Tech Spotlight : Laptop desk helps beat the heat; PDF program lightens formatting cost
Posted on Monday, July 16, 2007
I’m continuing my quest for cool tools to make computing a bit easier.
Last week, I didn’t have the greatest of luck with two items. This week, I fared much better. I found a handy desk that’s saving my lap from mild burns and a small program that makes it easy to create Portable Document Format files without spending an arm and a leg on Adobe Acrobat software.
The first product has helped make it easier to use my new computer. I recently got a laptop, and the speed of it has blown me away. It’s about 10 times faster than my previous computer.
However, such speedy processors do have one major issue — heat. My old laptop got hot after a couple hours, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. This one, on the other hand, gets so hot it’s hard to keep it on my lap. That’s just after a few minutes. Get Windows churning or try to do something hefty like using Adobe Photoshop, and you might as well stick a torch to your thighs. It would feel about the same.
That’s why I was grateful to see the new product from Lap-Works to test. The Laptop Desk Futura lives up to its name — it looks like some sleek prop from a Star Trek set.
The Futura is made of a heavy-duty, silver plastic with a sandstone-like texture to help keep the laptop from sliding around. A hinge in the center allows it to fold in half.
The LapWorks desk in its unfolded position is just wide enough to slide between my recliner’s arms, as well as between the arms of other chairs in my home. Folded, it is only about an inch thick at its widest point, so it can slide into a storage space or laptop case easily.
What impresses me the most about this device is the cleverness of the design. First, there are several slits in the desk to keep air circulating around the bottom of the computer. This keeps the computer from getting even hotter than it already is. Little rubber ovals and triangles dot the top of the LapWorks desk. These act as “feet” to hold the computer in place so it doesn’t slide easily off the desk. I had to tilt it about 30 degrees toward me and shake before the computer would slide off.
The coolest part of the design on the Futura is actually on the back. There’s a flap of hard plastic on one side and lines of rubber on the other. The flap slides between the lines to prop the desk open. The folded desk then becomes a platform to elevate the laptop and tilt it at an angle. The desk has five different angles to tilt the computer to a more comfortable position.
I was able to use the desk in this position in my lap to bring the computer up to a more comfortable position. However, it did move around quite a bit on my lap.
This position for the desk is meant to be on a flat surface.
I was amazed at how much heat the thin plastic of this desk caught. I could feel a little heat from the desk after an hour or so, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as putting the computer straight onto my lap. That was incredibly uncomfortable, almost unbearable.
There was plenty of room on the Futura for my 15-inch computer, but it didn’t leave a whole lot of room for my notebook mouse, and the raised LapWorks logos on each end of the desk made the surface too bumpy anyway. That’s the only downside I found to this device.
I also had good luck with a little program called deskPDF from DocuDesk. This program allows you to drag most document files to the icon and drop them, and the program instantly turns the document into a PDF file. PDFs are a universal format and are very popular with businesses. Ordinarily, you would use Adobe Acrobat software to create such files. But Acrobat costs $ 299 for the full version. The beauty of deskPDF is that it costs a tenth of Acrobat.
Amazingly, the program does quite a bit for so little money. It converted most of the files I tried quickly and easily, and they all looked sharp. The deskPDF Professional version I tested (other versions are available, including Standard and server versions ) also lets you create watermarks and hyperlinks (which you click to go to that Web page ). It also lets you use 128-bit encryption to secure the document, and you can combine several documents into one.
The program worked well with text files, Word files and similar files. It wouldn’t convert Web pages I tried, however.
I do like that you can make documents of up to 60 pages. Similar programs I’ve tried were often severely limited on the number of pages you could produce. I also like that you can instantly attach it to an e-mail if you choose. In short, this program is more than worth the $ 30 retail if you need a quick way to make PDFs but can’t afford Acrobat.
These are two impressive products that are sure to make things easier. It will be interesting to see what pops up next. Melissa L. Jones can be reached via e-mail at mljones 72 @mac. com.
Where it’s @ LapWorks Laptop Desk Futura is made to use with laptop computers and folds for storage. The desk retails for $ 29. 95. DocuDesk’s deskPDF requires Windows ME or later, 32 MB of memory and 30 MB on the hard drive. There is no Macintosh version available. The Professional version retails for $ 29. 95. More information on the Laptop Desk Futura is available at www. laptopdesk. net. More information on deskPDF is available at www. docudesk. com.
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