Send Laptop Desk Setups

[Benez]

Following up on my Student project I am focusing on improving the ergonomics and useability of laptop desk setups 

I want to design a solution that is portable and encourages hybrid working
I want to study how people currently use their laptops to help this project
To help if you could just send a photo of your laptop setup (janky or cursed setups welcome as long as its genuine)

And 2/3 sentences describing how you use it or any problems you have
Thank you for your support and any submissions will be kept anonymous 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

I have a Targus DisplayLink Docking station that connects my two monitors, headset, webcam, mouse, keyboard, and ethernet to my laptop via one USB cable. The dock also provides DC power to it so when I get home from the office to work remotely the next day, just connect two cables and I'm good to go. The only issue is that since it's a third party dock, you cannot turn on the laptop using the dock. So you'll need to open the laptop to do so in the morning. If you use the laptop screen, that's no problem. But I don't have room for that so I leave open the lid in the morning to turn it on then immediately close it and rest it on the base of my monitor stand. 

 

Targus Docking Station TLDR:

• Pros: It's universal so be used on any brand of laptop or tablet.
• Cons: If you use the laptop with the lid closed, you'll need to open it in the morning to turn on the laptop. 

 

We have similar Targus Docking Stations in the office so similar scenario, just two cables and you're good to go. 

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens-property/mt-wp/mt-wp-eng.html

[Benez]

On 1/28/2023 at 5:11 AM, LloydLynx said:

When shut down, I leave my laptop unplugged from the charger and closed. You'll also notice the portable hard drive that the laptop hides when the screen is up. I have an rsync script that sycronizes all my stuff so I always have a recent backup. I only plug it in when I need it and I run a backup almost every night before bed. 

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When I'm doing something productive, I'll use the laptop display as a second monitor. In the picture, you can see my email client on the laptop display, and no programs open on the HP monitor. 

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For more casual use, I just use the HP monitor. I have scripts written that change display configuration so I can switch to whatever display arangement I want in just a couple seconds, if not under a second. 

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As for a mouse, I just use the trackpoint on the laptop. It's the most OCD friendly pointing device known to man. The built-in keyboard is also fairly good. 

 

One improvement I'd like is to get a docking station so I don't have to plug everything in and out (power, VGA, USB audio DAC, ethernet, and external HDD or TV tuner depending on what I'm doing) when I want to go from desk to mobile or vise versa. Half the time I take the charger with me. Most old Latitudes and Thinkpads have a giant proprietary port on the bottom that allows you to just plop the laptop on top and it's docked. Not sure how well Linux would handle it though. 

 

My water bottle (not in pictures) usually sits in front of the right speaker next to the clock. At night, the clock gets put on the corner where the phone is, and the phone gets put somewhere else, so that I can quickly disable the alarm clock when I jump out of bed in the morning. My hat usually sits left of the laptop or on top of the laptop when I go to bed(not in pictures). 

 

Screw driver set, wallet, and coin jar is kept on top of right speaker. Nail and hair care stuff kept on top of left speaker. I very frequenly grab the nail file and clipper. Other random stuff is because it doesn't have anywhere else to go. 

Thank you so much, plenty to take away from this from the perspective of a power user and I see that you have really well optimised the setup for you

[Benez]

On 1/29/2023 at 12:23 AM, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

I have a Targus DisplayLink Docking station that connects my two monitors, headset, webcam, mouse, keyboard, and ethernet to my laptop via one USB cable. The dock also provides DC power to it so when I get home from the office to work remotely the next day, just connect two cables and I'm good to go. The only issue is that since it's a third party dock, you cannot turn on the laptop using the dock. So you'll need to open the laptop to do so in the morning. If you use the laptop screen, that's no problem. But I don't have room for that so I leave open the lid in the morning to turn it on then immediately close it and rest it on the base of my monitor stand. 

 

Targus Docking Station TLDR:

• Pros: It's universal so be used on any brand of laptop or tablet.
• Cons: If you use the laptop with the lid closed, you'll need to open it in the morning to turn on the laptop. 

 

We have similar Targus Docking Stations in the office so similar scenario, just two cables and you're good to go. 

https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens-property/mt-wp/mt-wp-eng.html

Sorry to be a bother but could you possibly send a quick photo of your work setup?

[Fenneko43]

this is my setup!

its an old picture though.

[Guest]

Two options you can do are

1. Treat the computer as a desktop and just plug in a monitor. 

 

2. You can raise the laptop on a platform and plug in mouse and keyboard. (don't spend money in this. My Lenovo literally came with the foam shaped just to do that.