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A laptop stand made from a single sheet of recycled paper
- causality0 2y agomade from a single sheet of recycled paper Do they mean a single sheet of seriously thick card stock? Sheets of paper do not weigh 45 grams.
- _ZeD_ 2y agoSo they're selling 22$ for a sheet of paper?
- dhosek 2y agoThe paper is $.01, it’s the folding you’re paying for.
- dogma1138 2y agoNo you are paying for the story that you’ll be able to smugly tell your colleagues of how much you care about the environment that you’ve purchased a recycled laptop stand, ignoring the fact that this was likely air shipped from Korea and then delivered by multiple trucks to you.
- nozzlegear 2y agoIf you're going to buy a laptop stand anyway and you have the choice between A) a plastic stand or B) this recycled stand, does it make more or less sense, in terms of environmental impact, to buy the plastic stand over this one? > ignoring the fact that this was likely air shipped from Korea and then delivered by multiple trucks to you. This presupposes the economies of scale. One plane is not leaving South Korea laden with just one laptop stand and nothing else, and one delivery truck is not leaving the Fedex or UPS depot almost entirely empty save for one laptop stand destined for the consumer's house.
- pessimizer 2y ago> One plane is not leaving South Korea laden with just one laptop stand and nothing else, and one delivery truck is not leaving the Fedex or UPS depot almost entirely empty save for one laptop stand destined for the consumer's house. Who do you imagine thought of it this way, and how does an objection to shipping trash require you to think this way? What normal people imagine is that a package containing this displaces a package containing something else, and that an collective shipping container of these is a shipping container that wouldn't have been shipped otherwise. What you seem to be theorizing is that if these weren't being shipped, some other product would have been invented to take up the volume that it uses, or all other products would expand in order to fill the space. That has a burden of proof that the normal people explanation doesn't require.
- nozzlegear 2y ago> Who do you imagine thought of it this way, and how does an objection to shipping trash require you to think this way? The argument being presented by the person I replied to said verbatim: "ignoring the fact that this was likely air shipped from Korea and then delivered by multiple trucks to you." > What you seem to be theorizing is that if these weren't being shipped, some other product would have been invented to take up the volume that it uses, or all other products would expand in order to fill the space. We don't need to theorize or invent, the plastic products already exist. Go to Amazon and search for "laptop stand" and you'll find a glut of them. So I ask again, if you're going to buy a laptop stand anyway and you have the choice between A) a plastic stand or B) this recycled stand, is it better, in terms of environmental impact, to buy one of the hundreds of plastic stands shipped from South Korea, or this recycled stand shipped from South Korea?
- dogma1138 2y agoPlastic which will last 10 times longer and can be reused.
- nordsieck 2y ago> If you're going to buy a laptop stand anyway and you have the choice between A) a plastic stand or B) this recycled stand, does it make more or less sense, in terms of environmental impact, to buy the plastic stand over this one? I mean, if you expect the cardboard one not to last very long, then yes. Yes it does "make more or less sense".
- a12k 2y agoI think they can just fax it, which saves a lot of the environmental waste you’re talking about.
- lm28469 2y agoIt fits perfectly with the $100 piece of aluminium/glass and plastic it's made for. Prices don't reflect the material value of an item
- tomasz_fm 2y agoTerrible for your wrists though
- inatreecrown2 2y agoyes, it looks very uncomfortable.
- DemocracyFTW2 2y agoThey do have a spiky edition tho, too, so maybe that's something
- dogma1138 2y agoAlso terrible for the environment. The energy cost of buying this online, the carbon cost behind the $22 + shipping, the actual carbon cost of shipping this crap. We are truly living in the most idiotic timeline.
- nozzlegear 2y agoWhat would a less idiotic timeline look like?
- tedunangst 2y agoReuse the cardboard box your laptop came in.
- cle 2y agoStick a book under your laptop.
- nozzlegear 2y agoWhat's the carbon cost behind buying and shipping the book, or cutting down the tree to make the book?
- theogravity 2y agoAirflow?
- impure 2y agoI don't see much point to this, it barely props up your laptop at all. You're still going to get tech neck. I recently got a nexstand, external keyboard, and mouse and it has been amazing.
- tomasz_fm 2y agoNexstand is the way, I got one and never looked back. I use a touchpad instead of a mouse though.
- harrall 2y agoOr buy the OG, the Roost. It's pricier but lighter and more compact.
