Slashdot Mirror

You can have the power and data in the same "conduit" if you get twin raceway.

http://store.cableorganizer.com/p-59711-twin-70-power-rated-multi-channel-raceway-base-8ft-qty-24-ft.aspx?gclid=CK-M-bzOlLsCFYqFfgodKWYAlg

I mark both ends with Brady wire markers, these come with the job when you do wiring.
http://www.platt.com/platt-electric-supply/Markers-Marking-Tape-Wire-Marker-Books/Brady/PWM-PK3/product.aspx?zpid=4581

I also map it out, Each wire/cable with it's number at each end and keep the paper handy
so if I'm really lost I can go back to it. (sound system)

Wind up the surplus wire and wire tie it, each bundle (7.1 sound system) a different length
so you don't have a ball of bundles.

Wire ties loosely around objects so you can use it as a wire run, that can support weight.

If wires are going to run across the floor (sound system) I use a cord concealer and protector
just like these http://www.cableorganizer.com/neoprene-cord-cover/

If you do use the clear mat that lets you move your chair around on, get the dull nubs on the bottom
not sharp ones as they will sever wires in a cables you've run under it.

All this with concealment in mind (keep it pretty), every cord goes down a hole behind my monitor then comes up
a few feet away from two different holes. The wire markers are below the hole for this end so I just pull on the cable
and the marker that moves is the one I'm after. Of course any setup would depend upon your environment.

Labeling helps you if you need to unplug or move one cable, but it's still a mess if you need to remove a cable from the snarl, as when replacing components or swapping out a bad cable. The answer to that is to eliminate all the extra wire that causes the snarl by taking up the slack. There are a bunch of gadgets that can be used for that. My personal preference are the velcro cable ties. I wrap the excess cord around my fingers and then wrap it with the velcro tie to keep it out of the way. I like them because they're reusable, cheap and can be used when storing cables as well.

The tangles and tangles make it almost impossible to move anything without spending twenty or thirty minutes under the desk.

So don't move stuff. Feng Shui and all that jazz.

Have you looked into using cable tubes or wraps (this sort of thing)? They can help a lot when you have multiple cables converging on the same point over space. There are also ties, mounts, and any number of cable management accessories for "under the desk" cables.

All in all, I've found the most useful practice to be labelling each cable or cord on both ends using masking tape and a marker. The tape provides a 'tab' I can write on, so if I need to unplug device X, I can just look for the cable with the X label and then pull it free from the other end.

I've also found the biggest culprit when my cables get messy is always my laziness, especially not removing devices, cables, and power cords that I am not currently using and packing them up until I need them again.

There are a number of slideout and rotatable rack systems out there. I found this one in a couple of minutes. http://www.cableorganizer.com/home-theater-system/SRSR-rotating-sliding-rail-system.htm

We use these a lot in the datacenters.

So, the rack looks like this:
[patch panel]
[panduit tray]
[switch]

repeat

tOM

Use a velcro product called rip wrap to tie your cables together.

http://cableorganizer.com/ripwrap/?src=froogle&CAWELAID=261927836

Organize the cables by termination, that is, bundle cables going to one device together and combine them with other cables going to nearby devices. Don't overlap the cables. Do power cables in a separate run as they can interfere with certain information carrying cables.

If the cables are different lengths, loop the cables in a spot that can be hidden. Make sure you keep enough slack so you can pull the device out to access the cable terminations.

Get a cable tray (or wire tray) from your local office store (I got mine at Office Max, but they had them at Office Depot, and electronics stores like Frys) - mount this either on the edge of your desk that would be facing a wall, or underneath the desk itself. Any extra wire, just run it back and forth in the cable tray. If you have a wooden desk, IKEA makes a wire manager called a SIGNUM - that makes this easier. I use braided sleeving to bundle wires from all my peripherals, so instead of having 4 or 5 cables running over the top of my desk, I have one that goes down the middle of the desk and then forks to all my peripherals. Using a hole saw and cutting a hole, then use a grommet to run your wires through is also a good alternative and doesn't require all your wires to run to the edge of your desk. There's lots of cool stuff on CableOrganizer.com but you can usually find a cable tray and some sleeving locally.

Get a cable tray (or wire tray) from your local office store (I got mine at Office Max, but they had them at Office Depot, and electronics stores like Frys) - mount this either on the edge of your desk that would be facing a wall, or underneath the desk itself. Any extra wire, just run it back and forth in the cable tray. If you have a wooden desk, IKEA makes a wire manager called a SIGNUM - that makes this easier. I use braided sleeving to bundle wires from all my peripherals, so instead of having 4 or 5 cables running over the top of my desk, I have one that goes down the middle of the desk and then forks to all my peripherals. Using a hole saw and cutting a hole, then use a grommet to run your wires through is also a good alternative and doesn't require all your wires to run to the edge of your desk. There's lots of cool stuff on CableOrganizer.com but you can usually find a cable tray and some sleeving locally.

You have three different problems: your stereo, charging, and data transfer.

The stereo fix is to buy a stereo with a single daisy-chanable optical interconnect. It's probably too later to tell you that, though. I'm going to concentrate on the other issues, and leave the stereo as "a problem for the student" (but see the URL at the end).

