USB toys for the holidays....

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It's that holiday time of the year for many of us.  If you celebrate Boxing Day, Ramadan, Santa Lucia Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Festivus, and the other world holidays that take place near the end of the year, what to get the software person that has everything? Hard to know since we probably have just about everything we need for defining, designing, developing, testing, managing, and delivering software projects. Finding the right gift for the technical astute is a daunting task. Let me see if I can help. You've got a computer with a USB port, right? You probably have one that is unused, or you have a USB hub that has several available connections? USB is for important programmable devices, right?

From the USB.ORG site FAQ file, I found the following question and answer: Q4: What kinds of USB peripherals can I connect to my PC? A4: USB carries data at the rate of 12 megabits per second, which is sufficient for "medium to low-speed peripherals". This broad category includes telephones, digital cameras, modems, keyboards, mice, digital joysticks, some CD-ROM drives, tape and floppy drives, digital scanners and specialty printers. USB's data rate also accommodates a whole new generation of peripherals, including MPEG-2 video-base products, data gloves and digitizers. Computer-telephony integration is expected to be a big growth area for PCs, and USB can provide an interface for Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and digital PBXs.

Sounds like USB is for really important things. But there is more that you can do with your USB port. I also use mine to power a light and to charge my cell phone battery. Below you will find a list of additional USB devices along with a sample URL (I'm sure there are other places to buy these) where you can find them. I'm sure there are many more cool USB toys. Write comments to this article to share additional fun USB devices that you've found.













































































USB Plastic Christmas Tree www.thinkgeek.com
USB Mini Desktop Aquarium www.thinkgeek.com
USB Optical Liquid Mouse www.thinkgeek.com
Swiss Memory USB www.thinkgeek.com
USB Cup Warmer www.thinkgeek.com
USB Digital Voice Recorder www.thinkgeek.com
USB Cell Phone Chargers www.buyextras.com
USB Massage Ball www.buyextras.com
USB Powered Personal Fan Breezer www.buyextras.com
USB Coffee/Tea Warmer www.buyextras.com
USB Snake Notebook Light www.buyextras.com
USB Digital Memory Frame www.pacificdigital.com
USB Vacuum Cleaner www.mrgadget.com.au
USB Executive Watch www.mrgadget.com.au
Targus Tornado Notebook Chill Pad Notebook Cooler www.mrgadget.com.au
USB Snowman www.mrgadget.com.au
USB Christmas Tree www.mrgadget.com.au
USB Santa Claus Drummer www.mrgadget.com.au
Fireworks USB Hub www.thinkgeek.com
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About
Gold User, Rank: 1, Points: 2466
David Intersimone (known to many as David I.) is a passionate and innovative software industry veteran-often referred to as a developer icon-who extols and educates the world on Embarcadero developer tools. He shares his visions as an active member of the industry speaking circuit and is tapped as an expert source by the media. He is a long-standing champion of architects, developers and database professionals and works to ensure that their needs are folded into Embarcadero's strategic product plans. David holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, California.

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