HP | At Home with Tech

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December 8, 2024

How 3 Computer Screens can Enhance your Work at Home

If you’re struggling to manage multiple windows on your computer screen while working from home, then it’s time to get yourself more screen real estate. It’s okay to admit it. Six monitors might be too many, but here’s what I did to get to three.

How many programs or apps do you juggle on your computer screen during your work day? Several Microsoft Word docs? Perhaps a Google Slides deck? Emails? Multiple web pages? Texting program? If you’re a creative, maybe you’ve also got Adobe Premiere or After Effects running. Where can you possibly put all that? Sure, you can minimize and hide windows, but you know… out of sight… out of mind.

It’s a constant struggle to keep your desktop organized and quickly find what you need. And you can never see everything simultaneously. You’d need a massive screen for that.

Well, of course they make larger screens for your computer. And if paired with a laptop, you also get the extra benefit of having a second screen. But some people keep their laptop closed and just use their external monitor. I think that’s a missed opportunity.

Stop Looking through a Pinhole
I know. Lots of folks do just fine using their tiny 13” laptop screen. Heck, 15” laptop screens are considered massive by comparison. But I know I’m not alone in feeling even that’s not enough room to do your work if you spend most of your day on a computer.

An office environment can often accommodate for this need with multi-screen stations you can easily plug into. But if you’re working from home, you’re usually on your own to figure it out.

Well, I’ve got a bold message to share: It’s really time to stop struggling.

Stop ‘making do’ with your tiny laptop uncomfortably crammed in the corner of your home. Why not reprioritize your existence and acknowledge your reality? It’s not temporary anymore.

So go ahead and redesign your space to set up a larger monitor for your laptop. If you’ve already got one monitor, consider buying a second one!

Yes, you really need it! It’s okay to admit that you do.

And let me tell you, when you allow your field of computer-screen vision to spread out more, it’s like putting on glasses for the first time…. Simply glorious.

Adding a 24” Screen to a 27” Monitor on my Standing Desk
I’ve been using a 27” LG monitor for the past few years with my laptop. They sit on my 42” wide standing desk in my home office. But I finally decided it just wasn’t enough. I really wanted a three-screen setup.

My standing desk is positioned in front of a window across from a separate V-shaped desk that houses my personal Mac Studio and a 32” HP ‘Z’ monitor.

Years ago, I chose to separate my work and play spaces in my home office. Perhaps that’s unnecessary, but it feels right for me. So, on the days when I work from home, my commute is a simple 150° swivel of my chair, and I’ve arrived.

No, I didn’t have a ton of extra room on my standing desk, certainly not enough for another 27” monitor. But I believed I could squeeze in a 24” monitor to help me gain additional screen real estate.

I knew it wouldn’t look pretty. I wouldn’t win any home-office feng shui awards. It would be a “Matrix”- like clutter vs. an airy starship design. And that’s okay. You go with what you’ve got.

So, with holiday sales swirling about, I finally allowed myself the freedom to buy a second additional screen for my laptop.

My New 24” Dell Monitor
I went with a 24” Dell UltraSharp USB-C Hub Monitor (U2424HE). The ‘hub’ functionality made it easier to tether to my existing set up without having to buy a separate hub device.

The USB-C connection to my laptop also feeds power to my laptop, which is a nice bonus, reducing cable clutter.

The IT Guy Finds a Challenge
The setup mostly was plug and play, but you really must know where to plug everything in. There were no directions in the box. (The quick setup sheet didn’t talk about multi-screens.)

I eventually found the 116-page manual online. The PDF was crammed with every possible detail. It described 14 connection options, each pin designation for the RJ45 plug and the emergency steps to take if you have to quickly dump the warp core (Trekkie joke). I scoured though this manual nobody ever wants to read and finally found page 55.

MST on Page 55
It’s titled, “Connecting the Monitor for USB Type-C Multi-Stream Transport (MST) Function.” (MST? Are we supposed to know that acronym?)

In short, page 55 told me to connect the Dell to my laptop with the USB-C cable and then tether the two monitors with the DisplayPort (DP) cable. (easy)

And then it simply worked. All my screens began to glow, and so did I. But please take note that you really do need to bring your inner IT Guy for this.

The Power of 3 Monitors
I think the irony and the truth behind this story is my secret desire to ultimately surround myself with 360° screens. Well, I’m on my way…

For now, I’ve got my laptop screen, my 27” LG and my adorably mismatched 24” Dell. Everything fits. And the extra monitor really makes a big difference. (Barrett is happy.)
Here’s my upgraded standing desk setup with my personal laptop displaying Adobe Firefly images I’ve created for my blog.

