Episode 420 – Ben convinces Scott to buy a 3D printer

January 29, 2026

Episode Transcript

Welcome to Episode 420 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Scott is back for a lighthearted discussion on some of the new tech and toys and that Ben and Scott picked up over the holidays. Listen in as Ben tries to convince Scott he needs a 3D printer and some feedback on the gadgets they both picked up.

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1 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:05,679 Welcome to episode 420 2 00:00:05,679 --> 00:00:08,720 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro podcast recorded 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,939 live on 01/16/2026. 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,400 This is a show about Microsoft three sixty 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,614 five in Azure from the perspective of IT 6 00:00:16,614 --> 00:00:18,695 pros and end users, where we discuss a 7 00:00:18,695 --> 00:00:21,094 topic or recent news and how it relates 8 00:00:21,094 --> 00:00:23,414 to you. It's that time of year again, 9 00:00:23,414 --> 00:00:25,574 though, when Ben and Scott actually take a 10 00:00:25,574 --> 00:00:27,654 bit of a break from Microsoft three sixty 11 00:00:27,654 --> 00:00:29,754 five and Azure and talk about gadgets. 12 00:00:30,109 --> 00:00:32,510 You know, those things we purchased or maybe 13 00:00:32,510 --> 00:00:34,750 had purchased for us throughout the year that 14 00:00:34,750 --> 00:00:38,210 we've enjoyed playing with and experimenting with. Essentially, 15 00:00:38,510 --> 00:00:41,950 this episode solidifies us as full blown geeks 16 00:00:41,950 --> 00:00:44,085 who have way too much fun with various 17 00:00:44,244 --> 00:00:47,364 tech gadgets. So without further ado, what did 18 00:00:47,364 --> 00:00:49,384 we spend our money on this year? 19 00:00:51,604 --> 00:00:53,364 Hopefully, we can remember how to do this 20 00:00:53,364 --> 00:00:54,884 thing. It's been a little bit. We're gonna 21 00:00:54,884 --> 00:00:56,884 ease our way into it because when I 22 00:00:56,884 --> 00:00:57,945 talk about Microsoft 23 00:00:58,484 --> 00:01:01,020 three sixty five and Azure, Given the holidays 24 00:01:01,020 --> 00:01:03,179 and the timing and things like that, and, 25 00:01:03,179 --> 00:01:05,819 you know, frankly, it's our show, let's hop 26 00:01:05,819 --> 00:01:09,020 in and talk about our kinda yearly tech 27 00:01:09,020 --> 00:01:11,200 review and maybe some of the fun stuff 28 00:01:11,420 --> 00:01:13,340 that we got for Christmas that we've bought. 29 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:14,959 Tentative title for this custom 30 00:01:15,420 --> 00:01:18,375 for this episode, and spoiler for those listening, 31 00:01:18,594 --> 00:01:20,835 is Ben convinces Scott to buy a three 32 00:01:20,835 --> 00:01:22,915 d printer. A 100%. You need to do 33 00:01:22,915 --> 00:01:24,515 this, Scott. Yeah. Should we start with that 34 00:01:24,515 --> 00:01:26,355 one since you just said that? It's either 35 00:01:26,355 --> 00:01:29,075 that or Scott convinces Ben to buy a 36 00:01:29,075 --> 00:01:31,075 five k monitor or six k monitor. We'll 37 00:01:31,075 --> 00:01:31,409 see. 38 00:01:32,450 --> 00:01:35,090 Or Ben convinces Scott's wife to let him 39 00:01:35,090 --> 00:01:37,329 buy a three d printer. That's gonna be 40 00:01:37,329 --> 00:01:39,650 the uphill battle. Like like, really, the like, 41 00:01:39,650 --> 00:01:41,810 we've talked about the wife acceptance factor in 42 00:01:41,810 --> 00:01:43,810 the past. Yep. I can tell you, I 43 00:01:43,810 --> 00:01:45,730 did float this idea for the last couple 44 00:01:45,730 --> 00:01:48,174 weeks, like, hey, look at this cool fidget 45 00:01:48,174 --> 00:01:49,935 toy that Ben printed out at home and 46 00:01:49,935 --> 00:01:51,854 sent me a thing of, hey, look at 47 00:01:51,854 --> 00:01:54,015 this grid system that he put in his 48 00:01:54,015 --> 00:01:56,094 office and how organized everything is. And you 49 00:01:56,094 --> 00:01:57,614 look at my desk and it's a mess. 50 00:01:57,614 --> 00:01:59,454 Like, maybe that would help him do it. 51 00:01:59,454 --> 00:02:01,770 It hasn't really resonated yet, so I'm gonna 52 00:02:01,770 --> 00:02:03,930 kinda dig in a little bit and and 53 00:02:03,930 --> 00:02:05,770 look for some tips here since you convinced 54 00:02:05,770 --> 00:02:06,430 your wife, 55 00:02:06,890 --> 00:02:08,669 or maybe your wife convinced you. 56 00:02:09,050 --> 00:02:10,810 Or maybe I just kind of bought it 57 00:02:10,810 --> 00:02:12,030 and asked for forgiveness. 58 00:02:12,490 --> 00:02:14,090 There might have been a little bit of 59 00:02:14,090 --> 00:02:16,455 that too of, I need a Christmas present 60 00:02:16,455 --> 00:02:18,375 for me, and there's no big LEGO sets 61 00:02:18,375 --> 00:02:19,754 I want. So 62 00:02:20,455 --> 00:02:21,974 let's buy a three d printer. There's no 63 00:02:21,974 --> 00:02:23,974 big LEGO sets because you hadn't seen CES 64 00:02:23,974 --> 00:02:26,375 yet and the LEGO smart bricks and all 65 00:02:26,375 --> 00:02:28,135 that. Yeah. We'll get into that. So let's 66 00:02:28,135 --> 00:02:30,694 start with three d printers. So so you 67 00:02:30,694 --> 00:02:31,194 got 68 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,159 a three d printer. Yes. The first one 69 00:02:34,159 --> 00:02:36,560 you've ever had new to this. What kind 70 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,199 of printer did you get? And let's talk 71 00:02:39,199 --> 00:02:40,580 a little bit about your experience. 72 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,039 I got the Bamboo Labs. I went with 73 00:02:43,039 --> 00:02:44,340 them. The P2S. 74 00:02:45,855 --> 00:02:48,495 So this is one that I've kinda had 75 00:02:48,495 --> 00:02:50,014 my eye on it. I have a friend 76 00:02:50,014 --> 00:02:52,895 that has the p one s, which was 77 00:02:52,895 --> 00:02:55,474 the predecessor to the p two s. Shocker. 78 00:02:56,014 --> 00:02:57,534 Yeah. I know. Right? And then the p 79 00:02:57,534 --> 00:02:58,895 two s was announced, saw a bunch of 80 00:02:58,895 --> 00:03:00,115 reviews, and there was, 81 00:03:00,419 --> 00:03:02,340 based on the reviews I saw talking to 82 00:03:02,340 --> 00:03:04,840 my friend, there was a very big 83 00:03:05,299 --> 00:03:07,539 feature update, a lot of improvements from the 84 00:03:07,539 --> 00:03:09,319 p one s to the p two s 85 00:03:09,539 --> 00:03:10,519 for a very 86 00:03:10,900 --> 00:03:11,400 marginal, 87 00:03:11,699 --> 00:03:13,400 if any, price increase. 