Work from home tools?

Carl

I’m sure most of us here have experienced more and more work from home due to the ongoing pandemic.

What are some products you wish you had?

Personally, I would have loved to have a DSLR grade camera with a ring light to make video calls crisper. Here I mean something really minimalistic in design and its own product, and not connecting a regular DSLR to a computer which is huge, ugly, and overheats quickly.

Shankar

Carl

I wish I could had a router which support multiple broadband LANs, usual SIM card and had inbuilt battery. (Power crisis is rare yet real!)

Such a router should switch between best network as per speed and latency preferences set by user so I don’t need to switch between different WiFi/mobile networks in an ongoing meeting on my some dumb(aka not really smart) devices 😛

shivam

Carl

Definitely great quality and super easy to handle webcam!

And how about a multifunctional mouse? One which has the option to mute/unmute with just a click of a button directly. Tired of reaching out to the keyboard or hovering the cursor to do this. 😫

yangdahui

Carl Bill Gates seems got a good one, let’s co-ask him.

tanzil

Carl

Try anker’s webcam powerconf C300. U will be surprised, it even has auto zoom and amazing auto focus. Or try the facebook’s portal devices, they have amazing camera without needing good lighting.

AkshatJain

This is interesting, the tools I wish I could have for work from home are an M1 MacBook for good battery backup and performance, a DSLR Grade camera and a good light for video calls and recordings, and a proper desk setup in minimal design to make things more productive.

Having things organised will boost productivity a lot and having an ecosystem of devices is like the cherry on the top. I also wish to have an iPad to make my reading experience much better. (Although again it is only for improving the experience.)

James_Wood

That would have been ideal, Carl. Personally I’ve always found the lack of eye contact over video a problem, and more apparent over the last year. Or to be honest, all the interpersonal barriers that a video call vs in person meeting creates.

I remember playing around with concepts years ago looking at projecting an image onto the camera itself (this is imagining we used projected displays, rather than panels), then using image tracking to make sure the eyes and camera overlay and enable you to maintain eye contact. Would require some pretty big hardware norms to shift to allow that though!

scarbo

I noticed I spent hours every day just reading articles, scientific papers, emails, whatever. I used to do it before as well, but it increased a lot during the pandemic such that I often experienced eye strain.
It could sound weird, but I’d have loved to have an e-ink second display, along with the laptop’s one. I’d have liked to drag windows between the two. It lacks this kind of continuity between different displays and it would be surprisingly useful to many office workers. Even because most people basically use a pc in two ways: active (writing, clicking, etc.) and passive (reading for a while). So it’d be useful to perform different tasks in the environments (displays) that most fit their purpose.

James_Wood

scarbo

I’d be all over this. I had the same eye strain issues, but also noticed it’s worse with IPS panels? I actually have a habit of printing long-form stuff to read, rather than on screen.

russbuss

I wish I had a small tablet as I consume a lot of media and read a lot of online content at home. I love using a small phone (currently rocking the Pixel 5) as it fits great in my hand and works great with one-handed use. But having a slightly bigger screen for home use would be ideal.

iPad mini would be a good option but currently the latest iteration has an outdated design with it’s home button. There has been leaks of an upcoming iPad mini 6/pro but nothing concrete has surfaced so far. The options available for a small Android tablet are really lacking as well… Potentially an untapped market worth exploring? 😁

scarbo

James_Wood

It’s a really good habit afterall.
Regarding IPS panels I wouldn’t know, I personally use a crappy glossy TN panel 😅

Sayan_Dutta

Would love the lastest iPad pro with an Apple Pencil (will make things easier), but the price difference of 13-14K INR between US and India pricing pisses me off. The Gap is decreasing though.

abhikeshchandra

Yes,how about introducing Laptops along with smart phones ,as everyone is preferring online for most of the works not only in my country but across the world.

iambhuvan

I had the opportunity of working from home and studying from home as well. I wish we had a smart WiFi adapters in the computers to distribute the bandwidth as required by application while they are running.

Most of the times, zoom had a lag or closed due to insufficient bandwidth.

NehhalKalnad

Shankar

Even I have the same need😭

Smart WiFi which can select between Sim Card and LAN Internet, avoid the switch delay. Don’t think it’s too costly to develop too. Simple idea!

Akshansh

Some products I wish I could have:

1. A good quality webcam as you suggested.

2. A good pair of TWS earphones which has a good mic, as most of them have bad mics and the noise cancellation is not really up to the mark which is an important thing for calls.

3. Some apps to boost the connectivity between my phone and laptop as I use Android+Windows combo and the MyPhone app is only great if you have a Samsung phone and feels inferior otherwise :/

ncsg

I honestly wished to have a device that turns off all devices within 20 feet of me. I want to be free of the web and live my life.

WaffleToaster

I would personally want to have a camera just like @Carl, but I would go for a CSC. For me a DSLR can be restrictive in its size and for what I would take photos of I wouldn’t need to blow out into prints or anything like that, though a DSLP can be far more open for different uses. I would like a Fujifilm X-T4 as I look to settle down and maybe explore a bit more of the outdoors and abroad, pending pandemics of course.

Postigo

I totally disagree with having a top quality camera for video calls, image quality is the less important thing in a call. What is really important is the sound, good quality an immersive sound. Sounds is what makes an experience better.

Let me ask you something: What would you prefer, watch your favourite movie on your phone using top class headphones or going to the theatre but using your phone speakers?

[deleted]

Carl

Personally, I was lucky enough to be able to work in an office during the more “relaxed” months of the past year. But there were some weeks that due to snow and other issues I had to work from home.

That’s when I mostly missed one thing: an external monitor. When you get used to two screens (15” and 27”), changing to a ten year old 13” MacBook feels like a trip back in time.

My personal workflow feels faster with the use of two (or even more) screens; editing photographs, researching, creating content or building databases. Being able to see in a glimpse two fully open windows, in my opinion, increases your productivity a tenfold.