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is it stupid to get a wireless keyboard and mouse and stand for my mbp?

L

littlegreenyoda

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 4, 2009
61
0
Hi,

I own a 15" mbp and am wondering if its stupid of me to get a stand for my mbp, and wireless keyboard and mouse???

looks as if i'm using the mbp as an external display and under-utilizing it.
 
Not stupid at all. Its actually an excellent setup.

I have my 15in mbp on one of the rain stands and I have a magic mouse and apple wireless keyboard. I love the setup. When I go back to my living area I plug it into my cinema display and have the same setup (although different keyboard and mouse) back there.
 
littlegreenyoda said:
Hi,

I own a 15" mbp and am wondering if its stupid of me to get a stand for my mbp, and wireless keyboard and mouse???
******************************************
Not at all. stupid. Very wise.
I am now into my second Mac laptop and also enjoy the MBP 15" unibody.
My mac is, thus , very mobile both within the house and when I am out and about.
But when home, and doing serious work, I want the comfort of a desktop machine. So, I, too use a stand to elevevate my MBP at eyelevel height an I use an external keyboard and mouse.
Furthermore, I indulged in the 24" LED monitor so I can have dual display, wonderful when doing document- rich work in that some items can be displayed on the MBP and the main document is in front of me on my 24" monitor.
Furthermore, when I am not home, I pack a folding thingee, from LapWorks, in my computer bag that lets me stand the MBP at an angle,slightly raised, so that I can keyboard more ergonomically, better for the wrists.

So, no, you are not stupid. The beauty of the laptop is that it IS so versatile and you can easily have the best of both worlds; desktop comfort and laptop portability.
That is one reason you pay more for the laptop.


Go for it , be versatile with your MBP and enjoy all of it.
Click to expand...
 
thank u all for your advice but currently i do not have any imac or external display.

only a lonely mbp on my desk, however my wrists hurt after using it a while and the screen is too low for me.

just got a feeling friends will ask why i buy a laptop for and still use external keyboard!

btw, is the new wireless keyboard from apple good? will it cause any wrist pain?
 
littlegreenyoda said:
thank u all for your advice but currently i do not have any imac or external display.

only a lonely mbp on my desk, however my wrists hurt after using it a while and the screen is too low for me.

just got a feeling friends will ask why i buy a laptop for and still use external keyboard!

btw, is the new wireless keyboard from apple good? will it cause any wrist pain?
Click to expand...

A keyboard shouldn't cause wrist pain (unless you're bashing your wrists with your keyboard). Using the keyboard incorrectly will cause the pain, and may lead to neurological issues such as carpel tunnel syndrome.

If you are experiencing wrist pain, I'd suggest that you learn how to type properly. Going ahead with your planned setup would be a good idea, because it would put your screen at eye level and would promote better posture.
 
thanks again for the link!

i not sure why im having wrist pain (perhaps due to the mouse) and shoulder ache but should be coz of the laptop screen.

My table and chair is of correct position just that the mbp screen is really not aligned with my eye level.

And if i were to get a stand, means i will have to buy a wireless keyboard.. :(
 
Not stupid at all. I bought both with my MPB and love the heck out of them. They give me the ability to kick back with my feet on the desk and the keyboard in my lap and also allow me to hook the computer to the TV so my girls can play on my laptop without ever actually touching it which is some darn good insurance as far as I can see.

As far as wrist pain goes, I haven't noticed any and it has been one of the fastest keyboards I've ever owned.
 
i love apple's newer keyboards, but i actually sort of hate their mice.

the newest one isn't terrible, but i find that any mouse that is designed to be ambidextrous is designed to cause wrist pain.

I'm still using my old logitech mx700 mouse, long long after the matching wireless keyboard went into the trashcan.

i do love the new mac keyboards, though.

i won't get a wireless one because i need a numeric keypad, but the ergonomics of it are spot-on.
 
littlegreenyoda said:
hmm..

so can i say that majority of the mbp users here use an external keyboard and a stand??
Click to expand...

I actually own an external monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse along with my MBP but can probably count on one hand the number of times I've sat and used them. I find the MBP and its trackpad very comfortable and feel no discomfort at all when using it for long periods of time. But that being said, if you are feeling discomfort you should definitely go ahead with your plan. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
 
yeah pretty much the deal is that apple makes fantastic keyboards but has yet to make a decent mouse. i'm still using a dell mouse with my laptop just because an apple mouse is impossible to use for any sort of practical purpose.
 
littlegreenyoda said:
only a lonely mbp on my desk, however my wrists hurt after using it a while and the screen is too low for me.

just got a feeling friends will ask why i buy a laptop for and still use external keyboard!

btw, is the new wireless keyboard from apple good? will it cause any wrist pain?
Click to expand...
As mentioned by someone else you shouldn't have wrist pains unless you are typing incorrectly or typing all day without any breaks. The faster you type the more breaks you need. Typing is like any other body movement. You have to get your body and muscles used to it before you can go hours. My aunt got wrist problems because she went from very little typing to a job that required her to type all day. It's like waking up one day and running a 10 mile marathon without any training.

The only keyboards I get instantly wrist pains from are those tiny compact keyboards found on smaller laptops. Also to keep a good back posture while using a laptop screen I have to tilt the screen further backwards. This allows me to keep an upright posture while only looking down slightly. The more forwards I tilt the screen the more I have to slouch down in order to see the screen comfortably.

I have the wired Apple external mini keyboard for my desktop and I like it better than my MBP keyboard. Even though they look the same with the same layout I find the external keyboard just feels nicer to type on.

If you want to get a stand and external keyboard then just get it because if it makes you more comfortable then who cares what others think. You are the one that has to live with the uncomfortable problem.


littlegreenyoda said:
hmm..

so can i say that majority of the mbp users here use an external keyboard and a stand??
Click to expand...
I don't know about the majority but I definitely don't. I sometimes use an external monitor but I do use an external mouse because I find it more precise for small exact movements for times when I edit in Photoshop. I can live with the trackpad for everything else though.
 
personally i think it's a good idea, a stand at the very least, my MBP cooks like a furnace under even light usage so it'd improve the air flow, and yeah a keyboard and mouse make sense, unless ya want arm ache or something :D lol
 
I've been using this setup for awhile and love it. It's the Rain Design mStand. The keyboard is a Logitech Dinovo and the mouse is the new Logitech Anywhere MX (works on glass). Highly recommended!

K5t
 
Ignoring the fact that I use my MacBook with a wired keyboard for a second, I also think it's an awesome way to easily transform your laptop into an ergonomic desktop computer.

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