One of my favorites is a microSD card... card. It's a plastic case with 10 slots for microSD cards, about the thickness of a credit card. A brilliant little bit of lo-tech hi-tech.
Neat. Think I'll be getting one myself. I just use the plastic sleeve that comes in the package. Works but not what I would call the most effective in keeping my microSD cards organized.
Another thing I would add to this list is a magnetic screw bowl. It's not really specifically for computers, but when you're taking apart or building computers or SBCs, having a place where you can't lose a screw is really great. I keep mine on the fridge when I'm not using it.
There are also magnetic project mats you can use to keep your screws organized as well! There are even some with dry-erase surfaces you can use to take notes, especially useful for repairs or projects with a ton of different screws.
For work on the bench, I have one of those silicone soldering mats with a bunch of compartments along the edges. For work out and about, I use a pill organizer. Where a magnet really comes in handy for me is keeping a screw on my screwdriver bit when I need to maneuver it in a tight space. Right now at my day job I've been doing that with a little neodymium magnet that came out of a broken lighting connector... I really ought to get around to harvesting another or just buy some tiny magnets online.
One of my favourites is a 4 way USB hub with on/off buttons. So that they can be populated and whatever is connected can be switched on or off as desired.
@@lekalotte2825i have one with a 7 usb port, it is kinda cheap probably around 10 bucks, it uses usb 3 port but only connects the usb2 part. So it only has usb 2 speed. Idk about the more expensive one
could do with one of those. My current usb c hub can often not initialise drivers correctly after waking from sleep, would be handy to turn it of and on.
Sort of the same here - a Tower power supply that is 2 outlets per power switch.... So I pick what hard drives and when....... Mwhahahahahhar! I AM THE MASTER!!!!! Sorry. I'll go back to my brown suit now....
We pay so little attention to these type of devices, but when we can't find them.... oh boy 🙂 We need a special mention to Mr Scissors and Stanley, whom we owe a major thanks....
My favorite cable is *Ugreen Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack.* And this cable *has my favorite tip,* to convert information from Type-C to audio for the audio jack this cable has an integrated audio interface in it, you can also see this cable's audio interface every time you connect it to a computer as separate from the other audio interfaces you have. And this tip with this cable saved me, one time that i was helping on a presentation and for some reason the presentation's laptop integrated audio interface (Realtek) wasn't working, so i used this cable's 3.5mm audio jack output and this cable's integrated audio interface and presentation was saved. 😊
*every type-c to 3.5mm audio jack has an audio interface in it, because they need to convert from digital to analog. not only the Ugreen one, that's just what i use 😉
It's not a computing device, but it is an essential part of my computing activities....a cup of tea. Helps me solve so many problems, I can't function without it.☕
I also recommend a USB audio device of some kind. I'm totally blind, and these are extremely useful for getting audio out of systems that don't support it, such as servers or when installing operating systems in cases where the screen reader can't be heard on the default sound device because it lacks drivers. Thank you for this wonderful channel! I look forward to every episode!
Nowadays the converters just look like a USB cable that connects the audio jack to the connector, when in fact there's a tiny circuit board inside the USB plug that has a DAC to make audio.
@@gblargg I like them because they completely bypass the onboard sound device. For me, sound is just as critical as a monitor, so these are essential tools to make sure I always have access, regardless of the computer configuration. Braille displays are also handy for situations when you don't have sound, but they're very expensive, and you usually have to install drivers so they communicate with the screen reader. As such, I prefer universal audio devices.
I have one of those doohickies and I love it. My audio quit on my computer for compatibility reasons, and I tried several solutions. Ideally I use HDMI audio to the TV I use as my primary monitor, but I've had problems with that as well. I also have a digital-optical converter, but it's also a bit finicky. However the USB audio adapter always works. It also has a microphone jack. Perfect.
I have usb to sound card interface - they only cost a couple dollars. I needed second sound card for ham radio digital interface and these are simple to use for that purpose.
One bit of kit I can recommend is an USB C OTG cable. They're similar to the USB C to USB A cables shown in this video, but they work well with smartphones, as they allow you to use your smartphone in new ways. For example, I've paired an USB C OTG cable with a USB HDMI capture device, which with some free software allows me to turn my Android phone into a portable computer monitor, useful for troubleshooting devices that are usually run headlessly.
