A Geek Goes Flying

Tripodsy standing desk with MacBook Pro A trip to Mammoth validated my concept of a portable office. (Of course, this trip we ended up in a condo with a desk, making the standing desk less of a requirement - though still useful - and rendered the collapsible stool superfluous. But, this condo doesn't have a Keurig, so now I’m thinking: Amazon Basics Compact Dual Brew Single Serve Capsule Coffee Maker . But I digress.) Stuck inside while an atmospheric river dumps snow outside (the picture here was taken on the third floor!), I’m getting work done with the following setup: Tripodsy standing desk , that I carried up in a 24" duffel bag : Apple MacBook Pro 14" with a ShaggyMax screen protector and Speck FlapTop sleeve (says it’s for the 13" Air and it fits that, too, bu the MBP 14" fits perfectly). NuPhy Air75 with brown switches, shine-through keycaps and revised logic board . (I’m not sure I’d use this keyboard like this again. The brown switches aren’t my ...

I’ve had this inexpensive Logitech C270 webcam for almost a year and just realized it had software available that, among other tweaks, enables a “widescreen” mode that eliminates (well, alleviates) one of my chief complaints - perched atop my monitor, about 2' from my face, it was way too close in. It’s still a little too close, but significantly improved and usable in a pinch. (And, because Logitech has a habit of removing perfectly functional software somewhat capriciously, here’s a link to the archive.org capture of the installer package:  LogiCameraSettings_3.0.23.pkg . This same application will change the settings on the C930e and C920e cameras as well, toggling widescreen, etc.)

Hmm. Was about to pull the trigger on the well-reviewed Logitech M585 (this “work from home” thing has me wanting a Bluetooth mouse I can easily swap around from computer to computer), until I read this: This mouse requires that your PC be compatible with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology. If your computer doesn’t support this, you will have to use the Unifying receiver with this mouse. BLE is also referred to as “Bluetooth Smart.” If your computer was manufactured in 2016 or later, you can expect it to be compatible. Higher end machines from 2015 support this technology, while it was an uncommon option in 2014. ( https://nerdtechy.com/logitech-m585-wireless-mouse-review ) Probably not a great fit for my circa-2012 MacBook Air or my “Mid-2010” iMac ... Sigh. Back to the drawing board. Probably just pick up another cheap Insignia. They work surprisingly well, and if I have two of ’em, the pain factor of swapping between two computers using Bluetooth becomes a non-issue. Update:...