Controlling the Cable Congestion?

JaytheMover asks: "I've just moved, and my wife won't allow me to set up my desk as I had before. I had a gaggle of cables under my desk which only NOW seems to bother her in the new house. How do you guys keep this mess under control? I Googled 'Cable Organizer' and found this thing called the cable organizer at cable-safe.com which hangs the cords like in a closet or this cable snake thing which binds them all together. What do Slashdot readers use to keep their cable clean and their wives happy?"

Comments

Wire Management

[linuxwrangler]

Probably the cheapest is wire-ties. Simply bundling similarly routed cables (say keyboard, monitor and mouse for a given machine) helps a lot. Then coil and tie excess wire at the end. Use flush-cutting diagonal cutters to trim the ends of the wire ties so there are no scratchy points and you will have a reasonably tidy setup. Unfortunately, this is a PITA if you frequently move things since it requires cutting/replacing lots of wire ties and pretty soon you will be back to a mess.

You can try wire duct of the type that Panduit sells. Run a long channel or two along the back of your desk and you can pop the top and stuff all your extra cable inside the channel and route the wire neatly out the slots where they are needed. More expensive but easier to reconfigure.

Now, as to part two - keeping my wife happy:
I try to hit the toilet when urinating and wipe up if I don't. I do my share of the dishes, cooking, laundry, etc. I take out the trash. I surprise her with flowers when she isn't expecting any. I help fix problems at her mother's house. I stop what I'm doing and give her a hug and kiss when she gets home from work. Somehow, the issue of a couple of stray cables hidden under the back of the desk hasn't concerned her at all.