The working from home thread: tips and advice

Cheers, will give that a shot

Is it a work machine? Caffeine is good:
https://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/caffeine/

It's a single .exe file, so you can install it locally on the hard drive in its own folder (i.e. not the programs folder) or even run it from a USB stick.

A USB that does the jiggling for you is neat though.

Running a small bit of code is a favourite

var WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell");
for (var i = 0; i < 12; i++) { // Loop 12 times
    WshShell.SendKeys('{SCROLLLOCK}');
    WshShell.SendKeys('{SCROLLLOCK}'); // Toggle Scroll Lock
    WScript.Sleep(300000); // Wait 5 minutes
}

Save as whatever.js, right click & open with CMD

I bet this is a big part of her stress. I've been there and it's no fun. Looks coasty from the outside but I really struggled with it

Updated my work space this week. Nanoleaf (cheap on prime) replace my annoying desk lamp I was using as a key light for video calls. They do a great job of creating balanced, even light. Also can be automated through Apple home to turn on with Siri during video calls.

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Nice. I finally tidied and dusted my desk this weekend. Have a day off this Friday and there's going to be no one else here, bliss. So will be locking myself away in the shed to make a desk tidy.

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Totally, yeah I don't think it's fun at all for her, she has hip and eyesight issues also so this just exacerbates these issues, hope she can get on board with the mouse jiggler idea!

This looks ace, but struggling with how to make it work? do you just create a file in notepad? Assume it's a javascript file.

If she has a optical mouse you can put it on top of a phone or tablet playing a video like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BlFswrO-A&t=12848s

Teams will stay on green.

Apparently her boss has brought up lack of 'teams' activity in meetings.

What does this mean, not being online all the time?
This really isn't on. Is this is a simple as not being avaialble when needed by the 'boss'?

It is important for her mental health to either ignore stuff like this or leave. That she doesn't have a lot to do is a sign of a wider issue and the likelihood that this decision will be taken out her hands sooner or later.

When she does have a specific task to do, set her teams to 'do not disturb'. If the task takes 3 hours, then don't update it until the task finishes. If anyone (including nosy boss) asks, explain that she was working on task x.

Cheers, exactly this, on top of this, she does not have a permanent office to go to even if she wanted to.

Will give this a shot as well :D

Yep - write in notepad & run using right click (or command line).

Mostly what @arvy wrote though.

Change the status message to Busy all the time? https://www.addictivetips.com/web-conferencing/microsoft-teams-away-status/

I just open a Teams meeting and join leaving it running saying "in a call"

Setup looks great..

Looking for a speaker with the following:
-USB power
-audio over USB
-in-built mic
Does such a thing exist? For a reasonable price? I want USB so I can swap it between computers easily

Perhaps search for USB conference speakers? they’ll be ~£75—100 though, and be barely adequate for music.

When I was looking for speakers with similar criteria I came across quite a few things like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jabra-Bluetooth-Portable-Conference-Speakerphone-Black/dp/B00ANI7HI2
and a few shitty soundbar things but not much in the way of decent speakers for music as well as calls.

Ah yeah they've managed to make a device there that even looks like it'll sound bad! Thanks, I'll keep digging

Cheap is relative I guess but I've had this for a while now and it's excellent.

Duplex mics make the biggest difference over the cheaper versions of the same thing.

I use one of the Jabra 510's and its great, good audio and everyone says I sound much better than the people using built in mics, it is really good at picing up sound from all directions so I can wander around the room and it isn't detrimental to the people on the other end

Mouse Jiggler update, MIL is chuffed, got her one of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B098DZ7VV4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works a treat, she's visibly relieved.

Looks like an IKEA Markus for £free --

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/380822/

ATtiny85 [mouse jiggler]

Cheers for that, my new “mouse” works like a champ. I might make another halloween sketch that does haunted computer shenanigans

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