Black Friday Specials...

[Dallas]

looks like i'll have to get one then!

last question on this can it be used to action other things on your pc like when youre not using BA can it be used for openingfiles and launching chrome etc...?

Yes almost anything can be assigned to a button which is why I miss it so much when I'm on my laptop,

If you look at the 2nd image I posted yesterday I have set mine up so the icon at the top left opens google for me, while at the bottom left next to the BA icon the 'windows tiles' icon opens a new layout where I have all the following windows based apps I use most configured

So with it being Prime Day I thought I would look to see what deals are on and I see the Stream Deck 15 button option is reduced from around £140 to £99, not as good as the £90 it was a while back as documented on this thread but still a good 40% off what it normally sells at.

Now I am tempted to get one but don't think I would use it for my trading as I use my gaming pad for that and can't see this replacing it for that purpose as my hand sits permanently on the gaming pad which I have all the functions I need hot key'ed in and I know the buttons without having to think or look.

So, I was interested more in it from a general computing use and would be interested in Dallas etc giving their views on it from this view point now they have had it for some time.

I use a series of about 4 excel files constantly so it would be handy to have them assigned to keys on it (I assume it could do this), also could it be used to activate Excel split screen vertical on one button and horizontal on another as these are two things I use a lot in Excel?

But other than that I am not really sure what else it would come in useful for?

I would be really keen to hear what people who have had it for a while now think of it, in particular if you have a gaming pad as well and how you have found you use the two?

Thanks

There are loads of options on it, for what I need I've only used the same 3-4 functions so not really investigated all its other capabilities

When I get 5 minutes later tonight or in the morning I'll have a play about with to see if it can do some of the things you've asked about, I should imagine specific excel sheets or any file, image etc won't be a problem to assign to a button.
Also, the split screen should be doable, its aimed at gamers and YT'ers so I imagine that's something they'd want to do.

I do still have a multi-button gaming mouse but tend to use a regular mouse alongside the stream deck now so I sort of traded 2 handed (mouse in 1 stream deck in other).

To give you an idea of how I use mine I have multiple profiles set up so in that image if I push the BA logo that opens a new profile with 15 new short cuts all for navigating and opening stuff in BA like Guardian WL's etc, a button is dedicated to servants and when pressed will open yet another profile which has just all my Servants at my fingertips.

Going back out to that image above the firefox logo in the top right opens the web for me, I then have a profile with all my regular sites etc.

I think I now have around 8 profile with up to 13 shortcut buttons on each (I use 2 buttons on each to switch back and forth to other profiles quickly) so can be a handy bit of kit for many things

[PDC]

Thanks for that Dallas, I guess with that many profiles you find the little image icon on the buttons are needed so you know what button is what.

I don't think I would have the number of profiles you do.

I really like my gaming pad as it sits in the hand perfectly. I have never been a fan of the gaming mouse buttons, I do have one but just for the comfort of it over a regular dumb mouse but bar the back and forward buttons on the mouse for going back and forth on webpages I don't use all the other features on it as the gaming pad is ideal for that sort of thing.

Other than the images on the buttons, to remind you what each button does, I am struggling to see what positives the stream deck would have over the gaming pad, the big negative for me on the streamdeck is that it isn't ergonomically designed to allow you hand to rest on it like you do with a gaming pad/mouse.

My gaming pad has 3 profiles that I can toggle through and it can auto switch profiles depending on what program is in focus (not that I have ever used this feature).

It sounds like most of your benefit from using it is down to Bet Angel but I don't use trading software in the complex way you though so it would be for more general computer use and non trading data use.

[Dallas]

Thanks for that Dallas, I guess with that many profiles you find the little image icon on the buttons are needed so you know what button is what.

I don't think I would have the number of profiles you do.

