COVID-19 forced Jeff Houle to work remotely, which was not a problem since he prefers his personalized WFH desk rather than his drab office desk. Houle is an avid collector, whether it is Disney pins (see the cork board) or old Apple products.
But when it comes to Macs, he does not just collect them. He finds unique ways to reuse them. He held on to his iBook G4 and iMac G4 (which he got at a swap meet for $10) to play old games like the original Sim and Oregon Trail — where he probably found the iBook.
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Houle traded a Surface Book 2 for a 2009 Mac Pro and a 2009 iMac, because he would rather use discontinued Apple products than a brand-new Microsoft one. The Mac Pro is connected to a 23-inch Apple Cinematic Display. He even uses the case of his 2006 Mac mini as a display riser for his iMac.
But he doesn’t just have antiques on his desk. He turned the 2009 iMac into his permanent monitor. It sits in Target Display Mode while he runs his 2020 16-inch MacBook Pro on it. The iMac came without the glass front panel (the LCD panel, which still works, sits behind it). And though he has been meaning to get a new glass panel, he said he is procrastinating and has “gotten used to it.”
Beside his 2009 iMac, he uses a 24-inch Acer monitor with a Vivo Monitor Desk Stand. And his MacBook Pro sits comfortably on a Fita laptop stand. In order to improve his cable management, something he admittedly struggles with, he bought himself a HiearCode MacBook Pro Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, the ultimate dongle.
For his MacBook Pro setup, he uses both the Apple Magic Mouse and a Logitech G203 Prodigy Mouse. The Magic Mouse is for business while the Prodigy is for gaming. He demonstrates brand loyalty by also using a Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. For his vintage iMac G4 and Mac Pro G4 rig, he uses an Apple Pro Mouse and Keyboard combination.
Since he is a graphic designer, Houle needs a lot of storage for editing. Aside from the 1TB of internal storage in his MacBook Pro, he also uses a Western Digital 1TB Black My Passport portable external hard drive and another 1TB G-Technology 1TB G-Drive.
He also sports a 2020 11-inch iPad Pro. He uses his iPad mostly for editing photos but also for surfing the web, watching videos, and getting some work done while on the road. He attaches the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard onto it.
Shop these items now:
2020 11-inch MacBook Pro
Acer G246HL Abd 24-inch LED-Lit Monitor
Fita Laptop Stand
Vivo Dual LCD Monitor Vertical Desk Stand
Logitech G203 Prodigy RGB Wired Gaming Mouse
Apple Magic Mouse
Logitech G413 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
HiearCode MacBook Pro Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station
WD 1TB Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive
G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE SSD Portable External Storage
2020 11-inch iPad Pro
Magic Keyboard for 11-inch iPad Pro
Dual-Sided Multifunctional Desk Pad
Via: u/jhoule1394
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