88 00:03:13,715 --> 00:03:15,235 So I saw the notes. I actually went 89 00:03:15,235 --> 00:03:16,674 to go buy it, and I couldn't buy 90 00:03:16,674 --> 00:03:18,354 it in The US. We are not going 91 00:03:18,354 --> 00:03:19,894 to spend a bunch of time on this. 92 00:03:20,034 --> 00:03:22,454 Tariffs were affecting their ability 93 00:03:22,995 --> 00:03:23,495 to 94 00:03:24,194 --> 00:03:26,055 ship it, sell it in The US. 95 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,400 So I was watching all these videos. Everybody 96 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,240 was buying it, raving about it, loving it, 97 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:31,680 and I'm like, I can't buy it because 98 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:33,599 I live in The US. Eventually, they got 99 00:03:33,599 --> 00:03:36,400 it all figured out, was able to purchase 100 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,000 it. I may have gone a little bit 101 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,639 of overboard or a little overboard because You? 102 00:03:40,639 --> 00:03:43,224 Never. Yeah. Never. No. So I got that. 103 00:03:43,224 --> 00:03:45,085 I also got the package with 104 00:03:45,385 --> 00:03:47,004 the AMS two Pro, 105 00:03:47,305 --> 00:03:49,064 which is like a filament feeder. So I 106 00:03:49,064 --> 00:03:50,905 can put four spools of filament in and 107 00:03:50,905 --> 00:03:53,245 it kinda automatically, if I'm printing multicolor, 108 00:03:53,705 --> 00:03:55,500 will switch between them. I've done that a 109 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:57,659 little bit, but the other big advantage of 110 00:03:57,659 --> 00:03:58,639 that is 111 00:03:58,939 --> 00:04:00,780 this is all stuff I'm learning. The filament 112 00:04:00,860 --> 00:04:03,099 certain filaments need to be dried. We live 113 00:04:03,099 --> 00:04:05,180 in Florida, which is very humid, so I 114 00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:08,000 wanted a good way to dry this filament. 115 00:04:08,060 --> 00:04:10,319 And there's ways you can do it, like, 116 00:04:10,415 --> 00:04:13,215 in the oven or go build filament dryers 117 00:04:13,215 --> 00:04:14,655 or all of this. I'm like, you know, 118 00:04:14,655 --> 00:04:16,574 this serves two purposes. It can dry the 119 00:04:16,574 --> 00:04:18,895 filament. It can also feed the filament into 120 00:04:18,895 --> 00:04:19,555 the printer. 121 00:04:19,935 --> 00:04:21,774 So I got that with it, and then 122 00:04:21,774 --> 00:04:23,375 I maybe bought a little bit too much 123 00:04:23,375 --> 00:04:25,379 filament. Like, I got glow in the dark 124 00:04:25,540 --> 00:04:27,800 filament. I have transparent filament. 125 00:04:28,339 --> 00:04:29,240 I have 126 00:04:30,180 --> 00:04:30,920 matte filament. 127 00:04:31,379 --> 00:04:33,540 And then there's different like, the different types 128 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:35,699 of filament you can get, the PLA and 129 00:04:35,699 --> 00:04:38,759 the PET g and, like, 30 other ones. 130 00:04:39,104 --> 00:04:41,685 So that I would say has probably been 131 00:04:41,745 --> 00:04:43,985 the biggest learning curve for me is not 132 00:04:43,985 --> 00:04:46,305 so much how to use it. Like, it's 133 00:04:46,305 --> 00:04:48,544 super simple to print stuff. You go to 134 00:04:48,544 --> 00:04:51,024 Maker World, you download models, upload them, hit, 135 00:04:51,024 --> 00:04:52,964 like, three buttons, and you can start printing. 136 00:04:53,149 --> 00:04:54,050 But it's been 137 00:04:54,430 --> 00:04:56,129 a lot more learning around 138 00:04:56,670 --> 00:04:58,910 what filaments should I get, how do you 139 00:04:58,910 --> 00:05:02,449 print most effectively with different filaments because 140 00:05:03,230 --> 00:05:05,149 different heats and whether you have to dry 141 00:05:05,149 --> 00:05:06,930 it or you don't have to dry it. 142 00:05:07,149 --> 00:05:08,894 I've had some where, like, it doesn't stick 143 00:05:08,894 --> 00:05:10,574 to the plate that it prints on, and 144 00:05:10,574 --> 00:05:12,814 it's like, I forgot to clean it, and 145 00:05:12,814 --> 00:05:14,334 then I have to go clean all my 146 00:05:14,334 --> 00:05:16,514 greasy fingerprints off of it and 147 00:05:16,975 --> 00:05:18,975 reprint. So a bunch of that type of 148 00:05:18,975 --> 00:05:20,274 stuff, but, overall, 149 00:05:20,750 --> 00:05:22,750 I mean, I'm up to, like, two hundred 150 00:05:22,750 --> 00:05:23,490 and fifty 151 00:05:23,949 --> 00:05:26,370 to three hundred hours printing on it now. 152 00:05:27,870 --> 00:05:29,629 Like, you just got this thing. They're like 153 00:05:29,710 --> 00:05:32,270 you've been printing twenty four seven since Right. 154 00:05:32,270 --> 00:05:34,029 It just runs all night. Like, I find 155 00:05:34,029 --> 00:05:35,475 a printer, I'm like, oh, this one takes 156 00:05:35,555 --> 00:05:37,154 thirteen hours. I'll start this one at, like, 157 00:05:37,154 --> 00:05:38,834 8PM tonight, so it'll be done in the 158 00:05:38,834 --> 00:05:41,154 morning. But, no, like you said, it's been 159 00:05:41,154 --> 00:05:43,314 a mix of some fidget toys. The kids 160 00:05:43,314 --> 00:05:46,375 have loved the fidget toys, whether it's infinite 161 00:05:46,435 --> 00:05:49,014 cubes that just kinda keep folding or 162 00:05:49,339 --> 00:05:51,580 there were, like, little spiral of Christmas trees, 163 00:05:51,580 --> 00:05:52,699 and I sent you a video of this 164 00:05:52,699 --> 00:05:54,620 where you can drop it through and spin 165 00:05:54,620 --> 00:05:56,860 it and fidget with it. And the kids 166 00:05:56,860 --> 00:05:58,300 had so much fun with them. They're like, 167 00:05:58,300 --> 00:06:00,060 this is part of it. They're like, dad, 168 00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:01,339 we wanna give these to all of our 169 00:06:01,339 --> 00:06:03,900 friends for Christmas for their different coop classes. 170 00:06:03,900 --> 00:06:05,875 I ended up printing, like, 50 of these 171 00:06:05,875 --> 00:06:06,854 Christmas trees 172 00:06:07,714 --> 00:06:09,394 so the kids could give them to their 173 00:06:09,394 --> 00:06:10,774 different friends and 174 00:06:11,154 --> 00:06:13,875 all that. And realistically, I mean, each one 175 00:06:13,875 --> 00:06:16,034 is like a buck and a half to 176 00:06:16,034 --> 00:06:18,274 print it if you don't count the cost 177 00:06:18,274 --> 00:06:20,194 of the printer itself. I was gonna say, 178 00:06:20,194 --> 00:06:20,854 like, filament 179 00:06:21,289 --> 00:06:21,789 Yeah. 180 00:06:22,089 --> 00:06:23,550 And your time for 181 00:06:24,169 --> 00:06:26,410 what that's worth Right. To go in To 182 00:06:26,410 --> 00:06:28,269 do it. Get all that stuff done. Yeah. 183 00:06:28,329 --> 00:06:29,610 I mean, I've been looking at three d 184 00:06:29,610 --> 00:06:32,569 printers forever. I've tried to I think I 185 00:06:32,569 --> 00:06:34,615 have, like, some of the same hesitations around, 186 00:06:34,615 --> 00:06:37,175 like, the humidity, where you print it, what 187 00:06:37,175 --> 00:06:39,415 does that look like. But I've heard really 188 00:06:39,415 --> 00:06:41,814 good things about the Bamboo Labs stuff. Do 189 00:06:41,814 --> 00:06:43,834 you see them all the time on YouTube 190 00:06:44,295 --> 00:06:45,975 and things like that as you're going through? 