Somehow this doesnt feel like progress

[dreamshark]

After a whirlwind tour of local electronics stores, I realized that the local retailers no longer carry sturdy monitor stands with built-in keyboard drawers. Not even the solid but too-narrow one I bought at one of these same stores just a few years ago, let alone the wider version I was hoping to find. So I dug out a hacksaw and started cutting down the sides of the one I've got.

Meanwhile, the overflow tank for our boiler, which is conveniently located in the back of my closet, started leaking furiously into my shoes.

Comments

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Don't you just love old houses? :(

Keyboard drawers

[biblio-tech.livejournal.com]

It's been a few years, and perhaps my solution is too much for whatever space you have, but I bought a plain "executive" desk (no drawers, 6 feet long) at Podany's and had them add a slide out keyboard tray. The tray is long enough to have a mouse on each side of the keyboard ( I switch hands and am too lazy to slide the keyboard over). They do have narrower desks...

Re: Keyboard drawers

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's great if you're starting from scratch. But I already have a computer desk with a typing table pullout on the side where my computer sits. Being a typing table, it is already the correct height for a keyboard on TOP of the table but too low for a monitor. So I bought this great little monitor keyboard stand - a solid box for the monitor to sit on with a slideout keyboard drawer and that's been perfect. I was just looking for a slightly wider version of the same thing. But they don't even seem to be selling the original thing anymore. Why not??? How could this not be an item that lots of people need?

Re: Keyboard drawers

[biblio-tech.livejournal.com]

I'm still trying to visualize having a typing table at the height for the keyboard AND needing a keyboard drawer on the monitor stand. You might find furniture stores more helpful than the office warehouse places. Podany's http://www.podanys.com/ and Desq http://www.desq.com/ are both in the Twin Cities.

Best o' luck!

Re: Keyboard drawers

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

When in use, the keyboard is in front of the monitor stand. When not in use, the keyboard slides back under the monitor. The reason there needs to be a drawer to accomplish this is because the table is not wide enough to accomodate both a keyboard and full-size CRT monitor.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

uffda. Did you check Office Max? They've got a lot of office furniture and accessory stuff.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I didn't actually make it to Office Max, but I checked Office Depot, CompUSA, Best Buy and Circuit City. Weirdly enough, the sales staff at all 4 places had a hard time understanding the terms "monitor stand" and "keyboard drawer" (even though 3 of the stores did carry monitor stands with no keyboard drawer and vice versa). That's probably what pushed the effort from being just a bother to somewhere between infuriating and surreal. If I didn't already have an instance of the item in question, I would have had to wonder if I hadn't imagined the whole concept. Has the world changed that much in the maybe 10 years since I bought that stand?

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I did a quick Google search on the terms Monitor stand and keyboard drawer and it came up with a lot of hits. Maybe you could order something online?

At any rate, isn't it better ergonomically if your hands (and the keyboard) are down below desktop height? (ie: not at the same level a desktop computer stand would be sitting at.)

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Yes, of course. That's the whole point of a typing table. The tabletop is lower than a standard desktop. In fact, it is exactly the right height for a keyboard to sit on. So I dont want a keyboard drawer that mounts under the top of the typing table. I want one that sits on the tabletop in front of the monitor stand while I'm using it. When I am not using it, I want it to disappear under the monitor stand. That's the point of the drawer.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

OK. I get it. I was thinking a monitor stand would go on the desktop, to help put the monitor at proper viewing height.

[fmsv.livejournal.com]

It looks like Microcenter has one, at least on their website. (I found it by searching for "keyboard drawer".) I don't know if they have any in-store or not.