Computer cables can easily become the bane of your office existence. Of course we need our computer sytems and networks, but all the patch and crossover cables, power cords and everything else can turn into a snake’s nest under your desk. To fix that problem, we have some ways to deal with the mess, without sacrificing the connections you need.

It does not have to cost a ton to get the cable messes under control. Often, the supplies you use in your business may be all you need to tame the snakes and reduce the clutter.

Use binder clips to attach cable to your office furniture. Do you have cables that refuse to stay on your desk? You can keep all of the cables you want to stay on your desk firmly in place with binder clips from your local office supply store. Binder clips are inexpensive and come in a large selection of sizes. You can use these to clamp your Cat5e cables bulk, printer cables, power cords and any other USB cables or whatever to your office furniture.

Keep your cables together with zip ties. These are super inexpensive and easy to use. Keep all of your cables together and tidy with some properly placed zip ties. If you bought a bunch of Cat5e cables bulk, you can store what you are not using easily by coiling it and then keeping it together with your zip ties. If you need to run a few cables along the wall, floor or ceiling, you can make sure they stay together the same way.

Use old credit cards as cable organizers. You will need an expired credit card (or rewards card or even a library card), a singe hold punch and some scissors to make this do it yourself cable organizer. Create a space in the middle of the card with the single hole punch. Use your scissors to add an easy way to slide your cables through. If you are just inserting at the end of your Cat5e cables bulk, for instance, you may not need this but if you are approaching your cables somewhere else, you can add this to the card. This method can also be used to keep those cables on your desk. If your binder clips are not big enough for all of your cables, feed them into a card and use the binder clip to attach that to your desk.

Mount surge protectors to the wall or furniture with double stick tape. Mount surge protectors to the wall or furniture with double stick tape. You can use this to affix a number of items to walls or furniture. If you have a modem or router that likes to fall off its perch, you can keep it in one place with the tape. If you want to have your surge protector in a fixed location, the tape works well for that, too. Even if you want to just keep it from sliding around on your desk, a little double stick tape can go a long way in making it stay put.

Label everything. This may not keep your cables from becoming snakes when left alone, but it will make it a lot easier to fix things and replace the right cables when you need to. Label both ends of the cable. So many cables these days have the same end on both sides so this is really helpful when you are switching out cables. Label the end that is going into the device and the end that is going into the computer, the network or whatever it normally is attached to. If you have a hub for all of the cables you need, this makes a big difference. It will save you time and money.

Tack down your cabling. When you run cables all over, they can be stepped on, furniture can roll over them, etc. Tack down the cable so that no one trips over it and place a protective cover so nothing breaks it.

Messy cables are a problem for offices and businesses all over the world. These simple and cost effective tips can help reduce your clutter, and make your workspace tidier and less stressful!

Have you updated your iPhone to the new iOS 10 yet? Many are holding out for fear of the unknown, so we will go over some bullet points here of what to expect out of Apple’s newest update.

Take a look around your home and you’ll probably find a lot of electronic devices using some kind of Universal Serial Bus, or USB, cable. They’re practically everywhere – but remember that not all USB cables are created equally.

Take your smartphone, for instance. Every device has an average lifespan of about two years, and chances are, the last time you had to upgrade your phone you also had to upgrade your charger along with it. Or maybe you simply opted for better cell phone accessories. The standard iPhone 6 and 6 Plus come with 5-watt smartphone cables, but with a 12-watt USB power adapter you can power up the device in half the time — just 50 minutes for an iPhone 6 or 2.5 hours for the 6 Plus.

But lately, there have been more drastic changes made to the USB system itself. The USB 3.1 is the latest cable type, superseding the old USB 3 cables and, before that, the USB 2.0 device cable. What exactly is different here — and do you need to go about replacing every cable in your house? Not exactly. Here’s what you need to know about the differences between the USB 3 cables and the newer 3.1 version.

So Apple has confirmed many of the rumors that were floating around about the iPhone 7 release. Here are the highlights from Apple’s product expo in San Francisco, CA.

Contrary to what you might think, electricity doesn’t flow through our homes and networks at a steady, constant rate. On the contrary, it waxes and wanes depending on supply grids, power demands and other factors. Sometimes unexpected jolts of electricity — from lightning strikes, downed power lines, on/off cycles, or tripped circuit breakers for example — can result in electricity voltage surges. If that sudden increase of power transmits through your cell phone cables or computer lightning cables, it could result in serious damage to your electronic devices.

