Hardware ChoiceThe most frustrating aspect of technology is getting it to work the way it's supposed to.
Recently I was at a legacy client's condo on Palm Beach, waterfront views on 3 sides. They had a remote that couldn't control the volume on a tv. OK, first, it seems like it should be an easy type of issue. There are remotes that go through this everyday and get fixed easily. Secondly, these are high-end items. It wasn't like it was a remote and tv that can be bought at your local Walgreens.
Yet there the client was, hiring an audio/visual expert, not me mind you, get it fixed. The hired help was explaining how it just wasn't going to work. Not the words you ever want to speak or hear.
This is why hardware choice is so important. It goes back to our goal of reliable productivity in the shortest amount of time. I thought I'd list out my hardware choices for everyone to see. Feel free to disagree, this is what I've found to be most stable in my experience:
- Dell Optiplex: moving to the Optiplex series automatically cut my issue list in half. In general, they are stable.
- Macbook Pro: for those who must go Mac. Don't even consider the younger brother of the generic Macbook.
- Asus RT-N16: this router has more memory & processing power to run without ever locking up. Plus it's wireless N and gigabit.
- Canon Multifunction: I've been around the world on this one. Canon is the only small office MFP I trust. That is until you get to the large MFP's.
- Netgear Gigabit Switches: reliable and affordable. I never had an issue.