The working from home thread: tips and advice

All for that if there was actual transparency on government spending and it wasn't just going to line the pockets of Tories and their mates.

Dear plebs,

Saving money, are you? Fuck you, here's some extra tax.

Sincerely, trillion pound tax-avoiding mega bank

I don't know what you're talking about. Giving a £150 million contract to a newly set up company by one of your advisers is totally legit.

W.A.C

Thankfully I've moved place and this new one is much warmer, no need to resort to the Toobin yet.

Has anyone seen this thing about remote workers paying more tax? No thanks!

Proposed by multi-time criminal-act bank Deutsche Bank.

yeah, fuck off Deutsche Bank. Let's talk when people are in prison.

Not a chance in hell. Even more so as the recommendation came from Deutsche.

Has anyone seen this thing about remote workers paying more tax? No thanks!

Ha. Indeed. But then I never bother reading the last page of posts on a thread before posting as that could only help avoid making myself look like a massive chump for not having the courtesy to take the time needed in order to partake in online discussions properly.

Or something.

So.

Anyone heard about this Deutsche nonsense then?

Slippers

Ta. Ordered mine this evening. (Mrs GB bought it through her company as she'll be using it some of the time too.)

Just have to get an extra extension lead to mount to the underneath (along with a network switch) and then some cable tidy wrap or just use zip-ties.

Get a pack of Command velcro strips. Much simpler than drilling, and easier to relocate and adjust if needed. Also a multi pack of velcro cable wraps. 50 for £4 or so.

Does anyone have a solution to my two keyboards and two mice problem?

I’ve got my work laptop and home computer connected to the same monitor and have keyboard and mouse for each. I’ve haven’t got biggest desk so it’s taking up a lot space at the moment.

Is there a good way connecting both so that I can easily switch between the two? Annoyingly, all of the keyboards and mice are wireless. Similarly it would be nice to have them connected to the same audio output, headset and webcam so that I can close the lid of my laptop.

I’ve looked at the software solutions and they’re a bit expensive and I doubt work would approve it.

You can get KVM switches that allow you to share use of wireless mouse & keyboard

Audio is (in my experience) a real ballache to share across KVMs though - Instead I use a bluetooth headset that connects to two different devices.

I'm assuming that you'd want to keep at least 1 set of your current keyboard and mouse sets?

Logitech MX keys and master mouse and a 3 device switch on them.

Otherwise, a decent powered USB 3 or C hub with keyboard/mouse dongle, webcam, headset etc might work? Just plug it into whichever computer you're using.

You have some monitors with a KVM switch built in, so when you switch between laptop and PC, you can have the mouse/keyboard connect with whatever you're connected to, which is awesome. (but expensive)

You could look for a KVM switch, most cheaper ones don't have audio/mic jacks, but depending on how you set it up, you could have a USB soundcard and USB hub attached.

Bit of an odd one this but here goes.

What, realistically is the smallest size I could expect to work at a desk? Reason being my new house has a nice little alcove near a set of french doors that lead outside (so I'd still need access to those) that I would love to make into a little desk.

The alcove is 1m wide and around 50cm deep. I'd imagine I will have to come out a little further than the alcove in order to facilitate a monitor + keyboard (although I could mount the former on the wall...

The added issue is the fact that I need access to the doors outside to the garden.

I used to use a USB switcher connected to a hub. Plug everything into the hub, one USB cable from the switcher to each laptop, press the button to switch.

If your mic/headset isn't USB you can use a USB soundcard, basic ones are pretty cheap.

At one job I had a 1m x 1m office desk but that was towards the end of CRT days so you needed more depth.

I think I'd struggle with 50cm of depth but 60cm would probably be okay. Could you have some kind of pull out or fold up flap for the keyboard?

Funny you say that. I was thinking down the DIY route but something like this looks like it could do the job;

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/furniture/pdp/ebern-designs-stets-muse-floating-desk-u001762279.html?piid=1733407876

The alternative is I wall mount the monitor and then use a foldaway desk on the wall.

1m by 50cm should be ok. The smallest Ikea table top is 100cm x 60cm, and as long you get your monitor as flat and as far back as possible, you should be ok.

A hanging shelf (or full shelf) under the table to store a laptop (if you're a laptop person) where you can connect your monitor and charging cable would save a lot of table space.
In front of my turbo trainer I've actually used Command Velcro pads to stick a 22 inch monitor on the wall (it has a flat back with HDMI coming out the bottom edge.

Monitor weighed 2.5kg without the stand, and 4 large velcro command strips are rated to 7kg+.

I'm considering a very similar thing (alcove next to a chimney breast). I reckon 60cm is probably a minimum depth, not just in terms of not being right on your monitor but also to be able to stretch your legs.

I could probably work with a 50cm deep desk with wall mounted monitor(s).

I've currently got an 80cm deep desk but the edge of my keyboard is 20cm from the edge of the desk. I only need ~10cm or so of desk for my wrists between the edge and the keyboard so that could drop to 70cm (indeed the new desk that's on order is only 70cm deep).

Each 23" monitor is at least 20cm from the wall (they're mounted in a slight V shape), if I could get them right up against the wall then I could move me and the keyboard 20cm in giving a required desk depth of 50cm, but it'd be tight.

You could throw money at the problem...
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/pc-monitors/pc-monitors/samsung-space-quad-hd-27-led-monitor-black-10207958-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=4d7eb93e-055f-499d-8ee5-1cdcc50d67d1&istItemId=ilqixtxxm&istBid=tztx&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1007+(Shopping+Ads)+Monitors+-+Generic~1007+(PLA)+MONITORS+-+Adaptive+ad+group~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=c&ds_kids=92700058544257791&tgtid=1007+(Shopping+Ads)+Monitors+-+Generic&=--present--&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhs79BRD0ARIsAC6XpaVPQZK-fo9TFLDXzg-bPifq2eJX7IfoiMim_Umkt5bY_DQLC2epu0saAovMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds