Outré USB Gadgets

PreacherTom writes, "We've all connected a myriad of useful things to USB ports: flash drives, printers, webcams. How about a vacuum cleaner? Pair of heated gloves? Anti-cubicle missile system? Joseph Pisani offers a listing of some of the most creative USB-controlled gadgets available, and includes a slide show of the most popular."

Comments

This stupid thing too.

[sporkme]

My most sincere apologies to Fiftythree.org, but when I read about plugging unconventional things into the computer, this classic came to mind. Note: the USBKiller is not listed. Scatter a few of these outside the back door of your local bank.

The EtherKiller and friends: http://www.fiftythree.org/etherkiller/
The Google cache

Or this stupid thing is more in line with the aim of the article.

Stuff that just uses power shouldn't count

[mrchaotica]

I'm only interested in weird stuff that uses the USB data connection also.

Re:Stuff that just uses power shouldn't count

[Qadesh]

I am so disappointed. I thought the vacuum cleaner would connect via the usb to a plan of the house and do the vacuuming for me.

USB

[Anonymous Coward]

They're not USB controlled at all. They're USB powered, and I wish people who write articles would get the difference (hint: one can be replaced with batteries, the other can't).

Re:USB

[BadAnalogyGuy]

I got a USB fan that has a software-controlled speed setting. It's pretty useless outside an air-conditioned room, but it's mostly around for novelty's sake. I hate when people just yank the cord out without right-click removing it from the device list. It leaves the fan in an unstable state and blue screens Windows when I plug it back in.

Re:USB

[Anonymous Coward]

That's what you get for being a Windows Fan-boy.

I know, I know: {groan}

Re:USB

[Cyno01]

The missile launcher is aimable and fireable through windows.

Really useful? Laptop lights!

[The Bungi]

Remember when USB started to go mainstream? After reading for a while about the 'glut' of 'wonderful devices' that would come down on the market and then hearing about USB-powered Tamagotchi (or some such stupidity) I pretty much gave up on the idea... until the laptop light. The USB-powered laptop light. Hell hath no fury compared to my reaching for my wallet to get one of these things at CompUSA the first time I saw them.

If USB gives us nothing more in the way of alternative devices and gadgets, I will consider it a victory anyway =)

iBrator

[diablo-d3]

Well, there is always the iBrator, the most, uh, "friendly" of USB devices.

USB controlled or USB powered?

[Matt Perry]

Pisani offers a listing of some of the most creative USB-controlled gadgets available

Only the little missles look like they could be USB controlled. The rest just seem to be drawing power from the USB port.

Re:USB controlled or USB powered?

[sporkme]

Well, this qualifies. DIY USB phone handset
The guy combined a USB skype/gaming headset and an older style telephone handset for something that actually seems somewhat practical compared to a USB aquarium.

USB power is cool

[Bombcar]

I wish more devices used USB power to charge, then I wouldn't have to carry as many different power adapters around.

USB Powered != USB Gadget

[Zaffle]

I'm sick of every man and his dog working out that their product can run from 5v dc, and therefore sticking a usb port on it, and saying its now able to connect to your computer!

Imagine if a photocopier did this. Oh no, you can't *print* to it. It just runs off USB power, but because the specification limits a single USB port to 200mA, we have provided a "conveniant" multiheaded usb plug (count them, 4 usb plugs).

No no no no no no

There are some really neat ICs out there that allow you to build a device thats USB controlled, eg the PC can send a signal down the wire (and vice versa) and you can make the device do something. USB pencil sharpers are not a great category for this. USB weather stations are.

Heck, I've always wanted to build a USB *controlled* fan. One that you can change the direction and speed via the USB port.

A really big useful-ness of the USB devices is that you can now replace almost any part of your PC. USB serial, USB parallel, USB sound, USB network. Case-in-point, my network took a power surge via the network/switch. Best I can tell, the server took the main charge, probably though the power supply, and happily diverted it through the ethernet port, which the switch passed on to each device connect. Then end result is the network component on every device on the network is fried. The simple answer, especially for my beauitful geeked-out slimline MythTV box is a USB network. (No room for any more PCI cards)

Re:USB Powered != USB Gadget

[saider]

Go to Sparkfun and search for USB. Lots of cheap (less than $30) dohickeys for doing all kinds of electronics projects.

Realdoll

[Anonymous Coward]

The Realdoll was the best, at least until the time I left it plugged in while playing Quake.

I've got the missile launcher, it's okay.

[phillymjs]

I wanted to up the ante in a rubber-band-gun arms race in my office, but I couldn't find it available from any online vendors in the U.S. I see ThinkGeek now has a listing for them and they're expected in stock there in October. Anyway, I ended up picking one up on eBay from a guy in Australia for a decent price, about a month and a half ago.

It takes AA batteries to actually power the launcher motors, with a switch on the underside of the base. The part of the missile that locks into the spring mechanism is actually heavier than the the rest of it, so it doesn't always fly nose-first like you'd think. It also doesn't have much in the way of range. If I could find extra missiles for it I'd experiment a bit with weighting the tips to try to address those issues.

I haven't used the included (Windows-only) control app yet, but a guy wrote a control app for it for OS X that's not too bad. You can find it on Versiontracker, I'm too lazy to hunt it down and make a link right now.

~Philly

Missing: USB powered frypan

[PayPaI]

I can't read the words, but the pictures speak for themselves