191 00:06:45,975 --> 00:06:47,115 Yeah. I've been impressed. 192 00:06:47,419 --> 00:06:49,019 Yeah. The filament itself, like you said, I 193 00:06:49,019 --> 00:06:50,459 did the fidget toys, and then I did 194 00:06:50,459 --> 00:06:52,779 do containers for one of my drawers. I 195 00:06:52,779 --> 00:06:55,180 have some IKEA drawers in my office. And 196 00:06:55,180 --> 00:06:56,540 I could just go on and I'm like, 197 00:06:56,540 --> 00:06:58,459 I wanna make bins for these drawers. And 198 00:06:58,459 --> 00:07:02,665 someone made it's the Gridfinity system, made models 199 00:07:02,665 --> 00:07:05,464 already where you can just go print, like, 200 00:07:05,464 --> 00:07:07,785 the base plate for the system and then 201 00:07:07,785 --> 00:07:09,564 print stackable bins. And 202 00:07:09,944 --> 00:07:11,464 the one thing I like about it, my 203 00:07:11,464 --> 00:07:13,384 wife gives me a hard time about it. 204 00:07:13,384 --> 00:07:15,225 She's like, this feels like dollar store stuff. 205 00:07:15,225 --> 00:07:16,264 If you could just go buy it at 206 00:07:16,264 --> 00:07:19,389 the dollar store. I'm like, yeah. I could. 207 00:07:19,529 --> 00:07:20,969 But at the dollar store, I can't go 208 00:07:20,969 --> 00:07:22,329 in and say I want this to be 209 00:07:22,329 --> 00:07:25,769 a 140 millimeters by a 170 millimeters by 210 00:07:25,769 --> 00:07:26,589 50 millimeters. 211 00:07:27,129 --> 00:07:29,550 So I can very much the customization 212 00:07:29,930 --> 00:07:32,035 of it, whether it's that or all the 213 00:07:32,035 --> 00:07:34,754 cable management under my desk now is all 214 00:07:34,754 --> 00:07:36,914 done with stuff I three d printed. I've 215 00:07:36,914 --> 00:07:40,034 printed Lego storage containers. And I think we'll 216 00:07:40,034 --> 00:07:42,115 have to try and, like, include some pictures 217 00:07:42,115 --> 00:07:44,274 in the show notes or things like that 218 00:07:44,274 --> 00:07:46,240 of some Yeah. I'll put some pictures in. 219 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:47,800 Doctor. Some of the stuff that you've done 220 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:48,620 there because 221 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,160 it does have me enthralled. And I think 222 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:52,680 it's less convincing me, like I said, than 223 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:53,579 it is convincing 224 00:07:53,959 --> 00:07:55,479 my wife to get this done. But funny 225 00:07:55,479 --> 00:07:57,259 enough, you and I were chatting 226 00:07:57,654 --> 00:07:58,954 a little bit and 227 00:07:59,334 --> 00:08:01,574 you were talking about like, Oh, like maybe 228 00:08:01,574 --> 00:08:03,035 you'll need to go get a set of 229 00:08:03,254 --> 00:08:05,894 calipers, like digital calipers or something like that 230 00:08:05,894 --> 00:08:08,055 for measuring all this stuff. Maybe I didn't 231 00:08:08,055 --> 00:08:10,134 even mean to do this. Maybe it was 232 00:08:10,134 --> 00:08:10,634 purely 233 00:08:11,180 --> 00:08:14,620 subconscious on my part, but I did ask 234 00:08:14,620 --> 00:08:16,379 my wife, like, on my wish list for 235 00:08:16,379 --> 00:08:18,300 Christmas, I asked for a pair of digital 236 00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:20,139 calipers, and she bought me one. So I'm 237 00:08:20,139 --> 00:08:21,740 already ahead of the game. I have the 238 00:08:21,740 --> 00:08:22,240 calipers, 239 00:08:22,860 --> 00:08:25,964 just like, I Yeah. I'm so close. Almost 240 00:08:25,964 --> 00:08:28,865 ready to go and get there. We'll see. 241 00:08:29,164 --> 00:08:31,245 It's too bad the printer's like 80 times 242 00:08:31,245 --> 00:08:33,345 the price of the calipers. Like you said, 243 00:08:33,404 --> 00:08:35,325 my wife doesn't need to know that. Like, 244 00:08:35,325 --> 00:08:37,804 she doesn't listen to this podcast, thankfully. Okay. 245 00:08:37,804 --> 00:08:40,029 So we're safe. I might just, oops, look 246 00:08:40,029 --> 00:08:42,110 at this new thing that appeared on my 247 00:08:42,110 --> 00:08:44,429 desk here, which funny enough, maybe if we 248 00:08:44,429 --> 00:08:46,589 can move on to the five ks or 249 00:08:46,589 --> 00:08:48,830 six ks monitor thing. Yeah. You had stuff 250 00:08:48,830 --> 00:08:50,990 appear on your desk that you're telling me 251 00:08:50,990 --> 00:08:53,309 I should order. So I've been looking at 252 00:08:53,309 --> 00:08:55,490 a you and I are both like unabashed 253 00:08:55,745 --> 00:08:58,865 Apple fans, Mac fans, we both got MacBook 254 00:08:58,865 --> 00:09:01,184 Pros, and you've gone further with like the 255 00:09:01,184 --> 00:09:03,424 studios and things like that, but one of 256 00:09:03,424 --> 00:09:05,845 the things that I've never experienced 257 00:09:06,384 --> 00:09:08,704 is a five ks or a six ks 258 00:09:08,704 --> 00:09:10,809 monitor. So I spent some time 259 00:09:11,110 --> 00:09:11,929 at the 260 00:09:12,230 --> 00:09:13,990 Apple store at like a retail store over 261 00:09:13,990 --> 00:09:15,990 the holidays, like looking at the studio displays, 262 00:09:15,990 --> 00:09:17,990 things like that. Not so much because I 263 00:09:17,990 --> 00:09:19,509 wanted to buy a studio display, but I 264 00:09:19,509 --> 00:09:21,750 was just interested in the whole five ks 265 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:24,070 aspect and people gushing at like, you know, 266 00:09:24,070 --> 00:09:25,894 like, It's kind of like Christmas vacation, can't 267 00:09:25,894 --> 00:09:27,975 see the lines, Russ, except, Oh, look, can't 268 00:09:27,975 --> 00:09:29,355 see the pixels, can you? 269 00:09:30,134 --> 00:09:31,894 And they're going to go figure that piece 270 00:09:31,894 --> 00:09:34,075 out. So one of the nice benefits that 271 00:09:34,375 --> 00:09:36,215 I get at work is we get a 272 00:09:36,215 --> 00:09:38,695 benefit where we get a certain amount of 273 00:09:38,695 --> 00:09:39,835 spend every year 274 00:09:40,179 --> 00:09:42,899 for all sorts of things, for health, personal 275 00:09:42,899 --> 00:09:45,300 health, I could buy gym membership, get it 276 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:48,040 reimbursed, things like that. But it also does 277 00:09:48,259 --> 00:09:50,200 desktop things, so like if it's like ergonomic 278 00:09:50,340 --> 00:09:53,320 desktop. So over the years, I have this 279 00:09:53,379 --> 00:09:57,254 nice like Haworth Fern chair, It's a $1,500 280 00:09:57,254 --> 00:09:58,855 office chair. I would never buy that chair 281 00:09:58,855 --> 00:10:00,535 for myself, or I would never spend that 282 00:10:00,535 --> 00:10:01,654 much money on a chair. I'm the guy 283 00:10:01,654 --> 00:10:03,095 who like goes down the corner and is 284 00:10:03,095 --> 00:10:04,394 like, Oh, it's $20 285 00:10:04,774 --> 00:10:06,215 at the dollar store. Let's get it. And 286 00:10:06,215 --> 00:10:08,294 then I'm