Maybe one day, a less expensive next-generation Apple Vision Pro will transport me into a more evolved virtual workspace environment and better serve my needs.

For now, all that matters is I’ve successfully expanded my access and visual connection to the many details constantly flowing through my computer.

More clarity through working smarter. I highly recommend it.

May 31, 2020

This Innovative HP Model Solved my Home Printer Issues

Ten years ago, a former work colleague who was ridiculously tech savvy said to me that he didn’t own a home printer. Why? Because he simply didn’t need to print anymore. It was a functionality that his digital day-to-day no longer required.

That’s stuck with me over the years. And I’ve thought about it many times as I’ve watched much of the world around me go paperless.

I’ve tried to drink the Kool-Aid.
Believe me, I have.
And I’ve made some progress.
Some.

But essentially, I’m still at home with paper.
There, I’ve said it.

I’m suddenly feeling freakishly analog.
Is everyone staring at me?

Looking for Less to Find More
Perhaps, I should be kinder to myself. If Barrett wants a little printer in his home office to feed his paper habit, what’s the problem?

Well, they don’t make “little printers” anymore.

No, they make multifunction/all-in-one monstrosities.
(I exaggerate only slightly.)

Most printers can do it all… copy/print/scan/fax. Some specialize in certain areas like printing out higher-quality photos. But most share one quality… they’re big.

I want small.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of extra space in your home office. So, the goal is always to find compact tech solutions, especially as working from home has taken on a more permanent status of late.

So, when my old one-trick-pony Canon Pixma printer started misbehaving, my search for an equally small replacement was on!

The Tango is my New Dance
There’s not really a lot of choice out there for a simple printer in a tight space. It so often feels like a complex dance to find your ‘perfect’ tech solution. That said, I think I found my partner with the HP Tango.

The HP Tango costs $149.99, which is not the cheapest printer out there, but it’s got the small footprint I wanted and also has a few innovative tricks up its sleeve that I like.

You can print directly from your smartphone using the HP Smart app.
(Printing from your computer is also a snap.)
You can save money on ink using HP’s Instant Ink Program.
Though not a scanner, you can scan docs via your smartphone.
Printing photos via your smartphone is free!
(You still pay for the photo paper.)

Easy Set Up
Bringing my new HP Tango into the Lester ecosystem took about ten minutes.

I downloaded the HP Smart app from the App Store on my iPhone.
Then, my iPhone did the work to get my wireless Tango up and running.
I created my HP account.
I signed up for HP’s Instant Ink program with two free months (more on this in a moment).

The HP Tango is definitely not designed to look like your old, clunky printer. It sports cool undercarriage LED lighting that’s reminiscent of a Cylon’s head from “Battlestar Galactica.” Fortunately, it’s a friendlier effect here.

Overall, the Tango strives to give you that elegant Apple-like experience. I think it says a lot that the Apple Store sells the Tango X (a more expensive model).

HP Instant Ink Program
HP has reinvented how you buy printer ink with its Instant Ink program.

Here’s the deal: You no longer buy ink cartridges when you run out of ink. Instead, you pay HP for each page you print. Since the Tango is Wi-Fi connected, HP knows every time the Tango prints a page or photo.

The Instant Ink program offers you:

50 pages/month for $2.99/month
100 pages/month for $4.99/month
300 pages/month for $9.99/month

When your Tango needs more ink, HP automatically mails you more cartridges.

I signed up for the $4.99/month plan. No, I don’t think I’ll really be printing out 100 pages monthly, but I also don’t want to feel like I’m rationing paper in the fear that I’ll go over my limit.

Plus, there’s always that amount of inevitable paper waste where an extra page or two gets printed out with a couple periods or dashes. Yes, those are pages that HP counts too. I imagine you might feel that HP is nickel and diming you when they charge for a page with a dot on it. But a page is a page. That’s the deal.

A Tango’s replacement HPXL 64 ink cartridge costs more than forty bucks. If you replace both the color and black cartridges only once a year, that’s going to set you back $88.

My plan costs less than $60/year. So this program looks like a good deal to me.

Tango is Music to my Ears
I went looking for a boring solution to maintain my legacy connection to paper. Instead, I found a small and smart printer that actually upgraded my home-office experience and spits out photos from my iPhone for free!

I’m happy to report that I’m entirely enjoying my dance with my HP Tango.