Patrick R. Holland

On technology, fitness, and business

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“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford

It’s the simple things in life that matter – Das mechanical keyboards

February 19, 2017 By patrick Leave a Comment

I’m a fan of “clicky” keyboards, my favorite being an old IBM PS/2 keyboard years ago.  The trend seems to be towards thinner, lighter keyboards like the Apple Magic Keyboard and the Microsoft’s Surface Keyboard.  Now don’t get me wrong, these are very nice keyboards.  If you want a minimalistic keyboard that looks like it was designed to sit next to your Macbook, Surface, etc. and has no cabling clutter, you could certainly do worse.  However, if you are wanting to enhance your typing experience, then look at Das mechanical keyboards.  Not only are these built like a tank, keyboarding is very precise, and fast.  Yes, they are much noisier if you get the “clicky blue” vs. “clicky brown” version, and you probably should have a private office or sound-dampened cubicle.  Otherwise, your office mates or family may toss both you and your keyboard out before you are able to convince them of why such a noisy keyboard helps to improve you words-per-minute and general appreciation of time spent in front of your computer.

Oh, did I forget to mention that these keyboards cost between $130 – $170 US?  I choked with I saw the price also, but if you have enough points saved up on your credit card, it’s easier to stomach.

Filed Under: General-Tech Tagged With: keyboards, mechanical, technology

Email…you are dead to me!

June 4, 2016 By patrick Leave a Comment

 

I am continuously looking for ways to improve communications within our office.  So much of what we do in the IT service industry revolves around interpreting a client’s need and meeting their expectations.  Immediate and concise communications between co-workers can be a critical component, and possible asset, when servicing clients.  Email was a valuable tool for a time.  One-to-one messaging tools then became the preferred tool, but these were lacking.  Recently, I set off to find “The One”.  I wanted a single messaging application that included the following features:

  • One-to-one and one-to-many communications
  • Supported “threads” for organizing message content by department or subject matter
  • Allowed for posting of documents or screen shots
  • Was browser-based and also had an app for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices
  • Integrated with an assortment of applications.

I’m happy to say that I found “The One”!

Slack Logo

Filed Under: Business, General-Tech Tagged With: Email, Messaging

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