical beings (with some internal asymmetries). So unless I scoot the laptop off-axis or I have to move my hands off axis to type. I'm unsure how this isn't unergonomic. It's not something to get used to. It's bad design. Period.

Jedd 6y ago
If you're using a laptop on your lap you've already given away any chance of ergonomic comfort.
mastazi 6y ago
Yes this is true, I see your point, with a laptop on your lap, in order to balance its weight optimally, you need to centre it relative to its mass, not relative to the hands rest position (F and J keys) so then when you have to type you need to move your hands sideways and it's not very ergonomic.
robotmay 6y ago
Yes this has always annoyed me; having it centred under the keyboard makes no sense except in some weird universe where everybody uses only their thumbs to operate the trackpad. Trackpad alignment was one of the major causes of my RSI due to the horrible bend in the wrist it causes. I haven't used a Mac in years but the one thing they always nailed was the trackpad. It's big and actually centred on the laptop body.
- mastazi 6y ago
  I think it depends on how much you type. If you type most of the time, your hands will tend to stay centred on the keyboard. Of course this is highly variable based on so many factors...

WillPostForFood 6y ago

A lot of laptops, Dell for example, offset the touch pad to the left even though there is no keypad. You might be right that these are technically centered on the q to p span of the keyboard. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Dell_Inspiron_1525_250618.jpg/1200px-Dell_Inspiron_1525_250618.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/De... https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/05RhNkV9HnULG0LW4YRfKzZ-27..1580337225.jpg https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/05RhNkV9HnULG0LW4YRfKzZ-... https://www.tec-int.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/1100x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/D/6/D630-2.jpg https://www.tec-int.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/...

mastazi 6y ago
Good eye! I had never noticed those before. Yes I think those are centred to j and f. on the Macbook Pro I'm using right now, if you look carefully, the touchpad is centred relative to the body but it is slightly off centre relative to the home row.

pmontra 6y ago

But you want to align the keyboard and the touchpad with the vertical axis of your body so you end up with 2/3 of the screen to your right. That's why I'm advocating no number pads on laptops.

lloeki 6y ago
I’d rather align myself with the screen, otherwise I’m mostly constantly looking towards a slight right, which is a terrible twist for the spine. It’s much easier and more comfortable to adjust my hands over a slightly offset keyboard.
- pmontra 6y ago
  Is this what you're actually doing? I gave it a try for one minute when I unpacked my new laptop in 2014 and I immediately shifted it to the right: typing as you suggest was terrible for wrists, shoulders and probably the spine. My workaround: I move the windows I work more often (eg: the editor) to the left part of the screen. To be fair: there is no way to fix an ergonomically broken design. There are only mitigations and those a probably subjective: everybody is a little different and muscles/skeletons/etc can accommodate different twists.