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Show HN: My Sort-of-DIY, Dual 30", Sit-Stand Treadmill Desk Setup
- ujjain 14y agoIt's awesome! But I don't see how you can have high-productivity by using a laptop keyboard.
- peterarmstrong 14y agoI also have a SteelSeries 7G keyboard, which is what I used when just using one 30" monitor. But I haven't figured out how to incorporate it with the dual 30" monitor setup. And dual 30" monitor + laptop keyboard > SteelSeries + single 30" monitor. Maybe I'll get a laptop stand and try incorporating all three plus the external keyboard...
- Noughmad 14y agoI'm curious why you need the laptop at all. Do you like looking down on the tiny screen even though you have two huge ones above?
- peterarmstrong 14y agoThe retina display is nice to look at when coding :) My current workflow is to just put one Emacs buffer in it, and I also use one of the two 30" displays for a whole bunch of Emacs buffers, and the other 30" display has browsers and other stuff. But I'm still evolving it. I have a coworker who just leaves his laptop shut and uses the two 30" displays in this setup.
- kayoone 14y agoi would argue that the massive difference in DPI on the retina display compared to the Dells isnt very good from an ergonomic perspective. I wonder why you need a Laptop at all in that setup. Wouldnt a Mac Pro and a Macbook Air for on the go make more sense ? Cool stuff though! For a while i had a Crosstrainer facing to the wall where i mounted a 22" monitor to watch movies while working out..That was really nice, but unfortunately my current home office is too small for a big work out machine.
- peterarmstrong 14y agoYeah I have a coworker that just puts the two 30" displays together (in a sitting desk). Right now I'm not sure whether my love for the SteelSeries 7G will end up winning out over my love for looking at a retina display. So far, no. The funny thing is that the switching between "awesome sharpness" and "meh" isn't so bad. I put web browsers on the left 30" monitor and other Emacs buffers in the right 30" monitor (full screen Emacs in it, and then a couple of horizontal and vertical splits) showing other files I'm dealing with. The primary buffer I'm working on in the retina. But it's fine to do edits on the 30" monitor too, and there's no issue. Divvy is essential here so I don't waste time resizing things.
- rjh29 14y agoProductivity is rarely limited by typing speed.
- bmuon 14y agoArguably, there are laptop keyboards that are much better than most desktop keyboards.
- kristiandupont 14y agoI prefer my laptop keyboard to normal ones. In what way would it limit my productivity?
- wj 14y agoFor me lack of a number pad. But I spend much of my day in spreadsheets.
- chrisrogers 14y agoWhile the dual-30" monitors certainly has its appeal, I find getting away from my screens and truly discovering the world to be my most enriching time. Why confine your walking to the scope of those foreboding screens when your walk could be toward something unknown? Something strange, something beautiful. Something to inspire. A show, a friend, or something you've never experienced. I know it takes more than a walk on a treadmill to open my mind to a new idea.
- WalterGR 14y ago> Why a sit-stand treadmill desk? It’s the perfect way to work. Emphasis mine.
- peterarmstrong 14y agoI fully agree! I like snowboarding or going down to the ocean for that. But doing a startup requires massive hours at a computer, and the problem is that hours of sitting is fundamentally bad. Besides being bad for your health (see http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/06/treadmill-desks-invented-for-office-workers_n_1323506.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/06/treadmill-desks-i... and follow your nose) I find it's also easy to fall into a rut and end up on HN too much. Like now :) Goodnight!
- swah 14y agoThen you have to come back and sit for 8 hours coding that idea. Problem remains.
- dr_win 14y agoHi, I built a running "desk" for situations when I consume podcasts/youtube. It is not for working but good for running/walking while watching. Kettler treadmill + Griffin stand + MacBook: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/559047/mbp-running.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/559047/mbp-running.jpg
- peterarmstrong 14y agoThat's awesome! I did something similar to that years ago with an old elliptical trainer: I clamped a dell laptop to it. But my problem I found is that I'd still spend all the other time sitting when doing real work. You can actually get into a really good coding zone when walking, once you get used to it...
