More Toys for your Toys

In January, I wrote about some cable-management and gadget-management solutions I had found on the web. I hesitated to buy the Signum cable tray from IKEA, because it was larger than I really wanted. Our desk is in a rather exposed location, a loft at the top of the stairs, and the cable tray is one of the first things a viewer will see when climbing the stairs. I wanted something more understated or unobtrusive. My goal is to reduce the amount of visual clutter in my house.

So rather than purchase the Signum item, I kept looking. I found an intriguing alternative on Amazon, the Wire Tray, made by Viable Inc, or Doug Mockett & Company. The Wire Tray is made of black ABS instead of white or silver powder-coated metal. It's narrower than the Signum cable tray, by a factor of two, making it much less obvious under the desk. It can be mounted on a vertical surface like a wall, or a horizontal surface like the underside of a desktop or countertop. Installation is a cinch: you install an aluminum track, then you slide the Wire Tray elements onto the track, and finally you put end caps on the track. You can cut it shorter than 35 inches (about 1 metre), or you can make it longer by installing multiple units.

My only beef with it is that it looks like it's made in China.

NOTE: Photos are from the manufacturer's website.

Toys for your Toys

My sweet wife and I are looking for a cable management system for our new Ikea desk. Right now, the floor beneath the desk is a rat's nest of cables and wires. While I was searching online cable management solutions, I ran across some websites with cool stuff that might help some of you.
I've mentioned Zagg before, so I'll mention it again at the end. But here's some other cool stuff that I found.

http://www.bluelounge.com/products/
BlueLounge has some imaginative solutions for cable management, smartphone and table tending, and some other cool stuff. I think it's rather attractively priced as well. My beloved spouse may disagree. I'm going to get their Cable Box.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/workspaces/16195/
We should have looked at Ikea at the start. I'm going to buy two 70-cm  lengths of their "Signum, Cable management, horizontal" cable baskets and mount them underneath the desk, along the back.

http://recoilwinders.com/
Recoil is is a Kickstarter-financed startup company based in Park City, Utah. They have a line of spring-powered cable winders that may look a bit pricey ($10 each, for any of their products), but they are an innovative design that fills a basic need. These gadgets aren't for the desk; they're for the briefcase or gym bag.





And finally, Zagg:

http://www.zagg.com/
Zagg sells both essentials and optional accessories for smartphones, iPods and tablets, and some laptop PC stuff besides. However, they add some style to their accessories - like what BlueLounge does, only different.



The only problem, I believe, is that most of the products that I've mentioned are made in China. I'm still trying to favor merchandise that is made in the USA, Canada, or Mexico - or Scandinavia, in Ikea's case. It's still not easy.

UPDATE: I found a cable tray that I like better than IKEA's Signum cable tray. You can read about it in my article, More Toys for your Toys.

Remember that my product recommendations are independent, honest, unsolicited and not for sale. I don't get compensated in any way for writing this. I just found some good stuff on my way to solving my own problem, and I thought it might help you as well. If you don't believe me, go read my post, Blogging for Dollars.