Holidays and new computer

[Lin]

Hi Everyone,

I got back from Madeira last week after a well earned holiday.  It was truly fantastic.  I took more money with me than I spent, so I have treated myself to a new computer.  I wasn't sure if I wanted a laptop or a desktop.  The laptop won!  I bought a Lenovo and it's fab!  My old computer dates back to 2007 so I felt it was time to buy a new one.

I happened to be in Curry's PC World and the young lad from the Carphone Warehouse collared me to change my phone.  The contract has just run out and so we are now saving £17 a month and a new iPhone into the bargain.  So yesterday was my lucky day. 

I spend a lot of time in the garden in summer and I felt it was a good idea to be able to write my books in the peace and quiet of the countryside.  The laptop also gives me more room in my office.  I shall now get rid of the huge computer desk and replace it with a comfy armchair.   

[Spell Chick]

It's really difficult to type quickly when you use it as an actual laptop. You might want to hold on to the desk for a little while before you get rid of it.

[Gyppo]

It'll make your neck and shoulders ache as well because laptops encourage lousy posture if you use them for any length of time.  They aren't designed for the long hours we writers often put in.  Why do you think there's so many hunchbacked and irritable business types around?

Use it up on the desk when you can.   Even if you get a smaller desk.  Or a little flop-down shelf bolted to the wall.

[Jo Bannister]

I too am wedded to my Lenovo laptop.  I'm doing this at the desk, but to work on the book I go round into the sunroom, put my feet up on the daybed and put the laptop on a bean-bag lap-tray on my now elevated lap.  Works perfectly for me.

[Lin]

I am a competent touch typist and find the Lenovo really easy to use.  Except after Windows 7 , using Microsoft Word is a bit of a challenge.  I now have to relearn how to navigate around the computer, arrrgghhh!

[Mark T]

Congrats on your new tech acquisitions. I use an old notebook but with a proper keyboard plugged in via USB. I've written two books with a word-count of 103 000 and 35 000 words, in my own four-fingered style, and much general writing to boot, some of it commercially published, so I agree with Gyppo regarding writing comfort. And I'm quite fussy about the layout and button spacing on the actual keyboard; after that I don't mind too much about the pie crumbs and beer drops. Personally, I can't stand laptops and their silly keyboards for extended writing - I want something bashable.

I'm also dubious about microwave generators on laps. There's plenty of solid research online about what this does to young ovaries and gonads etc. so it's not a recommended example to be setting and is banned in schools in some countries, I think. WiFi is plain nasty to organic life but happily one of the effects seems to be not worrying about it too much.
           

[Gyppo]

It's taken me a few years and a few experiments to find a keyboard which suits me.  I've played with laptops occasionally but they always feel cramped and uncomfortable.

I think I'll start a new thread about this.  I'll be really imaginative and call it 'Keyboards'.  Up soon in the Coffee shop ;-)

Gyppo