I have a (IT) problem

Adrian Cantrill
2 min readOct 29, 2016

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…and some pretty unique requirements

Let me set the scene. I create online courses — specifically in the cloud/IT field. I work at home full-time; but also need to be able to work remotely. My workflow consists of a number of stages:-

  1. Research a topic or group of topics
  2. Create a course outline
  3. For each lesson — create the slide-based content, any code, and prepare any demos
  4. Record the lesson (screencast) — either slides+talking, or demo (recording of me creating or doing something)
  5. Edit the recordings, tidy up, and re-record if needed
  6. Generate MP4 files from the raw screen recordings
  7. Upload the MP4 to cloud storage and the learning management platform its going to be hosted on (I currently do all my work for acloud.guru go check them out)

Some of the above stages can be done from anywhere, whereas some have restrictions— for example, while i can do steps 1,2 and 3 from just about anywhere, I need to be in a quiet location & have some equipment for stage 4. At home I work between my office (open plan with my other half) and my studio — a room configured to be quiet, and have good quality acoustics.

It’s clear I’m not normal..but I have a few overarching requirements or ideal situations :-

  1. I would like to use one machine for all-of-the-above, I work with large files and keeping multiple machines in sync is a pain.
  2. I would like to have the flexibility to work from anywhere, either between my two spaces at home & remote, anywhere where I am.
  3. Based on #2 — traveling with the device(s) has to be easy — lightweight ?
  4. I need sufficient screen real-estate that recording my screencasts or demos isn't impacted — suggests a larger screen
  5. I need to be able to convert between screencast & MP4 quickly and efficiently — CPU/Memory & storage speed is important.
  6. I need a few essential peripherals — USB microphone, and a nice comfortable mouse.

So thats my situation — its pretty unique and I don't have any answers…yet. Let me know if you have any suggestions, and once I decide how to handle my IT Hell I’ll be sure to let you know via a follow-up.

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Adrian Cantrill
Adrian Cantrill

Written by Adrian Cantrill

Technical Trainer, Cloud Architect, Tech, Productivity & Efficiency Obsessed wannabe minimalist.