When ever you purchase quality portable electronics you usually want to purchase a protective cover for it so you can keep  it in better physical condition and looking great. This is how I think anyway, if I purchase an electronic gadget I try and keep it in best physical condition as long as I own it and most recently this goes for my Apple 3G iPhone.

Speck Products (founded 2001, California) has a few stylish ways of protecting your Apple 3G iPhone which also might help you stand out from the crowd a bit as well.

Speck SeeThru

The Speck SeeThru 3G iPhone line offers some protection from scratches to your iPhone case but also can act as a stand for when you are watching movies.

The SeeThru case comes in 6 colours and is easily attached to your iPhone. They also have rubberized grips to ensure you have a harder time letting go of your Apple 3G iPhone.

All of the external controls and ports are not covered up so it allows you to easily use your headphones, or turn up the ringer and even plug it into your USB cable for syncing without having to be removed. I find that to be a great bonus when it comes to electronic gadgets.

I have been using the SeeThru case on my 3G iPhone now for some time and it has also protected my iPhone from a fall while rollerblading. Without knowing where to look on the case you cannot tell that my iPhone dropped to the cement while rollerblading around Vancouver. Pretty cool protection and I was quite impressed.

There are a few issues I have found with the SeeThru case which has shown up throughout my use of the case and they are:

• Side rubber grips can come off if in a warm area such as a pocket. Perhaps a better contact cement could be used to keep the grips in place? I have found them on the inside of my pockets or stuck to the front of my iPhone’s screen at times.
• No screen protector. Perhaps offer a screen protector you can apply to  help reduce scratches to it. Though I have been told that the screen on the 3G iPhones is made of some sort of scratch resistant glass.
• I have found that with sliding the cover on and off to use it as the stand, that it has worn down the tabs that hold the 2 piece cover together and sometimes the iPhone can come out of its cover.

Overall I still use the SeeThru hard shell case to protect the case of my Apple 3G iPhone and have not quite found anything that offers a minimalist cover without taking away from look and feel of my iPhone. For a basic case protector that offers a unique look I would (and have) recommended the SeeThru case to people.

Speck PixelSkin

The Speck Pixelskin cover is a lightweight, form-fit protective case for the Apple 3G iPhone that is really easy to use and comes in 7 fun colours.

Just slip the silicon case over your iPhone and that’s it. It has openings for all the ports and easy to use covers for the controls such as the mute, speaker volume and power buttons without taking away from the ‘chicklet’ looking design.

Due to the simplistic nature of silicon skin type cases there is not much more to mention about the PixelSkin. It fits nice, easy to put on and take off and feels alright in the hand. Just not something I would personally use.

Speck ToughSkin

Looking for a bit more protection from accidental bumps or even a small drop without adding bulk to your Apple 3G iPhone? The ToughSkin might be the case you need to look at.

The ToughSkin is a bit more involved when putting your iPhone into it and it does have a more industrial feel and look once it is together.

Worried about being able to fit you iPhone in the dock? You don’t need to worry, just swing the bottom part open and there you go, easy access to dock you iPhone. You can even have it stand up while using the bottom portion of the ToughSkin has a support!

The ToughSkin also comes with a holster which you can attach to you pocket, pants, belt with the belt clip. The belt clip also acts as a stand (similar to the SeeThru) for those times when you want to watch a movie without holding your iPhone.

I have dropped my iPhone while it was in the ToughSkin but not from an impressive height. The iPhone and it’s case survived without a scratch or something being loosened on the inside. Though what inside the iPhone might break loose? Either way the case was unscathed from scratches or a small dent and that tells me that the ToughSkin has done it’s job!

The only drawback to the case is in regards to the holster it comes with. I find that while wearing the iPhone with the holster on my pants that I could pull the holster out along with the iPhone when I used one hand. Though on the plus side I was able to put the iPhone back into the holster while wearing it, with only one hand. It also would have been nice to include some sort of screen protector with the unti as well.

Overall Thoughts for the 3 Speck 3G iPhone Cases

Overall the three cases I have been able to play with have done what they were designed to do which is to give a bit of protection without hampering the look and feel of the Apple 3G iPhone.

Out of the three units looked at I do like the SeeThru case and use it to this day. Again the only big issue to me is that the rubber grips peel off when the glue is warm.

The PixelSkin is an easy to use silicon case without really anything special about it other than its look.