If you can't go back in time and have better taste in connectors for the devices you buy in the first place, there are several companies that sell dongles with a proprietary connector on one end and a mini-USB connector on the other that plug into the device and stay plugged in. Some of these are just little things that look like rubber trim around the now-standard on the device, while others are full blown cases with extra batteries inside them. Here's one example for an iphone, which includes a lithium battery in the "case", and gives it a standard connector instead of Apple's proprietary "dock" connector:

        http://www.case-mate.com/iPhone-3G-Cases/Case-Mate-iPhone-3G--3GS-Fuel-Battery-Extender-Case.asp

and then you plug everything you want to charge into the one or two mini-USB cables that you keep around for that.

For the keyboard and mouse clutter -- get bluetooth. This also works for syncing smaller amounts data from your mobile devices with your computer, when the intent of the cable is to transfer data, rather than charging the device. If you have to have higher speed, e.g. for the video, then make sure at least one of your cables that you keep around has the other end plugged into a computer rather than into a power adapter plugged into a wall/power strip.

For the ethernet cables, go WiFi. Your WiFi hot spot for the computer, the router, switches, and you NAS can go on a shelf in a closet. Who cares what the cables look like to someone standing on a ladder in your closet, at that point? I assume the modem is a cable modem? If so, it can go in the closet with the switches. There's enough supposedly 802.11n hardware around out there that you can expect a half a gigabit transfer speed if you get it all from one vendor.

For the separate power connectors on the monitor and the base unit: live with it, or get an all-in-one device like an iMac.

In the future, when you are thinking of buying a portable device, make sure it can use mini-USB for charging, to avoid adding any more cables.

PS: If the remaining (power only) cables still bother you after getting rid of the data cables and unnecessarily local equipment, buy some of these:

        http://cableorganizer.com/richco/kurly-lock-adhesive-base.htm

and stick them to the bottom of your desk or wherever and put the cables through them.

-- Terry

Split loom sucks, especially for ethernet wires, you still need to tie it down to make things look nice and it doesn't deal with extra wire very well. I only use it to protect against rodent chewing (I have pet rabbits) when I have a single wire running to the wall.

Instead, consider cable raceways. I find it's the easiest to add or subtract cable to, many come with an adhesive side, and they run in nice straight lines unlike loom.

Stick to single sided power strips where adapters run perpendicular to the stip and things will stay neat. With respect to adapters, don't worry about their power draw, it's quite negligible. The only things that you should worry about draw, are devices that have a "sleep mode" like TVs, DVD players, and receivers, but they probably should have their own surge protected strip anyway.

I work in IT over at Arizona State University and had to cable manage hundreds of computers. What we used was super Velcro which allowed us to connect switches, hubs, etc. to the underside of desks and then we used this spiral cable wrap to wrap all the cords together. It was the first time I had seen anything like it but it worked wonders. I don't know where you can get it the cheapest but this website carries it http://cableorganizer.com/richco-flame-retardant-wrap/ so check it out. Once the cables are bound (which can be undone relatively easily) you can then zip tie or Velcro them under a desk or against a wall. It keeps everything nice and tightly. I noticed in the store the other day a great option that may help in your desire to reduce power usage by AC adapters that are not currently plugged in to anything. It is a special surge protector that has two outlets that are âoeAlways onâ and then several others that are connected to the on off switch on the surge protector. This allows you to give certain components (i.e. routers, NAS boxes, etc) constant power while other components (i.e. AC adapters) can be turned on an off at the flick of a switch. You can even control the on off with a remote control which I thought was pretty cool, save on having to bend down underneath a desk just to turn on your power strip. You can check it out at http://catalog.belkin.com/conserve/features/ so that may help your endeavor as well. Good luck!

1. http://cableorganizer.com/ This site is good for hours of fun.

2. Velcro cable ties are great.

3. Build your own custom-length Ethernet cables.

4. Label all your cables and transformers. See http://www.brother-usa.com/Ptouch/Ptouch_HandHeld/

Plastic raceway.
http://cableorganizer.com/surface-raceways/latching.html
I use something similar to run speaker wire to my rear speakers. I have it run up the side and across the top of a doorframe to the corner of the room, then it goes up to the ceiling, and along the ceiling/wall edge to the speakers. It blends in fairly well.

You can also pull up the edge of your carpeting and stuff cable under it (along the walls works well, but I wouldn't do that across a hallway or doorway), or remove your baseboards, cut a cable path into the drywall, run cable through it, and replace the baseboards.

Here here

A simple lock box like http://cableorganizer.com/computer-cabinets/security-lock-box.htm should suffice.

SELinux probably works just great for what it was designed for - NSA top-secret systems. There's always a tradeoff between security and usability, and right now, SELinux is just above yanking the power cord.

I simply yank the network cable instead.

Some good network security tools that I use.

Do you mean like these?

You could try the Cable Turtle.

For longer distance things you could use spiral wraps.

And another cool product would be the cord caddy.

Have fun organizing!

You could try the Cable Turtle.

For longer distance things you could use spiral wraps.

And another cool product would be the cord caddy.

Have fun organizing!

You could try the Cable Turtle.

For longer distance things you could use spiral wraps.

And another cool product would be the cord caddy.

Have fun organizing!

This is not exactly what we had, but it is similar. http://cableorganizer.com/raised-floors/flooring.h tm/

Au contraire, mon cher! It is quite on topic. Electricians routinely fish for wires through walls...

Perhaps except two things most sparkies I know wouldn't use such a cheep SOP fish-tape. Secondly fish-tape is used to fish wire through conduit. fishing cables, and romex through walls is usually done with fish-stix. Yes triads-men have a sense of humor too.