- langsoul-com 2y agoLooks like NEX stand made a new version, K1 Carbon Fiber, which is lighter than og roost. However, more expensive than it so depends if shredding those grams is worth it or not
- ArlenBales 2y agoThose are kind of ugly, at least for MacBooks. Rain Design's mStand is my favorite, blends in perfectly.
- crazygringo 2y agoThey are, but they're portable. They collapse and you throw it in your bag. The mStand is beautiful, but it's not portable.
- kiririn 2y agoNever heard of nexstand but it looks suboptimal for keeping the small laptop screen as close as possible to your eyes My preferred design is like https://amzn.eu/d/0KB8nGM https://amzn.eu/d/0KB8nGM (2x U shapes of metal), which lets you have the keyboard underneath the laptop , so the laptop is as close to the edge of the desk as if you weren’t using an external keyboard
- zoom6628 2y agoThis is art. Love it.
- xtiansimon 2y agoArt of design.
- bee_rider 2y agoIt is sort of art. It looks fairly pretty I think, in a sort of everyday manner. But it also looks a little impractical, the part that might touch your wrists is very spiky. Also thought keyboards should be, if anything, tilted in the opposite direction. It seems like an ok system if you don’t have to interact with your keyboard. But if you want to do away with the need to interact with the keyboard, a much more aggressive tilt could be used, right? This only gets you a couple inches. Ideally the top of the screen is around the top of your head, right? Of course this is for on-the-go use, so we don’t expect ideal. Overall, it is art; I really do think it looks nice, but it is pretty impractical.
- brettermeier 2y agoThis is failed design, your wrists will hate you after using this.
- 404mm 2y agoNot just design. This whole product is a failure. It does not make sense from any angle. In fact I don’t understand how the website is still up and running.
- forgetfreeman 2y agoAll of the same vibes I got when I found out some outfit managed to take a cock ring with accelerometers and an associated phone app to production.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- nemoniac 2y agoOr save yourself $22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR5G1HFXY1U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR5G1HFXY1U
- dogma1138 2y agoIf whoever did this cared about recycling they would just tell people how to do this. If the people who bought this cared about recycling rather than having a virtue signaling conversation starter they wouldn’t have bought it. This is insane, the carbon value of $22 is high enough without the garbage of shipping this crap all over the country and possibly the world.
- amyames 2y agoWhoever did this doesn’t even clean their computer, it’s disgusting!
- nottorp 2y agoDoes it wiggle when you type on it?
- VyseofArcadia 2y agoA single (very large) sheet of (unusually thick) paper.
- laweijfmvo 2y agomade from many sheets of recycled paper! agree that the description is a stretch.
- d--b 2y agoWow, such a bad vibe here! It's foldable. It's light. It's made of recycled material. It's cheap enough. Seems pretty smart to me.
- thomassmith65 2y agoIt does not appeal to me, but each passing year there are fewer and fewer new consumer products that do appeal to me. Actually, I think this product captures the spirit of the times: a $20 piece of paper that presumably falls apart after a year – a 'laptop stand as a service'
- barnabyjones 2y agoIt's literally ten times the cost of a plastic stand on Temu ($34 vs $3.35).
- pipeline_peak 2y agoIt's a wonderful design, but like many recyclable products, the price isn't low enough to convince the average consumer. Like someone else said, release the instructions. If you want to make an environmental impact, you have to make something people are willing to buy. That's why Tesla became so successful, no one cared 10 years ago when it was a status symbol. Once it got to like $40k it sold like crack.
- emaro 2y agoOh, I didn't expect that much skepticism. I love the idea and I love companies that are trying to create beautiful and sustainable things. They even try to give people a place that usually don't fit in. Yes, you can fold one yourself (will it be stable enough though?). Yes, I wouldn't use it for a laptop either. But for a tablet it could work really nice. Also shipping it around the world is a bit silly, like with most things. Too many people will order on Amazon or buy fruits from the other side of the world without a second thought. Get off your high horse.
- ahoka 2y agoSustaining what?
- userbinator 2y agoThe profits of those companies making these products.
- infecto 2y agoDoes anyone remember when standing desks started taking off…maybe 2016ish and there was that company making cardboard props to convert your desk into a standing desk. Amazing how well those worked for being cardboard.
- latexr 2y agoThe article is seemingly outdated. The cheapest one I could find in the store was 29 USD. In Euros, it’s 36.37. And of course, you still have to pay for shipping. From Korea. This seems quite absurd. Whatever good you do the planet by using something out of recycled paper (thumbs up on the idea) will surely be offset by all the logistics of the shipping. This should have been a tutorial, not a product.
