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TECH FEATURE

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The business world turns over a new leaf and gets inspired for the year ahead – plus you might get a little windfall back from tax. That makes the End of Financial Year the perfect time to refresh your workspace and gear, whether that’s at the office or in your study at home. Words Michael Irving OFFICE ESSENTIALS EOFY

U pgrading your old tech or branching out into something new could be just the boost that you need to give yourself the most productive financial year ahead. There are plenty of options – it all just depends on what you need, and what kind of worker you are.

you are, with all your documents and assets on hand, ready to go. They’re perfect if your job is a hybrid of home and office days, if you like to get some prep done on your commute, or if you feel more productive in a cafe or restaurant. A few specs to look out for: a speedy processor and plenty of RAM will make sure you can multitask efficiently, as will a nice big display with room for multiple windows at once. Generous storage space can be important too, although you can also use cloud services to store data offsite, which is especially handy if you work across several devices. 2-in-1s A 2-in-1 has all the functionality of both a laptop and a tablet, in one hybrid device. You get the

practical form factor of a laptop, but you can simply fold the keyboard back and tap, sketch, and write on the touchscreen with your finger or a stylus. It’s perfect for giving presentations, or more creative roles that involve drawing, or editing images and videos. As with laptops, processors, storage space and display sizes are important, but if you’re doing image and video work, graphics power is a consideration. You also might want to check if it includes a stylus, or is compatible with them, since that can make for a more comfortable touchscreen experience. Monitors The window into your work, a good monitor gives you plenty of room to have multiple apps open at once, and a high resolution so that you can see every little detail clearly. You’ll want to check the ports on offer too, to make sure your device can plug into it – common ones include HDMI, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, USB-C, and even VGA for older systems. If the port you need is missing, don’t fret: adapters are readily available for most types. If you spend a lot of time on conference

Laptops The heart of any workspace is the laptop. These portable workstations let you clock on wherever

36 JUNE 2024

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