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"  No. 1. Make a List Total Time: 2 Hours First, make a plan that&amp;#039;s achievable. Your list should include a balance of projects, from the have-tos (sensible data backup) to the want-tos (whole-home audio!). Don&amp;#039;t forget all the adapters, tools, and other supplies you&amp;#039;ll need. Order cables ahead of time online\u2014they&amp;#039;ll cost far more in a last-minute run to the store. No. 2. Back Up Every Byte Total Time: 2 Hours Equipment: NAS drive ($100 to $200), 10-foot Ethernet cable ($3) Before a weekend of mucking around with your gadgets, make sure to back up your data. We recommend getting a network-attached storage (NAS) drive, which will back up all the computers in your home. Windows and Mac OS X both have built-in software that automates the process. If you haven&amp;#039;t backed up in a while, get the process started and go to sleep\u2014it will take all night. No. 3. Rework Your Work Space Total Time: 2 to 3 Hours Equipment: Tablet computer ($500 to $1000), 23-inch or larger screen ($200 to $600), Desk lamp ($10 to $200), Wireless keyboard and mouse ($140), Tripp Lite 8-outlet Vertical Power Strip ($60), Ergonomic chair ($100 to $800) Ergonomics Experts are like nagging mothers: &amp;quot;Clean up your desk! Sit up straight!&amp;quot; And like nagging mothers, they&amp;#039;re right. The human body isn&amp;#039;t designed to sit and stare at a screen all day, but we do it anyway. We consulted ergonomist Alan Hedge at Cornell University on how to turn a desk from an orthopedist&amp;#039;s nightmare into a productive work space.  1. Desktop Keep your desk clear enough so there&amp;#039;s room to rest your wrists without scrunching your shoulders or supporting them on a sharp desk edge. 2. Monitor The top of your screen should be at or just below eye level. The dual-hinge Dell S2340T ($649) adjusts its angle from fold-flat to upright. It is also a touchscreen, which has no ergonomic value but is cool.  3. Chair It&amp;#039;s important that a chair has lumbar support and height adjustment, but you needn&amp;#039;t spend a fortune on a fancy Aeron chair\u2014this LexMod Edge costs $160.  4. Keyboard Wireless keyboards, such as the Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard ($80), allow for a more natural typing position than laptop keyboards. 5. Lighting A standard table lamp can shine light in your eyes or cause reflections on your screen. But a directional task light, such as the Koncept Z-Bar LED lamp ($195), can be repositioned to shine light on your desktop, where you need it. No. 4. Reduce Your Remotes Total Time: 1 Hour Equipment: Logitech Harmony Link and infrared emitter ($100) Some TVs can be controlled by smartphone apps from the manufacturer. Or you can use an infrared emitter, such as Logitech&amp;#039;s Harmony Link ($100), to control multiple devices from a smartphone or tablet. No. 5. Tame Your Cords Total Time: 1 Hour Equipment: Velcro cable ties ($4) Get the rat&amp;#039;s nest of wires behind your A/V cabinet under control. Unplug everything, then replug in one component at a time. Coil up any slack and cinch the loops with Velcro ties.  No. 6. Install a New System Total Time: 2 Hours Equipment: Windows 8/OS X Mountain Lion ($70/$20) If you&amp;#039;re creaking along with an old version of Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X, upgrading to Windows 8 or Mountain Lion will either be a revelation or a headache. Regardless, with either OS you&amp;#039;ll get a remarkable bump in the speed and performance of your computer.  No. 7. Recycle Your Old Gadgets Total Time: 1 Hour Electronics are chock-full of metals both valuable and dangerous. Recycling old gadgets keeps the toxic metals out of landfills and gives the useful ones a second life. Stores such as Staples and Best Buy have recycle bins for old cellphones and computers. Just make sure to erase your data first. No. 8. Wall-Mount Your TV Total Time: 2 Hours Equipment: TV mounting bracket ($30 to $500), Drill/driver ($60), Racheting screwdriver ($15), Blue masking tape ($5), Tape measure ($6), Stud finder ($14) It no longer requires a degree in structural engineering to get today&amp;#039;s flat-\u00ADpanel TVs on your wall. So treat your set like a work of art and hang it proudly. 1. Before you do anything, get two friends to place your TV against the wall and adjust it to a spot that makes for comfortable viewing from your couch. Mark the wall on the top, bottom, and sides with pieces of masking tape. 2. Wiring is the hard part. For a clean install, route in-wall-rated electrical\u00AD and HDMI cable to a recessed old-work outlet box behind where the TV will hang. If you don&amp;#039;t feel comfortable doing this work, you can avoid calling an electrician by using wall-mounted raceways to run cables to baseboard plates. 3. Most TVs have standard VESA anchor points on the back. Attach the TV-mounting hardware first and measure how far down from the top the points of attachment are. Next, measure from the tape on your wall and mark the spots. 4. Use a stud finder to see if there are studs nearby your marks\u2014most mounts allow for a few inches of wiggle room to the left or right. If studs aren&amp;#039;t an option, use toggle anchors for a firm connection to the drywall. 5. Before tightening the fasteners on the wall bracket, test with a level. Once everything on the wall is level and secure, mount the TV to the wall bracket. Plug everything in. Make popcorn. Enjoy.  No. 9. Monitor Your Home Total Time: 5 Hours Equipment: Surveillance camera system ($150 to $250), Window mount ($25) Use your home network\u2005.\u2005.\u2005.\u2005Professional surveillance camera systems run video through Cat 5 or coaxial cable, but newer\u00AD, consumer-\u00ADfriendly systems such as the Dropcam, Hive, Logitech Alert, and Netgear VueZone work over Wi-Fi or power-line networks, so no new wiring is required. .\u2005.\u2005.\u2005and also use the cloud. For a monthly fee, most home surveillance systems will offer a password-protected account that stores video events and lets you look in on your home remotely from a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Set up a zone defense\u2005.\u2005.\u2005. The best placement for a single camera is either near your front door or driveway. (Use an outdoor camera or indoor cam with a window mount.) Multiple cameras help you keep an eye on the backyard (the neighbor&amp;#039;s dog is digging holes again!), as well as inside. .\u2005.\u2005.\u2005but record only what you need. To avoid recording huge video files and to save power, surveillance cams can be set up to only record motion or only pay attention at certain hours of the day. No. 10. Rock Out in Every Room Total Time: 5 Hours Equipment: AirPlay speakers ($50 to $500), AirPort Express base stations ($99 each), or Sonos Play:3 &amp;amp;amp; Sonos Bridge ($350); 1\u20448-inch to RCA cable ($3); 1\u20448-inch to 1\u20448-inch cable ($3)  Choose\u2004a\u2004system\u200A\u200A.\u200A.\u200A. Multiroom audio streaming comes in two flavors: speakers and receivers that support the Apple AirPlay standard, or dedicated systems from manufacturers such as Sonos and Cambridge Audio. Once you pick one solution, you&amp;#039;ll have to stick with it. .\u2005.\u2005.\u2005or hack together your own. If you don&amp;#039;t feel like investing in lots of pricey new equipment, you can use Apple AirPort Express modules ($99 each) as receivers and plug inexpensive powered speakers into them. Or use unpowered speakers and a small amp such as the Pyle PFA200 ($30). Play off a computer\u2005.\u2005.\u2005. Sonos and Cambridge Audio systems tap into the music on a computer or network drive and stream the audio to satellite speakers. A computer with iTunes streams music from its drive to AirPlay speakers. .\u2005.\u2005.\u2005or don&amp;#039;t. Apple iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad can also stream music directly to AirPlay speakers via Wi-Fi. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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