- kevingadd 2y agoAll the embellishments on it seem like they probably involved operating imprinting machines or printing ink onto the paper, too.
- harrison_clarke 2y agoit also seems like a very small savings. the thing sitting on top of it is full of lithium, cobalt, etc. so why should i care if it's sitting on a bit of plastic/aluminum/wood? that said, a tutorial to turn the shipping box for your laptop (or a flat of diet coke) into a stand would be good. useful in a pinch edit: keyboard box might be the best box to print the fold lines on. you need that for a minimally ergo laptop setup anyway
- K0balt 2y agoFor 20 dollars I can buy an aluminium and stainless steel laptop stand that adjusts from a thin wedge up to holding my screen a nearly eye height. It will outlast me, and folds into a smaller size that fits nicely in my laptop bag. Laptops will probably go away, but it could be handed down for generations, and when it no longer can be used, the majority of the energy and resources used to make it can be recouped through recycling it’s intrinsically valuable metals. This 20 dollar piece of paper will last until the first month in a humid environment. This should be a tutorial on how to reuse discarded material into an improvised, impromptu laptop stand. If I saw someone pull this out of a box and put their laptop on it, they would lose a great deal of credibility in my estimation. If I saw someone make this out of some waste paper in a coffee shop, I would be intrigued and compelled to seek an opportunity to see if that person was open to making new acquaintances and sharing ideas.
- andrei_says_ 2y agoIt blows my mind that stands like this one as well as keyboards are designed with an incline requiring constant tension in the wrists. The natural position of the fingers when typing is below the wrist not above it.
- GlacierFox 2y agoYeah it's weird, I have a static wooden one similar to this. Looked good but the incline was so sharp that it was just awkward to use. Not sure what the thought process is behind the design of most of these things.
- Suppafly 2y agoThey are meant to be used with an external keyboard and mouse, you don't need a stand to use a laptop normally.
- leptons 2y agoExcept in the 5th photo they show someone using the laptop's touchpad while on the stand. This seems very uncomfortable to me as resting your hands on the pointed edges of the folded paper seems like an awful user experience.
- jerlam 2y agoTechnically, yes, but a large number of people are working on tables that are already too high, so positive tilt is required to keep their wrists in line with their forearms. A laptop stand that elevates the laptop, placed on a table that is already too high, requires even more positive tilt. And don't forget the large number of people who don't know how to touch-type and need clear visibility of all the keycaps.
- ARandomerDude 2y agoIt's hard to justify $30+ for a sheet of paper, especially considering the fact that condensation from a nearby water bottle will kill this product.
- GlacierFox 2y agoAmplified by my heavily sweating body in full coding focus mode...
- mixmastamyk 2y agoAm vaguely reminded of a fancy apple-style aluminum stand I saw in an ad recently. That one is probably a lot more expensive. This $6 “fancy” cardboard box from Ikea has been doing the same job for me quite well. Can also discretely hide a power strip and hub inside, keeps dust off too. Just cut a small hole in the back. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tjena-storage-box-with-lid-black-20469299/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tjena-storage-box-with-lid-blac...
- summeroflove20 2y ago[dead]
- iLemming 2y agoI remember the times when my monitor stand was "made" out of yet-to-be-recycled paper books - a few thick java references. Later, when I bought a new monitor I donated them to a library. I hope they got recycled, or at least, garbage-collected. Although I can't imagine anyone finding old java books in the garbage and find them useful for anything.
- nosioptar 2y agoI used to dumpster dive for old compsci books at the end of semesters. It's how I learned java, c, perl, vim, and SQL.
- Suppafly 2y ago>I used to dumpster dive for old compsci books at the end of semesters. It's how I learned java, c, perl, vim, and SQL. I'd always grab old books from school and work, but honestly they are horrible to learn from because things like java and c# have changed so much, you end up teaching yourself outdated stuff and then needing to relearn all of the new ways to do stuff. You're probably safe learning C from an older book though, as long as it's ansi c and not the original k&r book.
- iLemming 2y agoThere are some languages with books that remain relevant over decades, notably books for any Lisp - Common Lisp, Scheme, Clojure, also: - C (post-ANSI) - fundamentals largely unchanged since 1989 - SQL and Erlang - basic concepts stable since 1980s - Prolog and Forth - core concepts stable since 1970s Although modern books might cover some improved practices or new tooling, older texts on core concepts remain valuable.
