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Comment by skizm | Hacker News Reader

The guy with the laptop in the tub is making me uncomfortable on several levels.

I assume it is the fact that there is a bottle of Macallan 12 whisky behind him? Yup, that makes me uncomfortable as well. You don't drink whisky without a proper glass.

tell me about it.

http://hackersurfing.com/assets/dinner5_s.jpg

if you're trying to make an impression, that's the impression you're going to make. sheesh.

That has to be a planned/posed image. There's no way one could focus so intently while hot water bubbles around you..

It is possible for sure.

I actually do code in the bathtub, but not like that. You can't reliably hold a laptop on your bare bent legs -- the lack of friction caused by leg hair will make it slide towards you (and into the water if the water is too high). If the guy were to put both hands on the keyboard and code, the laptop would not stay in place.

The only way to do it comfortably is to sit with your legs straight and flat in front of you (in a tub style bath, not a deep jacuzzi like pictured), raise the water level to about .75 inches (2cm) below the laptop (resting on your flat thighs), then lower the flow of water to a hot trickle and open the drain to match the in-flow. The hot trickle is to keep the temperature at a steady state of hotness.

My tub-style bath is not wide enough for my laptop to accidentally fall into the water to the side. The only way it could come in contact with water is if I sloshed around from side to side to make waves, which I don't do.

My brother marks his undergrad's papers from his bathtub, and frequently computes there. He has a wood board that goes across the tub. A compromise of ergonomics, but, he maintains its still the best.

I actually want to create a bathdesk. My bathtub is layed out like (cross section)

    |
    |wall
    |
    |
    |_     _
    | |tub| |
    | \___/ |___bathroom floor

And I'd make a desk shaped like

    _______
     |   |

So the legs would be like 4 inches and fit into the inside walls of the tub preventing the edge from slipping off the small ledge between the tub and the wall.

That way I could still code with the bathtub more than half full.

I'm about as far from a handyman as you can get, but I did manage to make one of these myself. The legs are only about 2" tall, but it sits snug with less than 1/8" wiggle room. While I don't use mine for bringing the laptop to the tub, it has been a delight for books and drinks.

With your water only 2cm high that's not really effective for anything (i.e. bathing). Do you have it for preference?

I've constantly change my work setup to find something that's least distracting, this would be something else to try..

2cm below the laptop. That is, 2cm below the top of my thighs. So about 20cm deep or something.

Thanks!

How do you code in tub, is there a special case that you use or how do you prevent water from hitting your computer?

Some occasional drops of water might hit the back of the case on my screen, but that doesn't really affect anything. Nothing gets over the screen and into the keyboard or any other openings.

He might just be reading.

Indeed. Water is quite conductive. Hope the photo shoot had the guy carefully hold the laptop above the water in a somehat dangerous stunt.

http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic-31/water-laptops-n...

Maybe it wasn't even on. I can't see the screen.

Is it something like an alert? "That's what is going to happen if you come to work here"

I'm going to assume the hot tub has waterjets and reject the possibility the picture was taken after the taco salad, calzones, and wine were served.

Beautiful setting -- very different from 45 years ago.

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