It's been a year since I started working from home. Significantly update the work environment by updating the equipment

Work from home for everyone

The 49th: 941 home work style

Hello, my name is 941.

　In May of last year, about two months after the start of remote work, I contributed an article to "Everyone's Home Work" with the content that "Working from home is best when you are familiar with it".

10 months have passed since then, and I have updated the work environment in various ways.

Further updating the work environment in one year

Overall, we are expanding and changing the theme of "expanding the work area to make your daily work more comfortable". Here's what the update looks like.

　The current work environment looks like this.

It's tightly packed into 95cm width and 55cm depth

The only thing that's changed is the visible range

Before and after

　The main MacBook Pro is used by opening a browser for checking emails and details. I use the external 23-inch display as my main work, and I write proposals and do image processing. The iPad Air3 near the keyboard is a little small at 10.5 inches, so I use it exclusively for chats such as Slack.

So, from now on, I would like to introduce the changes and additions one by one.

Replace the keyboard and mouse that you have been using

Change point (1) PC stand

The MacBook Pro used a desktop PC stand, but I changed it to a laptop stand because it takes up space.

The laptop stand can be folded and is easy to carry, so it is recommended. However, it was unstable such as using two USB ports and the wired LAN did not work, so I changed to "Anker PowerExpand 8-in-1" (6745 yen at the time of purchase).

　Wired LAN, USB-C, USB-A x 2, HDMI, SD card & microSD card can be used, and the PC can be charged at a maximum of 85W. It's great that you can do this and only use one port! Almost all the ports on the hub are used up, and I can always switch to the M1 Mac, which has only two ports for personal use, thank goodness.

The wiring is rather messy, so I'm considering ways to make it beautiful

Change point (3) Keyboard

``REALFORCE TKL / R2TL'', a capacitive non-contact keyboard that has been used for about 10 years -JP4-BK" I really liked it, so I changed it to the new "REALFORCE for Mac Tenkeyless PFU Limited Edition PZ-R2TLSA-JP4M-BK" of the same method. The palm rest came as a bonus (purchase price: 31,350 yen).

　You can use the dedicated setting tool to customize the keys and adjust the sensitivity, or set a key spacer to prevent it from going too deep. I recommend it because the keystroke feeling when typing is insanely good.

I was worried about "Happy Hacking Keyboard", but I'm satisfied because I physically wanted the arrow keys changed to I was hesitant because it was expensive for a mouse, but I bought it because it will be used for a long time and it will have a direct effect on productivity.

I got tired of the black body color, so I chose mid-gray.

　I'm satisfied with the performance, such as being able to connect to Bluetooth and having a built-in wheel, but in my environment, the compatibility with the Mac is not good enough, and there is a special tool called "Logi Options" that cannot be hidden on the Dock. If you don't start up, you can't use various functions.

It's physically tall, so if you don't have big hands, it might not fit well. (1) Webcam

Until now, I used the built-in camera of the MacBook Pro, but I added Logitech's "StreamCam C980GR". About a year ago when it was released, it was about 18,500 yen, but when I bought it, the price was 14,800 yen, which is a little cheaper.

　The special demand for webcams due to the spread of remote meetings has settled down, and there are many other cheap and good ones, but the high resolution of full HD 1080P 60FPS and solid support are attractive. If you use a dedicated tool called Logi Capture, you can change the resolution and FPS, automatic framing for face tracking, etc., but since it is often used in remote meetings, it is almost impossible to launch a dedicated tool at present.

This is a capture of the Zoom screen displayed locally. Less grainy and clearly higher quality than the camera attached to the PC

Additional point (2) Added speaker and iPad

　In a remote meeting, ``Things you don't have to say I bought the "Bose Companion 2 Series III" because I wanted a speaker for listening to music while working. I deliberately chose a cable connection type instead of a Bluetooth connection, so it takes up space physically, but I like the Bose sound with strong bass, so I'm satisfied (Purchase price: 12,600 yen).

　The iPad is a 10.5-inch iPad Air3, which is small as an external display, and is currently displaying only Slack. I'm connecting with Mac's Sidecar function, but when I connect via Wi-Fi, the operation tends to be slow. (My personal M1 Mac only has one display output, but I tried Sidecar to get a similar configuration).

The speaker is completely hidden behind the display, so I'm considering adjusting the position

Additional point (3) Bone conduction earphones

　In a remote meeting, use separate devices for the microphone and audio to listen Since the ease of use is considerably improved, I used to connect Bose's "QuietComfort 20" in-ear earphones to the microphone "audio-technica AT2020USB+", but my ears sometimes hurt after a long time. So I introduced a bone conduction earphone called "AfterShokz Aeropex" (purchase price 17,600 yen).

This is the first time I've used the bone conduction type, but it's amazing because it doesn't hurt my ears! However, I think it depends on my constitution, but in my case, my head hurts after about an hour, so it wasn't a fundamental solution. The headphone type doesn't suit me, and the search for comfortable earphones seems to continue.

Currently, I use about three earphones in rotation

　I am satisfied with the work environment, but I feel that there is room for improvement around the display, and now I have a 49-inch curved wide screen My concern is the monitor.

941 Home Work Environment

941

On the Internet, I often call myself 941, and I write blogs about going to various companies. I'm usually in charge of planning and managing technical events at an IT company. I'm in my 40s, and I like gadgets.