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Finally, I have a proper desk in my room. Previously I've just had one of those scabby "computer workstations" which are, without doubt, the crapiest things for actually using a computer at ever invented. You know, the set-of-shelves-on-wheels affairs where you're meant to put the PC on top and the printer and whatnot underneath. Argos sell them by the shedload to people who've just bought a PC for the first time. There's nowhere to put your legs, the damn things are never wide enough to use a keyboard and a mouse, there's never enough space to store all the things you want to put on there, there's nothing to hold cables...
The thing that gets me is that people still keep making and selling them as if they're the best thing for using a computer at. They add various widgits to the basic design, but you still can't change the fact that these desks are crap. What the hell are furniture "designers" thinking of? Why is it that so few items that I use daily are actually well designed (i.e. my too-small desk, my uncomfortable chair, my too-short bed)? And why does everyone seem to think that stuff is well-desgined when it blatently isn't? Design (of webpages as well as everyday furniture) is an area where the word "innovative" gets overused and has become meanigless now. Everyone describes their product or service as "innovative", even if no-one in the whole company has had an original thought for the last 20 years.
Admitedly, the original "computer workstation" desk was probably a good idea. Someone wanted one to fit their situation, and it worked well for them. It probably was a genuinly innovative idea. Problem is that now everyone keeps making copies and slight variations instead of actually making desks that would be more usefull for computer users (i.e. decent leg room, built-in power sockets and cable management, adjustable height, maybe a sloping front for keyboard users).
Anyway, now I have my own desk... £15 from a local second-hand furniture place, plus £7 for a matching pedastool for the printer and scanner. And the great thing is about it being mine rather than just borrowed off the landlady, and cheap and dispensible too boot, is that I am free to drill holes, nail and saw bits as I see fit. So, now I have a desk with integrated 14-way power supply strip, 10 USB ports, 4 Ethernet ports, light, microphone, speakers and a slide-away shelf for the keyboard. Sorted.
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