What's in my desk? — D.L. Cade
My desk is a Vari Electric Standing Desk 60x30. It was a housewarming gift from my family when I moved to Seattle, and I absolutely love it! It's huge, and sturdy, and it keeps me from spending the entire day sitting on my lazy bum.
Apple's latest Mac mini with the Apple Silicon M1 chip is the perfect desktop computer for me. It's shockingly powerful for its size and extremely affordable for an Apple product. It's not the most powerful desktop computer out there, not by a long shot, but it punches way above its price point and takes up almost no space on my desk.
These speakers were a housewarming gift from my audiophile brother, and they have ruined me. I can never buy regular computer speakers again. Paired with a proper audio interface like the Apollo Twin (also pictured), they create an immersive audio experience that absolutely blew my mind the first time I hooked them up.
One of the perks of being a tech reviewer is getting to try some really impressive gear before it's available to the public, and this monitor is my latest toy. It's a 40-inch, 21:9 aspect ratio monster with 5K-by-2K resolution and impressive color accuracy, which comes in handy when you review gear for photographers and video editors. For me, it's been a revelation for multi-tasking, since I can comfortably fit three windows side-by-side-by-side when I'm doing research for a review.
I've just about killed my MX Master 2S and may need to replace it with the newer Version 3 soon, but it's served me well for years. My favorite features are probably the secondary scroll wheel (which I use for zoom in apps like Photoshop), the two customizable buttons on the side (which I use to switch between virtual desktops), and the fact that the spin wheel automatically switches from clicky scroll to free-spin when you flick it. Plus it can be programmed to connect to three separate devices — super convenient when you're reviewing multiple computers.
What's in your ...?
We want to hear about unusual and unusually useful items that you have in your desk, bag, closet, fridge or where ever you keep things. It can be anything really: work bag, pantry shelf, beauty drawer, toolbox, etc. Start by sending an email to claudia@cool-tools.org with a photo of the things in your chosen space (you can use your phone). If you get a reply from us, fill out the form. We’ll pay you $50 if we run your submission in our What’s in my ...? newsletter and blog.