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Organizing Computer Gear Clutter?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the untangling-the-rat's-nest dept.

slashyslashy asks: "At first I had only a PC and a printer. Now the home network setup has grown to consist of many units: linksys router, ASDL modem, Vonage VOIP terminal, linksys NSLU2 network storage device, and couple of external harddrives. Powering all these units is done with three Belkin 6-Outlet Surge Protectors all connected to 1 wall outlet. Currently all of these units are stacked under the table, causing their wires and cables criss-cross each other. Troubleshooting any single unit is a mess. How do other Slashdot readers organize their home computer gear? Any ideas on cheap solutions ($100) to manage this clutter?"

2 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Buy less crap. by Seumas · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I've always had an amazing amount of crap at home. Three laptops. Four 21" monitors (including two Sun monitors), a 19", a 17", a 15", a 23" apple cinema display, two linux boxes, two spare windows boxes, an Ultra 5, an Ultra 10, a Sunblade 150, a Sunblade 2000 and a kick ass high-end windows gaming box. Then two flatbed scanners, an inkjet printer, a brother laser printer, a huge set of speakers, three D-Link 7-port USB hubs and 24 external USB-connected IDE drives.

    I got tired of all the crap, so I gave away everything except the drives, the gaming box, the 23" cinema display, scanner and laser printer. Then I went out and bought a 17" PowerBook which I use as my main desktop box and my portable (to take to work) and a 30" Apple Cinema Display. Now it's quieter, there are hardly any cords (I use a wireless network, wireless laser mouse, wireless keyboard) and I stuck the gaming box in a closet and connected all of the external drives to it.

    Cords, noise and heat are no longer a problem. Sure, I can't really do any gaming on a PowerBook, but if I get back into playing games a lot, I'll just pull it out again for awhile.

    In summary - I found that the best way to deal with the clutter and crap is to.. well... get rid of the clutter and crap. It's amazing how much garbage hardware and computers you collect over time that you simply DO NOT NEED.

  2. Re:My solution by Shazow · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'd be interested in a pic, too.

    (Replying so I can find this post later and check for pic links.)

    - shazow