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As the weather starts to warm up, we will be spending more time outdoors. Sitting back and listening to some tunes is relaxing as well as fun. Take a look at some of your options.

Mounted speakers: There are a variety of speakers that can be attached to the house or porch. These speakers are weatherproof and come on a swivel mount to direct the sound down. Our preference on the high end is Bose 251 Wall Mount Outdoor Environmental Speakers and for a mid-range speaker the Polk Atrium 5 series.

Rock speakers: For those who want to hide their sound in the garden, rock speakers or environmental speakers are very popular. The Niles Audio rock speaker delivers years of worry free use in all types of weather conditions and sounds fabulous. Another style of garden speaker (and Lew’s personal favorite) is the Bose Free Space Environmental Speaker. This speaker is buried about 2/3 of its height into the garden and provides a rich warm sound to any patio, pool or garden setting.

Planter speakers: The only planter style speaker that is worth purchasing is the Niles Audio speaker in either terracotta or weathered concrete. Niles knows what they are doing to ensure this is a quality speaker that looks good and will last.

Other speakers: In addition to the above, there isn’t much you can’t do with outdoor speakers. Several manufacturers make an in ground speaker system that is scalable and designed for flower beds and around the yard.

Sophisticated, elegant and powerful, today’s outdoor audio is capable of delivering state-of-the-art performance.

*Product recommendations are solely the view of H&ONS. We are not receiving compensation from any manufacturer when we mention product types in this article.

The coronavirus is sparking anxieties among electronics manufacturers. Not only do issues with retailers reducing hours and potential shipping bottlenecks cause delays, but manufacturing plants worldwide have or may be closing due to the virus. This will impact when new electronics get into the market.

Many of the electronics manufacturers work across different industries and domains. These firms typically operate by acquiring necessary electronics components from different suppliers. Suppliers receive orders and ship the requested parts to the manufacturers. The components are assembled, and then the finished product is shipped on to the ultimate client, often a consumer-facing brand.

It’s crucial that these manufacturers receive all the elements necessary to assemble a product at the same time, so that production can begin and the company can avoid a buildup of inventory.
But this pandemic is throwing off the final assembly, when even one part can’t get to the manufacturing plant.

Our suggestion is to be patient, use what you have for the time being or buy existing inventory from brick & mortar & online retailers. We do recommend if an electronic product breaks, that you look to have your product delivered vs. going out to a Best Buy or Wal Mart. All these stores offer delivery.

As for installation services by H&ONS, we will continue to serve the Northern Virginia market by taking precautions against contamination as suggested by the CDC; including hand washing, using antibacterial wipes, staying a distance away from people and of course, cancelling service and installs if any symptoms of the Coronavirus occur.

If you are temporarily teleworking due to the Coronavirus, here are some suggestions to help make your life easier.

Set up a place to work that has strong Internet access. If you have a home office, your office should have the ability to hardwire your laptop vs. using wireless technology. If you don’t have a home office, try to find any other room that allows you to hardwire it and set up your temporary office there. If you don’t have hardwiring, then look for the strongest WiFi access for your temporary office.

Limit other usage of the Internet if possible. If you have kids home due to school closings, they are going to want to stream movies & play video games. This is going to put a lot of pressure on your home’s internal broadband. You may need to limit their access to the Internet during certain hours of the day that you need to be on the Internet for work.

Utilize Skype, Zoom, Facetime and other camera based tools to communicate with your supervisor & co-workers. Zoom gives you 40 minutes of time with their Basic plan to connect to up to 100 people. It isn’t a lot of time, but can work for short interactions similar to dropping in on a co-worker. If you have a regular meeting, your company should get a subscription and utilize it to connect visually, if not for any other reason than to foster unity among your team. Be sure that whatever is behind you if acceptable to you as it will be seen by the camera.

Security: Now may be the time to ensure you have a strong password set up or change your WiFi password. You don’t need the kids or the neighborhood logging into your company information. If you work for a highly secure company, be sure to address what can be transmitted from your home to the office to ensure no security breaches.

Remove stressors. If you’ve never teleworked, it could seem overwhelming. Set up break times and lunch. Don’t be afraid to get up and move around to stretch. Have everything you need around you so you aren’t scrambling for paper, pens, folders, etc. If you and your spouse are both working from home, plan for who is going to take care of the kids, whether shifts between you two or bringing in a college student from the neighborhood (if you are comfortable with doing this). And, keep the TV off and stay off news channels. Avoid the distractions that will add stress during working hours. If you have pets and they normally go to Doggie Daycare, they too will be discombobulated being home with you. Plan for who will take them out, play with them and how to handle barking & such that will most likely occur during the day.

From someone that works from home every day, I can tell you that it is an adjustment. While my trick was to get out at least a couple times a week to be with people, that is not an option right now, so this will be especially hard. Virtual communications are going to be more important now than ever.