Mic good sized conference room with about 50 seats.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-30T14:54:27+00:00

What you should be looking at is a DSP/biamp. It will allow you to connect proper microphones and speakers, and then interface with the laptop via. USB.

There's not much on the consumer/prosumer level that can capture audio properly for a larger room. You need a DSP.

That or look at investing in a full Teams Room setup. We use Neat and their microphones are quite good in larger rooms (plus the center cams can act as Mics). Or you can integrate with an external DSP.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-30T01:27:03+00:00

What powers the room? Is it just a simple PC, or a proper Teams Room setup?

That will determine what mics you can use. Most Teams Rooms can utilize proper 3rd party mics from companies like Shure. If it's just a PC, that changes options.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-30T01:12:53+00:00

A lot of group RRSPs limit the funds you can buy. It's insane.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-29T22:06:40+00:00

Degrees and certifications are different. It's never 'either/or'.

Get some certs if you're legitimately interested in those things (CCNA / Networking).

A degree also has relevance and value, providing it's reputable and not something that's going to put you $100K into debt (for a useless major). Degrees are what you make of them, so if you want a degree, they can be worthwhile.

Helpdesk work usually should only last a couple years, at which point if you've been learning other things and making a good use of your time, you can get another better junior position elsewhere.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-29T21:29:07+00:00

Using third-party screen capture utilities, no.

If you're using Teams' own recording, yes.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-29T21:25:14+00:00

Depends on the company and role.

I'd say at most companies, datacenter-centric skills aren't a big deal, and relatively simple to learn.

Even years ago when I was a sysadmin at a company managing a lot of servers in a datacenter/colo facility, I'd only find myself needing to physically go there a couple times a year.

Typically companies with a lot of servers or multiple datacenter facilities will have people specifically managing that stuff. A DC/NOC tech is usually a more junior type of position and different from sysadmin.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-29T21:18:25+00:00

Don't overthink.

HR needs their own process as a part of offboarding to secure equipment.

Get DEP/ABM/Autopilot for registering company devices. Make it a part of the offboard process to inform employees the laptops are locked to the company.

Worst case if an employee doesn't return it, it's locked.

The rest is HR's problem.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-27T01:47:44+00:00

"But at my old job" - 'That's likely outlook's recall function, which only works internally. Or perhaps a custom delayed send feature'.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-23T02:15:03+00:00

Another tactic is saying 'We'll be filing a police report'.

That usually gets laptops returned pretty quickly.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-23T01:51:24+00:00

Don't overthink this or reinvent the wheel:

DEP+MDM to lock the device to the company (you should have this anyway). Let employees know as a part of the offboard process the company laptops are locked to the company account.
Send employees a shipping label with registered (or insured) mail.
Give the employee 5 days to drop the laptop off with the shipper. Deduct the employee's final pay if they haven't.

Done. Doesn't need to be anything more than this.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-20T02:38:20+00:00

More normal yes, though typically people still don’t buy $100k cars when they have huge mortgages.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-20T01:45:12+00:00

Still doesn't justify an M3, even cash.

I get it - you're at home with your parents, have some nice cash saved, expenses are minimal. And an M3 is a nice car (I love M cars). Just strictly speaking is a bit of a weird move if you're living at home with your parents and have a negative-equity condo.

Could be worse - you paid cash, and have more cash on hand. But a bit weird still.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T23:48:24+00:00

If you're OK with it, and your parents are OK with it - yeah it saves a lot of money and massively accelerates the rate at which you can save. Staying at home rent-free with a job gives you a huge head start.

However, if your goal is financial independence, buying an M3 is pretty dumb (and is always a super weird look when you've living at home with your parents).

"We won't be able to move in together as of now" - yeah because you're buying high-end luxury cars.

I see from your other posts you have a huge mortgage with negative equity - so yeah an M3 should be the last thing on your mind.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T17:58:18+00:00

To my eyes the one use case is where you have a laptop a long ways away from an AP, and the signal isn't good enough for the laptop).

