Sticky Labels
By admin at 6 May, 2008, 1:37 pm
Instead of writing some amazing strategy insight, I thought Id pass on a simple tip that will save you time and frustration when dealing with your computer.
When I started an IT Services business called Edion in 2000, we had one spare computer used for centrally storing and sharing all our stuff. This file server quickly mutated and grew. Two years later it had its own room and had become a number of files servers, a firewall, a web server, a mail server and a variety of computers and routers used as a test bed by my network engineers. Apart from our electricity bill going through the roof and being introduced to the necessities of cooling the environment, we now has a mass of cables to deal with.
To the techo’s, the solution was simple. Every cable was labeled at both ends with a code number. These code numbers were kept on a table in the server room that allowed anyone to quickly figure out what cables were up to. All cables were marked, including Ethernet, power and USB cables.
Now my current office (and home) are no where near as a complex environments, as I pretty much just have to look after myself. However I have noticed that no matter how many spots I have on the power board, I always have one too many items that need plugging in. Underneath my desk is generally a mess as I regularly pull things out and swap them around. Murphy’s Law dictates though, that that whenever I pull a plug out (to make room for something else), I will always pull out the wrong plug and bugger something up I have been working on. I will then bump the back of my head as I quickly scramble back up to see what damage I just caused myself.
The solution to this problem is a variation on what my tech’s used to do. I have one of those $49 dollar label makers. Every time a pick a new appliance ; Computer, Printer, Phone charger, Monitor, Thermal label printer, Bluetooth charger, Camera charger, External Hard Disk, ADSL Modem, USB Hub etc) I put a label on both ends of the cable, indicating what the cable for . Eg “Printer”. This means that when I scramble around in the shadows under my desk, I can still change the right plugs, without having to unscramble the spaghetti.
The bonus is that when I find a powersupply or charger in a box, I know immediately know whats its for. My wife also finds it handy as stashed behind the CD player in the kitchen, we have a tangle of mobile phone chargers, some of which are for phones we still own.
So, not an amazing strategy insight, but instead maybe, a useful tip on managing your IT assets and preventing data loss.
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