Slashdot Mirror
The Back Station Reclining Work Desk
chroma writes "I found this amazing-looking
computer desk/chair combo
and I'm interested in hearing what Slashdot readers think. It
lets you adjust your working posture to just about any
angle, including standing and reclining! The bottom line is $6300 (CT:Ouch!),
shipping included. " Ergonomics are expensive.
You think that's strange? Mine does that and I don't even HAVE a caps lock key to press! (xmodmapped it to Multi_key). Assuming Logitech some day manages to make a wireless keyboard that works, do you think they'd agree to replace our faulty ones for free?
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Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
I can't get that link to post right.
Look for Healing Back Pain by John Sarno on Amazon.
Or just get rid of the space before the last series of numbers in that link above.
It is cool. But is it worth $6300 just so you can pretend to be Stephen Hawking? Maybe (given the week that's in it) you could get two people playing X-Wing and relive the dialogue ("I got him! I got him! "Great, kid. Don't get cocky!). But not for more than a grand. No way.
You could get a nice 24 inch monitor for that price. That would be the best ergonomic idea yet.
....or a nice used car.....
....or go on a really really nice date. Mmmm. Imagine the $400 cheesecake.
I think that Herman Miller sells a desk which can go from a few inches off the ground to standing very easily. Combine that with a good chair and you have what is probably just as ergonomic of a sytem for a quarter of the price. $6300 bucks is not worth it. You could probably contract someone to build you one of these things for less!
/*---------------------------*/
Man? What is man?
But a collection of chemicals with delusions of granduer.
"..........priceless at $6295.00 (space travel included for destinations in the continental U.S.A.)"
...
Cool! I wanna go to Io, one of the moons of Mars! Other people will want to go to Mars itself, or Venus, or that moon of Jupiter that might have life on it, but I want to be able to say "I've been to Io!", and have other people say "Huh?"
Oh, wait it says it's included for destinations in the continental USA. Well, if a relative from Neptune ever wants to come visit me, here's a way to travel cheap.
This reminds me of a book I read on Burma Shave signs. One of the series of signs read "Free Offer! Free Offer!/A Trip to Mars!/For 1000/Empty Jars!/Burma Shave" Some wiseguy who owned a store asked all of his customers to give him all their empties he sent them all in
The Burma Shave company found a town called Mars, or Moers, or something like that in Pennsylvania, and gave him a vacation there for his efforts.
It's not exactly a trip into outer space, but at least it's better than their plan B, which was to give him a tour of the local Mars Candy factory.
People who want to sell (presumably) smart people a chair for $6300 should know better than to call their technology "zero-gravity ergonomics".
I see a problem besides the price. Where are you supposed to keep your books/pens/coke can?
Or for that matter, your computer?
Is this even for real?
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Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
I'll have to agree with you on this one. Yes, those chairs are wonderful. My friend got one as a present (hint hint) and I've had time to check it out. Much better then the $50-$150 office chairs I usually sit in. As soon as I find the spare cash, this is in my future. --Dan
Why look like some kind of in-joke from The Matrix when you could work in style coutesy of Eames and his genius pals [for a fraction of the price, I might add]?
And where exactly am I supposed to put the 800 page O'Reilly tome on Sendmail?
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Rare Window - free your photos
I have the Wireless Desktop as well. Should have just bought a wireless mouse. Half the time I try to type C-X C-S in xemacs I somehow end up inserting an "s" into the buffer. Playing Quake with that thing is out of the question - movement keys tend to get "stuck" and sometimes pressing and releasing again doesn't even help.
--
Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
Has anyone checked out http://www.workenv.com Its a little more expensive, but there is something about it you just have to respect...
If it's uncomfortable, it's not ergonomic for you.
my fantasy:
wireless keyboard + 64" monitor = coding from my couch for a lot less than $6300.
And let me tell you, my couch is a whole lot more comfortable than any desk chair I've seen.
This could be bad for my resolution to get out more.
-- First post (by a female living in a state that begins with M and does not end in a vowel with a birthday that falls
Presumably included in the $6300 cost are a few clamps to hold the monitor....
*--BigMan--- Time flies like an arrow.. but personally I prefer a nice glass of wine!
The 'reclining' picture immediately reminded me of Bill Bixby about to be zapped into the Incredible Hulk! Now THERE'S an association you want in your advertising - the ultimate industrial accident!
The Alien Tech thing looks cheap. The one from poetic is much better designed, a whole bunch more features, and if I remember correctly, is cheaper.
Well I do, in one episode they used thease chairs to enter dream state if I rember correctly. Looks ALOT like that. I am not shure on the spelling but you get what I mean.
Not all of us. Some of us geeks would just be red all year long. I cannot be in the sun for more then 15 minutes without some heavy duty sunscreen. Even in my pre comptuers days I couldn't (back before I could read), and things have not changed. I like being outdoors, the outdoors doesn't like me.
Furniture people never learn do they? Where's the area to use the mouse on? And the joystick? And some space for the speakers if it's a multi-media system.
Did the designers ever actually _look_ at a modern computer?
For only $ 5,500 for the single monitor unit, you can get Poetic Technologies' Aura chair instead. It's way cooler than this thing, and costs less.
