Sure, it's a small thing, but it got me thinking about gizmos that can make life's little annoyances disappear. Some are innovative; others aren't particularly sexy or expensive.
For instance, there's Flexity LLC's PowerSquid surge protector, which it claims to be "the power strip evolved." As the name implies, the PowerSquid consists of six three-prong outlet "tentacles" sprouting from a stylish "body" that contains the circuitry.
Flexity bills this "cephalopod design" as a cure for the waste caused by blocked outlets on traditional power strips. For about US$15, you can buy a basic PowerSquid cord, but a new crop with surge protection is slated to start shipping next month.
The top model, the Surge 3000 Calamari Edition ($79.95), features a 15-amp circuit breaker, phone line and coaxial cable protection, Purestream EMI/RFI noise filtering aimed at reducing electromagnetic interference, and Ultra-MOV technology with a rating of 3,240 joules.
It's also got an 8-foot-long power cord, keyhole mounting slots, a wall plug that swivels 360 degrees and an audible alarm. Two of its six tentacle outlets glow a cool blue that should make them easier to find under your desk.
Two lower-priced models, the Surge 3000 ($69.95) and the Surge 1000 ($54.95), scheduled for release later this year, lack a few features of the Calamari, such as the audible alarm and lighted outlets, and the cheapest model has a lower joule rating (1,080) and a 6-foot-long power cord.
Of course, the squid isn't the only fish in the sea that can tackle the problem. Type "power strip liberator" into any search engine, and you'll come up with a variety of extender options.
Some are sold as a set of five short cords with plugs at both ends. They get the boxy transformers up off the strip, basically freeing the outlet from the box. Annoyance solved for around $10.
There's certainly no shortage of surge protectors out there with spaced outlets to do away with the waste problem. But I cheaped out and plugged in a five-pack of extenders made by Ziotek and instantly recovered the outlets in the aforementioned power strip. The 14-in., three-prong extenders may be low tech, but they worked like a charm.
Those plugs that fall behind your desk
I've also had it with reaching behind my desk to retrieve plugs for the cell phone, digital camera, MP3 player and other gadgets that feed on Universal Serial Bus (USB) that are always slipping back there. Cordination Station makes a stylish clamp called the Freestyle cable organizer that nails this annoyance down. It can hold up to six cords neatly channeled through a box with a weighted base and rubberized feet to help it stay put. Think docking station for your cords. Annoyance solved for about $19.
For that bigger mess of cables on the floor, the Cordination Station Pro ($59) combines cable management and surge protection in a low-profile box. Ten grounded outlets are stashed inside the box, which allows you to plug in devices and hide the excess cord inside. The Pro features a 15-amp circuit breaker and 3,400 jules of surge suppression, and it can be mounted on a wall.
Finally, my spouse came home from work the other day annoyed about having to crawl behind a desk to reach a USB port. I whipped out a USB-to-USB extender cord to wipe out that annoyance, but a bigger pet peeve for me used to be bulky USB devices that wouldn't squeeze into tight spaces.
The Sidekick USB 2.0 adapter allows you to ditch the extender cable for an easy fit in a tight space.
The Sidekick USB 2.0 adapter allows you to ditch the extender cable for an easy fit in a tight space.
Flexible USB adapters like Sonnet Technologies Inc.'s Sidekick finally put that one to rest. Designed to rotate 180 degrees, this USB 2.0 adapter allows you to ditch the extender cable and easily fit, say, an iPod Shuffle, into closely spaced USB ports. Another annoyance solved for a mere $12.95.
Michelle Johnson is a freelance writer in Boston. Her e-mail address is mijohn@mail-me.