Originally posted Wednesday, January 19th, 2005 10:12 pm
Fashionable and functional!
I found this pretty little device while running through my list of usual web logs recently. I like it. It’s different looking, and functional (mostly – USB 1.1 only and limited memory).
There is no cap end to lose (though the wings could break off – I’ve seen watch-lockets of a similar design that did not feel durable), and it is clean looking and attractive. It doesn’t appear to have a keyring on the end – several of my friends have complained that USB key fobs don’t last long with the wear they put them through. Aside from the occasional laundering, a stick pin would be a reasonable carrying solution, as likely would a locket – if you are the locket type. And would remember to remove it prior to showering.
I’ve been looking at USB memory sticks lately. Back in the day, I bought a self-contained laptop hard drive with 20 GB of memory – useful for carting around my music at the time. I anticipated using it for more than music, but never did. Just a portable juke-box that wasn’t really all that portable. And it has been long usurped (finally) by the advent of decent portable storage – USB sticks, a variety of MP3 players, and the increasingly versatile (though still closed design) IPod family.
But if I end up with a USB stick, I think I’ll do something to jazz it up, make it more useful for me. Create a locket-style holder (locket pocket?) to prevent key-crushing (I have far too many keys) or purse mashing (I’ve been advised by a chiropractor that my purse habits impact my posture, back, and health by sheer weight). Add a proximity alarm so I don’t walk away from it while it is plugged into a machine. Add a light to indicate use. Add on a voice analyzer so I can tell when people are lying to me. Program in the breathing and stride patterns of people in my office so I can ascertain who is about to round the corner before they do. And a heat sensor, too – if I step away from my computer and neglect to lock it, it can lock the machine. Or use the heat sensor in combination with the stride patterns to save and close any illicit non-business use surfing (though I’d need to write a browser that allows tagging of unsafe sites for closure). And will remind me to mend the stockings, will take the trouble to file my taxes (after calculating my deductions), and weed out my spam mail while I sleep.
Mmmm … I think I’d better stop before I end up with a Rube Goldberg – Ron Popeil love child.