miserable. But so I've done that. 287 00:10:08,294 --> 00:10:10,235 I've done a standing desk over the years, 288 00:10:10,519 --> 00:10:12,600 things like that. So I've kitted out my 289 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,559 desk based on that benefit and just having 290 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:17,399 it there, and it's kind of like free 291 00:10:17,399 --> 00:10:20,539 money. So I was looking at some 292 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,519 five ks monitors, things like that, and I 293 00:10:22,519 --> 00:10:23,639 was like, you know what? Like, I just 294 00:10:23,639 --> 00:10:25,000 need to like pull the bullet and like 295 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:26,634 bite the bullet, get this done. Doctor. And 296 00:10:26,634 --> 00:10:28,154 go get one. Doctor. I picked one up 297 00:10:28,154 --> 00:10:28,654 and 298 00:10:29,035 --> 00:10:31,134 I didn't even really like pay attention 299 00:10:31,595 --> 00:10:32,794 when I was doing this, when I was 300 00:10:32,794 --> 00:10:35,035 ordering, but I probably should have thought about 301 00:10:35,035 --> 00:10:36,554 it a little bit more. But I ended 302 00:10:36,554 --> 00:10:39,914 up picking up a it's a ViewSonic monitor. 303 00:10:39,914 --> 00:10:42,139 So like the panel is what it is. 304 00:10:42,139 --> 00:10:43,659 Five k on a Mac, I just gotta 305 00:10:43,659 --> 00:10:45,899 say, like, the hype is there. I'm not 306 00:10:45,899 --> 00:10:48,699 somebody who notices, like, the difference between 60 307 00:10:48,699 --> 00:10:51,500 hertz and 75 hertz or 120, things like 308 00:10:51,500 --> 00:10:54,459 that, but just the pixel density, things like 309 00:10:54,459 --> 00:10:56,315 that clean cleans it up all great. So 310 00:10:56,315 --> 00:10:58,235 so that's all good. But the nice thing, 311 00:10:58,235 --> 00:11:00,794 and or maybe one of the kinda hidden 312 00:11:00,794 --> 00:11:03,214 benefits and drivers here, was 313 00:11:03,754 --> 00:11:04,254 that 314 00:11:04,875 --> 00:11:07,615 at five ks resolutions or six ks resolutions, 315 00:11:07,834 --> 00:11:09,195 things like that, you need a lot of 316 00:11:09,195 --> 00:11:11,740 bandwidth. So you're typically talking, or I think 317 00:11:11,740 --> 00:11:13,340 in most cases for everything I've seen, at 318 00:11:13,340 --> 00:11:14,559 least in the Mac ecosystem, 319 00:11:14,860 --> 00:11:17,340 you're talking about monitors that include things like 320 00:11:17,340 --> 00:11:19,899 Thunderbolt four connectivity. Uh-huh. I didn't even know 321 00:11:19,899 --> 00:11:21,899 this when I picked this particular model up, 322 00:11:21,899 --> 00:11:23,440 but it has a 323 00:11:23,985 --> 00:11:24,725 full KVM, 324 00:11:25,184 --> 00:11:27,024 all that stuff built into it. So it 325 00:11:27,024 --> 00:11:28,384 turns out that not only did I pick 326 00:11:28,384 --> 00:11:30,144 up, like, this monitor that was like, oh, 327 00:11:30,144 --> 00:11:32,065 let me swap out my 32 inches four 328 00:11:32,065 --> 00:11:34,464 k for a 27 inches five k, and 329 00:11:34,464 --> 00:11:35,605 that's been all good. 330 00:11:36,089 --> 00:11:39,209 But also just simplifying my setup, like I've 331 00:11:39,209 --> 00:11:41,529 had like a USB KVM here for a 332 00:11:41,529 --> 00:11:43,850 long time for switching between like my personal 333 00:11:43,850 --> 00:11:46,490 laptop and the work one, so that's another 334 00:11:46,490 --> 00:11:48,774 box that sits on the desk. It has 335 00:11:48,774 --> 00:11:50,695 all sorts of cables running into it because 336 00:11:50,695 --> 00:11:52,134 it needs to go out to other things. 337 00:11:52,134 --> 00:11:54,054 So now I've been able to consolidate all 338 00:11:54,054 --> 00:11:56,554 that down just into this one monitor 339 00:11:56,855 --> 00:11:58,535 and this one thing that sits in front 340 00:11:58,535 --> 00:12:01,434 of me. So five ks monitors remain 341 00:12:01,815 --> 00:12:02,634 pretty expensive. 342 00:12:03,269 --> 00:12:05,509 But if you're somebody who's out there and 343 00:12:05,509 --> 00:12:07,210 you're looking for something, 344 00:12:07,670 --> 00:12:10,310 the prices are pretty good, at least for 345 00:12:10,310 --> 00:12:11,750 like you and I in The US, like 346 00:12:11,750 --> 00:12:13,910 you can get them from like US sellers 347 00:12:13,910 --> 00:12:16,090 like Amazon or B and H photo, 348 00:12:16,415 --> 00:12:18,575 that good stuff. So if somebody's been looking 349 00:12:18,575 --> 00:12:19,615 for one of those and you're looking to 350 00:12:19,615 --> 00:12:21,455 like bite like just place it, bite the 351 00:12:21,455 --> 00:12:23,375 bullet and do it, like and you've got 352 00:12:23,375 --> 00:12:24,915 maybe the income 353 00:12:25,695 --> 00:12:27,375 to make that happen or a benefit at 354 00:12:27,375 --> 00:12:29,235 work or something similar to what I have, 355 00:12:29,455 --> 00:12:31,715 like, oh man, like it's been good. 356 00:12:32,389 --> 00:12:35,509 Like it looks really good. It definitely helps 357 00:12:35,509 --> 00:12:37,990 with like the eye strain thing. And at 358 00:12:37,990 --> 00:12:39,509 least if you're on a Mac and the 359 00:12:39,509 --> 00:12:41,529 way it does kind of display scaling, 360 00:12:41,830 --> 00:12:44,570 all those kinds of things, just awesome. Like 361 00:12:44,870 --> 00:12:45,370 really, 362 00:12:45,804 --> 00:12:47,445 really good for that stuff. And then like 363 00:12:47,445 --> 00:12:48,684 I said, they have all sorts of like 364 00:12:48,684 --> 00:12:50,925 weird features. Like this one, I wasn't looking 365 00:12:50,925 --> 00:12:52,705 for it, but it came with a KVM 366 00:12:52,845 --> 00:12:56,205 KVM. And that all works really good. It 367 00:12:56,205 --> 00:12:58,590 also has a light bar built into it. 368 00:12:58,750 --> 00:13:00,269 So, you know, like the BenQ light bars 369 00:13:00,269 --> 00:13:01,710 and things that sit at the top. Oh, 370 00:13:01,710 --> 00:13:03,070 yeah. Yeah. So this one has a light 371 00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:04,750 bar at the bottom, and so it's not 372 00:13:04,750 --> 00:13:06,590 built into the top of the monitor. But 373 00:13:06,590 --> 00:13:08,110 down at the bottom of the monitor, it 374 00:13:08,110 --> 00:13:09,550 has an extra light that you can go 375 00:13:09,550 --> 00:13:10,050 ahead 376 00:13:10,764 --> 00:13:12,845 and turn on and off. And it's not 377 00:13:12,845 --> 00:13:14,365 as nice like at least being in the 378 00:13:14,365 --> 00:13:16,684 Apple ecosystem, I think like the studio display 379 00:13:16,684 --> 00:13:18,204 or whatever it is would be a lot 380 00:13:18,204 --> 00:13:20,605 nicer just because the integrations and things like 381 00:13:20,605 --> 00:13:22,284 that. Like it's not as pretty as far 382 00:13:22,284 --> 00:13:24,204 as like the looking at it and the 383 00:13:24,204 --> 00:13:26,190 bezels and things like that, or like the 384 00:13:26,190 --> 00:13:27,870 way the wires are sticking out of it, 385 00:13:27,870 --> 00:13:29,950 super janky. Like, this is a ViewSonic five 386 00:13:29,950 --> 00:13:31,790 k monitor that I picked up. Like, it's 387 00:13:31,790 --> 00:13:33,790 dumb. Like, the power, like, when you plug 388 00:13:33,790 --> 00:13:35,629 it in on the bottom, the power button, 389 00:13:35,629 --> 00:13:37,309 like, it's not like a 90 degree cable, 390 00:13:37,309 --> 00:13:39,149 so it's basically, like, hanging, like, straight out 391 00:13:39,149 --> 00:13:40,784 the bottom of the monitor. So you gotta 392 00:13:40,784 --> 00:13:42,644 get by some, like, aesthetic things. 