Skip to content

My University Desk Setup - Cambridge Medical Student

2018-01-13 · Tech review, setup or bag tour · Ali · recording, 5:25 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech · mode: Demonstration and walkthrough · tags: Aimed at students

Ali, a final-year Cambridge medical student, tours the university desk setup he has used for a year: a MacBook Pro in clamshell mode with an LG 34-inch ultrawide monitor, an Apple keyboard, Magic Trackpad and MX Master mouse, a fake plant, a deck of cards and a cardboard-box annex for his lamp.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Intro; the MacBook Pro in clamshell mode and the LG 34-inch ultrawide monitor

  • ★★ Ali, a final-year medical student at Cambridge University, makes his first desk setup video, showing the desk he has used for the last year, because he enjoys watching such videos. — 00:00:00 · University of Cambridge
  • ★★★ Ali recommends running a MacBook Pro in clamshell mode, lid closed and cabled to power and a monitor by HDMI, as ideal for students and anyone who moves around: unplug a few cables and go. — 00:00:00 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali calls his 34-inch LG ultrawide monitor absolutely massive; for website work he keeps the website on one half of the screen and the text editor on the other. — 00:00:38
  • ★★ Ali says a widescreen monitor is really good for video editing, because you can see the whole timeline and have more space. — 00:00:38
  • ★★ When making notes from a website for medical-school work, Ali keeps a Wikipedia article on one half of his ultrawide screen and Microsoft OneNote on the other. — 00:01:07 · Wikipedia
  • ★★ Ali says the ultrawide display has a 21:9 aspect ratio while most widescreens are 16:9, so YouTube videos usually show black boxes at the sides. — 00:01:07
  • ★ Ali thinks some film trailers are now made in 21:9, so a Star Wars trailer, for example, fills the whole ultrawide screen for an almost cinematic experience. (hedged) — 00:01:07

00:01:36 — Peripherals: Apple Bluetooth keyboard, Magic Trackpad, Logitech MX Master; cups from Japan

  • ★★ Ali has used his Apple Bluetooth keyboard since about 2009, when he bought it for about 30 pounds from a friend who no longer wanted it. (hedged) — 00:01:36
  • ★★ Ali loves the Apple Bluetooth keyboard: its keys are really nice, and with it he reaches his typing speed of about 150 a minute, which is hard on other keyboards. — 00:01:36
  • ★★ The Logitech MX Master is Ali's favourite mouse, and he notes that loads of YouTubers seem to have it too. — 00:01:36
  • ★★★ Ali says the Apple Magic Trackpad suits a MacBook because macOS relies on gestures, and that smooth trackpad scrolling alone is worth its price compared with a mouse's jumpy scrolling. — 00:02:16 · MacBook
  • ★ On his desk Ali keeps two small cups he bought in Japan on a research project in his second year, one for spare coins and one for pens, highlighters and scissors. — 00:02:16

00:02:45 — The fake potted plant and a deck of cards for practising sleight of hand

  • ★★ Ali bought a fake potted plant, about eight pounds on Amazon, only because every other tech YouTuber in the desk setup videos he watches has one; he likes the splash of colour it adds. (hedged) — 00:02:45
  • ★★ Ali cites a psychology book he was reading which says that green things around an office or workplace boost creativity. — 00:02:45
  • ★★ Ali says every desk setup he ever has from now on will feature some kind of fake plant, because it is so nice to have. — 00:02:45
  • ★★ Ali keeps a deck of cards to hand: he has done card tricks and close-up magic for six or seven years and learned most of his sleight of hand by practising casually while watching things online. — 00:03:14

00:03:44 — The prism, the side table, the cardboard-box annex and the lamp; a bigger desk one day

  • ★ Ali keeps a prism on his desk to remind him to experiment with it: held in front of a camera it creates effects that many Instagram photographers use for portraits. — 00:03:44
  • ★★ Ali's desk, chair and a small side table came with his room and belong to the university; the laptop sits on the side table, with books, notepads and chargers on its bottom shelf to keep a clean, semi-minimalist look. — 00:03:44 · University of Cambridge
  • ★★ Because his university desk is too small, Ali made a makeshift table from two cardboard boxes for a rechargeable battery, tissues and an Anglepoise lamp. — 00:04:24
  • ★★ Ali hopes that once he works as a doctor and has his own place, he will have a massive desk, about a hundred centimetres long, with the lamp at its side. (hedged) — 00:04:24
  • ★★ Ali plans to upgrade to colour-changing Philips Hue smart bulbs and says that will be the subject of another video, probably once he moves out of university into his own place. (hedged) — 00:04:24

00:04:54 — Plans for Philips Hue lights and sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Ali presents this as the long-awaited video on his 2018 university desk setup that he had promised. — video description
  • ★★ Ali uses his desk setup for medical-school work, video editing, web design and development for 6med, and watching things online. — video description · 6med
  • ★★ Ali says he had wanted to make a desk setup video for a while, but it does not fit the medicine application advice and medical student vlogs that the rest of his videos fall under. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: MacBook

Also: University of Cambridge · Wikipedia

Only in the description or credits: 6med

← Previous: Euthanasia - Medical Ethics and Law at the end of life · Next → Legalising Assisted Suicide? - Medical Ethics and Law