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Mac World Expo San Francisco January 2012

Article by
MacTech "A Journal of Apple Technology"

Volume Number: 25
Issue Number: 11
Column Tag: Real World Review

Real World Review: Chairs

The Other Essential Tool

by the MacTech Editorial Staff

It's often overlooked, but one of the most essential tools that a tech can have is their chair. Geeks spend long hours in front of a computer, and the chair is make or break for your workstation, your ergonomics, and in the end, how much you can get done in a day.

It's no surprise. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, back pain is second only to the common cold as cause of worker absenteeism. Most office workers spend 1500 hours a year at their desks. Half of workers feel they would be more productive if their chair was more comfortable.

Instead of a simple product review, we did one of our "real world" reviews. In this case, we rotated a series of chairs around to different people of different sizes/shapes. Each person used the chair for a month or more to get a real feel for it. We did this innately, but it turns out there's some real science behind giving each chair time. It takes 3-4 weeks to "unlearn" the last chair, and for your body to get to know your new chair.

A couple things are clear. First, there isn't some magical $199 chair that is as good as a quality chair: a good chair costs $500 or more. Second, everyone is different and may have different needs. As a result, we chose three very different kinds of chairs to look at. And frankly, we liked them each in their own way.

Allsteel's goal with the Acuity chair is clearly aesthetics combined with performance and comfort. The materials used are wonderful: the seat is extremely soft with a luxury feel, the seat back is a mesh that is highly effective in conforming to your body, and the steel frame is rock solid. The overall look is modern and very appealing, but make sure that the color combinations suit your tastes.Read more and view photos...