Gadgeteer team’s work from home (WFH) setups – Garry Kolb

We use affiliate links. If you buy something through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

workfromhome kolb 2

ARTICLE – Julie asked us all to do a write-up of our work-from-home tech setup. I don’t work.  My wife doesn’t work. Well, we did, but we retired, so we don’t really have a work from home setup.  But, writing for The Gadgeteer does require some tech, and my wife and I use laptops, so I’ll describe that.

We use Xfinity high-speed internet for our online access.  For connectivity, I have an eero three-node mesh network that blankets my 2,000 square foot home as well as all around the year with super-strong Wi-Fi.

Within the last year, I replaced my aging Microsoft Surface Book with a Surface Book 2 13.5″ Touch-Screen 2-in-1 laptop with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive. I typically use this while sitting in the living room, watching TV.

I do occasionally plug into a docking station where I have a 23″ monitor, Bluetooth keyboard, and Bluetooth mouse, but that is exceptionally rare.

My lovely wife recently upgraded to a Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 laptop with a 15.6″ touch screen,  Intel Evo Platform Core i7,  12GB RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive.

workfromhome kolb 3

She prefers an actual mouse, so she has a USB mouse and uses a lap desk to hold everything. When we need to print, we print to our wireless Canon MF731C color laser printer.

When Gadgeteering, I am required to take product photographs. I use an Emart 14″ x 16″ photography tabletop lightbox to give me nice light. It is USB-powered and I use the battery pack I received when I reviewed the MOS Blackpack Grande to provide the juice.

workfromhome kolb 1

My wife and I have Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphones.  I typically use mine for all Gadgeteer photography.  When I need to support the phone, I use the Pedco Ultrapod 3 to hold the phone. If I need the phone in the photo, then I use either a DJI Osmo Action camera or my Sony RX10-IV to capture the image.

To back up everything all my files are stored on a Drobo 5N2 storage robot with a little over 5TB of online storage.

That sums up the tech I use on a regular basis to get my Gadgeteer work done as well as daily email and social media activity.

Check out the rest of our team’s WFH setups.

10 thoughts on “Gadgeteer team’s work from home (WFH) setups – Garry Kolb”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. Gary, you sound like us retired folks no longer in Michigan (and also gone from California) now living in The Woodlands, Texas. I don’t help Julie out with product reviews but do read the site daily (yikes!). Nice setup and nice chairs! I use a Chromebook these days and my wife has an iPad glued to her fingers.

    1. Thanks for being a daily reader, Anthony! And, next week, being in the 80s all week will definitely make me appreciate being here in Central Florida and not in Michigan!

      1. It’s a little chilly here in south Texas today (40 F) but going up to 70+. These are great winters here and my golf game is year round now! I love your work Julie, and I get a lot of good stuff through the reviews!

    2. Garry you wrote a nice review of the Costway Multi Purpose Steam Cleaner. Think you should have mention 1) that Costway returns must be unused with stickers and all labels in place. How would we know if the product is not what we expected if we don’t try it? 2) Costway does not pay for return shipping. 3) Costway does not have a spare part inventory. They direct you to a harware store and might as well throw it away if it a critical part unique to Costway. Thse are major factors in buy/no buydecision making

  3. i use a different brand of your lightbox and have used a variety of lights and flashes with it…all of which worked to some degree

    however using the box as a diffuser with natural light has worked the best…sort of cocoons the subject in soft yet defining light…the lights now live in a crate for the most part

    written as the backyard thermometer shows 3F and the juncos are puffed up to the size of robins

Leave a Reply to Anthony A. Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *