Breach: ili Laptop Stand

The first published story written entirely on the new and beautiful ili Laptop Stand?

“Love writing, Hate back-neck pain? Then the ili Laptop Stand is for you.“

Now that Cohesion Press have published the newest edition of SNAFU Last Stand I can provide the promised depth of details behind my story – Breach.

Breach is story number 9 of 14 short stories inside the 9th SNAFU anthology. Forwarded by Tim ‘Deadpool’ Miller – creator of Love, Death and Robots as seen on Netflix – this anthology is exhilarating and captivating and I am proud to be part of it.

That’s enough promotional chat for now, more on the story in future posts. I want to use this post to focus on ili Laptop Stand.

This beautifully engineered laptop stand is an ergonomic wonder. And is responsible for greatly improving my posture during the journey to research, write, edit and create Breach.

I can get tremendously sore neck and head aches, that’s what started my search for a ‘real’ laptop stand – not one of those semi-useless wedge shaped things.

Not long after the ili Laptop Stand arrived I started working on Breach. It was first story that I have written on the stand, but it sure won’t be the last.

Posture – Finding the perfect writing location can be damn near impossible. When I do, I soon realise that I need a different location to write for different characters and/or for the different mindsets of a single character. That’s exactly what happened when I was writing about Trex’s journey through a subterranean laboratory fighting “military bio-weapons gone berserk” – those last words were Tim Miller’s 🙂

A change in scenery can have a significant effect on a writer’s energy. Changing how and what we write. Immersing yourself in the chaos of a busy cafe; hiding in a small, dimly lit room; basking in the warmth of the sun allows me to emulate the environment that my characters are experiencing. To get into their minds. The environment – sights, sounds, light etc. provides the ingredients for truly textured protagonists and antagonists.

Laptops – and I have two a Chromebook [left below] and a Macbook [right below] – are perfectly mobile, giving us the flexibility to find those all important writing location. But, a laptop on a table is not the best environment to promote healthy posture.

This is where ili Laptop Stand comes into its own. Straightening that hunched-back and dropping those shoulders that inevitable creep up to your ears after hours of writing – the ili Laptop Stand brings the laptop up to your level. Giving that essential human’s eye view on things.

Sliding – one of my favourite features of this stand is it’s ability to glide. Four soft, circular pads on the underside allows the stand to move freely across flat, smooth surfaces – like the ones in my study. This feature is great for three reasons:

It allows me to move the screen closer and further to my eye without need to hunch. I call this feature ‘manual zooming‘
Making space for food. Just because my body forces me to eat doesn’t mean I can’t be writing at the same time. Now that is even easier – no more goo on my pricey laptops.
Cat invasion. Lennox, one of our four cats loves spending time with me. When I’ve ignored her for too long she like to make a cameo appearance. This means that she’ll happily stroll between me and my screen(s), standing on and pushing over anything that is between me and her. The sliding base of the ili Laptop Stand allows for a friction-less, emergency manoeuvre when a certain 5kg cat comes prowling for attention. Again, safeguarding the pricey laptop for abuse and destruction.

Foldable and as portable as your laptop. The stand has four pieces – the beautifully crafted base and three metal legs with rubberised toppers. Five pieces if you count the nifty wee canvas bag.

Its collapsible design means I could – and did – bring the stand anywhere I wanted to bring my laptop. The wee thing simply wants to travel with you. Meaning that you don’t have to compromise between mobility and good posture.

With ili Laptop Stand gone are my days of trying to force the plastic, wedge shaped laptop stand into my bag or luggage. It seems that this guy was made to travel with you. Lightweight, compact and intuitive.

The eight wee wooden dowels at the back of base are a much appreciated selling point of the stand. Perfectly spaced to hold the three metal stands, they are a fine example showing how the designers have thought about its use, storage, transportation and function.

Sustainable & Stylish. This is a laptop stand that I am proud to have elevating my incredibly expensive Macbook Pro – sorry my cheap and cheerful Chromebook. Sleek, geometric shapes with strong angular lines with stripped back natural materials the stand is eco-friendly and stands out in a crowd.

Once you get your hands on it, and slide the metal stands into the perfectly positioned slots in the base, you’ll instantly feel that the ili Laptop Stand is a beautifully crafted example of where engineering meets architecture.

Its three basic materials feel sturdy and robust. No flimsy, single use plastics just carpentry in motion.

Conclusion. I would strongly recommend this beautiful piece of ergonomic furniture to anyone. Especially those of us that spend an inordinate amount of time in front of a laptop.

The ili Laptop Stand works for so many application – up close and personal when writing; distant and elevated for watching that sci-fi movie for the hundredth time; and levitating expensive hardware out of the splash zone whilst following cooking instructions in the kitchen.