A couple of reps from Fellowes stopped by BuyOnlineNow the other day, and left some pretty cool products for us to try out.

I was lucky enough to be given the Fellowes Professional Series Back Support to try out. I know I’ve written blogs about how much I love my standing work station, but let’s be real – I can’t stand all day long. And when I do need/want to sit down for awhile, the back support really helps keep me comfortable. I sometimes need to remind myself to stand up for awhile because I’m so comfortable in my chair now!

Another nice thing about it is that it attached from the top and the sides of the chair, so it does a very good job of staying in place. It only took me about 30 seconds to set it up on my chair and get it adjusted where it needed to be. The mid spinal support is also a nice change up. Before I was just using a back support cushion that had been sitting around my parents house for awhile, but the Fellowes Professional Series Back Support provides support in more specific areas.

Fellowes also left the Professional Series Executive Keyboard Tray, and Travis Seeger, our Vendor Relations Manager, has been trying that. He says it has a “very smooth tray that is super easy to adjust, yet it doesn’t adjust on its own when you put a little pressure on it. I had that problem with another drawer I was using. It never wanted to stay in place.”

Seeger also discussed the ease of installation. “Besides the smooth operation, it was very easy to install. It took me about 10 minutes to install. Well, it actually took about 30 minutes, but that is only because my battery died on the drill I was using, and I had to wait for it to recharge,” he explained.

Along with the keyboard tray, we were given the Fellowes Slimline Cordless Combo Keyboard. Web Developer Kyle Kuster got to try the keyboard and mouse first. Some of the best features on the keyboard are the Microban protection, multimedia keys and a volume adjustor.

“It was so sleek, quiet and comfortable I bought one to have at home,” said Kuster.

I have also been trying out the keyboard for the past week and love it. I think my favorite feature is the volume adjustor. I also love the smaller keys that don’t make as much noise when I type. While I already have a mouse that I’m quite partial to, I did try the mouse that accompanies this keyboard. It works very well. It’s lightweight so it is easy to move around and very accurate.

All in all, I think we’ve been very pleased with the products that Fellowes has given us to test out. Thanks Fellowes!

Last week I was introduced to a couple new products: the Sharpie Gel Highlighter and the Sharpie Liquid Pencil. I have admitted it before, and I’ll admit it again – I’m such a nerd when it comes to new cool pens, markers, highlighters, etc. Well, I’m pretty much obsessed with any new office product, which is a good thing considering the industry I work in! Go ahead, make fun of me – my boss does – but that’s okay because I know there are some of you out there who enjoy this stuff as much as I do.

This new Sharpie Gel Highlighter has an advanced smear protection and it doesn’t bleed through paper like regular highlighters. I remember when I was in college and took notes on the front and back of a sheet of paper. I always regretted doing that because when I highlighted on either side, it just soaked right through. I just needed to travel to the future and get this gel highlighter!

It also will not dry out if left uncapped. Now, I was a little skeptical when I heard this, so I tested it myself. At 4:30 pm yesterday I worked on the writing and doodle you see below, and after that I left the highlighter uncapped. Now today at 2 pm, I checked the highlighter, and the gel still worked perfectly.

When the gel begins to run out, you just twist the bottom and that advances the gel stick.

This highlighter almost makes me wish I was back in college again and needed to highlight some notes for a test. Keyword: ALMOST.

As you can see in this picture, the highlighter does not smear the ink, and it makes for a great fluorescent yellow flower!

The Sharpie Liquid Pencil is pretty awesome too. I remember when I was in elementary school and it was so cool to have a pen that erased. However, the pens never erased very well and teachers would get upset with my friends and me when we used them. But now, they’ve solved this problem with the liquid pencil. It writes smooth like a pen and erases like a pencil. The liquid graphite technology eliminates broken lead which means no more reloading leads and no more sharpening. But don’t worry – when the ink runs out, this pen is refillable!

In order to demonstrate how well the eraser works, I wrote BuyOnlineNow underneath the writing example of the pen and erased two lines through it. I simply dragged the eraser across the paper once – I did not have to repeatedly go over the lines to get them disappear.

Be sure to check out this and many other Sharpie products at BuyOnlineNow. What are your favorite Sharpie products?

About a year and a half ago, before I became a real adult and got a full time job, I was still in college. I had just grabbed some food in between classes and went to get some of my favorite fountain drink, and that is when I first saw one. There were new cups. These cups were made of corn. These cups were 100% biodegradable.

Now, I’m kind of a hippy. Not the extreme kind that has dreads and only wears handmade clothing, but the kind that appreciates it when people do little things to become more “Green”. So this move that my college made to have these “Corn Cups” was appreciated.

I didn’t bring up this random topic for no reason. BuyOnlineNow is celebrating April with our Go Green Sale, and the compostable cups just happen to be one of the items we have for sale. Check them out. They’re pretty sweet!

I have been blessed to learn about a new creation from Quartet, which is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’m not kidding here, folks. When I was in high school and college, I was in different groups that liked to use Flipcharts – and I always loved using them. However, Quartet has gone above and beyond to a whole new level of Flipcharts.

If you’ve ever used Flipcharts before, you know that they can be great for presentations, group meetings and brainstorming sessions. However, when it comes time to transfer those pages onto neat organized documents on the computer, it can be difficult to replicate any drawings, charts or diagrams. Have no fear – Kapture is here!

With Quartet Kapture Digital Flipcharts you can capture your ideas just once, right at the meeting, and the sheets will digitally transfer to your computer through the Bluetooth pen and USB receiver.

Not completely sold yet? Watch this video that offers a more complete demonstration on this amazing new technology.