Office Enhance

This month I felt it was finally the time to upgrade my computer. I retired my PowerMac G5 for a new Nehalem-Xeon MacPro. Besides the obvious speed boost, this new computer will allow me to do things like run alternate operating systems (i.e., Windows, Linux), burn 2 DVDs or CDs simulanteously, and with the graphics performance, "really" run some higher-end apps like Motion. But the big deal was the office space. It's typically messy, akin to what I'd adopted in college with the help of my roommate. (A curious note about this photo, below. It's taken from a VHS tape I made in November 1993. On the left is my computer (Macintosh IIsi) with Apple's Extended Keyboard II. I still have the keyboard, and yes, it still works. Adjacent to that is my 13" TV on top of my roommate's stereo equipment. His computer was the more robust MacCentris 650. While I had piles of "stuff," he went beyond that, with copious soda cans and Snapple bottles. The SY99 you see above is barely visible on the extreme left of this shot.) So, I have been working for three weeks on tidying-up my home office. Trust me, this is no LifeHacker "re-wire your office" top contender, but it is significantly better than what I had before. I don't like the desk, but I've been stuck with it for ages. It's the Ivar system from Ikea. The corner part is the anchor, and holds the CPU, cable modem, and hard drives and the EyeTV. Above the bottom layer lives my scanner, integrated amplifier, and behind those, an Apple TimeCapsule. And above that, my photo printer and one speaker. To the left, on a flat surface, you can see a pencil sharpener and a portion of my Fujitsu ScanSnap. It's a worthy addition to any home office. I used velcro, cable ties, and velcro cable ties to wrap and group a number of cables. A few wires live on the desk connecting USB peripherals, but I suspect I can tidy those up a little bit. The whole point of all of this is to have a dedicated typing area with the screen, a dedicated writing area to the left, and to the right, the keyboards. A great upgrade would include a second monitor over the keyboard stand for reading music and interacting with audio software. I'm writing this more or less as a personal reminder of what things look like now, at the end of April, 2009. There may be better efforts underway, but I'm excited about using a new machine in a far less cluttered (new) environment. In the future, I think I'd like a bigger desk (maybe glass) and the cubical shelving seen here. If you'd rather see a far more robust spread, check out this guy's office. It's well documented!