For years, regular users of laptops have known that anything labeled as an ergonomic laptop is either a typo or an oxymoron. Portable and convenient, sure, but the notebook computer’s ability to cause pain from tiny keyboards, attached screens, heavy weight and an unfortunate locale for a high operating temperature (see Got a Hunk of Burning Love? Could Be Coming From Your Laptop, Ergonomics Today, November 27, 2002) have made them anything but ergonomically friendly. IBM, however, is trying to change that.
Unveiling two prototypes for the next generation of laptop computers at the TechXNY show in New York, IBM’s new designs seek to eliminate user complaints about all portable computers, regardless of manufacturer