Slashdot Mirror
The $6,000 Computer Desk That Lets You Lie Down While You Work
HughPickens.com writes: We've all read about standing desks and treadmill desks but now Rachel Gillet reports at Business Insider about the Altwork Station, a workstation that allows users to sit, stand, and recline while they work on their computers. Designed to accomodate two computer screens, the manufacturer says their new product is the ultimate combination for workplace productivity. "Most experts agree that humans should change positions and move throughout the day. We believe movement throughout the day is important," says the company who targets "high intensity" computer users, which it defines as people who spend at least four hours a day in front of a computer and are required to focus on complex tasks for extended periods of time. If the $5,900 ($3,900, if you pre-order) reclining workstation is not for you, there are other options you may want to consider including the scooter desk, bicycle desk, and hamster wheel desk.
Lean to read braille, and you can use a braille display lying down, and in the dark.
I don't care for the debate but lying down working vs standing or sitting makes for almost the least physical movement possible, this is how they used to study the effects of microgravity on earth - subject the patient to a bed for a month... not much difference between those studies and this.
It does look terribly uncomfortable.
I mean, seriously, first, we lay down, then we stay there, then we let the nice AI take care of everything...
Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
What a time to be alive. I've often dreamt of playing raiding in EQ without ever leaving the bed.
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?
A $6000 desk? Does it do your work for you?
... and still have beer money left over!
Seriously, I can get a super comfy reclining chair, desk, projector and wireless keyboard/mouse for a fraction of that. Oh, any maybe a new PC too. Or even Google Glass.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
The Lunnatron
Kind of cool at a first glance, but could this possibly work in real life?
The article (and designer's website) claims that the items on your desk are held in place by magnets, note in the video when the girl leans back and the whole desk surface tilts up. Her Apple keyboard and mouse stay in place. So you need to apply magnets to anything you want to keep on your desk. And they provide a long list of items (such as paper) that are best kept on a "side table". Hands up, how many of you have so few things on your desk that it would be even remotely practical to stick everything down with magnets?
How is this different from a dentist chair?
I want a boss that lets me lie down at work.
Yeah, and the morning nap, and the mid morning nap, and the noon nap, and the afternoon nap.
Right, it's going to make you more productive AND help with naps.
We believe you.
I'd be interested in a desk which could quickly switch from sitting to standing. But the reclining desk? That sounds like a terrible idea.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
You can't put papers on it, organize files in drawers, store pencils, paperclips etc. in it. So it is not as versatile as a real desk. As such, they should probably price it below a traditional desk. I would suggest a price point of perhaps $50.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
It really looks like a dentists chair. I dread work enough I don't need flashbacks of drilled teeth to haunt my day.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Check out these guys... http://www.ergoquest.com/zero-gravity-workstations.html
I'll take the Zero Gravity Workstation 10 please.
There are plenty of flexible and adjustable screen holders and keyboard holders that let you work in any position you like, for the simple reason that there are plenty of people with disabilities or who are bed ridden.
The cheapest alternative, however, is probably prism eye glasses, for less than $10. Search for "bed prism glasses" on Google.
But it looks freakin' awesome!
I could imagine raiding with one of these... Cheeto dust covering my chest... It just needs a beer holder...
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Let's see, at home: desk of plywood, which I really need to clean and stain, cut from 4'x8'; hutch from 1"x12"s, feet on desk, keyboard in lap, at least 2'-3' away from my monitor. *
I need to pay $6k for something custom to replace this?
mark
* I had a class in ergonomics, once, and this is ergonomic: wrists are fully supported by my lap, and you want the distance to the monitor: it still cycles at about 60cps, and if you're a foot or so from your screen, then 50% or 60% of the light falling on your eyes is strobing like that, and we know that fluorescents do the same, and can set off epileptics... besides, I don't care if it was a CRT, or a monitor, or a flatscreen, it's still a television, and didn't your mother never tell you not to sit so close to the TV?
I will take george costanza's desk for less
They show the desk recline and the mouse stays attached to the mouse pad. It's either:
A. mouse glued down: useless
B. magnetic pad with enough friction to hold a mouse still (too much friction)
C. magic (aka lies)
Either way this doesn't seem useful. I wouldn't get one even if it was 1/50th of the cost. There are suckers out there who are willing to give it a try, that's why there are companies out there that make this junk and this is why God invented the "junk closet" - because that's where this contraption will go after roughly 5 hours of usage.
I see a higher level of catering necessary for this desk.
Just push my Dr Pepper & Tuna sandwiches via a tube and I would never have to get up.
you've got the cutest little QWERTYface
in this space
why don't you get your ass out-a here...
everybody, sing along!
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
At first I misread the headline as "...Let's You Lie While You Work".
I was thinking their first customers will be politicians and car makers.
Table-ized A.I.
This isn't really a new concept. Just has an expensive Areon-ish shell. https://www.google.com/search?...
Also, you should never be lying down or back in something comfortable while trying to do anything because it's going to make you fall asleep or at the very least get woozy.
buy a $40 ikea coffee table, put it on top of your desk, use it as your keyboard & mouse stand.
buy a $50 tall monitor mount from amazon that clamps to the back of your desk and raises your monitor or laptop to eye height.
buy a $30 hog heaven foam floor mat to stand on
play music and shuffle & move around as you work. i used to have constant lower back problems from sitting all day, but ever since i've switched, my back has been great. it's also been great for my overall health. do it for yourself.
the first week or so of adjustment period is a little rough, but from there on out it's smooth sailing.
Nobody likes a threadshitter.
I had this same idea 15 years ago, then I saw an article online that someone started making them and I was pissed. Since then, every 5 years or so, I see what feels like the same article, completed with the same pictures claiming "someone just invented a lie down desk"...
Lots of people claiming that this has been done before, or is available for cheaper. Really? Show me.
The point of this desk is that it lets you transition seamlessly between standing, sitting, and reclining positions, with the desk and monitor properly positioned in all cases. I'm unaware of anything in the under-$5000 range that does this.
The workstation setup I've found that's most comfortable for me is a monitor arm swinging out over a recliner, but it doesn't let me move around, and my neck is bent forward to look at the monitor, causing neck and shoulder pain. (Without the monitor arm, looking at the laptop screen, it's even worse.) A conventional desk setup, even with fancy ergonomic chair and keyboard, creates problems with my back and arms. I've briefly experimented with standing desks (IKEA hack) but my knees are very emphatic about their dislike of the idea of standing all day - an anti-fatigue mat would help, as would a sit/stand setup, but trying to use both is a hassle because you have to both change your desk height and roll out / put away the mat every time you change positions. And it's a pretty substantial investment of both time and money in a style of working that I have little reason to think will work for me.
The Altwork would let me recline while having the monitor directly in my line of site without hunching over, and transition from that into sitting with one button press, and from there get up and swing the desk out to the side over an anti-fatigue mat and work standing up. I am certainly not looking to spend $6000 on a desk - or $4000, the pre-order price - or $2400, my after-tax-deduction pre-order price - but it seems like a complete solution to an ergonomic dilemma I've had for over a decade now, and I don't see any cheaper alternative that does it.
Is there something out there already that's cheaper and better? Great! Show me! Take my money!
I'd call him a saint for informing us about Coren22's lies and technical blunders. Nobody likes liars and dolts. They're dangerous.
The fact that you feel the need to spam your personal feud like this makes me think you are a pathetic little shit with a very fragile ego. Go do something more useful with your time.
Special High Intensity Technology