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What Goofy USB Devices Have You Found?
pluckyduck asks: "What's the goofiest USB device out there? The links below are by no means an endorsement of the company, just links to goofy USB devices to illustrate my point. The first one is not really a USB device, but a wall adapter in case you want to power your USB Coffee Mug Warmer from a wall outlet (hey, there's a concept!). I believe they also have an auto adapter should you feel the need to run your USB air purifier in the car. The latest PC I bought only has 6 USB ports, I'll need to buy a hub soon!" Yes, they even have USB Massage Balls, as well. Although goofy, some of this stuff could be useful in the right situation. What off the wall USB devices have you found? How might you use some of the devices, that have been listed?
I only it for massaging my wrist, I swear!
Useful, but hilarious high-tech/low-tech juxtaposition (to me).
The mind boggles..
Of my favourite two (which I have), they include a USB based battery recharger so I can recharge the batteries in my logitech RF mouse (sorry, cant find a link) and the USB Mobile Phone Charger.
Now, on the goofy side, nothing beats the PC 12V Cigarette Lighter Panel. Okay, it's not USB but it's still insane. I want one just so I can put a 'non-smoker' button in it.
Robert Anton Wilson
A USB Massage Ball sounds pretty dang-dingitty close to a teledildonic. A good STD-free way to share your goofiness! Next: a USB massage, er, tube?
But doesn't Michael have one of these at his desk?
How about the USB light? Pretty mundane, but it still seems pretty whacky ...
let me guess... you work at cyberguys.com/
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
An electric USB toothbrush JPG
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
thinkgeek USB watch
"Procrasination is the key to world peace." ~Some girl in California
RadioShack sells a Cell phone adapter that plugs into car accessory outlets/cig lighter outlets, airline power connections, and USB ports. Pretty cool product.
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
For those of you who might have burned your penis on your laptop, cool it down!
If you are a mobile traveler like me, it's one less thing to pack when your toothbrush is USB powered!
Or while you are brushing your teeth, you can find time to make some noodles or whatever the hell this thing does.
And one last one to make soup with I guess.
A co-worker of mine is kind of a USB nut:
USB Vibe by Grandtec USA is a USB powered personal massager that I got from Compusa last month for 10$. It is a disk 3 1/2" in diameter with a blue plastic hemisphere section covered with bumps. I havent taken it out of the package which claims "Makes sitting at your computer a pleasure!". It claims to oscilate at 60 vibrations per second. It might be great to have one as a female and put this thing on your pleasure center, maybe while your working on the airplane on your laptop and have the passenger next to you ask whats that loud humming coming from. Probably just as much fun going through security checkpoints!
USB Vibe by Grandtec USA is a USB powered personal massager that I got from Compusa last month for 10$. No it isnt computer controlled. It is a disk 3 1/2" in diameter with a blue plastic hemisphere section covered with bumps. I havent taken it out of the package which claims "Makes sitting at your computer a pleasure!". It claims to oscilate at 60 vibrations per second. It might be great to have one as a female and put this thing on your pleasure center, maybe while your working on the airplane on your laptop and have the passenger next to you ask whats that loud humming coming from. Probably just as much fun going through security checkpoints!
I dont do meaning of life questions.
I had a rant about it the other day. I found lights, toothbrushes, heat blankets and hot drinks cups.
Unfortunately the heatblankets link is now broken
Mouse powered Chips, Open source Processors and Lego
I used to have a USB nightlight.
I'm an electronics major, and I was woundering if anyone has a quick link, or just a pin out for tapping the power from a USB connection, which I guess is what most of these devices are doing...
The Hubzilla was always one of my favorites. This one's Firewire, but worth it for a laugh.
"I'll say it again for the logic-impaired." -- Larry Wall.
Damn dude! Go have a fucking ciggarette or something! Maybe that will calm your nerves.
Wall and auto adapters for USB devices are not crazyif you have a use for them.
For example, I have an auto USB power adapter which has a standard USB plug that provides only power. I also have the USB sync/charge cable for my pocketPC in the car (so I can play tunes without running down my battery) and a USB charge cable for my Ericsson t68i phone -- they can both use the same cigarette lighter adapter plugin, all I have to do it switch cables.