Ich suche die Leidenschaft, die keine Leiden schafft.
Why the recline is bad:
Jealous and Spiteful Co-Worker: Hey, there's Mr. Fancy-Chair all comfy... Let's just unplug his chair...
Later...
"Help, help! I've reclined and I can't get out!"
(It looks electric to me, anyway...)
A system to let you sit in your over stuffed
recliner and work on your computer:
http://members.ee.net/~mdbailey/
Now there's an idea! How much would YOU pay for the chance to do your work on the Air Force's "Vomit Commet" ? (That zero-G airplane that nosedives for 30 seconds at a time)
--- Tao
Ah yes, the computer chair of the future. I can just picture myself sacked out on one of these during those 20 hour code stints. The 'recline' picture looks a bit dangerous though; I wonder if there is some kind of mount for the monitor. It would be pretty non-ergonomic to have a 21" crt come crashing down on your face. Also I'm presuming the computer itself must sit off to the side somewhere -- nice how they don't show all the messy wires in the photos :) (I prefer my logitech wireless desktop anyway. Though I don't like the way the keyboard drops letters when I type too fast. And if I had one of those chairs the wireless mouse might just slide off the desktop while in 'recline'.)
So, +points for somewhat fulfilling a long-standing fantasy in futuresque form, -points for chintzy ad copy. "Although crusing in 'warp drive', please allow 6-8 weeks" for delivery. Indeed.
Anyone else think that a Laz-E-Boy in front of a computer desk (or maybe a wall-mounted flat panel monitor) would be just as good?
We want endless gardens of data, where the bits can flower, flourish and reproduce. -- Andy Mueller-Maguhn
Well, you'd hope so. But if all they're doing is clamping the base, I wouldn't trust that relatively flimsy piece of plastic to hold the screen at that kind of angle.
*muffled scream*
"What was that?"
"Oh, Bob's relaxing at his desk again."
--
Don't imitate. Enervate.
Check out the old man. He's about to get a mouthfull of monitor if gravity still applies in this ergonomic world.
At least a desk slanted at 45 degrees will presumably reduce the buildup of assorted garbage most of us geeks have on our desks. Just yesterday I discovered a multimeter probe and a pair of dice behind my monitor. *g* Although, as you say, it will mostly just mean that you have to find another surface to dump all your crap on.
Am I supposed to take the m seriously with statements like this:
..........priceless at $6295.00 (space travel included for destinations in the continental U.S.A.). Although cruising in "warp drive," please allow 6-8 weeks for the arrival of The Back Station tm .
Come on. If you are going to seel me the BMW of desks, treat me like I am at a BMW dealership, not a comic book shop.
Four-digit slashdot ID. Recognize.
Some things are better left uncreated. I agree that some things, like the mouse and keyboard particularly, benefitted from being made ergonomic (I really like using my MS keyboard), but an entire ergonomic setup? I find such desks and keyboard pads and mousepads to be incredibly uncomfortable to use. They may prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and help me in the long run, but which is more harmful; the painful displeasure then or the painful displeasure now? I've been using computers for the majority of my life and CTS has yet to hit me so I'm going to go with the former. It may be imprudent, but it's a reality.
Give me a papasan and a table and I'm set. There's no need to create an all in one folding thingamajig seat to hold my computer. It's too inflexible and its too expensive!
It looks very comfortable, but this thing is totally impractical. There doesn't seem to be any place to put your tower, no cable management, and the reclining position means you'd have to use a trackball or touchpad since most mice would roll right off.
There also doesn't seem to be a very straight-forward and quick way to get in and out of this contraption. So they've managed to combine computers and a visit to the dentist.
--- Tao
This contraption doesn't look terribly useful to me, because it doesn't take into account all of the other paraphenalia you need when you work. You're going to have a telephone, probably with a headset attachment, a pile of books, papers, meeting notes, etc., a file drawer, and so on. I find that most people working in IT, at least, have a second computer as well, and perhaps even two monitors on their primary computer.
cjs
The world's most portable OS: http://www.netbsd.org.
That reclining position looks too silly for the office. My desk and chair work good enough for me.
--BWing
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.
This $6300 chair is a bunch of crap. You can find a comfortable chair and workstation for much less than this.
If you have problems with your back hurting read this book. It cured me of back pain as well as several other family members and friends.
Healing Back PainI like the little logo that says "Alien Furniture Technology (TM)". I haven't figured out what the logo is supposed to depict---I suppose only an alien mind would know.
It'd be nice to recline while computing, but with the stuff I'm currently doing at work, I'd probably just fall asleep.
Did anyone else notice that the monitor only has a power cable going to it? I also don't see where the CPU box, speakers, converters, and the 20+ other cables and boxes fit in.
-Ben
What's to stop your monitor toppling off this thing and breaking your ribs? I have a 19" screen. That would be really painful.
--
Don't imitate. Enervate.
This is a joke for >$6k. The Aura from PoeticTech is cheaper and much better without thinking twice.
The only thing that the ``BackStation'' has going for it is the vertical tilt. It's still an extremely lacking environment for too high a price.
Coolest features is the programmed rotation. The "station" will rotate during the day up to 120deg. No more sun glare on the screens. Wonder if they are looking for beta testers?
---------- ovidius naso