Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Going Cordless

My home PC/workstation has almost become my primary PC. I get to use it for pure work for about 30-40 hours a week. This is why the design of my home workspace has become more important for me than before.
I think that people who work with me knows I usually work in a well designed workspace, in which everything is nice and comfortable. The monitor is in the right size, the keyboard is placed in the right place, headphones are available at hand, the desktop (of the real desk) is clean, etc.

Ever since I work more at home, I noticed stuff is not as comfortable as I'm used to from my workplace. After some time I finally realized what bothers me, and made the adjustments:
  1. The correct distance from the monitor. I noticed that I'm actually sitting too far from my monitor, and from the desk as well. Sitting correctly forces me to sit with a "straight" back, not using the arm support of the chair, and strain my eyes less. The monitor should be about arm-reach away.
  2. My desk is now way cleaner.
  3. Cords. For a good reason this is the title of this post. I had tons of cords everywhere. I have so many devices on my desk and around it, that I got out of free USB connections (I have 8 slots). So I decided to go cordless. A bluetooth dongle and a USB hub did the trick. Now, I have a USB hub sitting on my desk, already with different types of cables connected (mini-USB, micro-USB, etc.), ready for devices to be inserted at need. No more USB extension cords. No more bending over to the PC in order to connect something. The next two bullets are about getting rid of non-USB cords.
  4. I love my laptop keyboard very much, and hate standard PC keyboards. I even posted a survey about it a while ago. After a search for a keyboard I'd like, and something cordless, I eventually settled on MS Wireless Desktop 3000. The mouse is big and solid, and not some toy-ish mouse, and the keyboard is soft and ergonomic and also reminds me of my laptop keyboard. I don't care about the rest of the functionality provided. The USB dongle required is tiny, and doesn't need an "eye" within the range of the keyboard, like other wireless keyboards. This is a big plus, since it doesn't require any cord to be stretched from the PC to the desk.
  5. Bluetooth headset. I hate my current headset. It has a cable that splits to the green and pink input jacks on the soundcard (speakers and microphone), and I can't stand up during work, to stretch myself, without accidentally pulling the cable. Now I await a DealExtreme delivery of Nokia BH-503, so I could go cordless in this field as well.
  6. Finally, a good, fast, WiFi router (supports N spec) is installed, so whenever I want to get away from the wires and the noise, and sit in my porch - I can.

2 comments:

  1. Intersting, I'm actually just looking for a wireless mouse for my laptop. What router do you use?

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  2. Yevgeny, for a laptop I suppose you'd want something smaller, which can be easily carried in the bag, and can be charged via a USB cable when necessary. A friend of mine has one of those, I can find out the model if you like.

    As for the router, surprisingly, I'm not a DD-WRT person. I'm using Edimax BR-6424N (considered buying the 6524, but gave up), and I have a compatible Edimax AP/Repeater in my living room. Both support 802.11N, which easily streams HD video from place to place. Notice your results may vary, as all devices must support "N" in order to achieve its full speed.

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