Laptop Ergonomics

When I'm working with clients in their offices (including home offices), I can't help but notice how many of them are working in extremely poor conditions, ergonomically. This is especially true for those using laptop computers.

I'm not an ergonomics expert, but everything I've read emphasizes that if you are doing a substantial amount of work on a laptop, you need to compensate for the all-in-one design, which won't ever let you place both the screen and the keyboard/mouse in ergonomically-acceptable positions. A common approach involves getting an external keyboard and mouse, and elevating the laptop.

Some of the best references I've found regarding laptop ergonomics are:
- Cornell University
- Harvard University
- MIT
- Macworld
- Haworth, Inc. (PDF) - could no longer access this on Sept. 5, 2011
- Health.com

Please make sure your computer set-up won't cause you pain and injury; if you need to make adjustments, do it now!