Having things that charge on USB is not crazy either. Another example, I just want on a drip a few weeks ago and with me I carried the aforementioned cables for my PDA and phone. I also carried my USB-equiped laptop so when I wanted to charge my phone I plugged it into the usb socket -- this way I can care 2 less bulky square AC adapters.
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
The japanese version of Rez has a USB TRANCE VIBRATOR. If only there were drivers for MacOS, or Linux.
But I've always been a fan of the CharisMac Firewire Dino.
Surely the USB adapter to let you run your USB coffee warmer on house current is the last thing you'd call an "off the wall" USB product.
I found http://www.phidgets.com which has some cool sensors and such, but alas under Windoz.
I'd live to get IO for home automation.
The George Foreman USB iGrill was an April Foll's joke. Your "coworker" couldn't possibly have one.
...because they go faster....
My roommate has a USB Homer Simpson.
...the USB killer, a device like the Etherkiller, but for USB devices instead.
Quick meta-question.
USB seems like a good technology for homebrew hardware. Does anyone know of a good way to interface USB to a cheap microcontroller?
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
The Homer Simpson Dot Pal would make comments, such as when the Microsoft Word spellchecker detects a typo.
Anyone else catch that on the USB massage ball page? What kind of philosophy is driving that company, are they good or evil or beyond both?
I Hail our new USB massage ball overlords!
Please, IF I'm at work expecting to relieve myself, "after several pressure-filled hours in your chair..." there better be a god damn local brothel where I can bring a company christmas bonus discount card. Who the fuck do these capitalists think comprise the majority of their technological and scientific workforce? Are we mere slaves to them?
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
Can someone mod the parent down for lying?
All of this crap is just some electrial device that pulls power off of the USB bus. Most do not even let the host OS know they exist and if you use them you risk blowing your USB ports (usually on your motherboard) with excessive current draw. I'd imagine that coffee warmer thing is pulling at least 1A, double the maximum of a USB peripheral, but probably OK if the other USB device you've got plugged in is a mouse or something.. The point is, this stuff might as well plug into a PS2 port or parallel port since you can get just as much 5V current out of them!
I wouldn't call it an interesting USB device unless it actually talks to software on the host computer.
Why doesn't some manufacturer make a laptop that can be charged via USB?
I first thought of this when in a meeting. The laptop of the guy next to me was running out of juice - I had two batteries in mine and plenty of power, but there was no way to move the power the 15 inches from my machine to his.
Think of the possibilities: no more carrying a fat, proprietary power brick around to charge your laptop - just slip a USB cable in your pocket and pull some power from your desktop machine (or a friend's, or a stranger's, or the local library's). No USB port handy? Grab one of the $15 USB power jacks in the original post, and you're all set.
Probably won't ever happen, though - too much damage to the 'laptop power brick' sector of the economy...
Speaking of which, more of this stuff shoud be for firewire.
Once I got a computer fan and put a USB cord on it, I lost it though, you can make it faster and faster if you just daisy chain the wires too :)
Sig: I stole this sig.
Not really goofy, but useful, are those USB adaptors for using console controllers on your PC. You can get a Playstation 2 controller for $7 to $15 bucks at electronics stores, and get the USB adaptor for about $15 online. That's cheap for a nice joystick, and better than the fifty dollar and up PC joysticks since (with PS2 controllers) you get dual analog joysticks, lots of buttons, and vibration motors (supported by windows & linux).
Delcom Engineering makes some cool USB-controlled lights, buttons, and numeric LED displays.
Thinkgeek also has a USB volume knob.
I thought a car cigarette lighter would draw too much power to run it off a computer's 12V power supply. Also, would rapid switching of such a huge load cause glitches in the +12V line and crashes?
Blissbox has USB-powered vibrators. No "massage balls" etc... just down-and-dirty good ol' toys. All I can say is... yummy. :)
What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.
This stylish vaporizer, developed for medical use, has an optional USB-Interface. I'm not sure what it's for, but i assume you can use it to charge the batteries.
http://www.xijix.com/
I would have to say USB Bluetooth adapters. You still can't use them with anything affordable!