The evolution of my home office from 2019 to 2022

In this post, I document the changes to my office setup through time.

2022 Update 2

I decided to move my office out of my home! I am now located in a co-working space in the city of Toulouse. It is called “HarryCow”.

2022 Update

I added a second monitor. It is the same as the one I bought in 2019.

2021 Second Update

As you can see in the above picture, I went from a Macbook Pro to a custom PC I built!! I wanted a machine purposed for Linux and with as much CPU as I could afford. I made a gist with all the tips I have learned from my experience of switching from macOS to Linux.

Here is the part list (also available on pcpartpicker):

2021 Update

• I switched from the Apple Magic AZERTY keyboard to a QWERTY mechanical keyboard: the Durgod Taurus K320 TKL. I chose the Cherry MX Brown switches, and I love them. It feels so much better to be typing on this keyboard. Moving from AZERTY to QWERTY was the hardest part. It took about 3 months to get as confortable as I was using the AZERTY layout. I really wanted to stop working on a “second class” keyboard layout that has poor shortcut support on most apps. The other adjustment I had to do was to go to the macOS settings and swap the Windows key with the Alt key so that the ⌘ and ⌥ keys are at in the right order.
• Two UTEBIT articulating arms that hold (1) an old iPhone 7 that I use as a secondary screen using Duet and (2) a Razer Kiyo camera.
• A Razer Kiyo camera (USB 3). I wish I had a proper DSLR camera though: the Kiyo needs a ton of light to have a good image quality.
• Two UTEBIT tabletop arms that I use to hold the flood lights.
• Two NEEWER bi-color 660 flood lights.
• A set of UTEBIT 1/4 to 3/8 screw adapters.
• 24 panels of the t.akustik WAS-7 Absorber. It greatly reduced the amount of echo/reberb in the room, and allows me to put the microphone a bit further away without losing on sound quality.

2020 Update

• Yeti Compass boom arm

  Note that the boom arm is meant to carry the shock mount + the mic and since I only mounted the Yeti mic, the spring mechanism is a bit too tight which means the arm tends to go up. I unscrewed the screw in the base of the boom arm at its minimum but the tension is still too high and the boom arm tends to go up.

• Apple Magic Keyboard. I also use a Sharkoon PureWriter TKL from time to time when I want to bother my collegues with the clank-clank sound of the red switches
• USB-C hub Ugreen and AUKEY USB3 hub.

2019 Office

• LG 27UL850-W 27 inches 4K monitor
• Griffin Elevator stand
• The Flexispot standing desk E5B (B = black) with a €25 wood board I mounted on top.
• I use the Beats Solo 3 headphones. I only use it for audio output. I never use the mic in Bluetooth mode since it greatly degrades my colleague’s listening experience.
• Blue Yeti USB microphone

  Why a standalone mic just for Zoom? One very important aspect of the remote-only work setup is the importance of being properly understood. I take this very seriously and think that the sound quality of the mic I use every day influences how effective my meetings are. I also make a number of calls to potential candidates, which means I should sound perfect.

• Logitech K760 (wireless solar keyboard).
• Logitech MX Master Just an excellent mouse
• AUKEY mousepad XXL.
• Some random chair (I wish I could afford the Herman Miller Aeron)

And finally, here is a picture from the backyard. 🙂