This week, we are deploying terminal technology into several classrooms that I maintain. Terminals are a great solution for certain situations; students in these classrooms are only using the internet and Micrsoft Office and need to be able to print. All of these things can be done through a remote terminal server on its own vlan. Terminals have a life cycle of 10-12 years, unlike PC’s that have a life cycle of 3-5 years. They are relatively cheap, about $700, and use standard keyboards, mice, and monitors. And probably best of all, they have a tiny footprint, taking up about 8 inches by 6 inches of desktop space.
The only thing that isn’t any different is the amount of cables cluttering up the top and underneath the desk! There’s a monitor cable, a power cord for both terminal and monitor, keyboard cable, mouse cable, ethernet cable, and USB cable to the monitor. The smaller footprint is great, but when are we going to get to a place where there is one cable, or maybe two, do do everything?
The underneath of my desk looks like a spaghetti factory. I have a laptop and two desktops on my desk, so I’ve got cables out the wazoo! It doesn’t matter how I tie them down or tuck them into the wire tray, it is still a mess. At home, it is the same, wires everywhere, no matter how hard I try to hide them.
Are any computer manufacturers even looking at fixing this abomination of wires and cables? It’s nice to have smaller machines and more compact (thin) monitors, but if we still have a zillion cables cluttering up the space, then the smaller solution is really only a minor improvement. Why haven’t power and information cables been put together into one cable from monitor to computer? And why aren’t all computers equipped with wireless keyboards and mice? I know I can get a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, but that means one more thing hanging out of the back of my computer. It should already have been put on board.
I just would like to have a clean workspace for a change, and I’d like to be able to move my feet around under my desk without fear of unplugging something.
Its not just computers that have the problem. I’ve just had to hide away a whole heap of stuff from setting up my home entertainment system. I ended up buying a cupboard shelf and put all the powerboards into the bottom cupboard.
I still have to organize my desk. I found a site where one person used a disk rack to hide all their cables, but I can’t find it anymore, but I found this link which you might find handy…http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/declutter-the-mess-under-your-desk
As for having wireless keyboards and mice, I don’t think that will happen till wireless usb is available which will hopefully be soon.
what the heck are you talking about..
stop being so darn picky… if you don’t think size is an improvement event though the cables are the same, try lugging around a old 100 lb alpha machine instead of your laptop