I've been meaning to post this photo and explanation for some time but only got around to it today as I pondered the statistics from the LifeSize Express.
This photo was taken in early 2008, just after the Express HD system was installed. I had to acquire the big monitor which is a dual purpose – HD video screen and 2nd monitor to improve my writing (really typing) productivity.
I have worked with laptops since about 1994, when my employer gave me one. The flexibility they offer me far outweighs the pain of the jumble of cables (shown near the MacBook Pro label). On the left side of the laptop are the USB connector of the 500 MB backup drive and the amazing magnetic power coupling to recharge the battery of the MacBook Pro. The right connectors are the monitor plug (white), the Gbps Ethernet cable, and the USB bus connecting the keyboard extender and the printer. I plug memory sticks and camera cables into the open ports of the hub.
The codec's H.239 VGA cable is on the desk, but at the back so that I can quickly uncouple the green monitor-direct cable and plug in the blue H.239 for video and screen sharing sessions. My desk is surprisingly paper-free in this photo (I am a notorious piler of papers), but there are places for everything and everything with places.
I have since, as indicated installed a tripod behind the monitor to mount the LifeSize camera and installed two desktop lamps near the window on the left to brighten up my face when in video sessions (or brighten up the work in the afternoon). Since the office windows face East-southeast-ish, I get a lot of sun in the morning in the office, and of course, it changes during the day.
What got me going on this post today, was the recent audit I completed on my video consumption which is now reported here.
