{"id":84573,"date":"2024-03-22T14:45:14","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T14:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/22\/whats-on-your-desk-joanna-nelius\/"},"modified":"2024-03-22T14:45:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T14:45:14","slug":"whats-on-your-desk-joanna-nelius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/22\/whats-on-your-desk-joanna-nelius\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s on your desk, Joanna Nelius?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Joanna Nelius is a recent addition to The Verge<\/em>\u2019s staff, having joined us a little over a month ago to become our new laptop reviewer. But while she\u2019s been reviewing laptops, desktops, and PC hardware for her entire career, she is also going to report on broadband and education. \u201cI\u2019m particularly excited to start reporting on the latter two,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause that\u2019s what I used to cover when I wrote for Gizmodo<\/em> and ended up falling in love with those beats.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In fact, Joanna\u2019s background is in creative writing, literature, and teaching. \u201cBut with the current chaos surrounding generative AI,\u201d she explains, \u201cand the push for more tech courses, including digital media literacy in cash-strapped schools, it feels like I\u2019m in the right place at the right time.\u201d She is also working on a memoir and several short stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Here, Joanna discusses her use of today\u2019s technology, her fondness for yesterday\u2019s, and how her family\u2019s past has influenced her present.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

You can tell a lot about a person by examining their book collection.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s a nice space. Where in your home is it?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Downstairs and off the main hallway, where most of the other rooms are located. My partner and I decided to move in together recently, and we settled here because it had enough space for us to each have our own office. We both work from home, are in and out of meetings all the time, and do creative work that requires a lot of focus, so separate workspaces were on our list of requirements before we even started looking at places.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All of the furniture in my office came from my old place. I insisted on keeping my living room couch because it wasn\u2019t cheap, but I also really wanted an office space that felt similar to some of my college and grad school professors\u2019 offices. Theirs were cozy and filled with the smell of old books, worn leather furniture, and photocopied reading packets. I\u2019m getting nostalgic just thinking about them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tell us about your desk.\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n

I love antiques, things that scream early 20th century, especially if they feel like they could have come from a school. Mine is a three-piece from World Market, and it\u2019s about as utilitarian as you can get for a work desk: heavy, thick wood for the surface, and painted, slightly distressed metal for the storage. I\u2019m glad I opted for one side to have open shelves instead of two sets of drawers, though. Like a lot of early 20th-century furniture, the drawers don\u2019t have tracks, so it\u2019s just metal rubbing on metal and doesn\u2019t always sound great \u2014 but I love this desk and don\u2019t see myself getting rid of it anytime soon, if ever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And your chair?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n

My swivel chair is also from World Market, and I bought it at the same time as the desk (years ago, and both are now discontinued). There were other color choices, but I went with this one because I thought it fit the best into the vibe I was trying to create.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In retrospect, I should have gone with a darker color. No matter how often I take a scrub brush to my chair, I can\u2019t make it look like new again. It was also a lot more comfortable when I first bought it, but after several years of remote work, I can sometimes feel a spring poking me in the butt. I probably should buy a new one, but overall, it\u2019s truly been the most comfortable swivel chair I\u2019ve owned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It\u2019s also forced me to have good sitting posture, which is crucial when you sit at a computer all day! You\u2019d think high-backed office chairs would do that for me, but I\u2019m much shorter than the average person, so all they\u2019ve done for me is give me neck and shoulder pain to complain about.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Sometimes a good working environment means a comfortable group of familiar objects.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Here\u2019s the big one: tell us about the tech you\u2019re using.\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Speaking of aches and pains \u2014 my partner gave me his Logitech MX Master 3<\/a> mouse because the gaming mouse I was using before (and the three gaming mice before that) started giving me wrist pains. My pinky would lock up sometimes, too. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I don\u2019t have any of those issues with the MX Master 3. It\u2019s ergonomically designed to keep your wrist in a natural position, and even though it\u2019s such a small adjustment compared to how my wrist is positioned with a standard gaming mouse, it was enough to completely get rid of the pain. Now, I use this mouse for everything, even gaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

My keyboard is the Nuphy Air75 V2<\/a> with low profile keys and the company\u2019s own Cowberry linear mechanical switches. I can see why Nuphy named this specific mechanical keyboard line \u201cAir,\u201d because it does feel like you are typing on air. The keys require little actuation force, and they make a pleasant and light thunk sound when they bottom out \u2014 even the spacebar, which has some of the best key stabilizers I\u2019ve ever seen on a keyboard. I\u2019ve used too many mechanical keyboards with wobbly, pingy spacebars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n