Macworld on healthy computing

This posture stuff is claptrap. I've practically lived on computers for the past 18 years of my life, and my vision, wrists, and back are completely fine. The best position for using a computer is the most comfortable one you can find. I prefer soft, high-back executive swivel chairs, but your mileage may vary. Those idiotic kneeling chairs and "sit straight up" advice only improve your health by minimizing the amount of time you actually spend working. I sometimes have to work 16-20 hours straight when deadlines loom and if I was sitting like Dolly Parton in "9 to 5", I'd drop dead after 12 (plus I lack the counterweights that Dolly comes with).

Stress injuries occur when you perform repetitive movements while your body is tense. There's no better way to be tense than sitting up straight and worrying about the angle of your forearms.

The reason monitors are lowered is to encourage you to tilt your eyes, not your head. Our eyes focus on closer objects with less strain when they are looking down.

Try this simple experiment: Hold a pen at around mouth level. Bring it as close to your eyes as you can focus. Maintaining that distance from your eyes, raise the pen and see what happens.

The one glaring omission in the magazine, to me, is the lack of a Wacom tablet recommendation. The mouse used to give me wrist pains after just a few minutes of use. When I switched to the tablet, I was able to work for hours on end without any pain in my arm. It just feels so much more natural.

Some people have a hard time grasping the fundamental concepts of how to use it, but once you do you'll never go back.

I highly disagree on their monitor hight recommendation.

A monitor should ideally be centered at eye level, so all you have to do is look straight ahead, not down which causes you to tilt your head.

How many cm/inches up differs from person to person, desk to desk, and depends on how tall you are and your chair position. I can testify to the fact that raised monitors are a major improvement against neck strain. Both at home and certainly in the work place.