393 00:13:43,024 --> 00:13:46,004 But, you know, that aside, I've been really, 394 00:13:46,144 --> 00:13:48,225 really happy with it to the point where 395 00:13:48,384 --> 00:13:50,225 so I do a dual monitor setup. I 396 00:13:50,225 --> 00:13:52,384 do one landscape in front of me, and 397 00:13:52,384 --> 00:13:53,985 then I do a portrait monitor off to 398 00:13:53,985 --> 00:13:54,964 the side for 399 00:13:55,329 --> 00:13:56,709 long form reading code, 400 00:13:57,009 --> 00:13:59,169 all those kinds of things. So I'm actually 401 00:13:59,169 --> 00:14:01,329 debating, like, we just rolled into a new 402 00:14:01,329 --> 00:14:03,649 year, so I still get that benefit. So 403 00:14:03,649 --> 00:14:05,169 depending on how much of that I use 404 00:14:05,169 --> 00:14:06,929 this year for, like, like I said, like 405 00:14:06,929 --> 00:14:09,009 health, fitness benefits, things like that, if I 406 00:14:09,009 --> 00:14:10,289 maybe got like the extra kid at the 407 00:14:10,289 --> 00:14:11,865 end of the year, may maybe I'll go 408 00:14:11,865 --> 00:14:13,304 pick another one of these up and then 409 00:14:13,304 --> 00:14:15,884 just go dual dual five k. 410 00:14:19,865 --> 00:14:21,945 Do you feel overwhelmed by trying to manage 411 00:14:21,945 --> 00:14:24,230 your Office three sixty five environment? Are you 412 00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:25,049 facing unexpected 413 00:14:25,429 --> 00:14:28,549 issues that disrupt your company's productivity? Intelligink is 414 00:14:28,549 --> 00:14:30,149 here to help. Much like you take your 415 00:14:30,149 --> 00:14:32,709 car to the mechanic that has specialized knowledge 416 00:14:32,709 --> 00:14:34,490 on how to best keep your car running, 417 00:14:34,629 --> 00:14:37,589 Intelligink helps you with your Microsoft cloud environment 418 00:14:37,589 --> 00:14:39,049 because that's their expertise. 419 00:14:39,634 --> 00:14:41,715 Intelligent keeps up with the latest updates in 420 00:14:41,715 --> 00:14:43,955 the Microsoft cloud to help keep your business 421 00:14:43,955 --> 00:14:46,195 running smoothly and ahead of the curve. Whether 422 00:14:46,195 --> 00:14:48,195 you are a small organization with just a 423 00:14:48,195 --> 00:14:50,674 few users up to an organization of several 424 00:14:50,674 --> 00:14:51,654 thousand employees, 425 00:14:52,034 --> 00:14:53,940 they want to partner with you to implement 426 00:14:53,940 --> 00:14:56,840 and administer your Microsoft cloud technology. 427 00:14:57,460 --> 00:15:01,000 Visit them at inteliginc.com/podcast. 428 00:15:01,220 --> 00:15:07,924 That's intelliginnk.com/podcast 429 00:15:08,384 --> 00:15:10,465 for more information or to schedule a thirty 430 00:15:10,465 --> 00:15:12,565 minute call to get started with them today. 431 00:15:12,865 --> 00:15:16,225 Remember, Intelligink focuses on the Microsoft cloud so 432 00:15:16,225 --> 00:15:17,924 you can focus on your business. 433 00:15:20,129 --> 00:15:21,329 You know what else you could do, Scott? 434 00:15:21,329 --> 00:15:23,169 That'll be another interesting one. What else can 435 00:15:23,169 --> 00:15:24,929 I do? You could three d print some 436 00:15:24,929 --> 00:15:27,009 ergonomic stuff for your desk. You don't have 437 00:15:27,009 --> 00:15:28,049 to convince me. That might be a little 438 00:15:28,049 --> 00:15:30,289 bit of a stretch. I'm all in on 439 00:15:30,289 --> 00:15:33,054 the what's it called? The Gridfinity thing? Is 440 00:15:33,054 --> 00:15:36,014 that it? Yeah. The Gridfinity and then, like, 441 00:15:36,014 --> 00:15:38,095 the whole pegboard thing was the I did 442 00:15:38,095 --> 00:15:39,855 open grid, but there's a few different, like, 443 00:15:39,855 --> 00:15:42,095 hex board things. Gotcha. But on the monitor 444 00:15:42,095 --> 00:15:45,019 topic, if 27 inch isn't big enough for 445 00:15:45,019 --> 00:15:47,100 you and you want six k instead of 446 00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:49,040 five k, at CES, 447 00:15:49,580 --> 00:15:51,580 Dell I do not have this, but I'm 448 00:15:51,580 --> 00:15:53,580 not gonna lie. I kinda want it. Dell 449 00:15:53,580 --> 00:15:55,259 announced a 52 450 00:15:55,259 --> 00:15:55,759 inch 451 00:15:56,355 --> 00:15:56,855 six 452 00:15:57,315 --> 00:15:59,334 k HDR 120 hertz 453 00:15:59,955 --> 00:16:02,195 monitor. It kinda made me drool. Yeah. But 454 00:16:02,195 --> 00:16:04,434 at 52 inches, like, you gotta be, like, 455 00:16:04,434 --> 00:16:07,154 pretty far back because I'm telling you, like, 456 00:16:07,154 --> 00:16:10,200 the sweet like, the pixel density thing, like, 457 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,300 can't see the lines, Russ. Like, 458 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:14,840 it's real. So I'd have to see something 459 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,120 like that in person. At least you can 460 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,120 go see, like, a 27 inches five k 461 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:19,639 or you can go see a six k 462 00:16:19,639 --> 00:16:22,774 monitor up to, like, 32 inch, things like 463 00:16:22,774 --> 00:16:24,855 that. The like, I only call it out 464 00:16:24,855 --> 00:16:26,534 to say, like, the ecosystem's got a lot 465 00:16:26,534 --> 00:16:28,375 better. Like like, these things are there. A 466 00:16:28,375 --> 00:16:30,235 lot of them are limited to 60 hertz. 467 00:16:30,294 --> 00:16:32,214 Oh, another, like, little nice surprise. Like, this 468 00:16:32,214 --> 00:16:34,980 ViewSonic monitor, again, like, the panel's great. Maybe, 469 00:16:34,980 --> 00:16:36,659 like, the connectivity is weird to look at, 470 00:16:36,659 --> 00:16:39,539 things like that, but it also goes to 471 00:16:39,539 --> 00:16:41,700 75 Hertz. I don't know. But I can't 472 00:16:41,700 --> 00:16:43,620 tell the difference between sixty and seventy five 473 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:46,019 with my old man eyes. So that's a 474 00:16:46,419 --> 00:16:48,004 Got it. See, and I already work on 475 00:16:48,004 --> 00:16:50,585 a 43 inch, and I sit I'm probably 476 00:16:51,045 --> 00:16:53,845 just around three feet away from my monitor 477 00:16:53,845 --> 00:16:55,605 when I work. So for me, the jump 478 00:16:55,605 --> 00:16:57,684 to 52 wouldn't be that big a deal. 479 00:16:57,684 --> 00:16:59,684 But it does. You definitely need the right 480 00:16:59,684 --> 00:17:01,550 desk setup. Either that or or you do 481 00:17:01,550 --> 00:17:04,349 that 55 inch arc arc display or whatever 482 00:17:04,349 --> 00:17:06,130 that that Samsung makes. Right? 