Re: [lopsa-tech] Datacenter phone/headsets
i have been telecommuting seriously for 20+ years and follow eric allman's advice (offered 20 years ago, it might be different now). for headsets, the best in teh world don't cost a lot, so just get them. so i use plantronics st141 headsets (nowadays i use the wireless ones) with a noise cancelling microphone and they work well. (i can play music at a moderate volume and callers cannot hear it.) don't know how they would do in a data center. On May 7, 2010, at 9:11 AM, Brian Mathis wrote: I have a set of headphones with a mic like this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+Ear+Bud+Headphones+-+Blue/ 8964873.p?id=1217029959796skuId=8964873 that work well enough. The biggest problem I've had is hearing the other person if you're the one in the data center. Usually the person on the other end is in a more quiet area, so they might get background noise from you but not so much they can't make out what you're saying. I would guess that the next level up would be something from Plantronics, maybe headsets made for call centers where you have a lot of people and need the same kind of directionality on the mic. But given your price point of $100, there's no way you'll get something this specialized any cheaper. -- Andrew Hume (best - Telework) +1 732-886-1886 and...@research.att.com (Work) +1 973-360-8651 ATT Labs - Research; member of USENIX and LOPSA ___ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
Re: [lopsa-tech] Datacenter phone/headsets
On 5/7/10 9:11 AM, Brian Mathis wrote: On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 12:53 AM, Tracy Reed tr...@ultraviolet.org wrote: On Thu, May 06, 2010 at 10:44:23AM -0400, Luke S Crawford spake thusly: The other day at the hardware store I noticed noise dampening headphones; they looked like the enclosed ear protectors and claimed 27Dbi protection, but they had a line in where you could plug in your MP3 player. I should give something like that a go. Does anyone have a lead on an inexpensive headset/mic setup good for talking on the phone in a datacenter? The standard bluetooth and even wired headsets are just not made for this kind of environment. When I'm not hacking on servers I am a commercial pilot. Aircraft tend to be very noisy so we use either closed ear headsets or in-ear headsets (my current favorite due to light weight) with a mic with squelch control. This setup works very well in the airplane. The mic is very directional and only picks up my voice and not engine/air noise. I imagine something like it connected to a cell phone would be a hot item in a noisy datacenter. Several times this week I have had to call someone's tech support from the datacenter floor and talk to them while standing behind a rack of screaming servers and fans. And the person I'm talking to almost always has an accent. Sure would be nice if we could hear each other. I know the technology exists out there somewhere. There are such things as: http://www.skygeek.com/headset-cell-phone-adapters.html but they all start at $100 (which I might actually just barely consider but no more) and they all appear to be designed to be plugged into an aircraft intercom system and will not work independently with just a phone and a headset. -- Tracy Reed http://tracyreed.org I have a set of headphones with a mic like this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+Ear+Bud+Headphones+-+Blue/8964873.p?id=1217029959796skuId=8964873 that work well enough. The biggest problem I've had is hearing the other person if you're the one in the data center. Usually the person on the other end is in a more quiet area, so they might get background noise from you but not so much they can't make out what you're saying. I would guess that the next level up would be something from Plantronics, maybe headsets made for call centers where you have a lot of people and need the same kind of directionality on the mic. But given your price point of $100, there's no way you'll get something this specialized any cheaper. I'm a ham radio operator and we work community service projects like providing communications for marathons and the March For Babies walk. The locations where we set up are extremely noisy, because everyone cheers when runners and walkers go by. I use an earbud and mic set similar to the Sony above for my ham radio, and cover them with my Peltor shooting earmuffs http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=214443 The earmuffs cut the outside noise, and the earbuds are comfortable underneath. I do have to speak up a bit so my voice can be heard clearly over the din, but it's easy to hear the incoming voices and you don't have to turn the volume up to an uncomfortable level. My data center used to have sets of earmuffs hanging in the machine room, but they weren't maintained so I carry my own when I need them. Allan West WA4JD ___ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
Re: [lopsa-tech] Datacenter phone/headsets
Andrew Hume wrote: i have been telecommuting seriously for 20+ years and follow eric allman's advice (offered 20 years ago, it might be different now). for headsets, the best in teh world don't cost a lot, so just get them. so i use plantronics st141 headsets (nowadays i use the wireless ones) with a noise cancelling microphone and they work well. I'm also a full-time telecommuter, and still using the Plantronics M10-H61N I bought with my own money in AD 1990. At one point recently the foam earpieces more or less disintegrated, and Plantronics sent me new ones, gratis. I figure I've got another 10 years to go, at least. Not wireless, though. Wire is your friend. In a data center I'd want full covers a la aviation (Telex?), but I'd be willing to spend more than $100 to get them. And not everything with the Plantronics brand on it is of the same quality, any more. Caveat emptor. ___ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
Re: [lopsa-tech] Datacenter phone/headsets
On May 6, 2010, at 9:53 PM, Tracy Reed wrote: Does anyone have a lead on an inexpensive headset/mic setup good for talking on the phone in a datacenter? The standard bluetooth and even wired headsets are just not made for this kind of environment. Maybe something like this? I'm not sure since I haven't really investigated yet, and you'd need an adapter from the dual 1/8 headphone/mic plugs to a cell phone (or other phone) connection. http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC151-Headset-Cancelling-Control/dp/B000NOR89Y/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_0 http://tinyurl.com/c3nsm2 Gregory -- Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade g...@unnerving.org OpenPGP Key ID: EAF4844B keyserver: pgpkeys.mit.edu ___ Tech mailing list Tech@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