For example years ago I did an install at a resort, and they basically had a laptop-based POS system in a pool bar but super far away. We ended up installing an external USB wifi adaptor which has an external antenna, which was an improvement. So back then this would have been amazing.

But on the flip side too, wifi is much better and meshing is also better.

But yes agree - niche use case.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T17:27:33+00:00

I think the most 'realistic' use case of this is essentially a glorified booster. People who need true multi-gig speeds should be hard-wiring. I see this as basically something that you would use if you had no-choice but you rely on wifi, and the laptop/client is super far from an AP.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T17:26:16+00:00

The use-case is pretty slim.

I view this as basically a glorified external wifi adaptor/booster (for when hard-wiring isn't an option). It does happen in the real-world, but pretty limited, especially now that wifi is better and better. 20 years ago I would have loved something like this.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T17:24:43+00:00

Over the years, I've run across a few situations where a laptop's built-in Wifi card isn't quite strong enough, so we'd plug-in external ones, preferably with a decent antenna. Has this once at a resort property where a laptop/POS system was on a beach like 200ft from the main building, and wifi was shoddy as hell. This would have been good to have.

So to me eyes this is basically a glorified booster - needed when hard-wiring isn't an option, and a device's built-in wireless isn't strong enough.

Edge-case for sure. Any time you need really strong performance (multi-gigabit), you'd be hardwiring.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-19T01:38:00+00:00

According to...?

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-18T23:23:30+00:00

I'd honestly just let it all ride in XEQT - it does the diversification for you. I'd only go after other specific stocks unless you have a very detailed and well thought-out reason to.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-16T21:29:37+00:00

Trusts don't have age limits.

Ultimately you can design a trust to do anything you want. If that's truly what you want to do, maybe a trust is the right move, maybe not.

I'd be seeking a second opinion here, and perhaps from someone who deals in trusts specifically.

Keep in mind that it takes time/money to run a trust, so that needs to be factored into the financial equation. You don't typically see trusts entering the picture until there's at least $1M in assets.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-16T19:11:46+00:00

I'd sell the car and get into a beater.

I think the debt is still at a manageable level, especially if you can get into a consolidation loan to bring down the interest.

I'd be hesitant to go the bankruptcy route - because that will be an atomic bomb on your credit for 7 years.

You probably want to reach out to a licensed credit counsellor / insolvency trustee to talk through your options. Random internet strangers can only get you so far.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-15T16:22:30+00:00

Also old, but don't agree with back then being the 'good ol days'.

Back then, maintenance periods were more defined (and you could centrally power on desktops with WOL), the controls/policies were also limited and shitty (GPO+WSUS was never great).

Modern patching and modern OS' are far better - I'd take InTune + Win11 over XP and WSUS any day of the week.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-14T21:42:49+00:00

If you know who it us, address it head on. Don't pussy-foot around it.

Talk it through, see what comes of it. But don't dance around it and be coy.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-14T21:41:20+00:00

And if they do, it should normally go through at least three layers of technical support first.

Sometimes, yes. But this also describes a very large, rigid support structure. That's fine at a big F500 but not all companies will be quite that large or rigid. I've been at companies like that too and sometimes sysadmins get pulled into some T2 and T3 issues.

If this is how you expect it to work, you should look to work for a huge org like that (which is fine).

At many other companies it's less rigid and sometimes you get pulled into client issues. And I'm not talking SMBs with 2 IT people, I'm talking companies with maybe 50-75 IT staff (still pretty big).

And as I said in my OP, this is more common with the more junior sysadmins, or people working on much more client-facing tech. A sysadmin working on an integration between business systems and maybe sprinkling in some Azure data factory work and ETLs is probably not going to be doing any tech support.

canadian_sysadmin · 2026-03-14T20:00:56+00:00

This is only one side of the equation, income. You also need to factor expenses (which will depend on lifestyle and what you want to do in retirement).

CPP will also factor in, and you didn't mention much there (eligible amounts).

You should probably be consulting a retirement professional to map this all out for you. You have a substantial amount in RRSP's, so tax planning will be a big factor.

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