I have really enjoyed not wearing glasses. As you may remember, about 2 years ago I had Lasik surgery done. This allowed me to say goodbye to glasses which I have warn ever since I was a wee lad of 3 years. Lately though I have had to resort to reading glasses when enjoying a book or reading directions.
I don’t mind this really. I imagine that if I had not had the Lasik surgery then I would be looking at bifocals at this point in time anyway. I even had fun picking out my reading glasses (sort of like picking out sunglasses). I think that I like the idea that I can take them off when I am done needing them more than any other part of resorting to using them. They really are only good for reading things up close though.
At the end of some work days when I have stared at the computer screen intensely for the better part of the day, my eyes are a bit tired. I am using a 19” monitor that my work purchased for me 4 or 5 years ago so I am thinking it is about time for a new monitor. I could probably go to my manager and make a case for a newer, bigger monitor but most folks that perform similar roles as I do seem to be satisfied with a monitor this size. Also, I plan to return back into a routine of going into the office as soon as my Buick arrives down here in Texas in a few weeks. Any monitor purchased by my work would be expected to remain in the office and that will leave me with no monitor to use when I work from home (although I am sure I would be able to keep this one for that purpose). Either way, asking my work to provide me with a new monitor will only fix the problem part of the time.
I remember almost 15 years ago when I first had a job where I was assigned my own computer (and thus my own monitor). I worked for a business that used CAD software to design items for manufacturing. The company spent some serious money on the CAD software and also on big monitors. I seem to recall the high end, 21” CRT monitors that the engineers were assigned ran about $2,500 each. I was given a 19” monitor (which was huge to my eyes) and was very happy. My manager however preferred to keep using a 17” monitor. His logic behind this was that he did not want to have a bigger monitor at work than he could afford to purchase for home. Evidently the cost of a 17” monitor was the price point he was willing to spend on his home computer and as such he used a much smaller screen than our company was willing to provide him.
At this point in my life I have the exact opposite problem. I am sure that If I asked for a newer, bigger monitor that my manager would approve the purchase of it. However, since monitors have come down in price so much in the last 15 years, I can afford a much bigger monitor than I could get approved for at work given my current role.
So, what size monitor should I get to use when I work from home? I did a little research and the best answer I could find made me chuckle a little. Basically given the relief of strain on your eyes that higher quality monitors provide and the relative cost of monitors nowadays the answer I liked best was, “How big of a monitor can your desk hold?” So, I have been pricing really big monitors lately. And by really big I mean 25” or 27”. I regularly see 25” monitors for $200 and 27” monitors can be found for about $70 more but there is still the problem of having a smaller monitor when working at the office than when I work from home. Decisions, decisions.
As I mentioned before, I will probably start working in the office more after the Buick arrives. I guess I will wait and see what size of monitor I can convince my manager to get for me before I make any decisions.
Jon
No comments:
Post a Comment