subject: Easy Home Office Upgrades [print this page] Finding the perfect home is difficult (to say the least) and making your perfect workspace within that home is even harder. Whether you crave connectivity, convenience, or a dash of visual panache, finding the right home office balance can be a difficult task.
Here are threegadgets that can help youmake the most of your home office setup without breaking the bank, or committing yourself to learning the ins and outs of a whole new technology.
1. USB 2.0 Hub
You know USB; USB is your friend. Nearly all computers and laptops manufactured after the mid-1990s have USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports. The reasoning behind this widespread application of the technology is no mystery.
USB ports were originally designed with versatility in mind and they have certainly held true to that ambition. Typically designated by a three-pronged symbol (it looks something like a pitchfork), USB ports can transfer both data and electricity between your computer and a wide variety of peripheral devices. Digital cameras, printers, webcams, smart phones, mice, keyboards, and many other pieces of technology all commonly employ USB connectors to transfer electricity and data. USB 2.0 (an upgrade from the original USB protocol) offers an impressive data transfer rate of up to 60 MB/s.
You can see why having lots of USB ports around can be useful, and for providing yourself with exactly that connective convenience, give some thought to purchasing a 3-Port USB 2.0 Hub.
This hub can be plugged into your computer's USB port, effectively turning one USB port into three. If you want to connect two computers together using this USB hub, that's something you can do too. The hub includes programming that allows you to easily transfer files between your computer and any devices to which it is attached.
2. Wi-Fi Antenna
Wi-Fi networks seem to have a way of reaching everywhere except exactly where you need them. If your home office has become a wireless internet dead zone, you can often remedy this problem by means of employing a Wi-Fi antenna.
Wi-Fi antennas extend the signal put out by a Wi-Fi router, thereby extending that router's effective coverage range. When looking for a Wi-Fi antenna, you want to be looking for antennas designated for working within the 2.4-2.5GHz range. 2.4-2.5GHz is the signal band reserved for wireless internet purposes. There are several varieties of Wi-Fi antenna available, and chances are at least one of them will be the right fit for your home office needs.
Panel antennas are flat, unobtrusive, and good for placement within your workspace. These types of antennas are usually directional, meaning they can boost a Wi-Fi signal only in a specific direction. Shop around to make sure the connector on your Wi-Fi router matches that of your Wi-Fi antenna, but a good place to start looking is Bestpricecables.com
Another good option for unobtrusively extending you Wi-Fi coverage is a Wi-Fi ceiling antenna. Like the panel antenna, ceiling antennas are directional, but their ease of application and nearly undetectable design (they tend to look like smoke detectors) makes them another good option for bolstering your wireless coverage without damaging the aesthetics of your workspace.
3. Paper Holder
Sure, a paper holder can seem like a simple thing; it can even appear as an afterthought when compared withthe big-ticket items like computers and scanners that make up the bulk of your working life. But don't be fooled-paper holders are nearly worth their weight in gold.
At least so long as we're still straddling the divide between digital and print media, you'll be hard pressed to find a better time-saver than a paper holder. By propping up a piece of paper next to your computer's screen, paper holders save you the neck strain of constantly checking back and forth between your computer monitor and a document. Paper holders also help you save desk space by reducing your workspace clutter.
You can get either an adjustable paper holder that can be modified to fit whatever documents you have on hand, or a paper holder clip that adheres unobtrusively to the side of your laptop, from which it can gain a firm hold on your paper documents.
In either case, a paper hold is ready to provide you with a level of workplace convenience disproportionate to its cost.
