Ask Slashdot: Extreme Cable Management? 242
An anonymous reader writes "I am not a fan of wireless except for Wi-Fi to a notebook, but have gotten frustrated by the vast amounts of tangled cables around my computers: I have two machines, four monitors, multiple external hard drives, cable modem, network switch, router, USB hubs — everything requires power and connection to the other devices. The tangles and tangles make it almost impossible to move anything without spending twenty or thirty minutes under the desk. I'd rather untie balled-up fishing line than try to snake a monitor cable out from some thirty or so other wires. Anyone have good ways to prevent this?"
Never move a cable. (Score:2, Insightful)
Unplug it and use a new one wherever you're moving to.
If the location you're moving to has an unused spare cable, use it.
Re:Wire ties (Score:5, Insightful)
Buy wire ties, or flex-tubing, or some other sub $20 cable management and stop leaving your loose wires to get tangled?
Yes. Reusable cable ties, because you never know when you'll need to add another cable and don't really want to keep replacing cable ties.
Rubber bands eventually dry out and fall apart. Electrical and duct tapes leave a gummy mess. If it's a single cable and going to be along a wall for a while, get some of those little nail in cable holders from the hardware store, put then in along the baseboard, to keep your CAT5 out of the vacuum cleaner.
Move it out of the way. (Score:5, Insightful)
Specifically, the network switch, modem, router, etc. should be moved to the basement if you have one, or a dedicated area. You should almost never touch them, so get them off your desk.
Ditto for all the removable hard drives. Buy a little server with a crapload of storage (or a NAS) and put it in the basement with the network boxes. Access it remotely.
Get a wireless keyboard and mouse, hook it to a 2-port KVM. Move the computers under or behind the desk.
That way the only thing on the desk is the (wireless) keyboard & mouse, a USB hub and the monitors. Those cables should go right down behind the desk to the monitor and power strip.
If, for some reason, you use optical media frequently, plug a USB-based drive into the hub and leave it on the desk. You should almost never have to touch the computers at that point, so why have them in the way?
Re:Wire ties (Score:5, Insightful)
I use velcro ties.
Re:I do not advocate (Score:5, Insightful)