- klepra 14y agoInspirarional. Good job on planning and make it happen for yourself! Everybody deserves a decent workstation.
- ErikGelderblom 14y agoGet away from your desk every once in a while instead of exercising behind your desk. It clears your head and makes you focus better afterwards.
- icebraining 14y agoWhy "instead" and not "as well"?
- flexd 14y agoI feel you would get less work done running or walking on one of these, and you would also not get much exercise value out of it. It would be better to take breaks often, and every other day take a 1 hour break to do a proper set of exercises in a gym, playing a sport or just running or biking outside.
- peterarmstrong 14y agoThere was a study I remember seeing referenced a while ago (I think it was in an article about the Mayo clinic guy Levine) where the big point was that if you spent essentially most of your workday sitting, then an hour at the gym doesn't undo that. With this approach I can walk 3 - 6 miles while working. I'm not trying to get my heart rate up to cardio levels obviously; I'm just walking. And I'm not saying I'm a role model for perfect health, etc...
- drewjoh 14y agoMonitor cable note: You don't have to use the expensive dual-link DVI adapters if you have a monitor that supports the standard sized DisplayPort. You can get a simple Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter (and DisplayPort cable) and it supports the full 2560x1600 resolution of monitors like the 30" Dell. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TSDG06/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=drewjoh-20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TSDG06/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=dr... (note: summary description says max of 1920x1200, but detailed description says up to 2560x1600. I'm using it on a 30" Dell, so it works :)
- ajtaylor 14y agoThat's exactly what I did as well. It works a treat, other than the cable and/or connection sometimes being finicky and sending the external monitor into sleep mode. I suspect a higher quality cable wouldn't exhibit this problem.
- chollida1 14y agoOr without the unmentioned referal link http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TSDG06/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TSDG06/
- drewjoh 14y agoWhat's wrong with a referral link?
- swah 14y agoTIL that a 30" Dell monitor costs 2500 USD in Brazil. WJW.
- shocks 14y agoThe best part is that mouse. Razer DeathAdder. Awesome, awesome, awesome mouse. Highly recommended.
- swah 14y agoEven for not-gaming use?
- shocks 14y agoAbsolutely. It's very comfortable, very accurate, very smooth. It's simple, but has all the basic buttons you need and none of the extra chaff. It has an awesome blue light, but you can disable this if you want. It's also easy to clean, and looks great! :) There's also a button on the bottom, you can program this, but it is in a rather awkward place. My only complaint. Newer models come with a braided cable which is very sturdy.
- dlevine 14y agoYou can get a black edition DeathAdder, which doesn't have the blue light. I got this mouse even though I don't game, because it appears to be one of the only high quality corded mice on the market (Microsoft's mice have severely dropped in quality over the past few years).
- io 14y agoAgreed. I bought it primarily because it has a left-handed version, but it's a great mouse.
- kayoone 14y agoOr just take a break for 1-2 hours during the day to go out and hit the gym or go for a run. I would argue it makes you feel better than trying to mix exercise with working on a computer.
- stevenwei 14y agoSadly, research suggests that's not sufficient enough to counteract being sedentary for the rest of the day. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39523298/ns/health-mens_health/#.ULtjqoV-oXx http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39523298/ns/health-mens_health/#... The idea of these treadmill desks is to keep you from constantly sitting all day. I would agree that one should probably do some more vigorous exercise as well.
- jt2190 14y ago> I would argue it makes you feel better than trying to > mix exercise with working on a computer. This is a common misunderstanding about treadmill desks. They're not a workout replacement, they're meant to reduce the number of work hours just sitting. Typically you're not breaking a sweat or even breathing heavier when you use one. You should still go to the gym/go outside/work out if you use one of these.
