What room do you use in the house? Do you have a special desk? What monitors do you have? Keyboard? Mouse? Do you work from a laptop? Do you move around the house? What other equipment? Microphone? Webcam?
Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
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Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#2* I work in my unfinished basement, but often roam to recliners in the house because the basement is cold in the winter
* standing desk from IKEA
* 5K ultra wide LG monitor
* Thinkpad P1
* Microsoft ergonomic keyboard
* Regular run of the mill mouse
* Blue yeti microphone
* Currently using the laptop webcam for video
I get a lot of comments about being in an unfinished basement so I recently bought a green screen and some ring lights to try and improve my picture. The webcam on my laptop is too grainy for OBS to use the green screen, so looking to buy a new webcam.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#3I have a daylight basement that I finished with a nice Office/Lab set up with 4 big monitors and my work computers and wired gigabit internet service. On the other side a bench with test gear, parts etc. Everything a good lab would have. The same basement area has another room I set up as a home Gym with Pilates, treadmill and monitor on the wall so I can view webinars, movies etc. and work out. And a 3rd room that is a library with a video conference set up and a study area. Off the library is a deck outside with covered area to be outdoors and have coffee or take calls. The rest of my house upstairs is completely separate.
I spent a ton on this set up, but I am glad that I did because the whole pandemic and work from home ended up lasting a lot longer than even I thought it would. I have no intention of ever going back into an office.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#41b 1b apt next to the san jose light rail which is extremely irritating
-jarvis sit stand desk which is great
-dell 4k monitor which is great
-airpods max which are heavy but block out the light rail
-webcam is a cheap mirrorless panasonic which works way better than any other webcam I've had
-apple magic keyboard and mouse
-working on changing apartments but it seems like everything in the south bay is next to a highway, a train, an airport, or multiple
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#5* I work in my unfinished basement, but often roam to recliners in the house because the basement is cold in the winter * standing desk from IKEA * 5K ultra wide LG monitor * Thinkpad P1 * Microsoft ergonomic keyboard * Regular run of the mill mouse * Blue yeti microphone * Currently using the laptop webcam for video I get a lot of comments about being in an unfinished basement so I recently bought a green screen and…
You can potentially use your phone as a webcam. I do this with the OBS Camera app and the corresponding plugin to OBS.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#6> What room do you use in the house?
I have a storage room in my basement that I have my home office, music studio, and home gym in. No carpet, just a rug under my desk/chair.
> Do you have a special desk?
I have a custom desk made from a 72"x24" slab of IKEA countertop supported by iron pipe.
> What monitors do you have?
I have two ViewSonic 1440p monitors mounted on each side of a mounted 16" 2021 MacBook Pro. Three screens total.
> Keyboard? Mouse?
Apple Magic Keyboard and Mouse.
> Do you work from a laptop?
Yes, see above.
> Do you move around the house?
When I'm not working on something warranting multiple screens (e.g. sitting on a conference call), I'll set up at the coffee table in my living room or in the kitchen.
> What other equipment? Microphone? Webcam?
- Blue Yeti microphone for when I need peak voice quality (giving training sessions, recording screencasts, etc).
- I use the webcam built in to the MacBook.
- USB-C docking station with power-passthrough.
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface into a pair of M-Audio studio monitors for when I need to get loud.
- Multiple mobile device stands.
- Coffee mug warmer
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#7Wife (Community Manager) currently works from the couch in our living room and I (SWE) work from a sit-stand desk in a sunroom. We bought a floating home in the PNW just before Covid hit and it’s been a great work-from-home spot. Starlink internet has been an absolute lifesaver.
I’m on a Macbook Pro with dual monitor setup, Kinesis Advantage ergo keyboard, and Logitech trackball for mouse.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#8Effectively, the KVM switch just toggles between "work" and "fun".
But I have a nice window facing desk. While the days are currently quite short, it's still a great view.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#9I've been a remote / WFH type since about 2006, across two houses. Over that time I've held a lot of different roles - freelancer, business owner, employee, both in software and out...
In the past, I used the cottage in our backyard as a dedicated office (this was glorious!) but a few years ago started renting it out for extra income (this is also really great!). That meant that I moved my space into the house, first as a corner of my bedroom, later in a dedicated office room. What I've learned for myself is that it is good to have a dedicated desk for when I'm in that mood, but that it really helps to be able to grab my laptop and migrate. This became especially true when my partner moved into my dedicated office space. Sometimes it's nice to work in the same space, other times I like to sit in the front window of the house. Likewise, sometimes I need the second monitor and the beefy system on my desk. In the office we both have matching motorized standup desks - she likes to stand for part of the day more than I do. She really likes a pistol-grip style mouse, I'm happy with whatever mouse is available. We are an all Apple household, and we've found the built in microphones and webcams to be perfectly sufficient.
Major addition to our office in the past two years was an investment in a color laser printer / scanner. Totally worth every penny.
Biggest work-from-home productivity move is having kids old enough to be in school and/or able to keep themselves busy. The cats still walk on my keyboard or demand loves, but overall they are pretty good co-workers.
Re: Ask HN: Tell about your work from home setup
#10* I work in my unfinished basement, but often roam to recliners in the house because the basement is cold in the winter * standing desk from IKEA * 5K ultra wide LG monitor * Thinkpad P1 * Microsoft ergonomic keyboard * Regular run of the mill mouse * Blue yeti microphone * Currently using the laptop webcam for video I get a lot of comments about being in an unfinished basement so I recently bought a green screen and…
You can potentially use your phone as a webcam. I do this with the OBS Camera app and the corresponding plugin to OBS.
Yup, same here. The difference in quality is staggering