3 smart setups

Home Office Computing, August, 1998 by Catherine Greenman

Are you a full-timer, flex-timer, or midnight-oil burner? We find a trio of winning combinations for any workstyle

You PROBABLY DO MORE WORK AT HOME THAN YOU REALIZE. EVEN IF YOU commute to an office weekdays, you may spend part of a Sunday answering e-mail or preparing for a meeting. You might read a budget report during the 6 p.m. news. If you run your own business, on the other hand, you know exactly how many hours you rack up in your home office--a whole lot. But no matter how much time you spend working at home, the right mix of technology and furniture will ensure that you do it efficiently. We've designed home office setups for three types of workers. There are Night Owls, whose workdays continue after their commutes end; Flex-Timers, who divvy up their days between a corporate office and home; and Entrepreneurs, who work full-time from spare rooms and need equipment to function at the same level as bigger companies. Whatever your workstyle, one of these three setups (or a combination of pieces from each) will help you see your productivity potential.

1 The Night Owl

ALTHOUGH YOU MAY BE MOST PRODUCTIVE WHEN YOUR 9-to-5 day is through, this doesn't mean you should work hunched over the kitchen table with a stale pot of coffee. Here's a setup for those who want to complete--or start--the day with a bang.

Desktop PC If you need to get work done at home but can't justify the expense of a superpowered system, Hewlett-Packard's Pavilion 8250 is a good solution for your workload--and your wallet. Available at major computer stores, the Pavilion 8250 comes with a 266MHz Intel Celeron processor, 48MB of RAM, a 6GB hard disk, a 24x CD-ROM drive, a 56Kbps fax/data modem, and a 17-inch monitor, all for under $2,000. Although the Celeron may not offer the blazing speed of a Pentium II and the Pavilion comes with Microsoft Works and Money instead of the heavyweight Microsoft Office suite, you'll still find this system a great value for your after-hours needs.

Alternative: Packard Bell Platinum Supreme 1952

Storage device Even if you worked straight through to the morning, chances are you wouldn't be able to fill up an entire gigabyte's worth of storage space. But if you do, just pop another 1GB cartridge into the SyQuest SparQ drive and keep going. The SparQ will give you all the storage space you need to transfer data back and forth between your home office and company office. And if you'd prefer not to spend the money on two drives, the drive is compact and light enough to travel with you.

Alternative: Iomega Jaz Drive

Printer For producing occasional text documents at home, Lexmark's 5700 Color Jetprinter gives you impressively sharp 1,200 by 1,200dpi output at a black-and-white print speed of 8 pages per minute (ppm). And your family (like it or not) will undoubtedly find a multitude of good uses for the Jetprinter's bright, sharp color output. (It prints in color at 7 ppm).

Alternative: HP DeskJet 890Cse

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) Chances are, anyone who's ever lost crucial work due to a power outage or surge has since invested in a UPS. And if a data blackout's never happened to you, you can make sure it stays that way by installing MGE's Pulsar Desktop 220. It protects your computer and fax/modem line against power surges, and its small size (it's shaped like a videocassette) will leave you plenty of elbow room on your desk.

Desk If you don't have the space at home for a dedicated work area, the electrically operated Convertible Work Center gives you a fully functional home office when you need it. By day, it's a coffee table. But at night, or whenever you're ready to get down to business, just flip a switch and the Bond-esque Work Center's top rolls back. Your PC, monitor, and printer then rise up to a 30-inch height (or lower, depending on your preference). The square-shaped unit also includes plenty of storage space for files and supplies, and it works great, whether it's in front of a desk chair or a couch.

2 The Flex-Timer

COMPANY POLICIES VARY WHEN IT COMES TO PAYING FOR telecommuting expenses, which means you may be footing the bill for the tech tools you work with at home. And while setting up a home office for your telecommuting needs may seem like a big investment, just a few days free of commuter traffic and annoying interruptions could make it all seem worth it. Here's a Flex-Timer setup that'll help you tackle your work with aplomb without putting you in the red.

Desktop PC The ideal system for a Flex-Timer has enough speed, memory, and storage to handle your workload, without a lot of bells, whistles, and extra costs. Enter the Quantex XQP6/333 SM-3x, a speedy 333MHz Pentium II system with 64MB of RAM and an 8.4GB hard disk that'll leave your corporate office PC scrambling to catch up. Speaking of your office machine, the XQP6/333 also has an internal Iomega Zip drive for transporting data to and from base camp.

Alternative: NEC Direction 300L

17-inch monitor To fit the comforts-of-home theme, direct your eyes to ViewSonic's GS771, a squint-proof 17-inch monitor. In addition to boasting a sharp, bright display and easy-to-use controls, the short-neck GS771 takes up two inches less desk space than most models in this price range.