Tech: Laptop desk

Subject: Tech: Laptop desk
From: EBarnacle
Date: 07 Jan 12 - 02:18 PM

Much to my discomfort, the exhaust from my "new" laptop gave me a beautiful burn on my ankle. The onboard mouse does not work on right click either.

With these issues in mind, I have decided that I needed a space between me and the laptop. Using a plank of 1/4" plywood, I bored a hole to set up under the exhaust and added an external fan [USB driven] to aid cooling. There are corner pieces to act as locators for the machine and a mousepad for the external mouse. There are also velcro swatches to attach peripherals, such as external hard drives and CD/DVD player-recorders.

I am planning to add removable legs to the front edge so it can be stabilized when sitting in a chair or couch. When working at a desk or table, simple feet can be substituted for the legs.

This is the sort of gadget which many of us have needed for a while as an organizer as well as a desk.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 12:30 AM

I've seen news articles about burnt laps but never an ankle, your new table is a great idea & definitely needed.

My first computer (2002) was a laptop & worried me cos it left my 90+ year old family table hot so I put a tempered glass serving/cutting board under it to protect the table.

sandra

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Bert
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 12:53 AM

The thought occurs that if you have to build a table for your laptop, why the %$#^% didn't you buy a desktop in the first place.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 09:11 AM

Bert, to state the obvious, a desktop lacks the portability of a laptop. The reason we have the setup we do is that our desktop machine serves as the household hub. The [currently 4] laptops can go anywhere without having to be hard wired to the system. The desktop is needed so that the printers, scanner and one external CD/DVD drive can work remotely in the house.

The feet, in addition to allowing better heat dispersion, puts the keyboard in an ergonomically better position.

This specific laptop, by making me uncomfortable, made me come up with a solution to a problem I had not perceived previously.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Baz Bowdidge
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 09:51 AM

There are a number of laptop solutions to be found if you search 'laptop table' on Ebay.
Baz

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 11:19 AM

Yup. Mine cost nothing, though. It was quickly made of materials at hand. I must admit that some of them look classier than my gadget and have features like a cup holder.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 12:21 PM

And we all need a holder for ready-to-spew-liquids of choice. :~)

Good onya Eric!

~S~

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Tootler
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 04:16 PM

The thought occurs that if you have to build a table for your laptop, why the %$#^% didn't you buy a desktop in the first place.

Even if you are not going to move it, a laptop takes up less space. I replaced my desktop with a laptop and liberated quite a bit of space in the computer/music room.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Arkie
Date: 08 Jan 12 - 06:05 PM

There seems to be several solutions out there.

Laptop Coolers

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Jan 12 - 01:54 AM

Fer sure, Arkie. The laptop cooler we already had in the house ain't worth squat because the air vents don't line up with the air intake on the machine. The one I made does.

Tootler's point is one of our considerations. Our laptops get used more than the desktop we use as a hub processor for the peripheral hooked up to it. It sits in its slot and relays orders.

Subject: RE: Tech: Laptop desk
From: Genie
Date: 09 Jan 12 - 06:36 PM

I 'made' a very modular laptop table out of the following:
- a wire desk basket (or is it supposed to be a magazine rack?) that's about 15" by 12" by 4" (with the lowest part of the tray itself being about 1" higher than the bottom of the 'legs')
- a 1" thick foam "paddle board" (like a kid might use in a swimming pool) that's just large enough for the metal basket to sit on top of it
- the foam-padded laptop carrying case that I keep the MacBook in when I'm travelling. I put this under the laptop in side the wire basket, so the metal of the tray doesn't damage the computer or the cords, flash drives, etc. plugged into it.

The curvature of the wire basket tray keeps the laptop case from being flush against the computer, thus allowing a lot of its heat to dissipate. With the foam paddle board under the wire basket, my lap is about 4 inches removed from the laptop and somewhat insulated, to boot.

All the parts of this "laptop desk" are separate and not physically attached to each other, so it's easy to use each of them for some other purpose (e.g., as a pool flotation device, a laptop case, and a wire desk basket) if/when the need arises.