My house is FULL of almost 50 years worth of an endless collection of adapters, kludges,, interfaces, obsolete cables, boards, old drives and media, widgets, doohickeys, gizmos, thingies, gimmicks, doodads, whatchamacallits, MacGuffins, thingamabobs, and thingamajiggers. It always at least a full day's journey to find the right ones that still work, matching them to their technology mates, finding their software drivers, and then identifying what they actually still do. The labels are almost always missing or inadequate. The mystery is how you got it down to just so few. It proves though how ubiquitous the many USB devices have become, and how necessary passwords and encryption still are to us and our safety. Before USB came along, I think I spent almost half my life trying to configure serial ports. Once I have finally shuffled off this mortal coil, there will probably be a small fortune to be recovered in precious and valuable metals in all that stuff, not even to mention an archeological trove of ancient data to be translated and parsed for the historical record. Or perhaps just a trip to the landfill dump.
Ugh. I know the feeling. I think I've even got an old 14Gb SCSI drive from the mid 90's in my box of obsolete hardware somewhere. I think it was the one I was using for Linux experiments back in the day. I actually got Debian installed on old 68k Mac at one point.
And the day after you ever have a tidy up (or throw out) any of those things, you will find that you really needed one of them, and that you can't buy them any more.
Or, just possibly, someone will come along with an unreplaceable bit of computer controlled kit that needs a no-longer manufactured lead, and will buy the whole shebang for that one cable.
One thing I find useful with phones, tablets, smaller laptops, etc, is a small USB 3 hub with a built in Ethernet port. As you pointed out, a lot of small devices don't have an ethernet port, and adding one, along with extra USB ports (which they often don't have either) is sooooo useful.
I bought a regular-size one to upgrade my laptop from Fast to Gigabit Ethernet, while adding some extra USB 3.0 ports to it. It's a cheap Dell made in 2018, but it still serves all my needs, especially after I added memory to the maximum of 16 GB and installed an SSD.
When choosing a laptop, I had narrowed down my choice between one with good performance and one with good I/O. I almost got the latter just because it had ethernet, but then I found out about those dongles.
My group in college called me Marry Poppins because I somehow always would have the cable or adapter you need, I absolutely love to see what others carry around! I would add a compact portable wireless USB keyboard to the list. For testing SBCs, troubleshooting servers, or even media control, having a wireless keyboard you can connect to anything gives you so much freedom.
One device I have is a usb power monitor. You can see exactly how much current is being drawn by a device. Seldom used, but very illuminating. When combined with a mains socket power monitor, it goes to illustrate how efficient (or otherwise) your 5v power supplies really are.
I was looking to see if anyone else would say this. These are brilliant! $5, and you can see: Is the device actually working? (drawing current in the expected range). No more plugging stuff in and wondering is it the device or the cord How much power is drawn over time (great for seeing if batteries are shot. If a 5000mah battery charges with 300mah, you know its bad) Something wrong with the port itself (Lost count of how many times I've been frustrated with frequent disconnections, thinking it was the cable, when the port itself was reading 4v at small loads)
Micro SD to SD adapters. If you have a laptop with one of the nicer SD card slots where you can fully click an SD card into the slot, I personally like leaving an empty adapter in the slot. A flash drive with linux installed on it. Useful for having a portable computing environment with your software and files you can run on any computer. Or for emergency situations. For example, if you only have one computer and the OS drive gets corrupted, you still have an OS you can boot up to fix things. You can make these by launching a linux installer iso in a virtual machine and usb redirecting your flash drive into the vm. You can also format it so that it has a separate data partition that still shows up when you use it like a normal flash drive. You still have to do things such as using disk encryption (flash drives are easy to lose and had to sanitize) disabling time synchronization, disabling os prober, changing the linux partition types to microsoft basic data and enabling the hidden attribute so windows doesn't ask to format them, making sure a copy of the bootloader is saved to the efi removable path, making sure the bootlader plays nice with secure boot, and disable nvram updating for the bootloader. It's a little too much to explain for a quick youtube comment.
