ergonomic

We spend lots of time with electronic gadgets and most of it sitting on our behinds. Xbox and iPhone may get all the press, but one of the most important gadgets in your office is your desk chair.

Think a chair isn't a gadget? Have you checked out the controls on any of these ergonomic chairs lately? Some of them are even licensing the technology for use in other markets.

I recently looked into the options and finally settled on a Think chair from Steelcase. The manufacturer markets Think as "The chair with a brain and a conscience." It's supposed to adjust itself to your body. But it isn't cheap.

Here's how I ended up with Think and my assessment of the product. Keep in mind that I don't review products for a living. That said, I am compulsive; my wife says I overanalyze everything. So when it came to the chair for my home office, I took it very seriously.… Read more

And here we thought the "Hip Office" concept was a joke. Now we have the "Connect-A-Desk," a real product that's also ripe for an SNL parody.

Like the Hip Office, it straps to a computer to your body, but around the neck instead of the waist. It's kind of a laptop version of the keytar, with a dork factor that rivals the "Light Head Magnifier." The site claims that it's "ergonomically designed" but, depending on the weight of the computer, we can't imagine using this for any length … Read more

If this concept ever becomes a reality, it should come with a public-service warning along the lines of those gambling-addiction 800 numbers posted at casino ATMs. Because anyone who considers getting one must have a severe workaholism problem, not to mention a dire need for fashion intervention.

German designer Henning Kunow touts the "Hip Office" (get it?) as an ergonomic way to do work on a laptop, attaching it to a fiberglass belt around your waist. Judging by the photos on OhGizmo, it can even allow you to blissfully tap away while sitting, standing, or even walking.

Still, … Read more

How's this for weirdness: A keyboard with no keys. No, it's not an invention from Yuri Geller or any other spoon-bending psychics. It's a real product called the "OrbiTouch" that has been around for a few years but is enjoying some renewed attention, perhaps because navigation by way of the cliched Minority Report touch screen has yet to become a reality.

Rather than typing with the usual keys, it works with two domes that can be maneuvered into quadrants of letters, numbers, and symbols, according to Dvice. The magic orbs then can supposedly be slid … Read more

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." --Albert Einstein

Oh goody, you can watch YouTube on your iPhone, but what if you just want a phone? I tried to buy a phone that's just a phone, and wound up with a Samsung SCH-u540. Is it just me or do you think it's odd that a phone comes with a 151 page User Manual?

Manufacturers load on features to sell product--whatever it is--phones, coffee makers, micro-wave ovens, or A/V receivers. Here's the deep, dark ugly truth: the features don'… Read more

Ah, sweet vindication. For years we've been saying that reclining was the only way to go, when working on a computer. Finally, supplies of accommodating furniture are starting to catch up to our demand.

The "Netsurfer" from a Swedish's Snowcrash--the best company name ever--is the latest in a growing market of chairs that claim to combine sound ergonomics with sleep-inducing comfort. The description alone is bedtime music to our ears: "The semi-reclining position with the screen at eye level is designed to be comfortable for long periods. Pillows support the neck and lower back, arms … Read more

I grew up with computers in the home, almost. I think I was just eight years old when my father brought home a teletype machine (with integral 110 baud modem) connected to the GE600 mainframe computer. My mother could type up a storm on her IBM selectric, but I was strictly hunt-and-peck on that noisy, strange-smelling teletype. But that teletype really inspired my newfound passion for writing stories, for when I told it to print -- BANGA-BANGA-BANGA-BANGA-KERCHUNK-BANGA-BANGA-BANG -- it printed at a full 110 baud, or almost half as fast as my mom's finger-sprints. Incredible!… Read more

The "G-Tech Neber" chair we featured a few days ago seems ergonomically efficient, no doubt about it. But compared with the "Aura" by Poetic Technologies, it looks like a wooden stool.

Like other high-tech chairs, the Aura caters to its owner's posture: in this case, with a seven-way adjustable chair that can be ordered with inflatable and deflatable cushions. That's only the beginning. Irritated by glare? The entire workstation can be rotated up to 120 degrees. In fact, it can be programmed to rotate 120 degrees every day over eight hours to follow the … Read more

Calling the "G-Tech Neber" ergonomic is like saying Al Gore is an environmentalist. But to truly appreciate the understatement, you need to see a photo of this unique piece of computer furniture, if not actually sit in it.

Shiny Shiny describes it as "part dentist chair," but the "Personal Computing Environment Station" has a lock on that hybrid. We think it actually bears a closer resemblance to the "Alternative Computer Control System" featured awhile back, mostly because of their curved frames.

Regardless of how well the Korean-made Neber compares, at least it … Read more