Yes, with the current working from home scenarios here are some of the things you need and some cool things that might help to make your work from home as an easy affair.
For Meetings
Some companies have their suites like Google Meet, Microsoft teams, Goto meetings, Zoom, etc. Each has unique features and you should get acquainted with them. Meeting needs some special skills to get focused. I will write one more post for meeting etiquette. But for meeting what are the things you need. These are something I am using personally hope this will help you all as well
Headset with Microphone:
Option 1: Edifer k800 with Microphone
Advantages:
- You can wear it for a longer time
- Your voice will be very clear for the other parties
- Very long cord, so you don’t have to glue to your chair
Disadvantages:
- External Microphone may be a little bulky
- You need to adjust the mouth piece
Option 2: Sony MDR-XB 450AP (With sleek Micrphone)
Advantages:
- Sleek design
- No external microphone
- Works well with both Mobile and Desktop
- Soft Headphones you can wear for many hours together
- Tangle-free wires
Disadvantages:
- Little expensive
- The headphones pads might worn out soon
Why I don’t suggest in-ear headphones for meetings:
Your predominant time goes in the meeting. Am I right? For such a long use I would not recommend in-ear that might cause damage to your ears. So always go for a over the head headphones for longer use.
External Microphone and Video Camera:
USB micophone is better when compared to conventional Microphone 3.5 mm jack. In many computers in my experience, the Microphone jack is not working. USB helps to resolve those issues. All operating system reorganizes USB and it will work like a charm. There are many USB Microphones are there, please choose which one suits you better. I got one of my Kids online classes and it works like a charm.
Webcam: Logitech C270 HD
You have to be careful while choosing the webcam, in my suggestion and working from home experience, I would suggest 720p is the max you would require, 1080p HD camera would be overkill and it eats up the your bandwidth. So it is better to stay with 720p resolution. Here is my pick for video camera which will get the job done for you.
Summary:
Here are the hardware that you require for the work form home. Long or shot meetings, Let’s be prepared. I will come up with one more post for software that might help for your meetings.