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  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by VA_BDevil View Post
    - an adjustable height "wobble" stool - this adds additional positions besides sitting or standing. The bottom is slightly convex, so it can "rock" a bit. I believe the theory is the convex bottom forces you to use your core for balance. Weird at first, but you get used to it.Having this variety comes in handy if you're working from home full time. I don't recall where I bought the stool (somewhere online), but it is on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/ONGO-Classic-.../dp/B01BI7GI9U (worth clicking on the link for the hilarious typo in the 2nd bullet point of the description)
    I hope I'm the first to say, based on the product image, that "Ongo just pawn in game of [office] life"

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Ggallagher View Post
    I recently replaced my old laptop with an updated desktop/tower computer. Although I'd never purchased a battery backup before, I felt uncomfortable with the possibility of data loss due to an unexpected power dip. That had not been a consideration with the laptop due to its internal battery.

    So I bought an APC backup unit with the ability to power the desktop for about an hour. However if we were to lose power, what I would do is immediately save my data and shut down the desktop.

    Once I got it set up, I realized that there was an unexpected benefit to the setup. For any power outage that might run up to half a day or a little more, the backup battery can be used to charge cell phones or similar devices. Their demand is much lower than the desktop (about 100 watts). I also put our wi-fi router on the backup so if the power is off line for a while, we'll still have internet access through our phones - which we can keep charged.

    So even though I felt a little bad about spending the money for the backup unit initially, I was really pretty satisfied when I caught onto the unexpected benefit that it provided.
    Any opinions on the quality (or lack thereof) of CyberPower UPS units sold at Costco? I may buy a UPS sometime for my main Raspberry Pi unit. For all its virtues (and seriously, there are many), they are not, historically anyway, very robust to sudden power outages - which occur multiple times a year on average in my area. Apparently the corruption that ensues relates to the interruption of wear-leveling activity on flash-based storage. More and more stuff uses flash memory, and as you note, when in laptops, this wasn't much of a concern because of the battery - enabling a graceful shutdown even if it ran down.

    It's my experience that HDD are less affected by sudden power cuts, and Pi can now boot from USB HDD if desired. Most Pi people are going to SSD for speed gains, though. Ironically. It's a bit like turbocharging a Honda Fit.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Quote Originally Posted by cspan37421 View Post
    Any opinions on the quality (or lack thereof) of CyberPower UPS units sold at Costco? I may buy a UPS sometime for my main Raspberry Pi unit. For all its virtues (and seriously, there are many), they are not, historically anyway, very robust to sudden power outages - which occur multiple times a year on average in my area. Apparently the corruption that ensues relates to the interruption of wear-leveling activity on flash-based storage. More and more stuff uses flash memory, and as you note, when in laptops, this wasn't much of a concern because of the battery - enabling a graceful shutdown even if it ran down.

    It's my experience that HDD are less affected by sudden power cuts, and Pi can now boot from USB HDD if desired. Most Pi people are going to SSD for speed gains, though. Ironically. It's a bit like turbocharging a Honda Fit.
    Sorry, I have no experience with the CyberPower units. In the three months that I've had the APC unit, we've had one brief loss of power - maybe two seconds - that the backup handled. There was also a five second "electrical noise" disturbance which we didn't notice, but the battery came on line to protect the computer.

    So to date, it's done exactly what I expected.

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by cspan37421 View Post
    I hope I'm the first to say, based on the product image, that "Ongo just pawn in game of [office] life"
    42969-blazing-saddles-1974.jpg

    Well played.

  5. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by cspan37421 View Post
    Any opinions on the quality (or lack thereof) of CyberPower UPS units sold at Costco?
    I’ve used this brand at home and work. No problems and we’ve been through more hurricanes than I can remember. I replace the batteries on the fancy one at work every six/seven years. Make sure the one you get has the low battery alarm. Most have a three year warranty for the batteries.

    My one indulgence through the pandemic was a good chair. I never spent hours on end in a chair before this year. I thought it was ridiculous to say end hundreds of dollars on a chair. Man was I wrong. It’s been only six weeks (back ordered for a month +) but my back and bum are pain free.

    Quote Originally Posted by cspan37421 View Post
    It's my experience that HDD are less affected by sudden power cuts,
    HDDs can suffer physical damage from power loses. The motor can seize, the read/write heads can crash and the platter can become damaged. With an SSD less chance of physical damage.
    Last edited by Kdogg; 02-16-2021 at 04:25 PM.

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Kdogg View Post
    HDDs can suffer physical damage from power loses. The motor can seize, the read/write heads can crash and the platter can become damaged. With an SSD less chance of physical damage.
    Less chance of physical damage, but data corruption is just as bad in effect. And FWIW, in 26.5 years living where I live with probably at least a half dozen incidents a year (from straight-out power outages to brief flickers off/back on), I've never had a hard drive get damaged, nor any data destroyed. Sure, I might lose any unsaved work, but that's always true.

    Anyway thanks for the feedback on CyberPower and tips on what to look for!

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    I'll second the Cyberpower UPS recommendation. I have used them for many years now in my office and in my A/V closet. I have had some fail after five years but have some going for nearly ten years. I like that they have models with a pure sine wave output.

    As for music at my desk, I went with this:

    https://www.presonus.com/products/Eris-E5

    They are a great improvement over my Audioengine speakers of similar size, which were relegated to the workout room in the basement.

    I run the desk speakers wired from a DAC but there are a plethora of streaming DACs available now.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Dur'm
    Quote Originally Posted by elvis14 View Post
    Nrrrrvous - good reminder about the music. I generally run Pandora on my MacBook. When I was in the office, I used some decent headphones and the sound was OK. But here at home, I generally have just been using the MacBook speakers (yes, I realized you just threw up a little)...and they are not good. At the very least, for starters I can use a decent Bluetooth speaker I have and then make real improvements (although not to your level...my ears aren't that good anymore!).
    I have two sets of Monsoon Audio Planar Media speakers. These are small flat panels connected through a sub and hard-wired to the computer (1/8" jack). I've had them for 15 years or so and have never found their equal. The company is long-since defunct, but if you listen at a standard computer desk and can find a working pair used, buy them. Best near-field computer speakers ever sold.

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