This is where surge protectors come in handy. You may be familiar with power strip surge protectors as a convenient way to plug in more devices to a single outlet, but their real purpose is to protect your electronics from those sudden bursts of electricity. So who needs surge protectors? Anyone running on AC current could certainly benefit, but some systems and setups require a bit more precaution than others. You should absolutely invest in a surge protector if you are:

A Gamer: With lots of connected devices and wiring, you want to make sure that your equipment keeps working the way it should. Quality Cat5 cables for Ethernet should last five to 10 years, so long as they’re well protected.

A Business Owner: A sudden power surge might accidentally wipe important information from your system if you’re not prepared. And while smartphones have an average lifespan of two years, they can get fried by a single electrical surge.

Running Medical Equipment: Needless to say, medical devices should be well-guarded against any sudden changes in voltage. You don’t want power to spike or to cut out suddenly. Integrated systems that connect vital sign monitors, smart pumps, and ventilators with electronic health records can save hospitals $30 billion a year, but that connectivity means it’s that much more important to ensure the safety of equipment with a surge protector.

No matter who you are or what you do, protection from electricity surges certainly won’t hurt your devices or appliances. In most cases, it’s better to be safe than sorry — but in some cases, it’s essential to protect yourself from surges as best you can.

In the increasingly mobile and digital world we live in, things like USB cables and HDMI high-speed cables are becoming slightly less prominent, as many people anxiously anticipate the next batch of wireless cell phone accessories. As the mobile network operator news site RCRwireless recently pointed out, it’s important to keep in mind that all of these connections are made possible by the hundreds of thousands of feet of bulk fiber optic cables that circumvent the globe, many of which are under the ocean floor.

It’s this subsea network of bulk fiber optic cables that transmit approximately 90% of the world’s data through terabytes. To put in perspective just how big a terabyte is consider that ‘mega’ is a prefix denoting 1,000,000 (1 million). In data communications this term is used in describing the speed of data transfer in megabits per second, the bandwidth of a given system in megahertz. One terabyte is equal to one million megabytes.

Although many people think of fiber optics as a relatively new invention, bulk fiber optic cable submarine networks began being implemented as early as the late 1980s, according to a 2014 Submarine Telecoms Industry Report authored by Terabit Consulting. The direct result of a $57.2 billion investment into about 1.275 million kilometers of bulk fiber optic cable.

Unlike smartphones, which typically last about two years, and CAT5 cables, which usually last between five and 10, one of the biggest reasons for the success of the subsea fiber optic network lies in the cables longevity. “The major drivers of transatlantic cables’ longevity have been advancements in upgrade technology,” the Telecoms report states. “Which correspond precisely to the 6,500-kilometer range of transatlantic spans, combined with extremely competitive pricing of both transatlantic capacity and managed bandwidth products, both of which have thus far eliminated any incentive for operators and content providers to opt for building over buying.” As the technology continues to improve and more and more companies take an interest in the investment these kind of networks will only get better and more available.

It’s that time of year again…time for a new iPhone release! As usual, there is much speculation about what new features may be included, but this time around Apple has kept its newest release top-secret so we are left in the dark with our imaginations. Now that the September 7th debut date for the iPhone 7 has finally been confirmed, we will go over some of the most popular speculations in the rumor mill regarding the iPhone 7 release.

Release Date. So far, September 12th is the projected date that the iPhone 7 is expected for release. This date will likely be confirmed by Apple on September 7th, unless they are planning on keeping the public guessing.

Waterproof. Will the iPhone 7 follow in Samsung’s S7 footsteps and be waterproof? This is a pretty cool feature that a few new phones are offering, it would be strange for Apple to not follow suit.

Curved Body. The rumor about a possible curved body type started circulating over the summer. Will the new iPhone have borrow some curves from the likes of LG’s G Flex and the Samsung Galaxy Round?

Home Button. There has been much ado about the new iPhone’s home button, or rumored lack-there-of. Word on the street is that there will no longer be a physical home button, but instead an optical screen home button. How this will affect a hard reset remains a mystery.

Headphone Jack. This is one of the hottest mysteries surrounding the iPhone 7 release. There have been numerous reports that the new iPhone 7 will be sans headphone jack. The how and why is still unclear. What about those folks who are limited to a 3.5mm jack in their car, as well as those who use their headphones at the gym? As of right now it doesn’t make sense. If this is truly the case, then Apple will likely come up with some type of adapter for an older 3.5mm cable connector. Will this spark the same type of outrage that the last connector change did? If an adapter is needed, will Apple include one in the box, or charge $30 like they did with the last 30-pin to Lightning adapter change? What kind of headphones will be included in the box? The rumor mill suggests they may be called “AirPods,” but it is unclear if they will be wired or wireless. There is also speculation that the new ear phones may have a special proprietary connection. Does that mean that only Apple ear pods will be compatible? So many questions regarding this mystery.

Wireless Charging. The Samsung S7 has wireless charging abilities built-in, so it’s only a matter of time before Apple gets on board. Will they include this feature in the new iPhone 7?

