PS

Finally treated myself to a new computer after killing my productivity for the last two years by being too cheap and stupid to retire and recycle my old laptop. This one is an HP TouchSmart 310. It's an all-in-one with a wireless keyboard and mouse.


I hoped it would dismantle in order to fit in my carry-on bag. Perhaps, the b-school trained marketing people made sure that it will not. I guess I'll need to buy another laptop as well and migrate my filing system to the cloud. I have Mozy.


The touchscreen is useful but frustrating. Things like text selecting and finger scrolling do not always work. I wonder how much of the problem is engineering, and if the obvious ideas are tied up by Apple patents.


This computer can be used to browse while standing. That's why I bought it but it's awkward because the screen does not tilt back far enough and you have to put a book under the stand. Consumers and engineers are not really thinking about ergonomics yet.

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After some weeks, I find that I don't use it while standing. It's just so much easier to take a seat than to shove a book under the stand. Sad.

But wait, there's a stack of magzines here that jack the monitor up 10 cm. This is much better - at least for sitting and typing. The center of the screen is still 12 cm below eye level though. I need a 22 cm high pile of solid coffee table books.