Saving a buck is probably one of the top priorities for most people. Everyone's got expenses, and nobody wants to spend money on things that they could buy for cheaper.
Well, perhaps that isn't entirely true, as people can choose to spend their cash on frivolities such as weird avocado kitchen gadgets or fun playing at PlayCroco online casino. But, in general, I think the average blue-collar middle class or lower class person prefers to keep their cash in their pockets.
This is all well and good, but there are certain things that I think are absolutely worth the extra expense they might proffer. There are just certain things in life that will make your experience so much better, you will never regret spending the extra bit of cash on them.
Microphone
By far one of the most important things for anyone who is doing any sort of conferencing, voice chatting, or talking online is a decent quality microphone. There are a couple of reasons this is topping my list, and I think they are mainly for those in the business or teaching sector.
The number one reason is that low-quality audio is way worse and more distracting than low-quality video on a conference call or an online class. At the end of the day, people can still learn from you if they can't see your face, but they can't learn from you if they can't understand a word you are saying.
In addition, even if they can understand what you are saying, clipping, static, banging, and other audio interference can be extremely distracting or disturbing for people who are trying to listen to you.
For example, if your microphone is picking up every click of your keyboard, the whoosh of your fan, and the banging on your desk, it can be very jarring or even painful for people to listen to.
Moreover, if your microphone causes high pitched sounds and plosives to be louder, then it can even be physically painful for people to listen to. This can be aided on the software side, but at the end of the day, if your microphone is bad your audio is going to be bad.
It can also just have the great effect of helping people feel like they are actually with you or talking to you if your audio is better. This can be really important for the other person depending on what you are doing.
Even if you mainly use your microphone for work calls or school, it can also be nice to use to talk to your grandparents who haven't had visitors during the pandemic. Little things can go a long way.
Especially since you don't need a thousand-dollar microphone to have decent enough audio for video calls. You can get microphones for under 100 dollars or even under 50 dollars if your budget is tight.
There are probably even some cheaper options out there, as technology is constantly getting cheaper, and cheap technology is constantly getting better. You aren't recording movie audio, so it doesn't need to be perfect, just pleasant to listen to.
1080p Webcam
With so much of our lives being digital, the way you are going to present yourself to the world is through your webcam. This is why I am going to put a decent HD webcam on this list of tech items that are worth spending a little more on.
HD webcams are pretty much standard nowadays, but still, not everybody has one. They can easily be gotten for around 30-40 dollars online, which is a good price especially if you are going to use it a lot.
Now, as I said previously, the microphone is going to be more important than the webcam. If people are cringing while listening to you, it's not going to matter how great your camera quality is.
However, this does not mean that your camera quality is not important. Imagine you are doing an interview for a company you want to get a job at. Would you show up to the interview in shorts and a T-Shirt, or would you wear something a little more formal?
I'm guessing most people would try to dress a little nicer for their interview than they would their buddies. The same goes for if you are doing an online interview. You want the interviewer to be able to clearly see you, and be able to converse with you naturally.
If your image is blurry, or always out of focus, it could get frustrating for the interviewer to try and pay attention to you. They would probably start looking away because your video is too distracting.
This obviously isn't what you want. You want the best chance you can have, so a cheap HD webcam can do some good work in giving you an edge in the online conference department. People like being able to talk to other people naturally. Most people probably don't want to be reminded of the pandemic every second if they can help it.
Headphones
I've spoken about gadgets to help you better present yourself to other people, but this final item I think is one of the best investments I made when it comes to tech. You will never know how good a decent pair of headphones are until you try them.
I didn't realize this for myself until I spent even just a little bit more on audio equipment. I'm not really an audiophile per se, and I don't own a fancy set of 400 dollar headphones, but I will tell you this.
A decent pair of headphones will open a world of audio listening to you that you didn't think you were missing out on. The clarity and depth you can get out of sounds is eye-opening and I even just started laughing out loud the first time I tried out my current headphones.
The difference was that dramatic. But that's not the only reason to buy a nice set of headphones. If you work at a computer for long periods, chances are you are going to have a headset on for long periods as well.
Buying a nicer pair of headphones will 100% make your life more comfortable. I found that even after hours and hours with my headphones on, I didn't notice much discomfort or pain in my ears.
In my previous headphones, my ears would ache something awful if I wore them for long periods. This was to the point where I would have to take off the headphones and rub my ears to make them feel better.
When I switched over to my new headset, there were no such problems. It is almost like I'm wearing two comfy pillows on each side of my head. No pressure, and no pain.
One final word about headphones is that they can help improve how other people sound in video calls, without having to change any of their equipment. A good set of headphones will kind of round off and clarify sharp sounds.
This means if you found that other people had really harsh sounding 's' sounds or the like, then it will help protect your ears from this. So, you can comfortably listen in without cringing at harsh audio.
