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Computers/Keyboards + Dorm Room = No Zzzzzz?
mmortal03 asks: "Not until recently, by living with a roommate in college, had I noticed how annoying mouse clicks and keystrokes could be to someone who is trying to sleep. Often, one of us will be up using our computer while the other is tring to catch some z's. Whether it's just to do some late night browsing, type a draft of a paper, read an important email, or whatever else, the clicking of the mouse and typing at the keyboard can drive the other up the wall. Some temporary solutions have been using alternate keyboard strokes instead of mouse clicks, and going to use the school's own computer labs, but those are only open so late, or so early. I would like to hear from Slashdot users as to what their solutions have been, in the dorm rooms, for this matter. Besides the clicks and taps, another bother is that, when the lights are off, our monitors light up the room like small lamps. Outside of handing each other earplugs and eye shades, are there any available input devices that lack the noisiness, or screen filters that dim the light output of monitors outside direct viewing, that might solve this problem? Any other ideas?" We've touched on this subject tangentially, twice
in articles from December. Do you have other hints or suggestions you want to pass on?
For dimming the monitor outside of 'frontal view', get the 3M Privacy Filter.
You can solve the keyboard noise issue by buying a quieter keyboard (duh) - laptop style (scissor) keyboards tend to be pretty quiet as long as you cut your nails. Mouse button noise is going to depend on the device you use - while my Dell laptop's mouse buttons are louder than Jackhammer Tuesdays at The Taco Palace, my IBM Thinkpad's mouse buttons are virtually silent.
Turn on one box fan, basically some white noise, and all your bitching about clicks and keypresses goes away.
I've run into this precise problem before, as have others, I assume. I won't bore you with the details of my particular experiences, but needless to say, you can take heart in knowing that you're not alone. That being said, on with my advice:
:-)
1 - Be polite. Neither of you need to hammer your keyboards. More often than not, the keyboard will respond to lighter strokes. Lighter strokes = less noise. Using the mouse sparingly, as you are, also helps.
2 - Dim your monitors. This is usually built into the standalone monitors via their "menu" buttons, and into the OS of laptops. Usually.
3 - Put sound barriers between your beds and your computers, so that the sound has to reflect off of several surfaces before reaching your ears. This will dampen the noise, somewhat.
4 - If at all possible, when a roommate is going to sleep, the other should head to the labs for an hour. Theoretically, when the other returns to do work, the sleeping one will be in a deep enough sleep such that quiet typing and a dimmed monitor shouldn't wake them.
5 - Get a dorm single or move off campus as soon as possible. It may not happen until next fall, but it's amazing how much more and better sleep both of you will get.
Hope this helps!
~UP
Eat the Path.
3M makes some good reusable ear plugs that can cut up to 12.5 dB (halving the NRR value gives you a better picture of the actual possible attenuation). Only costs $1.38.
However, earplugs only cut out the noise that enters through the ear canal. Sound can still conduct through your cranium, and besides, you will hear the sound of your own breathing.
The better (but more expensive method) is to get ACTIVE noise cancelling headphones (not PASSIVE ones). These guys basically send out an antiphase signal of the ambient noise, effectively cancelling the noise out (well, not perfectly, but...). Sony sells good ones for $149. Or build your own.
Excellent point. Not an urban legend at all. Check out the rules from this Occupational Safety and Health Administration publication. For up to eight hours a day, you can have noise levels at 90 db. But that's it. At 95 db, you need hearing protection for an exposure of over four hours. At 110 db, you aren't allowed more than 30 minutes unprotected.
As this is OSHA, the employer is responsible for making sure these rules are followed. For dorms, of course, just be aware that 24/7 exposure at much lower levels, even under 85 db, can be harmful.
Stick your beds as close to the ceiling as your dorm and physical needs allow.
Play some music at a reasonable volume when you're typing, and your roomate will hear muffled music when you're working. Try making the loft not loud enough to wake the dead when you get in it.
Need a Catering Connection
Come on, this is elementary stuff. Sound consists of both compression and rarefactions of the air; the average pressure remains unchanged.