- pcblues 2y agoA couple of points. It is not aesthetically pleasing at all, which is important to me, for whatever neurological reason. Also, I consider a laptop stand as just a device to raise the screen to a better ergonomic level on the understanding that an external keyboard and mouse will be used to operate the device. Otherwise, in a laptop stand, ergonomic keyboard use requirements pull the incline towards level, and ergonomic monitor height requirements pull the incline upwards, so there is no healthy angle for a laptop stand. As already mentioned by andrei_says_, typing fingers should be below the wrist (as correct piano playing has proved for centuries).
- oofbaroomf 2y agoVladimir Horiwitz begs to differ.
- dotBen 2y agoStands like this have to be paired with an external keyboard. Raising the monitor so that the top is as close to eye level as possible (while maintaining a straight back) is better orthopedicly. It's impossible to achieve this and a good keyboard posture, so you must introduce an external keyboard. Without an external keyboard, there is no value in using a stand, you might as well just keep the laptop in a neutral position.
- seb1204 2y agoI use my glasses case to raise the back of the computer. It adds a gap between table and computer. The rubber nobben on the underside of the laptop prevent the glasses case from slipping. This raises the notebook to a nice angle and the keyboard is still usable for me.
- kjkjadksj 2y agoShouldn’t the monitor be centered at eye level? Or is it worse to look a little bit up than down?
- dotBen 2y ago
- bluedino 2y agoI love my Rain mStand. It's made of cast aluminum, looks great, works great, and I've had it for....15 years? At some point I'm sure I could easily recycle it.
- stronglikedan 2y agoVery nice, just not very portable, but definitely recyclable.
- marban 2y agoThey have the foldable mBar Pro now.
- calmbonsai 2y agoI'm reminded of similarly useless "sustainable cardboard furniture" that came out about a decade ago. On the positive side, kudos to whomever in marketing/pr at the design firm got this useless product so much press. This is just the sort of "win" that a design consulting shop loves to have for actual briefs that lead to real moving-the-needle revenue. One example would be SmartDesign's modular slip-on "S-Grips" that led to the iconic vegetable peeler that then bled into the "design language" of every product at OXO.
- n3storm 2y agoLoL. Not only useless but also uncomfortable. My wrists get itchy when looking at those zigzag bevels...
- rad_gruchalski 2y agohttps://roominabox.de/ https://roominabox.de/ The Bett 2.0 was one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever slept on. The Grid Bed was useless and fell apart.
- lopis 2y agoHave one for several years. The main problem is cleaning it. Good luck cleaning the dust and spider webs from hundreds of individual holes. But otherwise, it's extremely sturdy and stable.
- wy35 2y agoDidn't know about the SmartDesign/OXO vegetable peeler, very interesting rabbit hole to go down. https://www.fastcompany.com/90239156/the-untold-story-of-the-vegetable-peeler-that-changed-the-world https://www.fastcompany.com/90239156/the-untold-story-of-the...
- snowfarthing 2y agoIndeed, it's an interesting rabbit hole! I liked the part where they were looking for someone to manufacture the handles, and the Japanese machinist said "If he could make it, I can make it!". Indeed, having gone down the rabbit hole of machining (both to see if it would be a viable hobby and if it could even be a career), this was the attitude of the shop teacher: "if you can think it, you can probably make it". I am far more surprised that neither the American nor the Taiwanese manufacturers said this. Then again, perhaps it was because management didn't talk to the guys who made things! (Now that I think of it, had they done that, perhaps they would have gotten the answer "We can do it, but the fins will wear down the tool too fast, at least until we can figure out a better material for the tools!" instead of "Nope, we can't do that!")
- cryptozeus 2y agoWhat about those jaring things touching the palm, don’t look comfortable
- soheil 2y agoI'd only be interested if I can also use it as a Japanese fan.
- soheil 2y agoHad a very different image in mind of what a sheet of paper looked like.
- lexicality 2y agoThis looks like the kind of thing you get given as a cheap branded gift in a conference and it breaks before the conference is over. As soon as you put enough downward force to damage one of the folds or it gets damp, you're heading directly to rip-city.
- habaryu 2y agoAnybody has an idea on how the industrial process for this kind of origami works? I've seen videos online and it requires a lot of pinching and folding. I'm very curious to know how a machine could do that.