- meaty 14y agoI hate this whole standing/treadmill desk fad. It solves the wrong end of the problem. Sitting on your ass is fine but don't do it all day. I can understand if you're a hamster in a cage but seriously just go for a walk instead.
- swah 14y ago10-20 times per day?
- meaty 14y agoWell tend to walk about 5-6 miles a day and do nothing else whatsoever and I'm in very good health. I don't eat meat though so my metabolism is probably different.
- freerobby 14y agoWhy do you maintain this is just a fad? I walk that same distance every day on my treadmill desk. It's helped my chronic back problem and it's better for my joints because it prevents bad posture. What's wrong with it?
- meaty 14y agoYou'll find out in about 10 years.
- freerobby 14y agoSo you think it's a fad, fine. But why the hatred for it? Why do you think they're bad? Have you seen research that shows them to be unhealthy? Did you have a bad experience with them? I'm trying to understand what you feel is disadvantageous about them in light of my and others' experiences to the contrary.
- stevenwei 14y agoTaking a walk a day isn't going to offset sitting on your ass for all of your other waking hours. Unless you're walking constantly, but that makes it rather difficult to work at your computer...
- ishbits 14y agoI used to stand. An then arranges for my MacBook Pro to sit nicely on my already existing high end treadmill. Neither really did it for me and I think I was just sucked into the trend. Now I do 5k a day on the treadmill and some basic work with light dumb bells. No more sore back. And RSI in the wrists is pretty much gone despite still pushing some 4 hour sessions without rest (which I know is wrong).
- edw519 14y agoWorking out and writing software are like beer and chocolate. I love both, but not at the same time.
- jt2190 14y agoMany of the comments here are arguing that walking desks aren't necessary because one can just exercise outside of working hours. What they're failing to consider is new research that shows that sitting all day and then exercising is still unhealthy on the whole. Walking desks are intended to reduce the number of hours just sitting. They're not intended to be your daily workout/break from the monitor, etc.
- freerobby 14y agoDid you consider any of the Lifespan Fitness models? They sell complete kits, some for less money than the cost of what you built yourself: http://www.lifespanfitness.com/tr800-dt5-treadmill-desk.html#.ULt3ApPjmAQ http://www.lifespanfitness.com/tr800-dt5-treadmill-desk.html... http://www.lifespanfitness.com/treadmill-desk/tr1200-dt5-treadmill-desk.html#.ULt3A5PjmAQ http://www.lifespanfitness.com/treadmill-desk/tr1200-dt5-tre... http://www.lifespanfitness.com/treadmill-desk/tr5000-dt5-treadmill-desk-combination.html#.ULt3AZPjmAQ http://www.lifespanfitness.com/treadmill-desk/tr5000-dt5-tre... I have the mid-tier model and absolutely love it. Curious if there was anything in particular about it that turned you off (you obviously researched this project thoroughly).
- mistercow 14y agoHow can you possibly track text for reading, let alone type accurately while walking on a treadmill?
- jt2190 14y agoYou'd be surprised at how easy it is. You're not running, nor are even walking at full speed. It's really just a casual stroll while typing. People do all sorts of things while walking.
- peterarmstrong 14y agoIf you walk at "going for a stroll" speed instead of "competing in the olympics" speed it's actually fine. For me, I can code or even play civ at 1.6 to 2 mph. The only thing I've done where I was frustrated by walking at the same time was play StarCraft 2. This was just when I had one 30" monitor and was using my SteelSeries 7G. The mouse control is really hard for SC2, but I play zerg, so you can do macro cheese types of strats while walking. (I'm plat though. I think you'd get slaughtered if you tried this at diamond or higher.)
- darrickwiebe 14y agoI've been considering adding a treadmill to my standing desk, but am concerned about the whine of the treadmill and the sound of my footsteps on it bothering others in the room or who work below me. How is the noise from your setup? Have you had to address that in any way?
- frankohara 14y agoNice! I have almost an exact same setup! www.treadmilldeskdiary.com