483 00:17:06,430 --> 00:17:08,029 I was trying to think. Like, I feel 484 00:17:08,029 --> 00:17:09,789 like I didn't buy as much tech. Is 485 00:17:09,789 --> 00:17:11,309 it bad that I'm, like, looking through my 486 00:17:11,309 --> 00:17:13,150 Amazon shopping list to see what I bought 487 00:17:13,150 --> 00:17:13,890 this year? 488 00:17:15,615 --> 00:17:18,494 Nah. It's never bad. Only good stuff. I 489 00:17:18,494 --> 00:17:20,734 mean, the Bamboo printer, I've gotten to the 490 00:17:20,734 --> 00:17:22,654 point, Scott. I I have a lot of 491 00:17:22,654 --> 00:17:24,575 tech. I like my tech, and I absolutely 492 00:17:24,575 --> 00:17:26,515 like my new toys, but I feel like 493 00:17:26,815 --> 00:17:29,315 my wife very well may disagree with this. 494 00:17:29,454 --> 00:17:31,509 I'm pretty happy with my setup, and and 495 00:17:31,509 --> 00:17:34,410 I'm trying to avoid just adding more clutter 496 00:17:34,470 --> 00:17:37,429 to my office because I want new tech 497 00:17:37,429 --> 00:17:39,750 toys. Oh, I bought new UPSs this year. 498 00:17:39,750 --> 00:17:41,190 I had some batteries go out in the 499 00:17:41,190 --> 00:17:42,710 UPSs, so I had to buy some new 500 00:17:42,710 --> 00:17:45,029 batteries, some new UPSs. You're tugging at my 501 00:17:45,029 --> 00:17:48,004 heartstrings because I need a new UPS. 502 00:17:48,625 --> 00:17:50,144 That was another one. I just had one 503 00:17:50,144 --> 00:17:51,424 die the other day. I'm like, do I 504 00:17:51,424 --> 00:17:53,024 get a new battery for it or and 505 00:17:53,024 --> 00:17:55,024 just replace the battery, like, off to eBay 506 00:17:55,024 --> 00:17:57,044 I go, or should I 507 00:17:57,424 --> 00:17:59,664 should I look at new ones? So I 508 00:17:59,664 --> 00:18:01,509 think what I wanna do next is I 509 00:18:01,509 --> 00:18:03,369 think I wanna do a rack mountable UPS 510 00:18:03,589 --> 00:18:05,750 so that I can then selfishly get a 511 00:18:05,750 --> 00:18:07,509 rack so that I can mount my UDM 512 00:18:07,509 --> 00:18:09,349 Pro in a rack and get it off 513 00:18:09,349 --> 00:18:11,109 the the bottom of the And then do 514 00:18:11,109 --> 00:18:12,470 you know what else you can do? You 515 00:18:12,470 --> 00:18:15,184 can three d print rack things too, mount 516 00:18:15,184 --> 00:18:16,945 other stuff in your rack that aren't naturally 517 00:18:16,945 --> 00:18:18,785 rack mountable. Look at this. I'm gonna fit 518 00:18:18,785 --> 00:18:21,505 this in everywhere this this episode. It all 519 00:18:21,505 --> 00:18:23,664 comes back to three d printing. It's funny 520 00:18:23,664 --> 00:18:24,965 how funny how circular 521 00:18:25,424 --> 00:18:27,585 the world is there. I should remember this. 522 00:18:27,585 --> 00:18:30,019 I also got, I am a Logitech 523 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:30,820 mouse 524 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:32,500 junkie, maybe? 525 00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:35,440 I love my Logitech mice probably as much 526 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,360 as I love my Max, and they came 527 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,759 out with the MX Master four this year. 528 00:18:39,759 --> 00:18:41,680 And, naturally, the day they came out with 529 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:43,274 it, I bought two, one to go in 530 00:18:43,274 --> 00:18:44,714 my backpack and one to be at my 531 00:18:44,714 --> 00:18:47,115 desk with me. But I've had every version 532 00:18:47,194 --> 00:18:48,954 I think I have them. I have one, 533 00:18:48,954 --> 00:18:50,875 two, three, four, five. I, like, have my 534 00:18:50,875 --> 00:18:53,115 Logitech mice displayed. You can't really see them 535 00:18:53,115 --> 00:18:54,474 under the corner here. I think I have 536 00:18:54,474 --> 00:18:56,014 six Logitech mice 537 00:18:56,369 --> 00:18:58,930 as they've gone from the MX Master to 538 00:18:58,930 --> 00:19:00,529 the two to the two s to the 539 00:19:00,529 --> 00:19:02,950 three, three s. Three s. Yep. Four 540 00:19:03,250 --> 00:19:05,329 Four s, whenever that comes. Yeah. Are you 541 00:19:05,329 --> 00:19:07,089 liking the haptic feedback on it? I don't 542 00:19:07,089 --> 00:19:09,755 use it a ton. I do like 543 00:19:10,055 --> 00:19:13,035 so if people have used the Logitech Master 544 00:19:13,255 --> 00:19:14,075 mice before, 545 00:19:14,455 --> 00:19:16,695 they always had a thumb button underneath it, 546 00:19:16,695 --> 00:19:18,934 but you had to push down on the 547 00:19:18,934 --> 00:19:21,255 mouse, which was like a sideways movement with 548 00:19:21,255 --> 00:19:23,049 your thumb, which for me was a little 549 00:19:23,049 --> 00:19:23,869 bit unnatural. 550 00:19:24,250 --> 00:19:26,490 On the four, they kinda moved it so 551 00:19:26,490 --> 00:19:28,970 you can it's, like, on both sides of 552 00:19:28,970 --> 00:19:31,070 your thumb, so you can squeeze the mouse. 553 00:19:31,289 --> 00:19:34,029 Now to click that thumb button, which is 554 00:19:34,845 --> 00:19:37,005 much nicer. I do use that more, and 555 00:19:37,005 --> 00:19:39,565 they added shortcuts with it. So if I 556 00:19:39,565 --> 00:19:40,924 push that button, I get some of the 557 00:19:40,924 --> 00:19:43,265 haptic feedback, and I can have shortcuts 558 00:19:43,644 --> 00:19:45,984 to AI, to multimedia, to launch, 559 00:19:46,285 --> 00:19:47,184 like, finder. 560 00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:49,920 You can kinda customize what you want it 561 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,720 to do. So it's like an extra mouse 562 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,859 button with Stream Deck ish type functionality 563 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,320 that just pops up on your screen. Kind 564 00:19:58,320 --> 00:19:58,980 of useful. 