I'm highly impressed you got the HDMI leads into the coupler without having to turn at least one of them the other way around. I know you can set it up before recording, but i know how sneaky those cables can be if you look away for even a split second
Another useful item is a small box of various computer screw types. You can accidentally lose a screw when working on upgrading or just opening up a laptop or something else ect. So having replacements is handy. And often there are screws already missing from previous work. A mini screwdriver kit is also a requirement, some come with tools to pry apart a laptop. A couple of spare blank USB drives in various sizes are also useful, there are types that have a USB type A port at one end and a USB type C port at the other. There are times when you just need to physically transport files, especially to use retail commercial services easily or to give someone a big file and you can't be bothered mucking around with dropbox - or explaining to someone else how to use it. That's why at least one should be a cheap basic USB that you don't mind giving away. A good (labelled) drive can have a bunch of useful software repair tools on it, including a basic operating system, in order to help with computer issues. A variety of various commonish USB cable types (micro USB, lightning, ect) and a good charger can also come in handy sometimes .... you'll regret it when you need one and you don't have them. "Where's the charger for your external drive? Does it use USB power?" And just to keep your phone (and anyone else's) running, you may be doing a lot of screen time looking up solutions. If you have the space (say in a laptop bag), a _long_ ethernet cable can be a lifesaver so you don't have to sit right next to the modem when the WiFi is playing up. And a surprisingly overlooked item - a good lens cleaner spray and cloth. If you wear glasses it can do double duty and you probably already carry one. And if you are going to be working on fiddly things, a pair of magnifying eyeglasses can save a lot of frustration - unless you're young and short-sighted you may need them, depending on your minimum focal distance. I've had to have a friend hold my mobile phone in front of me with the magnifying app on, to make sure a connector was connected properly. And to find the missing screw that had rolled onto the motherboard. I've since gotten a pair of chemist bought magnifying specs to use for looking closely. And a proper prescription pair of glasses solely for sitting at a screen, with the ideal focus distance set for that. Make sure the frames look completely different, I once tried to go driving with my computer glasses on and was barely out of the driveway when I realised what was wrong. A small plastic case to hold fiddly bits while you're working on something. A small magnet plate is useful for holding screws. A roll of masking tape and a pen can be useful. You can bundle and label cables and use it for holding small items in place. Trying to deal with a tangled mess of cables, you can as a temporary fix label a cable at both ends with the same number and then what its for. You can even find legacy/orphan cables taking up power points that are otherwise needed, which is nice when that happens as you get freed up power points. Remember every time you need a item and don't have it, and then add it to your personal list. All of these are items that at one point I needed and didn't have on me.
Adding to the ones you mentioned, I'd recommend a power cord extension, or a multi socket adapter with cord. I always have one in my laptop bag, even if it requires a lot of space. And a flash light when you drop a screw and it tends to go at the far end of the table leg's end, at the darkest spot possible. Of course the led light of a smartphone is also perfect for the job.
This is a great post, I wouldn't be without my occupational glasses I had made, I can look at the screen & take notes without loosing focus on either. :)
And an old toothbrush. Useful for cleaning out stuff you can't otherwise get to and can't comfortably take apart. Particularly good for that awkward fan you can't unmount. Have you noticed that no matter how many screws you put back in while reassembling a PC, there are always some left over? :D
Yep, bought one too, for upgrading these laptop thingies or getting info from that borked boot drive. Actually, after the USB to IDE and USB to SATA it's the next logical thing. Wonder if it can also support other M.2 PCIe devices... maybe something for a video.
you are one of a kind. many talk about software and hardware but no one for these ''humble'', little practical computing ''gadgets''. i didn't even know what a usb ethernet adapter was, until my pc tower's usb main ethernet slot failed and i desperately needed a stable connection for some online academic courses during the pandemic... . most useful upload. thank you!
The fact that I've bought some of these thing before, because i needed them. Is proof they are SUPER useful. I recommend a ventoy USB drive (at least 16GB) ventoy is a software that lets you copy the ISO file directly onto the USB, and then you can boot into the ventoy manager on any PC, and run those ISO's. Very helpful for installing operating systems. Especially many different types
Ethernet dongles and portal protectors, SD adapters and GPIO testers, Cable extenders all tied up with strings, These are a few of my favo(u)rite things!
@BenLJackson I think you might have missed that the comment is structured like the lyrics to a song, specifically "My Favorite Things" from the film The Sound of Music.
