Best keyboard and "laptop table"

I'll be getting myself a Lenovo laptop sooner or later, though I don't know which one to get just yet. For that I'll need a "table"; a thingy to place my laptop on, so I don't strain my neck, and having recently retired my other keyboard with a cleaning attempt gone wrong, I'm also off to get a keyboard to go with it. I'm hoping my mouse survived the cleaning, though I won't plug it in just yet.

Are there any good buyer's guides on the two topics, or do you at least have any recommendations? Of course, writing something like "I've used this keyboard for seven months, and it's stellar!" won't do me much good, as I'm making a decision based on comparisons between the products available in order to get the best on - ideally.

I know Logitech's Alto, but could the blocking of the front ports be an issue - at least for a Lenovo laptop? Of course, going with the Connect model would alleviate this. Furthermore, the structure of the keys on the keyboard seems a little off, but I don't have the option of trying it out.

The key criterion for the keyboard is being great for writing lengthy papers on.

 

lol waht did you do to "retire" your keyboard? soak it in a bathtub?

 

Something to that effect; I took a chance in cleaning it, as I wouldn't want it around, if it was too disgusting to keep using - if it had gotten any worse, It'd have to start paying rent. And it's some 10 years old, so it seems about time anyway.

Mouse isn't (wasn't?) that old, but its wheel had contracted some weird ickyness that I had to take care of.

EDIT: I feel like Moist from Dr. Horrible after writing this.

 

My old A+ course teacher claimed there was nothing in the old school keyboards that could be damaged by water. He recommended giving a keyboard a bath if it was dirty. I've never taken him up on this recommendation and now I know why

 

I took great care in towel-drying, blowdrying and leaving it to dry overnight, so I think we can declare that myth busted.