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Subject: Re: Oh! a notebook computer is not all that pleasent!

Author: Steven Edwards

Date: 19:31:12 06/01/05

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On June 01, 2005 at 21:24:28, stuart taylor wrote:

>I have my new note book computer, but however good the specs are, I don't get
>the immeadiate feeling that it is that much pleasure to work with.
>The keyboard seems harder to reach, the touch pad (which also intereferes with
>keyboard use), seems also to be a very slow system of working. it doesn't react
>all that fast. It gets very very hot to the touch, underneath. screen, which
>ought to be the most healthy, compared to regular screens, DOES hurt my eyes a
>bit, after 2-3 hours.

Such are the perils of mail order purchasing.  Back in the early 1990s I bought
an x86 notebook via mail order and had to send it back as the model could not
properly run Coherent (an early commercial Unix clone).  Although I didn't have
to pay a restocking fee, I did have to pay the shipping both ways.  Live and
learn.

Your notebook must have some utility for tuning the trackpad response.  Also, it
may be possible to have the trackpad disabled automatically during typing.
(Macintosh notebooks all have this option.)  Likewise, you might consider
packing a small external USB optical mouse as I do.

The notebook will run cooler and the battery charge will last longer if you can
adjust the processor cycling for a slower, less toasty experience.

For the keyboard, consider using a Dvorak layout and possibly a physical
relocation of the keytops.  Dvorak vs. Sholes means a five fold decrease in
finger travel for typical English text and maybe a three fold decrease for
programming text.



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