This post will be a bit of a departure from my normal ones. Normally I’m trying to pass on some tech knowledge that I might have, or make you aware of some new feature, but not this time. This time I’m shamelessly plugging some products with Amazon Affiliate links so I can make some dough. I could lie to you and say it was just to share my office setup, but I know y’all are smarter than that. Hey, I mean, if you see something in this post that you like and you might purchase for yourself, why not let Amazon give me a few pennies in return. Right. Right?
Let’s start from the top.
Blue Yeticaster bundle – Blue Yeti mic, Compass boom, and Radius III shock mount. I love this mic combo and use it everyday for the many of zoom calls I am on. My only regret/con, and it’s not really one aimed at the product, but it’s difficult to get the boom into a position that stays out of the field of my camera. I don’t really want to show off that I’m on an external mic.
Aureday 6″ Video Conferencing Light – based on the time of the year and the time of day, I found that I wasn’t getting enough light for zoom to show my face clearly. This light provides three different color temperatures and 10 different brightness settings. It comes with a clamp that you can attach to your computer or monitor, but I used the flexible tripod below to attach to the monitor arm.
UBeesize Tripod – This flexible tripod allowed me to wrap it around the arm holding the monitor to get my video conferencing light above the monitor and camera.
Logitech C922x Pro Stream Webcam – This is a great camera for the price. It operates at 1080p and does a good job in low light.
LG 34WN80C-B UltraWide Monitor 34″ – It took me a few days to adjust to using a curved ultra wide display. My eyes would get tired/sore and I’d have to walk away for a bit. But once I got used to it, I absolutley love this monitor! It has pass thru power (60W) via USB-C and it has inputs for two HDMI ports and 2 USB ports.
Fully Jarvis Monitor Mounting Arm – while this arm is made to support up to 32″ displays, it has worked fine for the 34″ LG. This has been great for clearing a little bit of space from the desk and allowed me to utilize the space between the display a bit better.
Apple AirPods Pro – these are great for calls and listening to audiobooks on the go. I, like many others, have problems with the handoff between devices if these are connected to multiple devices. The microphone is also not the greatest for zoom calls, hence the Blue Yeti I linked above.
Belkin Wireless Charger – great for keeping the AirPods Pro charged or for putting a little juice into my iPhone 11.
Lamicall S1 Cell Phone Stand – this keeps my iPhone 11 in front of me and at the right angle to utilize FaceID when I need to grab an MFA code quickly.
SOULWIT Cable Holder Clips – I’ve used other desk clips for holding cables in the past. What I liked about this particluar one is that I could get 3 different ones for the price of one of the other manufacturers.
HumanCentric Vertical Laptop Stand – I like having my laptop off the desktop and out of the way. This keeps it in one spot and off the desktop so I’m not eating up space.
Apple Magic Keyboard with TouchID (updated Jan 2024 – I upgraded from the standard Magic Keyboard to the one with TouchID when our organization started using Okta FastPass) -I find I do not need the number keypad on my keyboard, plus I like the minimal look of having this keyboard on my desk. If I could have fewer items on my desk, I would.
Logitech M705 Marathon Mouse – (Update January 2024 – I upgraded to the Logitech MX Master 3 for Mac) What I love about this mouse is the feel and the ability to customize the buttons. I have the two side buttons set to do App Expose and Mission Control on my MacBook Pro, which allows me to see all open windows for an app or all open windows period. Combined with the ability to change desktops by pressing the scroll wheel to either side, this mouse hits all the spots.
Uplift V2 Desk with Curved Bamboo Top – I looked at several standing desks and settled on the Uplift for two reasons: customer reviews and where they are located. Uplift is located in Austin, TX and I wanted to spend money on a Texas company. I ordered the 72″ wide desk top, along with the wire organizer, two power outlet grommet, wheels, and the under desk hammock for my feet. I have really enjoyed this desk, althoug I do not use the hammock as often as I thought I would.
Topo Comfort Mat by Ergodriven – I try to stand at least 75% of the time I spend in front of my computer. I wanted a floor mat that would help prevent knee issues, back pain, and exhaustion. The beauty about this mat is it checks those boxes and provides something for my feet to do while I’m standing. The different areas of the mat allow me to stretch my legs and help prevent boredom when standing.
TP-Link TL-SG108 8 Port Switch – Hidden under my desk, this allows me to feed all three computers that are on the desk from one ethernet drop that goes back to my router. It’s unmanaged, which doesn’t matter, quiet, and super light so it sticks under the desk easily.
Raspberry Pi – I’m running Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi that is sitting under the desk. This open source network wide ad blocker has been awesome! No more ads coming in, it blocks unwanted noise, and running on a Pi makes it super quiet and easy to hide.
eero 6 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Network – I’m running the eero 5 system here, but if I had the money I would upgrade to the eero 6 system to get Wi-Fi 6 running. This mesh system was super easy to setup and helps provide strong wireless coverage to my entire house.
ASUS AC2900 Gaming Router – we have Frontier FIOS (formerly Verizon FIOS) and I got tired of paying Frontier for a router. This one came highly recommended and has operated perfectly for us.
Well, that’s about everything. I guess I could hype my Yeti K-State Wildcat tumbler too (Go Cats!). I hope you find at least something on this page that might help you out. And hey, if you don’t purchase using my links, that’s perfectly fine.
Until next time…