@@BenLJackson It's no SKIN off my nose However - I often Use VELCRO cable ties in a cable management system - where cables where cable arrangement needs to be or requires to be altered frequently. Otherwise I would use nylon cable ties in the example arrangement below for 3 cables ||=||=||
WRT the USB to Ethernet adapter, I use many other them in my work connecting to isolated networks with static IPs assigned. Of course, to communicate with the various devices using my laptop I have to set a static IP address in the same range for the laptop too. It turns out that Windows remembers the static address on each adapter even if you unplug it. I therefore carry several of the adapters and have one for each customer’s IP range and I don’t have to keep reassigning the static address on an adapter. There is the expense of buying multiple adapters but, they’re cheap (~$20 each), small and well worth it for the time and effort it saves. P.S. I Dymo label each adapter with its static address so I know which one applies to which subnet.
Yes, and you might want to check if which port you plug it into when using 2.5" hard disks. 2A or above is probably fine, but not every USB port is created equal.
I love to a wireless keyboard/touchpad handy. It helps investigating issues without having to swap connected keyboard and mouse. My go-to is the Logitech K400 Plus.
Of umpteen USB sticks I have but one with a blinking activity LED which can actually be surprisingly reassuring. "May It be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."
I once made the comparision that a micro SD card is like a modern floppy, small and inserts into alot of devices to get them up and running, I use a lot of the same bits always loved this channel.
I love these little things that don’t get the press but make things better. The finishing touches for a computing setup. Two places in my area of the USA that have well populated sections with these treasures are Daiso (a Japanese company) and Five Below (a discount store aimed at younger shoppers). Back in the day this would have been the type of thing keeping Radio Shack going.
Some very useful items here in your video. Thank you for sharing. One essential device I use a lot is the Sabrent USB to SATA/IDE hard drive adapter (USB-DS12). It does require external power but I use mine so much that I purchased another one to have and I wish I had gotten one much sooner in life.
We have fitted all of our stuff that has USB-C or micro USB charging/data ports with magnetic couplers. Like those rubber caps (and just as large), but with electrical contacts on them. All our chargers have cables with matching magnetic couplers at the end. All sockets on the devices are now protected from dirt by the couplers and do not wear out from plugging and unplugging. And all chargers can now be used with all devices without hunting for the 'right' cable. The couplers also provide data connections, so I keep one such cable plugged into my laptop. It might not be the best invention since sliced bread, but for me it comes close 😊. And yes, I do have several of the 'handy little things' shown in the video - nice collection, Chris!
Anyone who has built a few computers ends up with most of these items. Cables that change connector types or extend cables are really common IT grab bag items. I still use DVI and even occasionally VGA, so I've got the full menagerie of display conversion cables and dongles. And most of the items in this video are very affordable. I'd love to see a video on your ideal IT crash cart (if you have one). Mine is "lug heavy monitor and full keyboard/mouse around," which isn't ideal, but I don't really have to use it very often.
I recall working in a shop and having to troubleshoot a CNC machine who's flat screen monitor stopped working. (My fault!) It turned out the fix was to hook up an old CRT monitor and get into the bios and fix the problem. The CRT fix was a hail-Mary, but it worked!
I've got a little tablet sized monitor that I sometimes use when trying to diagnose normally headless devices that won't respond to network. Not a pleasant experience for long term use, but can be enough to get logged in to the device and fix the networking
I recently picked up a GPD pocket 3 with the HDMI-IN "KVM" module (think HDMI capture card + keyboard/mouse out via usb-c) partly for this purpose when I need to travel to a datacenter where I'm not sure what will be available.
for older equipment: USB to IDE adaptor that usually comes with a universal brick powersupply. There's a SATA version. I would mention my handy dandy side cutters.
Mr Scissors and Stanley the Knife are passing their mental health evaluations. Their omission from the video triggered existential crises about their role in being small and useful. But they will return, stronger, faster, better than before.
love to see that you are sooo close to 1 million subscribers. i love the videos and the format that gives me so many old memories. Congregations in advance for being so close to 1 milion subscribers. keep up the good work and keep teaching people about useful computer things.
Really practical video Chris! I don't think I have ever seen anyone on RUclips discuss so elegantly these very important things that make computing in any form, easier. I actually have most of the items you mentioned, but I am going to purchase a couple of the encrypted USB drives for password storage, and look into the two-factor security USB device. One of my other go-to pieces of hardware is a Logitech Wireless keyboard and mouse. They both connect using a single USB port. So far, I have found them to work seamlessly on all the computers and single board computers I have tested, no matter what the operating system is. Thanks for all your hard Work Chris! Take Good Care.
