PCs in the Living Room?

mwebert asks: "OK. I figure a large number of my fellow Slashdot readers have encountered this same scenario, so please respond. Right now, we keep our Dell Inspiron notebook on the corner of our coffee table in the center of our living room, accessing our home wireless network, and allowing the user to see the TV and multitask their little heart out. (Yay, IMDB!) That said, sitting on the edge of the couch (or worse, the floor) is getting old fast. Of course, I could get a true desk, but I don't want it to face the wall or corner, and I don't want it to turn the decor of my living room into a dentist's office reception area. I'm looking for a handsome (yet unobtrusive and functional) rolling workstation, preferably with a shelf/drawer or two. I've checked out http://www.anthro.com/ - but their offerings look pretty utilitarian, don't they? Any other ideas?"

Comments

Consider non-permanent

[bill_mcgonigle]

I've got a pretty small living room, so no room for the rolling cart. I just recently ordered a TableMate folding table which slides under the couch when it's not in use. Hasn't arrived yet, so no review here, but there are some user reviews on the linked page.

living room PCs

[mabu]

Interesting topic.

I am the bane of my family because I tend to build systems in the living room, with the intent of moving them elsewhere in the house, but they end up staying in the living room much longer than originally planned. In the past I made efforts to accomodate a PC into the main home entertainment area. I got a large monitor from government surplus that doubled as a computer/tv monitor and I could switch back and forth from the PC to the TV, but that didn't satisfy the need to run both. I've thought about a coffee table that might have a monitor buried underneath a glass top -- that sounds kind of cool, but I think the angle you'd have to arch your neck to see the monitor might cause some strain. So I end up with a monitor or a laptop on the coffee table. What I've done is put wheels on my coffee table so I can roll it close to the sofa if I want to mess with the PC while laying back, or sit on the floor at the foot of the sofa and work the tv and the computer. That has proven to be the most versatile setup for me so far.

Re:Laptop

[yuri benjamin]

How about placing one of those breakfast-in-bed trays or dinner-at-the-TV trays on his lap, and putting the notebook/laptop on that?

Update from original poster...

[mwebert]

Well, the Ikea stuff is only "just okay" in my book; they are pretty vanilla. Also, limited room for external HDs, speakers, etc. Also, I'm dedicated to using my laptop on a surface. My awfully-toasty Inspiron 8500 would leave me hairless (let alone sterile). So here's what I'm considering:

1) Target has a $99 desk option:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=11 24060528/ref=sr_2_3/602-7908088-6117466?_encoding= UTF8&asin=B0000YJ0GG

2) ...and a $39 (on sale) chair option:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-2/qid=11 24060602/ref=sr_2_2/602-7908088-6117466?_encoding= UTF8&asin=B0006Z42GW

I'll keep you posted. Maybe pics.

Thanks to all of you who took this thread seriously.