This extended commuting time on trains provides me with the opportunity to thoroughly test new mobile technology. In March, the commute stopped as our engineering firm went fully remote in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
I continue to test out new mobile technology and as you can see in the images boxes continue to stack up. My home office provides a separation between my engineering work and my freelance writing with many Star Wars items occupying the walls and shelves of my office.
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Here’s a rundown of key products used daily in my home office. Don’t worry, I won’t list the nearly 100 phones, PDAs, tablets, and watches in my collection.
A closer look at Matthew’s office
My main office wall is covered with Star Wars artwork with shelves lined with more Star Wars artifacts. I have original Star Wars trading cards dating back to when I was an eight-year old kid and have been collecting Star Wars items for more than 40 years. The Surface Pro 6 works well for daily commuting and also for regular business travel around the US and the world. It serves as the foundation for my engineering consulting work. The Surface Pro 7 is available now, but I haven’t migrated to the latest version as the improvements are minimal for my needs. If higher end graphical needs are required then the Surface Pro 7 is what you should definitely consider. One thing I do miss by sticking with the Surface Pro 6 is the USB-C port, which is very handy for all of my mobile gear. With the Bluetooth capability, I connect the K2 to my Surface Pro 6, Google Pixel Slate, various Android smartphones, and an iPad. The ease of transitioning from a sitting to standing position is fantastic and seamless. The different perspective offered by changing your positions breaks up the monotony of sitting for 10-12 hours a day working away. The Vari ESD is very well built, easy to assemble, and very stable. You can load up to 200 pounds on the desk and it has been a joy to use. The Herman Miller Aeron office chair is awesome and I can sit for 10-12 hour days without any discomfort. It’s a rather expensive chair, but I feel that a comfortable and supportive chair is vital to being productive. It is also better for your overall long-term health to have a chair that is not going to cause any back issues. The chair has height adjustable arms, tilt lock toggle, and adjustable lumbar support. While I have access to a Surface Pro 6, I find the Chromebook experience provides me with a platform that helps me focus on writing content without ever thinking of the hardware. I use it all day with Microsoft Teams and with its Bluetooth support it is even easy to connect to my primary mobile phone for calls. While I keep the computing platforms for my engineering and freelance writing separate, I share the monitors with each platform. I use the AUKEY adapter to connect the Pixelbook Go to an external monitor for more efficient writing. As a mobile tech reviewer, I get sent a lot of products to review and this is an extremely busy time for new watches, phones, cases, and more. My office is littered with boxes and I have yet to come up with a cleaner solution. There are also lots of older phones in drawers, organizers, and shelves, dating back to my first PDAs I started using in 1997.
