Monday, April 11, 2005

Laptop bias against left-handers?

I recently started using a Compaq laptop. It's pretty neat, except for one problem. Though I'm right-handed, I use my left-hand to navigate the mouse. I've never gotten used to that touch-pad thingy, so I like to plug in a mouse. The problem with this laptop is that there's a fan at the left-hand side of the laptop, about an inch from the joint where the laptop swivels. When I use the mouse, the hot air from the fan blows right into my hand. I would've loved the warm air, if it were winter and I was outdoors, but since it's summer and since I'm indoors, this isn't my idea of a good design. I wonder what reason the designer had for putting the outlet on the left-hand side. Why not the right? And why not at the back? I know that many people use the touch pad but some don't like to, so the designer should've thought about this. Hey, maybe that user testing that the usability people talk about would've helped. Either way, when I buy a laptop, this is one of the things I'll check for sure!

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