- scarface_74 2y agoOn top of all of the other criticisms, this isn’t functionally what I want. I still would end up looking down to see the laptop. I guess it’s better for people who only work on laptops and don’t want to have separate keyboards and pointing devices. I travel a lot and I use a Roost laptop stand https://www.therooststand.com/ https://www.therooststand.com/ A standard Apple keyboard and mouse, and a portable USB powered monitor that gets power and video from one USB cable and monitor stand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4KH2GH3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4KH2GH3
- alias_neo 2y agoI got a roost when they launched, still have it, practical and durable, I imagine I'll always have it. The problem with this paper one is that the paper will wear within a couple of years, and if you spill your coffee on it or anything like that or put it down on a coffee-ring stain, it's straight in the bin. I fail to see the value in something made from recyclable that is essentially disposable rather than a roost which can be made from recycled plastic and last forever. The roost also only cost about double to triple this to buy. EDIT: I see the roost is quite a bit more expensive now, but longevity and ergonomics wise I'd say still well worth it.
- gruez 2y agoWhy is it so expensive? It looks and functions exactly like a dozen other similar stands on aliexpress.
- scarface_74 2y agoI’m not going to buy a knock off good from Aliexpress for a product that I have used everyday for the past two years across over two dozen cities.
- daanavitch 2y agoThe Nexstand is the most popular alternative, it's around 30 dollars.
- 2y ago
- douglee650 2y agoWhy the heck is there a beer in the background of pics? Lol
- euroderf 2y agoIt's origami, yes ? Surely someone here at HN can find a folding pattern and an appropriate size & weight of paper.
- r33b33 2y agoFire hazard
- coatdoor 2y agoI'm hoping you're wrong. I just made a simplified version, which is just the concertina-ed paper without the parallel reverse folds to angle the keyboard up. Its made from a 96gsm a3 sheet. My reasoning for thinking it's safe is that 451F/230C would probably damage/burn/melt the cheap plastic table it normally sits on.
- cultofmetatron 2y agothis seems kind of absurd... I have a laptop stand. it collapses into my hand. its made from steel. it cost me $15. it will last much longer than this.
- FpUser 2y agoThe stand is crap as the wrists are placed on a serrated looking rim of a stand. As soon as anyone puts their hands on it wrong way it is a goner. And the price is in line with Versace.
- cynicalsecurity 2y agoThis is somehow even worse than paper straws.
- xelxebar 2y agoLooks like a Miura fold: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miura_fold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miura_fold. When going to theme parks and the like, I love folding the physical maps like this. It's nice that the maps stay rigid when fully open, and the single-motion for opening and closing is glorious.
- qup 2y agoI hope my brain stows your comment safely away until the next opportunity.
- eleveriven 2y agoI think I spent too much time watching the video of it folding and unfolding.
- busyalx 2y agoSame :)
- vismit2000 2y agoMiura-ori fold covered very nicely in this video at timestamp 34:10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p02DtmyQhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p02DtmyQhU
- vladde 2y agoThat whole video is really neat, love the guy teaching!
- kazinator 2y agoWhat's the benefit of this, compared to using nothing; i.e. laying the laptop flat on the table? It looks like you're only straining your wrists against the increased keyboard angle. Where is the tutorial for making this piece of shit, rather than shipping it halfway around the world on an exhaust-spewing, whale-killing freighter? Oh, it's recycled, pardon me.
- amatecha 2y agoShould be pretty easy to reverse-engineer the crease pattern so people can make this themselves (perhaps adjusting it to more common sizes of paper).
- gonzo41 2y agoThis would be better if it was the origami instructions to make it.
- eleveriven 2y agoI like the minimalist design. But the zigzag shape at the bottom seems a bit inconvenient for the wrist area.
- vismit2000 2y agoThis reminds of the fantastic lecture 'A world from a sheet of paper' given by Tadashi Tokieda at Oxford: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p02DtmyQhU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p02DtmyQhU
- vismit2000 2y agoWatch specifically from timestamp 38:00-41:30
- Refusing23 2y agodoesnt look comfy to type on the laptop with that edge at the bottom. My wrists wouldn't like it. also 22 bucks for a few grams of cardboard? seems excessive. but hey at least it'll break fast, cant handle moisture, and so on.
- tonyedgecombe 2y agoYou would normally use a laptop stand with an external keyboard and mouse, the idea is to raise the height of the monitor to save your neck.
- fedeb95 2y ago22$ for recycled paper? I bet an origami can be designed to do just the same, then made using free paper lying around.
- dusted 2y agoSelling a piece of cardboard for $22 is an amazing achievement, recycled or not. It's beyond my comprehension. The world is at the same time much too poor and much too rich. I'm already sensing the throwing away of perfectly good (and forever durable) plastic and metal laptop stands, to be replaced by this glorious virtue signal. AAaand let the down-voting of my opinion begin....