421–430 of 464 posts
For evidence that Bluesky is a long-term living facility operating as a social media platform...look no further than how their users employ the word "skeet" to refer to "post".
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They aren't even consistent within manufacturer! They're standardized on the device side, but not the PSU side. So always check pinout before you make the very reasonable assumption that if it fits it works
They aren't even standard on the model! One of the brands swapped pin-outs mid production run (but same SKU number and no changes in model name/packaging); and even sent back a RMA'd replacement with a different set of pinouts, but no cable, causing the user to fry their PC. They had to make a post on r/hardware to get the brand to cover the damage, but IIRC, they never paid for data recovery services for the damaged…
The fact that you haven't used those cables in 10+ years doesn't mean that you haven't used the Big Box of Cables in 10+ years. "Declutter" advice doesn't work for needs like cables, auto maintenance, or cooking where doing the thing means you need a huge variety of tools/supplies on hand. Maybe you haven't used a USB 3.0 micro cable in years, but you use some cable every day.
If you pull some cable from the big box (multiple drawers labeled separately as USB, network, display, audio/RF, serial, AC, wall warts, and misc for me), you're using the box. If you haven't made a recipe that requires majoram in forever, but you cook and eat every day, it's perfectly reasonable to have a bunch of spice jars. And maybe you haven't used that 3-jaw gear puller you "customized" for a tight fit with an angle grinder since that timing belt change in 2019... but cars still need constant maintenance.
If you have given up the hacker lifestyle, and have decluttered your devices to a single iPad and a phone, both with wireless chargers, and think you'll never need a cable again...I pity you. But sure, give up the box of cables. But if you're constantly connecting and disconnecting things from other things, the combinatorics go up really fast and you need lots of cables.
In 2021 I cut the end off a USB cable to expose the power leads which I scotch taped to the power meter on my bike to charge it. I kept that cable. In 2024 I used it to add USB disconnects to the light strip I attached to the bottom of my son's crib, allowing me to keep the light strip intact when we lowered the base from the baby height to the toddler height. A week later we got rid of the strip because we really di…
While I like to improvise I'd never want to use a cut-off cable anywhere near a toddler. Whatever the savings or practical benefits, they just can't outweigh the risk of the toddler doing something that causes a shock, fire, ... Maybe for the best that you removed that light strip.
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While I like to improvise I'd never want to use a cut-off cable anywhere near a toddler. Whatever the savings or practical benefits, they just can't outweigh the risk of the toddler doing something that causes a shock, fire, ... Maybe for the best that you removed that light strip.
If you are worried about 5 Volt electric shocks (!), I presume 'electromagnetic hypersensitivity' is also something you worry about?
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"USB", "TV/HDMI", "Networking", "Every Audio Connector Known to Man", and the inimitable: "Plugs-to-Wall"
We have the same. Do you know why the ‘every audio connector known to man’ box contain every audio connector known to man but yet never a stereo 1/8” headphone-jack to headphone-jack cable?
Only one big box? The poor people. I have at least five big boxes and I'm regularly being accused of being a hoarder. Except of course when someone needs a cable ;)
What self-respecting household has only one box of cables? You need at least one big one for the mains-rated bulky ones, and a few smaller ones: USB, Monitor/Ethernet etc, Audio. I can recommend the small Ikea Knagglig boxes, they look nice and have the right size.
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Like everyone, it seems, in this thread, I have not one big box of cables but several. But my classification system is mostly around age: old USB cables (mini, micro) vs recent USB cables (USB C), old screen cables (VGA) vs recent ones (HDMI), etc. This doesn't work for everything: audio cables do not evolve much, nor do remote cables for DSLRs; but in general it's reasonably effective.
As a musician with a modular synth, I have three boxes, two just for audio. Somehow, after decades of careful curation, the cable I need is always missing!
My cable box Protips: 1: use transparent boxes like an 11l IKEA Samla so you can easily see what you have. 2: fold each cable in half or a few times more and apply the granny knot[1], this will prevent your cables becoming an entangles mess. There are superior(tm) ways to fold cables, but doing the granny knot for household cables seems the way to go. Doing festivals with retro gaming computers I’ve done this thousan…
For 2, I just keep these little thingies that come with the sliced bread bags. Of course that requires a little thingies box.