3 ms·

I'd love to do the same but I generally find it uncomfortable to use a laptop for two reasons: The screen is too far down so I have to bend my back and neck to

I'd love to do the same but I generally find it uncomfortable to use a laptop for two reasons: The screen is too far down so I have to bend my back and neck to look at the screen causing neck pain. The screen is at the right height, but because it's a laptop the keyboard is too far up and it's tiring for my hands. I can't think of a solution to this other than bringing a keyboard, mouse and some awkward stand to elevate the laptop as a screen.

roflyear 3y ago
I agree to the point that whenever I see someone with a laptop I often wonder, "how much work are you actually getting done on that thing?" I've known people who exclusively work on laptops, no keyboard, sometimes no mouse. How productive are they, really? I feel not very.
- minzi 3y ago
  I regularly work with only my laptop and I get a lot done. I find that even while wearing glasses, I crane my neck more with a big monitor. With modern window managers I don’t really need all that space anyway. The only time it gets slightly cramped is while debugging, but on a 16 inch screen it’s not too bad.
- hug 3y ago
  “I don’t know how to work effectively from a laptop therefore no one does” is, to be frank, one of the worst takes I have read on HN for a while. There’s nothing about a laptop keyboard that makes it not useful for work, nor anything about the screen size. There are almost certainly any number of people who are more productive in front of their laptop than you are in front of whatever it is you use. There are people who are worse. Pretending your choice of form factor is the ultimate in productivity is for the birds.
  - roflyear 3y ago
    Not understanding something isn't a judgement of others. Laptop keyboards are: 1) Too small 2) Have awful ergonomics otherwise Laptop screens: 1) Are too small 2) Are positioned awfully with regards to the laptop There are a lot of other obvious issues. I just don't see how you can be as productive (the average person here not all people) vs a desktop setup.
    - hug 3y ago
      That’s true, and if you had simply expressed your lack of understanding that would be perfectly reasonable, but “probably not very [productive]” is a judgement, is what you wrote, and what I pointed out was a bad take. Edit: The edited and expanded comment (initially, it was just the single first sentence) directly contradicts the first sentence: subjective opinions on form factors don’t lend to definitive statements about productivity.
      - roflyear 3y ago
        Well, I apologize. Poorly phrased.
- PhilipRoman 3y ago
  I guess I would count as one of those people. I've never had a non-laptop computer (outside of office ) and I find it amazing for productivity. I'm using one that has a 17 inch screen (with additional monitor at home) which I guess is bigger than average. With a window manager that doesn't waste space, I can fit pretty much everything in there. I find that looking down strains my eyes less than staring at a monitor. I rarely use a mouse or the trackpad. Laptop keyboards are amazing; I can reach all the function keys without ever moving my hands and it takes less force to press down each key. While most of the time I type without looking, when I do need to sneak a peek, the keyboard is close enough that I don't even need to move my sight. And of course nothing beats the feeling of sitting on a tree stump and working in the middle of a forest.
  - roflyear 3y ago
    That's great!

roflyear 3y ago

I agree to the point that whenever I see someone with a laptop I often wonder, "how much work are you actually getting done on that thing?" I've known people who exclusively work on laptops, no keyboard, sometimes no mouse. How productive are they, really? I feel not very.

minzi 3y ago
I regularly work with only my laptop and I get a lot done. I find that even while wearing glasses, I crane my neck more with a big monitor. With modern window managers I don’t really need all that space anyway. The only time it gets slightly cramped is while debugging, but on a 16 inch screen it’s not too bad.
hug 3y ago
“I don’t know how to work effectively from a laptop therefore no one does” is, to be frank, one of the worst takes I have read on HN for a while. There’s nothing about a laptop keyboard that makes it not useful for work, nor anything about the screen size. There are almost certainly any number of people who are more productive in front of their laptop than you are in front of whatever it is you use. There are people who are worse. Pretending your choice of form factor is the ultimate in productivity is for the birds.
- roflyear 3y ago
  Not understanding something isn't a judgement of others. Laptop keyboards are: 1) Too small 2) Have awful ergonomics otherwise Laptop screens: 1) Are too small 2) Are positioned awfully with regards to the laptop There are a lot of other obvious issues. I just don't see how you can be as productive (the average person here not all people) vs a desktop setup.
  - hug 3y ago
    That’s true, and if you had simply expressed your lack of understanding that would be perfectly reasonable, but “probably not very [productive]” is a judgement, is what you wrote, and what I pointed out was a bad take. Edit: The edited and expanded comment (initially, it was just the single first sentence) directly contradicts the first sentence: subjective opinions on form factors don’t lend to definitive statements about productivity.
    - roflyear 3y ago
      Well, I apologize. Poorly phrased.
PhilipRoman 3y ago
I guess I would count as one of those people. I've never had a non-laptop computer (outside of office ) and I find it amazing for productivity. I'm using one that has a 17 inch screen (with additional monitor at home) which I guess is bigger than average. With a window manager that doesn't waste space, I can fit pretty much everything in there. I find that looking down strains my eyes less than staring at a monitor. I rarely use a mouse or the trackpad. Laptop keyboards are amazing; I can reach all the function keys without ever moving my hands and it takes less force to press down each key. While most of the time I type without looking, when I do need to sneak a peek, the keyboard is close enough that I don't even need to move my sight. And of course nothing beats the feeling of sitting on a tree stump and working in the middle of a forest.
- roflyear 3y ago
  That's great!