I really like my gaming pad as it sits in the hand perfectly. I have never been a fan of the gaming mouse buttons, I do have one but just for the comfort of it over a regular dumb mouse but bar the back and forward buttons on the mouse for going back and forth on webpages I don't use all the other features on it as the gaming pad is ideal for that sort of thing.

Other than the images on the buttons, to remind you what each button does, I am struggling to see what positives the stream deck would have over the gaming pad, the big negative for me on the streamdeck is that it isn't ergonomically designed to allow you hand to rest on it like you do with a gaming pad/mouse.

My gaming pad has 3 profiles that I can toggle through and it can auto switch profiles depending on what program is in focus (not that I have ever used this feature).

It sounds like most of your benefit from using it is down to Bet Angel but I don't use trading software in the complex way you though so it would be for more general computer use and non trading data use.

I think from the needs you've described then a Gamepad is maybe more suitable for you, I did have the following YT video bookmarked from when I first got mine which goes through its features, that should tell you for sure if getting one for your requirements is worth it for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbdDF4bo8-s

[PDC]

Thanks Dallas, I will have a watch of the video. I didn't buy one in the end but will have a think about if it would suit my needs now/in the future and maybe pick one up next time they are on offer. Probably black Friday if not before.

[ged1200]

Interesting discussion re automating repetitive tasks. I'm always looking to find ways of working more efficiently and hadn't considered a game pad before. I think Streamdeck might be overkill for me too so any thoughts/ideas would be welcome.

PDC - what game pad do you use and what have you set it up to do? I like to have excel data readily accessible but find it a pain digging in to various workbooks and worksheets and switching between excel, exchanges and bookies at the same time. I had been thinking that multiple monitors (at the very least x2) was the only way to go but this thread has got me thinking that it might be possible to streamline workflow without filling a workspace with screens?

Which begs another question - static (desktop) or mobile (laptop)? I've favoured the latter over recent years as I like having the option of being able to 'de-camp' if I want to and work from anywhere. I've been considering and pricing up a desktop set-up but I'm somehow reluctant to tie myself to a fixed workstation/environment. I guess to have both options would be ideal but at this time I need to choose between one or the other.

Anyone else got any views on this?

[PDC]

Having watched the video Dallas posted and watching various others on Youtube and spending time thinking about it more I have decided that the Streamdeck would be of benefit to me.

The areas I see where it would be of benefit is actually in tasks that I don't do as often. The reason being that I know the keys on my gamepad off the top of my head as they are for tasks I do day in day out but for the tasks I do less often but when I do do them I tend to do them a lot the stream deck would allow me to put an icon and or text on a button to remind me what it is for.

It is really the ability to put icons and text on the buttons that I see as the main benefit of the stremdeck.

For tasks you are doing constantly I think a gamepad is a much better option as your hand just sits on it like a mouse, whereas the Stream deck is not ergonomic.

ged1200 - I have a Belkin Gamepad and I actually think it is as essential for computer use as a mouse is. I would not use a computer without one anymore and would suggest anyone who uses a computer should have one.

The most common use I have for it actually is very basic, probably the most used thing I use it for is just simple, select all, copy, paste as plain text. I use it for this purpose constantly day in day out. It is so much quicker and easier than using the keyboard shortcuts and for the odd time I want to paste text with the formatting I just use Ctrl+v on the keyboard but 99 times out of 100 I use it for pasting as plain text.

I use it for this purpose in email and excel mainly. It is a huge time saver in excel.

Other common uses are for inputting my email address, just one button press, switching windows, minimizing windows, in excel repeating the last action e.g. repeating the cell colour fill, it is surprising how few people know about F4 for this, but I use it constantly.

I have detailed macros for use in Firefox for extracting images out of webpages that I have to do for work often. This performs a string of keystrokes, 51 in total, in a matter of a second or less. I just navigate to the webpage, press a button and then all I have to do is enter a file name. Takes about a second all in to do something that manually took a minute or so.