565 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,144 The other thing they did is they switched 566 00:20:02,224 --> 00:20:03,744 if again, if you use the other ones, 567 00:20:03,744 --> 00:20:04,944 they had a little bit more of a 568 00:20:04,944 --> 00:20:05,444 rubbery 569 00:20:05,744 --> 00:20:08,484 surface under the palm of your hand that 570 00:20:08,784 --> 00:20:11,684 they tended to get a little sticky, grimy 571 00:20:12,144 --> 00:20:14,224 It disintegrates. It got gross. I would hold 572 00:20:14,224 --> 00:20:17,359 mine up and show you how just frankly 573 00:20:17,420 --> 00:20:18,559 nasty it is. 574 00:20:19,019 --> 00:20:20,619 And no matter how much you clean it 575 00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:23,339 or anything like, if you're somebody who like, 576 00:20:23,339 --> 00:20:25,180 I don't know, I have bad habits, like 577 00:20:25,180 --> 00:20:26,859 I eat lunch at my desk or things 578 00:20:26,859 --> 00:20:28,220 like that. So like like, yeah, if you 579 00:20:28,220 --> 00:20:29,740 have like a sandwich or like a potato 580 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:31,420 chip or something, and then you touch that 581 00:20:31,420 --> 00:20:33,875 mouse afterwards, oh, it's in there. So the 582 00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:34,694 hard plastic 583 00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:37,554 is better for that, and I this is 584 00:20:37,554 --> 00:20:40,615 gonna be some personal preference. I feel like 585 00:20:40,914 --> 00:20:41,815 you compromise 586 00:20:42,115 --> 00:20:44,914 some of the comfort that the three s 587 00:20:44,914 --> 00:20:47,099 had when you go to the four, and 588 00:20:47,099 --> 00:20:49,200 I don't know if it's 589 00:20:49,740 --> 00:20:51,359 some of it might be the rubber. 590 00:20:51,660 --> 00:20:54,140 I also feel like, and I should compare 591 00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:56,539 it with a three s, the mouse is 592 00:20:56,539 --> 00:20:57,119 a little 593 00:20:57,500 --> 00:20:59,625 narrower. So I don't know if you ever 594 00:20:59,625 --> 00:21:00,904 have the problem where you're, like, moving your 595 00:21:00,904 --> 00:21:02,825 mouse and you bump into a Stream Deck 596 00:21:02,825 --> 00:21:04,904 or you run into your keyboard and you 597 00:21:04,904 --> 00:21:06,184 have to pick it up and just move 598 00:21:06,184 --> 00:21:08,025 it a quarter inch or a half inch 599 00:21:08,025 --> 00:21:11,065 or something. It's gonna sound weird, but the 600 00:21:11,065 --> 00:21:13,930 pickup and movability of it is not as 601 00:21:13,930 --> 00:21:16,670 comfortable. I feel like it takes more effort 602 00:21:16,809 --> 00:21:18,570 to just pick up the mouse and move 603 00:21:18,570 --> 00:21:19,850 it a little bit. And I don't know 604 00:21:19,850 --> 00:21:21,370 if it's narrower. I don't know if they 605 00:21:21,370 --> 00:21:23,210 changed the contour a little bit. I don't 606 00:21:23,210 --> 00:21:25,049 know if the rubber had a little bit 607 00:21:25,049 --> 00:21:25,870 more grippiness. 608 00:21:26,474 --> 00:21:28,875 But that's something I noticed right away was 609 00:21:28,875 --> 00:21:30,234 when I hit my keyboard and had to 610 00:21:30,234 --> 00:21:32,474 move it, it felt like it took more 611 00:21:32,474 --> 00:21:34,714 effort with the four than with the three 612 00:21:34,714 --> 00:21:37,134 s. This is such a niche situation, but 613 00:21:37,194 --> 00:21:38,714 what I really want them to do with 614 00:21:38,714 --> 00:21:39,535 this is 615 00:21:39,914 --> 00:21:41,355 I want them to make it a little 616 00:21:41,355 --> 00:21:44,009 bit taller. And the reason is I have 617 00:21:44,009 --> 00:21:45,609 an Ember mug. So I've got like that 618 00:21:45,609 --> 00:21:47,369 coffee mug on my desk that's always hot 619 00:21:47,369 --> 00:21:49,690 and charging. And because I keep the charging 620 00:21:49,690 --> 00:21:52,009 plate on my desk, the lip of the 621 00:21:52,009 --> 00:21:53,789 charging plate is perfect 622 00:21:54,095 --> 00:21:55,855 for the right click button on that mouse, 623 00:21:55,855 --> 00:21:58,255 and I'm right handed. So every time I 624 00:21:58,255 --> 00:22:00,335 move the mouse over by my coffee cup, 625 00:22:00,335 --> 00:22:02,835 it's not that I bump it. It's that 626 00:22:03,134 --> 00:22:06,335 the button goes underneath that lip, and it 627 00:22:06,335 --> 00:22:08,829 clicks. So sometimes I'll be in, like, meetings 628 00:22:08,829 --> 00:22:10,750 and they like, and I just, like, right 629 00:22:10,750 --> 00:22:12,430 clicks the screen or it does, like, a 630 00:22:12,430 --> 00:22:14,269 weird action. It's like like, people are like, 631 00:22:14,269 --> 00:22:16,269 oh, did you wanna talk? Like, no. Sorry. 632 00:22:16,269 --> 00:22:18,029 I didn't wanna talk. My mouse my my 633 00:22:18,029 --> 00:22:19,774 mouse was over the mute button, and I 634 00:22:19,774 --> 00:22:21,294 happened to go and grab my coffee mug, 635 00:22:21,294 --> 00:22:23,454 and I touched my mouse, and it unmuted 636 00:22:23,454 --> 00:22:23,954 me. 637 00:22:24,734 --> 00:22:26,335 Yeah. I've never had that. I've had the 638 00:22:26,335 --> 00:22:28,654 opposite problem sometimes with a coaster where the 639 00:22:28,654 --> 00:22:30,174 button goes right over it, and I go 640 00:22:30,174 --> 00:22:31,315 to click and I can't 641 00:22:31,710 --> 00:22:33,089 because the coaster's 642 00:22:33,549 --> 00:22:35,950 holding the button up. But, yes, a little 643 00:22:35,950 --> 00:22:37,549 bit taller, that would work. I don't know 644 00:22:37,549 --> 00:22:38,829 if it's taller or not. I don't think 645 00:22:38,829 --> 00:22:40,829 it is. But, yeah, that was something else 646 00:22:40,829 --> 00:22:42,990 I bought this year. Absolutely. Like, all the 647 00:22:42,990 --> 00:22:45,470 weird third world or first world problems we 648 00:22:45,470 --> 00:22:47,534 run into here. Yeah. So I got one 649 00:22:47,534 --> 00:22:48,575 more for you. I know you got to 650 00:22:48,575 --> 00:22:49,694 go to a meeting real quick and then 651 00:22:49,694 --> 00:22:52,755 we'll cut things off. So millimeter wave sensors, 652 00:22:53,134 --> 00:22:55,534 I picked Oh. And I was able to 653 00:22:55,534 --> 00:22:58,015 snag when and you got to watch these 654 00:22:58,015 --> 00:22:59,960 on like Camel or something like that. Okay. 655 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,039 I've had an Aqara FP two for a 656 00:23:02,039 --> 00:23:04,119 long time. That's a millimeter wave sensor. I've 657 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:05,480 got it up here on the wall by 658 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,240 my desk. So what it does is when 659 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:08,759 I sit down at my desk, I've got 660 00:23:08,759 --> 00:23:10,615 all my stuff plugged into smart plugs, and 661 00:23:10,615 --> 00:23:12,134 it just turns it on, turns it off. 662 00:23:12,134 --> 00:23:13,494 So if I get up, walk away, things 663 00:23:13,494 --> 00:23:15,255 like that. So I got an FP two, 664 00:23:15,255 --> 00:23:17,095 which you have to plug in via USB, 665 00:23:17,095 --> 00:23:18,454 so now I got a cord running up 666 00:23:18,454 --> 00:23:20,534 the wall, like it's janky, right? It doesn't 667 00:23:20,534 --> 00:23:23,274 look good. So they made the FP 300, 668 00:23:23,414 --> 00:23:25,494 which is a wireless five in one. So 669 00:23:25,494 --> 00:23:28,320 it's a millimeter wave PIR, light temperature and 670 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,039 humidity sensor, but it's battery powered. I forget 671 00:23:31,039 --> 00:23:33,680 if they're like CR twenty thirty two's or 672 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,320 twenty twenty five's, things like that. You just 673 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,339 mount it up on the wall, no wires. 