Mason Inman - science journalist

2007-11-13, 07:41:09

Usually when I look at non-Apple laptop computers, I feel an irrational surge of pride in my Macbook, because it looks so much better.

But I was humbled to find out that Lenovo devised an incredibly clever self-draining keyboard, in case you spill a drink on your computer.

I sometimes fear I'll do this, since I work at coffee shops a lot, but so far I've never even come close. But I do have a couple of friends who've spilled nearly a whole cup of liquid on their computers. In one case the computer got fried, and in the other it was fine once it dried out, but afterward the guy got a super-nerdy plastic keyboard cover.

On the Lenovo "Design Matters" blog where I read about this, one guy left this comment:

The only time I have spilled, or come close to spilling liquid on my laptop, is on a plane where said object is on my lap and the liquid is the super heated coffee served by several airlines, only seconds before turbulence is encountered.

I’m not sure I’d want that cleverly and efficiently diverted onto my !!!

Maybe this guy has really short arms or something, but if was using one of these computers on my laptop, the drain hole would be somewhere along my legs, much closer to my knees than my crotch. Taking that into account, I'd rather risk a leg burn than have my computer ruined. Does that make me a total nerd?