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Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions (2024)
- gavinray 1y agoRE: "Boom Microphone Cable" I wanted headphones for FPS games with a good soundstage. Generally, gaming headsets are not known for price-to-quality value. After researching, bought Sennheiser HD560S, but I needed a mic. V-MODA makes a $20 attachment called a "BoomPro Mic", which uses standard 3.5mm audio jack and gives you not only a mic, but also a volume dial. It turns out that having an easily-accessible volume dial is the best thing since sliced bread. Can't believe I never got a cable with this feature before, they ought to put them on all headphone audio cables.
- wesleyd 1y agoNot tiny, but I have a corner desk, and I mounted big long 16 port power strips under each “wing”: Tripp Lite 16 Outlet Bench &... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000051174 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000051174 Roll of very sticky Velcro tape To mount things under desk. A “toaster” style sata adapter: I treat it like a tape drive, clunk in a “tape” (sata or spinning disk) to back up to.
- _tom_ 1y agoOrganization: I got a storage organizer with 24 drawers. One for each type of cable I use. So instead of one big box that I have to hunt through, I have instant, labeled access to all my usb cables, and a few other cables and items.
- Blackthorn 1y agoPeople are seriously going to plug $1-$5 USB devices from AliExpress into their computers? Seriously? All the endless efforts and dollars spent on cybersecurity is just lol I guess.
- 7speter 1y agoLightning to usb-c seems interesting… it can turn somewhat late model i devices into full fledge computers on the go, at least iirc, or you can use a nvme in an enclosure as extra storage easily. This is assuming you don’t have one of the newer i devices that has a usb c connector, then…
- nickphx 1y agoI wouldn't trust a USBC cable or converter from AliExpress..
- mystified5016 1y agoThose USB-C to laptop power adapters are awesome. However, they can be kinda dumb. The available charge current is communicated to the laptop with a resistor, and the adapter does not change this value based on what your USB adapter can provide. My adapter was just a tiny bit underpowered and would cut out if I tried to run a heavy CPU load while the battery was charging. I think this eventually killed the cheap adapter cable. Just buy two
- ja27 1y agoYeah I fried a RAVPower USB-C PD supply with one of those.
- o11c 1y agoBeware: most USB-to-SATA adapters do not work with HDDs, only SSDs One USB A-to-C adapter I particularly like is a cable with adapters tied to each end, so you can use it for any combination of (A or C host) to (C or micro device). FM transmitters you have to be slightly careful - they need to get power somehow; think about how that will happen.
- pockybum522 1y agoIf you want to be sure that a USB to SATA adapter will work with anything, get the style that has the power on a completely separate cable that plugs into the wall.
- yonatan8070 1y agoA lot of cars without Bluetooth have a USB-A port for charging or plugging in a USB drive with music on it, you can use that port to power the FM transmitter
- EvanAnderson 1y agoFemale-to-female RJ45 couplers ("join adapters" as described by the article) have been very handy in my experience. They're cheap enough that I don't mind leaving one now and again. It's so handy to be able to unplug something, splice in my laptop / tap / etc, and quickly return things they way I found them without rerouting the original cable. It's also handy when you don't have a long enough patch cable with you but you do have a couple shorter ones.
- PhilipRoman 1y agoAgreed, they are great for messing around. I didn't want to bother with a proper patch panel so I just attached a bunch of them to my minilab and it's the best thing ever.
- epakai 1y agoI love having so many little daptery-doos. My best hack is storing them though. I have a two tier desk, 24" deep main surface, and 10" monitor 'shelf'. I keep a half dozen tiny adhesive drawers under the shelf so they're always at hand. One for flash storage + usb dongles, another with every usb adapter + short cables, audio things + usb power meters, pens, and other stuff. It is so nice being able to quickly use almost any device without a scavenger hunt first.
- alex77456 1y agoI have been using stackable hardware/diy organiser compartment boxes for this purpose. It's great
- snapplebobapple 1y agolink to product please.
- alex77456 1y agoA noname version of this from a local store https://www.stanleytools.com/product/stst14114/22-compartment-tool-organizer?tid=576416 https://www.stanleytools.com/product/stst14114/22-compartmen...
- citizenpaul 1y agoIf you use the various Ethernet adapters make sure you run some speed tests when you get it.. Those cheap dongles/converters ect are notorious for Working but cutting your speed and reliability of the connection.
- quailfarmer 1y agoAdd to this list: small portable HDMI/VGA monitor for checking on headless machines.
- npodbielski 1y agoIt is nice but I wish there would be just a dongles of some kind that is like a network monitor, you i.e. VNC into from another place to see what error machine is spewing.
- dasv 1y agoLike this one? https://github.com/sipeed/NanoKVM https://github.com/sipeed/NanoKVM
- nagisa 1y agoYes, although NanoKVM is probably a product with most caveats out of competing ones to recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plJGZQ35Q6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plJGZQ35Q6I. I'd recommend JetKVM instead, but unfortunately it is still only available to obtain through late pledges on Kickstarter.
- npodbielski 1y agoSeems interesting. To bad you cant buy it yet.
- thatfunkymunki 1y agoThis is incorrect, I am currently using both nanoKVM USB and PCI models today
- npodbielski 1y agoWebsite says 'preorder'. Is it available or not then? Preorder usually means it is not ready. Where did you buy it?
- nicbou 1y agoMy current favorite is a 1 meter retractable USB C to C cable. Combined with the smaller GaN charger and the lower power requirement of newer MacBooks, I can pack really light, and that's great for bike and motorcycle travel. I also have a set of USB adapters that plug into each other and let me charge anything with the same cable. Again, less stuff to pack.
- blitzar 1y agoBasicallly angled adaptors for everything. Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away my apple magnetic charger was right angled. Unfortunately the technology was forgotten and eventually lost with the passage of time.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- analog31 1y agoA couple of my favorites: 15- and 25-foot power cables to eliminate outlet strips and extension cords in some installations. Outlet strips with super long cords -- especially useful for avoiding the need to chain outlet strips in settings where doing so is considered to be a safety violation.
- gblargg 1y agoThen use the over-under coil technique to keep those long cables from getting twisted up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cazjyJ52CoM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cazjyJ52CoM
- analog31 1y agoYup, I'm also a musician. My cords last for decades. But nobody outside of music and perhaps theater knows about taking care of cords.
- rbanffy 1y ago90 degree rotated RJ-45 male-male connectors would allow very easy RPi-like clusters.