Laptop in the Sun

There has to be a way to take a laptop outside in the summer time without losing visibility of the screen!

I'm a total sun worshiper and lover of heat, which makes it odd that my skin is at its palest now since I was a little girl. That's due to the fact that I'm equally addicted to my laptop, and since I became a full time editor, I'm constantly at my PC.

Looking outside at the rainy West Coast weather today, I felt a whim of disappointment that summer had come and gone, and my skin hadn't had the luxury of basking in the heat of the vitamin d infused ray.

Not willing to spend another summer holed up indoors, I set out in search of a solution. Here's what I found:

Magezine had a DIY sunshield for laptops. It's not exactly a piece you'd want to be seen with at a chic cafe, but it looks like it would do the trick for an afternoon in the back yard.

Fellow blogger John M Scalzi made a good point too: "When you go on vacation, you should actually, you know, go on vacation." Not applicable to me, I'm not in search of a holiday in the sun solution, but important for others to keep in mind.

Compushade has created an affordable solution. For $24.95 this nerdy apparatus fits onto all 9-16 inch wide laptop and is secured by self adhesive hooks and loops. The device "forms a 9-inch deep glare-reducing view tunnel," according to the site.

But aren't there any better looking alternatives? Or just an ultra bright screen?

Doesn't look like it. NavStore had another geeky visor, and even EhMac didn't have a better solution.

I'm still rejoicing -- my search has proven that other people have similar concerns. Some inventor will realize there are people like myself looking for a way to be a total nerd while still getting that much needed dose of vitamin d!

I will continue my quest until I have a solution, and hopefully Trend Hunter can be one of the first to share the solution!

Meanwhile we can use the excuse of charging our PCs with solar powered laptop cases, backpack and bags to bask in the sun: