Lap Desks

I have a 15" laptop and have used a number of lap desks over the years, and none have satisfied me. I don't really need a mouse pad space (trackpad) but it wouldn't hurt to have a mouse space available for gaming. I sit in a very large chair so using the armrests isn't an option. I'm just curious what experience you all have with various lap desks. Any particular favorites? I've seen shelves that you can slide over your chair, to glorified pieces of plywood, but what have you turned up?

Plexiglass and padded plastic

[Parmelia]

I used to have a small hinged piece of plexiglass that I used because it was easy to tuck into my laptop bag and have with me all the time. It was enough to keep both me and the laptop from getting too hot. Best paired with jeans, though -- it wasn't *quite* enough for the hot days of summer when I wanted to have the laptop on bare legs.

I've seen ones with fans that plug in to USB, but to be honest, the extra fan noise kinda drives me crazy when it's that close to my ears.

What I'm using right now is a little padded lap desk like they occasionally sell packaged with crossword puzzle books and such. Plastic on top, pillow underneath, works well enough *and* it's fine even if I'm wearing a short skirt or shorts and need to keep the hot laptop off my legs. I've noticed they sell these specifically for laptops nowadays, but so far I haven't seen one that's small enough for me. I'm not that big, and neither is my laptop!

Angle is important

[Red Flayer]

I like the ones attached to the side of hospital beds for eating on. It's kinda hard to sneak one out unnoticed[1], especially since you need to do it from someone else's hospital room (so it's harder to trace to you).

Two mods are required: Adding facility to tilt[2] (instead of just swivel) and adding a padded wristrest (for ergonomics as well as to keep your laptop from sliding onto your lap).

[1] Or, if you're lucky, find one at a surplus store.
[2] Easy enough to add a locking hinge.

I have no idea if something similar is available commercially for cheap. But it can't be too hard to RYO using the swivel & tilt arms used to mount TVs... as long as you have a sturdy chair to mount the frame to.

Less than obvious solution?

[Alzheimers]

Here's a less obvious solution that might just fit your needs:

Most HDTVs these days have VGA inputs. A 15-dollar VGA cable should do the trick, and most XP installs will recognize the HD resolution and scale a desktop fairly well. Once you've hooked up the laptop to the tv, get yourself a wireless keyboard with a trackpad built in (like the Logitech Mediaboard Pro [logitech.com] and as a bonus, it works with the PS3 too) and you should be set.

Re:posture?

[ptomblin]

Funny you should mention neck pain. I've been using laptops in my lap for over 5 years now, and never had a bit of pain. But I recently got reading glasses, and now my neck is killing me when I use a laptop for extended periods of time. Not sure if it's because of the contortions I have to do to see the screen through the reading part of the bifocals, or if both are because of my age, but it sucks.

I even had to prop my work monitor (24" Silicon Graphics CRT - VERY HEAVY) up on top of two ORA X11 reference books to keep from having to bend my head down.

Home made lap desk

[LorenzoV]

Once upon a time I used a lap desk regularly, long before there were laptop computers. It was pretty big and rested its edges on the arms of my easy chair. That lap desk is long gone now.

I recently got laptops for my SO and self. We sit on a loveseat in the living room in front of the TV in the evening, with laptops, reading the news and doing correnspondence. We both decided we needed lap desks. Here's what we did:

I found pieces of peg-board in the scrap heap. I cut two pieces 12"x24". My SO got some drapery fabric from her scrap heap and some pillow stuffing material. She used a hot glue gun to make an angled pillow on one side of the peg-board, with the fabric wrapping around, attaching to the opposite side of the peg-board. Using the hot glue gun, she attached mouse pads at the right spots to the peg-board.

The angled pillow keeps the computer at the correct angle for comfortable use. The pillow also keeps the heat from the laptops from heating up our legs. This seems to work well for us.