Over at TechDigest I spotted a post by Al that says the One Laptop Per Child project is taking on an exciting new dimension:

The new model is also raising eyebrows thanks to an interesting new design strategy: it’s ditching the keyboard entirely. The new machine will also be smaller and lighter then original XO model and the lack of keyboard will be replaced by a touchscreen display.

I can see this being great for a number of reasons, especially for the developing world - touchscreens are easier to keep clean than regular keyboards (good in dusty or polluted environments), they can adapt to display different languages or alphabets (essential for many parts of Asia) or even non-textual interface entirely (making it easier for those learning to read). As Al points out in the article, some form of tactile feedback might be necessary - but incorporating haptics into touchscreens isn’t that difficult these days. Overall it seems a really great idea.

Over at TechDigest comes this nice laptop pillow, to not only stop your laptop digging into your legs but help keeping it cooler and not burning your legs. TechDigest raves about the log one (pictured below) which I like a lot for its colour and playfulness. However it’s not the only one - check out the whole range - the variety is what I like, something for those who prefer the functional as well as design lovers.

Laptop pillows are nothing new - PCWorld blogs about a nice design for those laden with accessories - you can pop your mouse or external drives & cables into the pocket beneath. Of course you don’t have to splash the cash - you can go with a DIY approach instead - the comments section on this Lifehacker post is a great selection of homebrew laptop rest solutions. So whatever you want, if you’re suffering from a hot or heavy laptop on your knees, there’s no reason to put up with it at all.