Don't Throw Away Those USB Socks

Apple is renowned for OOBE (pronounced “oobie”), the Out-Of-Box Experience you get when unwrapping its products. When I bought a PowerMac a few months ago, I was amused by the typically overengineered plug protectors the company had stuck on the keyboard and mouse cables. It seemed like a shame to throw them away.

Then my eyes lit on a capless pen drive I’d been carrying around in a goofy cloth bag. (The flash-RAM part had screwed into the business end of a real pen, which died soon after I got it.) A few hacks with an X-acto blade to remove the plug’s cord clip, and the drive was pocket-safe once more.

Lately, I’ve received some high-end audio software for review, and each package came with its own capless dongle. Apple detritus to the rescue again!

Here, two cast-off USB plug protectors are enjoying their new life guarding mobile electronics. In the foreground a pre-surgery cap protects the iLok dongle that came with Antares Avox. Behind that is an unprotected HASP dongle for BIAS Peak. In the back row is the salvaged USB pen drive.

Other USB hacks, anyone?