Robert Morris School
Computer Carts
Three computer carts were purchase a few years ago.
After the first year, the wires for the power supplies and the power supplies were everywhere. So I devised a way to keep things neat.
This is the way the carts normally look, nice and organized.
This photo is from a cart that is being used every day in a classroom. I
just walked in Dec. 03, '09 and took this shot.
Each laptop is labeled with the cart number and the position in
the cart. I bought "plastic stick on" and covered the entire top of the
laptop.
That kept the laptops from getting so scratched. Nice looking laptops have
students hand then nicer.
This numbering also makes it easier to have the correct laptop placed in the cart when most of them are out.
I went to Home Depot and bough plastic "wire channel". It has self sticking on the bottom. I cut these about 10 inches long with a saw and stuck them next to the side of the laptop with the power connector.
I used "wire ties" to wrap up the extra power cord and put a
knot in the power plug end to keep that extra cable from being pulled out.
I think I later "wire tied" the power cord ends.
I did try "velcro" on the power supplies but found they heat up to much and the
glue from the "velcro" would let go. So now they just lay there.
I left only enough plug on the cord to reach the AC power supply in the cart. I do not snap down the wire channel. I would place the wire channel with the open end away from the PC next time. There are times when the AC supply needs to be removed (couple a times a year) and with the cable channel snapped, they don't unsnap easy. Snapping them down would be a security increase against anyone taking out any power supply !
I didn't put in for the costs of the "wire channel" or the plastic.. I think it was under $30.... well worth the time I would spent every other month undoing wires in tangles and having teachers call me to their rooms because the laptop didn't work, only to find out the AC plug fell out and that PC had a dead battery.