I have been on a bit of a tear with the Marie Kondo thing. I’ve even climbed into the attic. Many categories, I have found easy to be ruthless with: clothes, shoes, even books. Even stationery has been a breeze. The challenge for me, is computers and their peripherals.
Should I need to, I can lay my hands upon one Apple, two Windows and one Linux machine. Four of those five devices have their own screen, but don’t fret, I have five external monitors too. Additional keyboards and pointers are no problem either. There are two iPads hanging about somewhere too.
I have been using the Linux machine, with an external monitor, and Mrs L has been on one of the Windows laptops. Linux was my choice, as I wanted to test whether I could work with as little reliance as possible on the United States. More on that, later. Mrs L has always been a Windows user, and much of the resources she uses for teaching are Windows-friendly.
I’ve been preparing my office for the arrival of a new desk, and this combined with the excess of pixels with which I am confronted gave me pause.
I have, in the last twelve months, worked on MacOs, Windows and Linux. I’m confident that I can run my business and my hobbies on all the platforms. Each has some advantages and some compromises.
What shall I put onto my desk?
The primary function of the desk, indeed of the office, is work. You know, worky-work. In my case, that really means the web, pdfs and MS Office, or Copilot as it is now confusingly called.
So a Windows machine makes the most sense. I can have my Windows Surface laptop powering a couple of LG monitors and live in the whacky world of Microsoft.
Microsoft on Apple is pretty good too. Everything syncs pretty well, using One Drive, iCloud or a third-party service.
Microsoft on Linux is a pain. I can get around it, using the web versions of Office or working in an alternative like Libre Office and then saving in Microsoft-friendly formats, but the to and fro of drafts between client and consultant is much easier if we're all in the same software.
For the jobby-job, multiple screens are useful. I often need to have multiple documents open as I draft new policies and procedures. Aesthetically, I’d rather one monitor, but there’s no doubt that two, or even three, is good for my productivity.
All of my hardware can power multiple screens. However, only the Apple can properly use the best two monitors. I have a Mac Studio, and two Studio Displays - which don’t play nice with non-Apple kit. The other machines would need to drive monitors that sort of match, but not quite.
A Mac Studio with two Studio Displays is an insanely powerful setup for the work I do, even at five years old. 32 GB of RAM and 2TB of storage still packs a punch when you don’t do much beyond basic office work. It also represents a significant investment.
Now that the US tech giants are standing up to Trump, you know, by giving him gold trinkets and stuff, I don’t mind using their kit.
I’m kidding, of course, but I have all this stuff already, and the battle for data privacy is more of a software one.
At my desk then, is Apple Studio and displays. The Surface laptop is my travelling-for-work machine and the Linux by Tuxedo is my hobby machine. The three will cross over in places, so that I can enjoy some flexibility, but for the moment at least, I’m back to Apple at the desk.
Poor Justin won’t know whether to be relieved or furious.
Next - what software?
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