The ToughSkin is a bit too ‘industrial’ for me but I do like how it stands up while in the holster and can help prevent some damage from a bump or fall.

With each of the cases I would have liked to see some sort of screen protector included but with the iPhone better scratch resistant screen I could see why this was not included. I could never apply the screen protectors anyway.

Alright well it seems that Raul (www.hummingbird604.com) has tagged me to do this 5 Things Meme and why not do it? Some of them can be fun, some are not so much fun. The following list is alright and it might help you get to know me a bit better.

What Is A Meme?

According to Wikipedia a Meme:

consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation.

So I guess in this way a Blog Meme is pretty much just a list started by one person with various tidbits of information about themselves which is then ‘tagged’ to friends and/or other people to participate and continue on. Reminds me of some Facebook posts that people write about the 20-40 questions they answer that someone has written up.

5 Things Meme: (in no particular order)

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. 1 year out of high school
2. Working in the Grocery Industry
3. Make websites
4. Going to school to become an Electrician
5. Living at home

5 Things on my to-do list today:

1. Check Spam
2. Continue working on internal web project
3. Uploading new photos from last night
4. Work on 2 product reviews
5. Think of something for dinner

5 snacks I like:

1. Fat-Free Chocolate Pudding
2. Edamame
3. Chips n Salsa
4. Yogurt

5 Things I would do it I was a millionaire:

1. Get myself and girlfriend out of debt
2. Take a vacation
3. Depending on amount of money, buy Mum and Dad their houses
4. Get the BMW I want
5. Drop the rest into savings to try and live off interest

5 Places I’ve Lived in (for various lengths of time):

1. Pitt Meadows, BC
2. Prince George, BC
3. Victoria, BC
4. Burnaby, BC,
5. Port Coquitlam & Coquitlam, BC

5 Jobs I have had:

1. Grocery Clerk
2. Grocery Management
3. Computer Specialist
4. Casual Labourer
5. Web Designer/Developer

5 People I Tag (I understand most people won’t do this):

1. Rod Templeton
2. Jeremy Latham
3. Michael Kwan
4. Rebeccca Bollwitt
5. Laura Smart

There you have it. I do believe this is the first Meme I have participated in and I hope that the people above I have tagged will also participate. Why not, it’s something away from their regular blog posts anyway right?

Ever since I started telecommuting 3 days a week for my current employer I am always trying to find new ways to increase my productivity. One area I tweak at least once a week is my work desk at home. Without a proper, ergonomical work space your productivity can actually suffer and not only that, I find that if certain aspects of my desk are not a correct spot I find myself getting restless quite easily.

One blog post that was mentioned via Twitter was Rules from Working for Working at Home by Micheal Boyink and I found that after reading it I not only cleaned up my messy desk, I also slightly rearranged where the keyboard goes. I found that the location of the keyboard drawer with the desk I have that my wrists started to ache after a short period of time from typing.

For me I find that I like my work area to be as bright as possible and preferably with natural light (like the Sun) rather than use fluorescent or incandescent light.  Currently I have a south-facing room which allows sunlight in during the majority of my work day. With an overhead ceiling light, a desktop halogen and 2 CFLs near by I get a fairly decent amount of light. Ideally I would want my desk above the ground floor with a large south facing window but I’ll have to make due with what I have.

I also try to keep my desk area clear of any mess which includes papers, gadgets, garbage etc. I find that if there is desk clutter it tends to bug me and make me not want to work. This also goes for the area in which my computer desk is in, I need it clutter free else I’ll somehow sense the anarchy in the room and my productivity also drops.

The largest challenge I find while telecommuting is staying productive. If I can make my work area functional, distraction-free, and clean I can stay on task more efficiently and get things done without stress.

My Work Area

As you can see from the above photo my desk area is fairly clean (now). I removed the keyboard tray and put my keyboard and mouse above which I find keeps my wrists from hurting during long periods of typing. Yes I know I really need to get a new chair, the wooden kitchen chair is large improvement over the Ikea $10 special I was previously using.  I also find that keeping the keyboard and mouse on the desk area allows for less clutter on the desktop.

Yes those are 2 desktop computers you see too. The machine on the left is my main machine where as the machine on the right with the keyboard on it is my web development server.

What does you work area look like? Do you have a photo of it? If you telecommute how do you try and stay productive?