Altwork Ergonomic Workstations: You’ll want to lie down for this
Published:
We
spend a lot of time talking about the latests CPUs or GPUs. Obsessing
over gaining a few seconds in render time or getting that much closer to
cracking the next computational milestone. But what we don’t spend a
lot of time talking about is how we engage with our computer-based work.
We
spend the bulk of our days staring at a computer screen and there’s
been a lot of debate about the health effects of this over the decades.
We know that sitting down for most of the day is pretty bad for your
health and so we’ve seen a recent fad of standing desks and even ( as if
work wasn’t exhausting enough) treadmill desks. No surprise that these
special workstation desks cost big bucks and it didn’t take long before
health professionals weighed in with the fact that standing all day is also bad for your health. It turns out that, as with most things, moderation and mixing it up is the right answer here.
Apart
from possible health issues, comfort and prevention of injury are two
pretty important components of being productive and not feeling terrible
or in pain after prolonged hours toiling away at a desk.
The
question is, how much is that comfort worth? Altwork thinks it's worth
$5900, which is a quite a bit of money for a chair and desk combination
by almost anyone’s standards.
The Alwork Station,
as it is officially known, is unique because it basically transforms.
You can from standing up, to sitting as usual, to reclining to actually
being flat on your back.
Altwork has a specific market in mind for their product:
“Altwork
is designed for high intensity computer users, which we define as
people that spend at least 4 hours a day in front of their personal
computer and are required to focus on complex tasks for extended periods
of time such as developing software and producing computer automated
design work.”
Does
that sound like you? If so you may want to get in on the action early,
since the first run will be nearly at half price, a still eye-watering
$3900.
The
Altwork station can handle 35 lbs worth of screens for permanent
operation. There are various side table options and attachments point
for you laptop. You’re probably wondering how a mouse and keyboard will
work when on your back. Altwork seems to have solved this by making the
desk with a steel layer and attaching magnets to your peripherals via an
included kit.
The
Altwork station is designed to last 10 years (although the warranty is
for five) and will accommodate people up to 6’8” and 250 lbs, although
the company says people outside of the design specs have been fine, make
of that what you will.
If
you were to bite the bullet and get the Altwork it may very well be
that your back and cardiovascular system will thank you for it in the
long run, but at this price maybe you should try out a friend’s first.