2012 is over and done leaving us with nothing but memories and possibilities. Whether you prescribe to the superstitious belief that the last two digits of 2013 ensure bad luck or not, there is no denying that this year (like all years) has the great potential to ring in personal change.
The great thing about personal change is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be monumental. Not every resolution needs to force you into a perfect, altruistic soul or to become a veritable Adonis (or Aphrodite depending on your gender). New Year’s resolutions can be simple, easily conquered, and set to better your life in minor ways. In fact, these smaller promises have a higher chance of being successful– especially when they deal with the minute aspects of our technology. These five simple resolutions will help eliminate hassle and headaches while improving how you work with your devices.
Hide all of my A/V Components
There are few things that are more annoying than having to get up, walk over to the TV, and fiddle with a handful of A/V buttons or remotes. There’s probably one for the game system (each one of them for those households with numerous), one for the TV, one for the DVD or Blu-Ray player and so on. Keeping them sorted and neat proves to be such a headache that even looking at them causes stress and frustration. Not to mention the cluttered mess they form at the base of the TV. Fortunately, it seemed that the past few years has been a time for change in that area as this was one of our most requested resolutions in 2012. There are organization systems that can take this mess and coalesce it into a neat, out of sight system. Even better, it can be configured to be remotely accessed. Say goodbye to all those components!
Condense my pile of remotes into one
Imagine taking all of your remotes, scattered around God’s creation, and combining them into a single unit. In twisted irony, the original technology for this proved to be clunky and unreliable. The platform proved to be difficult to understand. Worst of all, it was prone to failure. But over the years, the technology has improved dramatically. Now we can truly combine all of our remote controls into one cohesive device that will truly ring in convenience. (bonus: control all of those new hidden components from resolution 1 with this easy to use remote!)
Build a Dedicated Home Theater System
Although this may be the priciest aspect on the list, no one said that every resolution had to be fulfilled by the first weekend of the year. It proves to be an incredibly convenient alternative to movies, even when the price is considered. Actually, the price may be less when it’s all said and done. A dedicated home theater properly set up and installed, gives you the same feeling as a true cinema, just without the mess, crowd and travel that comes with it. It’s now more of a 3-minute bag of popcorn and the extra bonus of enjoying these movies with your family in the comfort of your own home.
Get Universal Access to Music
Music is life. Most people are hard-pressed to enjoy themselves without some sort of audio playing as the soundtrack to their lives. Who wouldn’t want access to their favorite tunes while cooking in the kitchen, taking a shower, hanging out by the pool or entertaining guests? But there’s a problem when one computer has some of your preferred music but you’re in a separate room. Fortunately, you can now have access to all of your music, whether from iTunes, the radio or your favorite streaming service right at the palm of your hand on your favorite device. These systems, such as Sonos allow you to access all of your music at any location in your house with any device. Now you can finally enjoy your music wherever you are.
Clean all Unsightly Wires
This follows the logic of the first resolution, but expands it to all other electronics in the house. Between all the phone & networking cables, televisions, and entertainment system, the average American household has yards upon yards of untamed cord. It sticks out and deters true cleanliness and organization. As we add more and more electronics to our houses, structured wiring is becoming incredibly important. In order to avoid clutter and calamity for our clients, we either snake wires through walls in an organized manner or, if planning a remodel of your house or another new build entirely, plan for this while the walls are open so that all the wires are in-wall early on and this hassle doesn’t appear down the road.