Colors. Will Apple stay with the space gray, silver, gold and rose gold options, or will they branch out to some brighter hues?
Size. There have been a few “leaks” that suggest Apple will stick with the regular iPhone and iPhone Plus models. There has been much speculation about a possible third option, although not much is known about it yet. Some case makers have created three different prototypes, are they onto something?

Storage. The iPhone 6s offers three different types of storage: 16GB, 64GB and 128GB. Many current iPhone users are hoping that they cut the 16GB option already, because really, it’s not enough storage space for anyone. Instead they can upgrade to a 32GB option to stay relevant with other options out there. Pricing will likely stay the same, unless Apple has more surprises up their sleeve.

Are your USB cables and chargers posing a fire hazard to your home? Is your cell phone covered in germs? Is your mobile device putting you at risk for radiation exposure? Every day, it seems like there’s some new health or safety concern we should be worried about with our cell phones and electronic devices. The Internet loves spreading rumors, especially when it comes to the things we hold so near and dear like our cell phone accessories. While you should always keep safety in mind when it comes to electronic devices, it’s time to suss out the myths from the facts. Learn which stories are true and which ones might just be pure fabrication.

Rumor: Charger cables are a dangerous fire hazard.
Verdict: True. In 2008, there were a reported 500 deaths and 1,400 injuries as a result of electrical fires. Damaged or frayed cables caused 53,600 home fires and as much as $1.4 billion in property damage. Be sure to frequently inspect cell phone cables for wear and tear and always use a power strip surge protector for plugging in multiple devices. Accidents can be avoided with a little common sense.

Rumor: Your cell phone is dirtier than a toilet seat.
Verdict: True. With 25,000 germs on every square inch of surface, your cell phone is likely dirtier than a toilet seat, the bottom of your shoe, or your pet’s food dish. You can clean your cell phone and cell phone accessories every once in a while with a simple alcohol antiseptic wipe found in any drugstore — no fancy gadgets required. And with that many germs, you really might want to pick one up on your way home.

Rumor: Cell phone radiation causes brain cancer.
Verdict: Probably false. A recent study from the University of Sydney, Australia, found no correlation between the rate of brain cancer and the prevalence of cell phones over the past 30 years. While your smartphone might only have a lifespan of two years, it’s not likely to shorten your own.

As something we all use every day, our cell phones are practically an extension of our bodies. That means taking good care of your devices and cables is worthwhile. Like any electronic tool or device, be sure to play it safe with all your cell phone accessories.

What’s the big deal about plenum cable? In a word, safety. Plenum cable has a specially-made coating that’s meant to be fire resistant and non-toxic for use in potentially hazardous areas. The word “plenum” itself comes from the HVAC industry, referring to the spaces above dropped ceilings or below raised flooring that circulate heating, ventilation and air conditioning. In more recent years, builders have discovered that these open spaces are also great for running telecommunications or network Ethernet cables. There’s just one problem: Plenum spaces are also extremely good at quickly spreading fire.

It’s easy to see how cabling and electrical wires can pose a fire hazard, especially if they become damaged or frayed. In 2008, electrical fires, failures and malfunctions resulted in $1.4 billion in property damage throughout 53,600 home fires, as well as 1,400 injuries and 500 deaths. And those were just the fires caused by frayed phone cables. Because of these dangers, cabling in plenum spaces is held to very high safety standards. The coating is usually made of a flame-resistant material like Teflon, as opposed to standard PVC coating. This also ensures that, in the event of a fire, the smoke doesn’t give off toxic fumes that might come from burning PVC.

Plenum cable isn’t just limited to use in plenum spaces, however. In the last decade, data storage centers have sprouted up around the country, but these centers face extremely high fire risks, making plenum cables a popular option. Its high safety rating makes it usable for riser cable and standard cable situations, too. While plenum cable is typically more expensive than other types of cable, its added protection might be worth the costs, especially if you’re able to purchase in bulk.

Buying bulk plenum zip cord fiber optic cables for a hospital or office setting, for example, could ultimately prove more cost-effective from a materials and insurance perspective. According to the West Health Institute, hospitals could save a collective $30 billion a year by connecting medical technology like smart pumps, ventilators, and vital sign monitors to their electronic health records via bulk plenum zip cord fiber optic cables.

Additionally, the added protection could also increase the quality and lifespan of high-end Ethernet cabling systems. Top-grade Cat5e cables are designed to last five to 10 years at minimum, but a plenum coating may ensure an even longer usable lifespan. So why use plenum cable instead of riser cable or PVC coatings? While safety is a huge added bonus, there are lots of hidden perks of the plenum space that any cable set-up could use.