If you combine the gamepad or Streamdeck with AutoHotKey and or IFTTT, there are a lot of Youtube videos about this, the uses are endless, anything you do repeatedly can be replicated.

I also use it for controlling Spotify, so play/pause/back a song/ forward a song/mute.

Re: screens I would say 2 screens is a minimum for anyone using a computer for work. I have 4 and use 3 most of the time but often use the 4th depending on what I am doing. If just general web surfing I always will have 2 screens on.

Finally one of the best productivity tools I use that is free is a simple pin to front thing which works by selecting the thing I want to pin eg. Calculator, press Ctrl+Spacebar (it is actually a key on my gamepad) and it then pins that program to the front. For example you could be doing online banking and want a calculator on screen but be able to scroll the webpage. Normally scrolling the web page would send the calculator to the back and the webpage to the front. This pins the calculator to the front.

I use this simple thing contantly all day long.

Finally as for PC or Laptop for me a PC wins every time. Maybe it is a personal thing but for anyone doing a lot of work I can't see a laptop ever beating a proper dedicated workstation.

Some useful Streamdeck videos that might be of interest and give more ideas on how to use it are:

The ULTIMATE Macro Pad? - Elgato Stream Deck Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhPLhfP1b_s

How To Control Anything With A Stream Deck - Alternative Smart Home Ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph7pMGuN-YQ

[ged1200]

Thanks PDC - that's a very comprehensive reply giving me much food for thought. Appreciate your time. I'll be digging further into game pads, Streamdeck and pinning software - the organisation of screen space using a bog standard OS is becoming increasingly frustrating. I'll also be looking into using voice control as touched on in one of Peter's vids - it can only get better...

Thanks again.

[ShaunWhite]

According to Which? last year 95% of the items purchased on Black Friday were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year. It didn't take the retailers long to realise that actually reducing prices isn't a great idea but fooling the public always is.

[johnsheppard]

My part time day job is retail...please kill me...

Honestly, on a regular day 5% of customers are idiots. On and around black friday it goes up to about 10-20%....some kind of mania...

For whatever reason, this is what the regular brain has evolved to...an inability to identify real scarcity...

[SweetLyrics]

It could be worse.

If you worked in a call centre complaints role, you'd dearly yearn for the days when only 5% of your customers were idiots!

My part time day job is retail...please kill me...

Honestly, on a regular day 5% of customers are idiots. On and around black friday it goes up to about 10-20%....some kind of mania...

[johnsheppard]

It could be worse.

If you worked in a call centre complaints role, you'd dearly yearn for the days when only 5% of your customers were idiots!

Alas it is true...it could be worse...and worse again, that call centre could be one for electronic consumer goods!

It's hard to be objective about the proportion of people with serious mental/laziness/unintelligence problems when you have to deal with it all day..it certainly feels like more than 5%.....but on the plus side of it...it helps to keep me from derping it up too much...it pays in some regards to walk with the people...

In the context of Black Friday. I'm in Australia, and its only really become a thing in the past 4 or 5 years that I remember... I still don't really know why we have it or where it came from... but I presume sales have to do with the psychological feeling of scarcity...the more scarce something is the more people value it....regardless of it's utilitarian value...

I think some people get so focused on missing out they forget what they actually needed in the first place...if they even needed anything...(i.e. its not the actual physical product they are after)...

[jimibt]

finally: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50598575

[jimibt]

lol -just got this in my inbox 5 mins ago... (ONLY 7 left )

[firlandsfarm]

Booked the day off work to do all of my Christmas shopping so I'm not doing it on the 23rd December like most years!

23rd, all day … wow, you do start early. My employer let staff go at lunchtime on the 24th and I used to do my Christmas shopping in the afternoon of 24th! No time to procrastinate, just do it and get down the pub.

[Emmson]

I must look not for a tech product but a chair deal, I'm tired of being uncomfortable when I trade in long sessions. Lounging on a sofa is also destroying my posture.