674 00:23:38,755 --> 00:23:40,835 The batteries are supposed to last about three 675 00:23:40,835 --> 00:23:42,595 months, so I was able to pull down 676 00:23:42,595 --> 00:23:45,075 my FP2, put this thing up there, and 677 00:23:45,075 --> 00:23:46,454 it's just a lot smaller, 678 00:23:46,835 --> 00:23:48,775 works with the whole Acara ecosystem, 679 00:23:49,315 --> 00:23:50,454 ties in with 680 00:23:50,769 --> 00:23:51,509 Home Assistant, 681 00:23:51,890 --> 00:23:55,349 Alexa, Google Home, just does all that stuff. 682 00:23:55,410 --> 00:23:56,849 If somebody's looking for, like, one of these 683 00:23:56,849 --> 00:23:58,369 and you're like, you're looking for, like, a 684 00:23:58,369 --> 00:24:01,569 turnkey one Uh-huh. Super cool. The FP2s are 685 00:24:01,569 --> 00:24:03,569 great. This one I love for the lack 686 00:24:03,569 --> 00:24:05,035 of wire, and as long as they like 687 00:24:05,115 --> 00:24:06,714 like, even at three months, if the battery 688 00:24:06,714 --> 00:24:09,434 dies, whatever, I'll just swap the batteries out. 689 00:24:09,434 --> 00:24:11,454 It's way easier. It's smaller, 690 00:24:11,914 --> 00:24:14,734 mounts easier, just a really good 691 00:24:15,035 --> 00:24:18,929 little device, and it's been rock solid for 692 00:24:18,929 --> 00:24:21,089 me so far. Haven't had any drops out 693 00:24:21,089 --> 00:24:23,009 from Wi Fi or things like that. Occasionally, 694 00:24:23,009 --> 00:24:24,369 I get those on, like, my f p 695 00:24:24,369 --> 00:24:26,450 two. But if you're looking for, like, room 696 00:24:26,450 --> 00:24:28,609 home automation, like I walked into the room, 697 00:24:28,609 --> 00:24:30,769 I walked out of the room, millimeter wave's 698 00:24:30,769 --> 00:24:32,394 great for that because if you're sitting down 699 00:24:32,394 --> 00:24:34,234 and watching TV, like, turn the TV on, 700 00:24:34,234 --> 00:24:36,394 but then you stop moving, typically, like, just 701 00:24:36,394 --> 00:24:38,154 a motion sensor might shut the room down. 702 00:24:38,154 --> 00:24:39,914 Like, maybe somebody's been in, like, an office 703 00:24:39,914 --> 00:24:41,355 building when the lights shut off, and you 704 00:24:41,355 --> 00:24:43,115 kinda wave your hand in the conference room 705 00:24:43,115 --> 00:24:45,179 to come back. You don't have to do 706 00:24:45,179 --> 00:24:47,385 that with millimeter wave sensors. They're just really 707 00:24:47,385 --> 00:24:49,592 good, excellent. There's a whole, like, ecosystem out 708 00:24:49,592 --> 00:24:51,798 there, but I I really love the Aqara 709 00:24:51,798 --> 00:24:54,005 ones. Like I said, the FP two has 710 00:24:54,005 --> 00:24:56,487 been great. The I've used that for, like, 711 00:24:56,487 --> 00:24:59,234 two years. Plus the FP 300 now. Been 712 00:24:59,234 --> 00:25:00,994 running it for a month, and it's been 713 00:25:00,994 --> 00:25:02,674 rock solid. I just picked some of these 714 00:25:02,674 --> 00:25:04,514 up because I'm in the Unifi since we're 715 00:25:04,514 --> 00:25:06,355 talking about it, and then I really should 716 00:25:06,355 --> 00:25:08,375 go. Unifi came out with their Superlink 717 00:25:08,835 --> 00:25:11,890 device, which brings in, like, environmental sensors and 718 00:25:11,890 --> 00:25:14,470 some of that. They just released their 719 00:25:14,849 --> 00:25:15,829 motion sensor 720 00:25:16,690 --> 00:25:17,269 or Unifi. 721 00:25:17,730 --> 00:25:20,130 I ordered two of them. I don't know 722 00:25:20,130 --> 00:25:21,829 if those are millimeter wavelength 723 00:25:22,765 --> 00:25:25,404 or not. I was just looking. They're all 724 00:25:25,404 --> 00:25:28,144 in one sensors that they put out there. 725 00:25:28,365 --> 00:25:29,825 They do do motion detection. 726 00:25:30,285 --> 00:25:32,224 No. It's not the all in ones. 727 00:25:32,525 --> 00:25:35,005 They have a specific motion one there. I 728 00:25:35,005 --> 00:25:36,684 just dropped a link in the chat. Oh, 729 00:25:36,684 --> 00:25:39,220 the motion sensor. Gotcha. Yeah. I don't know 730 00:25:39,220 --> 00:25:41,559 if that's millimeter wave. I have their environmental 731 00:25:41,700 --> 00:25:44,279 sensors, which are kinda nice. It's just something 732 00:25:44,339 --> 00:25:46,259 I've been playing with. Cool. Another thing for 733 00:25:46,259 --> 00:25:48,019 folks to look at. So we'll get back 734 00:25:48,019 --> 00:25:50,714 to our regularly scheduled program around, like, m 735 00:25:50,714 --> 00:25:52,875 three sixty five and Azure and all that 736 00:25:52,875 --> 00:25:54,494 stuff. But always like chatting 737 00:25:54,795 --> 00:25:55,694 about the 738 00:25:55,994 --> 00:25:58,554 new toys and everything that's out there, and 739 00:25:58,554 --> 00:26:00,315 now I gotta go convince my wife to 740 00:26:00,474 --> 00:26:02,474 Absolutely. Three d printer. Get a three d 741 00:26:02,474 --> 00:26:05,429 printer. Yep. Or come up with a health 742 00:26:05,429 --> 00:26:08,329 and ergonomic reason that you need one. Absolutely. 743 00:26:08,390 --> 00:26:10,710 Use your money. Your yearly budget for your 744 00:26:10,710 --> 00:26:13,349 three d printer. Alright. Thanks, Ben. Awesome. Thanks, 745 00:26:13,349 --> 00:26:14,710 Scott. Have a good one. You too. We'll 746 00:26:14,710 --> 00:26:15,849 talk to you later. Bye. 747 00:26:17,750 --> 00:26:20,025 If you enjoyed the podcast, go leave us 748 00:26:20,025 --> 00:26:22,265 a five star rating in iTunes. It helps 749 00:26:22,265 --> 00:26:23,945 to get the word out so more IT 750 00:26:23,945 --> 00:26:26,105 pros can learn about Office three sixty five 751 00:26:26,105 --> 00:26:26,765 and Azure. 752 00:26:27,305 --> 00:26:28,985 If you have any questions you want us 753 00:26:28,985 --> 00:26:31,144 to address on the show or feedback about 754 00:26:31,144 --> 00:26:33,545 the show, feel free to reach out via 755 00:26:33,545 --> 00:26:34,205 our website, 756 00:26:34,569 --> 00:26:35,709 Twitter, or Facebook. 757 00:26:36,009 --> 00:26:37,849 Thanks again for listening, and have a great 758 00:26:37,849 --> 00:26:38,349 day.

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Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast

Ben Stegink, Scott Hoag

On the MS Cloud IT Pro Podcast, Scott and Ben discuss the Microsoft Cloud with a focus on IT Pros. They'll discuss the latest in Microsoft 365 and Office 365 News, Azure news and talk about their experiences with managing the Microsoft Cloud as well as interview industry experts on various cloud technology. They'll cover things such as SharePoint, Exchange, Microsoft Teams, PowerShell, Azure, Azure AD, Security, Networking, Storage, and the many other technologies and products that have made their way into the Microsoft 365 suite and Azure. To stay up-to-date on the latest in Microsoft Cloud news and gain some valuable knowledge as you deploy it within your own organization, make sure to tune in every week! Find out more at msclouditpropodcast.com.

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