What the Tech? Ways to Upgrade Your Computer
Everyone is spending more time on the computer these days. Hours of work. Hours of play. It can easily add up to more hours in front of a screen than hours we spend sleeping.
For many people, they’re looking at the same monitor they purchased a dozen years ago.
They’re also trying to work amidst wires, papers, cables and coffee cups. Unless you’re the type person who claims to thrive with all the clutter, it might be a good time to spend a little money to upgrade your workspace.
Getting rid of wires is easier and less expensive than ever. A Bluetooth keyboard and mouse rids the desk space of two wires that’s probably cluttering up good real estate.
I recently upgraded my old gaming keyboard with a Bluetooth keyboard from Logitech. The one I purchased, the Logitech K780 is heavy enough not to slide across my desk everytime I move something and the keys are quiet and responsive. It has a compact size but includes the number keys.
It’s taken a little getting used to after years of using the large gaming keyboard but my fingers seem to be adjusting.
The K780 is a multi-device keyboard that allows me to switch from computer to a phone and tablet with just the tap of a button. There’s a cradle for when I want to place my phone to quickly respond to text messages or Twitter. I paid $60 for mine.
A wireless mouse also rids my desk of another annoying wire. You can pick these up now for under $20 or purchase a keyboard/mouse combo.
For 8 years I used a pair of ViewSonic 24″ monitors to expand my screen real estate where I could keep multiple programs opened at the same time. Recently, ViewSonic loaned me one of its 34″ curved monitors to try.
The VP3481a monitor takes up less space on my desk than the two 24″ monitors of course but its clean style makes it seem like I added a new workspace entirely. The screen is positional so I can tilt it, raise it up or rotate the monitor depending on what I’m doing and where I’m sitting.
It comes with multiple inputs so I can connect my laptop with an HDMI cable and extend the laptops screen. There’s also a USB charging port, and the monitor will display 4K content if I decide to take a break for a little YouTube or Vimeo viewing.
It has a speaker but it’s still better to use a pair of dedicated desktop speakers if you’ve got the room.
I’d had enough of needing to drape charging cables from my phone to the wall and picked up an Anker desktop hub. It has 2 standard USB ports, a USB-C port for my iPad or Android device and there are three standard electrical plugs on the rear so I can plug up any other device that needs power but tuck those cables behind my workstation.
I went from a cluttered desktop with wires all over the place to a nice clean space. As someone who used to think I do fine with clutter all around and at arms reach, a nice clean space seems to help me concentrate on what I’m working on at the moment.
