- If you look closely I have some speakers mounted to the underside of the front face. They are pointed down and reflect off of the surface of the desk (iMac style). I originally wanted to fit them inside the grills but space is surprisingly limited once you try to fit a speaker box in there.
- Thanks! Been interested in better ways to hide the wires.
- I imagine that could be very difficult to pull off. ;)
Nice! This was my first thought... digitize it! Didn't want to spend the cash for the keyboard though so it ended up being a desk. I would love to convert it into a digital keyboard one day.
Haha... I knew an astute fellow hacker would pickup on that. :) Yes, the monitor cutout was originally the spot for the music stand. I had to router out about 1/4 an inch to fit in the stripped down apple 23inch display. Currently I have my MBP hooked up on the desk in the center to get some more screen space. Moving between the two screens helps with the height issue.
Given that almost everyone has their screens too low usually, I'm not so sure. Middle of the screen should be eye level if you sit looking to the horizon with a straight back, would be nice if it was vertically adjustable admittedly. The chair is a little low in that picture though for the height of the keyboard maybe.
Thanks! Yes, first time I sat down to use it I thought, "Uh oh..." But now I find the experience to be quite immersive with the monitor close and vertical. Right, now that I look at it the chair is low. Usually the arm rests meet the height of the desk which seems to be the optimal height.
I did ergonomics as part of my course at uni. Having the top of the screen at eye level means your gaze is always from level and down, this is not good practice and encourages a hunched posture as you will tend to aim your head at the middle of the screen and use upward eye movement to look at the top of the screen. Having the center of the screen at eye level keeps your neck straight and there is plenty of movement in they eye itself to look to the top of the screen without having to tilt your head back, even when fairly close to a screen. The major exception to this is when wearing bifocals.
However I am re-reviewing the literature and might be able to be convinced that having it slightly lower is better, but I still think that having the top of the screen at eye level is too low. Has been ages since I looked at this properly, so I might be suffering from reality-distortion.
Someone should send this article to the guys who make a business out of taking old pianos and, when no one wants their donation, doing this and selling them.
Years ago I recycled an old 8-ball table into a desk. Utilising a claw hammer to take off one side of the table rails, so as to be flush with the table surface. I threw away my mouse pad. Best table ever, it was amazing for FPS gaming.
I love how the keyboard is (by design) at perfect keyboard height and the monitor is likewise at a pretty ideal viewing height, since the spot it's in was designed to be looked at while using a keyboard.
Is there enough legroom? I tend to unconsciously wrap my feet around anything within reach while I'm working, and not being able to do that actually kind of impedes concentration.
Haha. No there's totally not as you see it in the pics. I removed the black panel at the base which gives 8 nice more inches and a foot rest on the lip. I find my feet playing with the spring mechanisms for the pedals while I code.
Yes! Yes, yes, yes. I saw this when it hit the front page awhile ago and have been waiting to stumble across the proper hardware to try it out. I love vim.
Well done, not bad at all. The only change I would make is to cut away a portion of the back-board under the desk so I could stretch my legs out a bit.
Ah! That's removable... and currently removed. You're right, it started to get a little cramped. There's a little ledge at the bottom now which makes a nice foot rest.
- hook up the foot pedal to a KVM or some kind of software switch to switch desktops/environments
- put some speakers behind the 2 grills if it isn't done already
- make one or both of the grills openable and attach a power strip in them so the power wires can be hooked up hidden inside instead of outside
- cut out the flat part of keyboard cover and use it to extend the desktop for more desktop space and more leg room