I don't know if this counts or not as a little computing thing but I probably would have put it in a video like this and that is a wifi to ethernet adapter (or is it ethernet to Wi-Fi?) No that's not what they are actually called but what it basically does is you plug it into a wall outlet and then it has an ethernet jack on the side of it. Then you just take a regular Ethernet cable and plug one end into the device and the other end into whatever has ethernet and voila internet connection. When you first buy the device obviously you have to plug it in and set up the Wi-Fi but after that you just plug the device in any wall outlet and any ethernet device. As long as it's in range you have Wi-Fi. Very handy when someone brings over a device and while you're trying to help them with a problem you need to connect it to the internet no need to remember what your Wi-Fi password is. The particular device I have is sold as a Wi-Fi range extender but I turned off the extender part. One time I was at a yard sale and I saw a device that literally looked identical to the one I have except it was smaller. Same color size branding everything. Lol
Great episode - you've got me interested in the Yubico security key. A really useful gadget for me is a right angled USB-A adaptor. In my case, I use it on my 3D printer so that the USB drive doesn't stick out, but rather lays flush against the front panel of the printer. This way, the USB stick doesn't get snapped off mid-print when somebody walks past (that happened to me once).
Re Sata-USB adapters: Missing from your presentation are the adapters for running mechanical drives from a USB port. They provide the higher voltages needed by a mechanical drive. Not everyone wants everything to be SSD when there's so many mechanical drives wanting new homes. Thanks!
One of my favourite pieces of tech is a 4-port, 2-way USB switch. I connect my keyboard, mouse, webcam and headset, and the switch is connected to my laptop and my desktop. I can swap everything between the two computers by pressing a button. Very handy, since I use my laptop for work stuff (and my desktop for my leisure time).
My favorite is something that combines two of the devices Chris showed off here. It's a USB-C Ethernet adapter with a built-in 3-port USB-A hub. Add in a USB-A to C adapter like the one Chris had attached to his Yubikey and you can use it to gain Ethernet and/or a few extra USB ports on just about any laptop or mobile device.
My computer bits are just a continuation, of my collection of audio/video bits. Don't even get me started about random stock of electronic components to make my own adapter bits, but it really is lovely to be able to get so many adapters/etc inexpensive from China, for far cheaper than I could make them myself or even the postage the parts would cost to mail to me, due to China having subsidized postage that we US citizens are already paying for anyway so might as well make use of it.
Keychain USB adapters have have saved me and people around me very often. USBC-lightning, USBC-Micro, USBC-miniB are the 3 big ones. I've used the lightning adapter a LOT. Also USB C headphone adapters.... surprisingly usefull.
As a side note, it would be a good idea to regularly clean the keys of anything you use to enter a password or code. Dirty keys are the ones not used for the code, and don't have faded print. Ones used for the code don't get as dirty and sometimes the lettering wears off, narrowing the possible guesses down considerably.
Glad someone mentioned it, once I saw the painted on (assuming) keys I figured with 10 years of use surely the code he uses has been faded making it much easier to brute force
I think anyone who works with protoboards and microcontrollers has made one (or a few) of those useful LED checkers. My favourite ones use two single-pin connectors instead of a block. A little less convenient but a little more versatile. I put some heatshrink onto them so they look more finished.
A useful small computing thing I like is a USB switch. This lets me plug my usb keyboard and mouse and camera and other devices into a hub, and then use the same set of devices for both my laptop and my tower pc and switch the devices between the two computers as needed.
This was a very useful and insightful video. Thank you for that. What I find indispensable is a combination of three small-ish devices: a KVM switch with USB and DisplayPort, a USB hub, and a 'docking station'. The KVM switch has connectors for USB-A keyboard, USB-A mouse, a USB-A hub, and DisplayPort. These connect to your peripherals. On the other side, a single USB cable goes to your computing device. One of those is my main PC, and the other one is the docking station. This docking station can connect a bunch of devices (USB-A, USB-C, Ethernet, DisplayPort, etc), plus a USB-C power supply. Then, a single cable goes to the USB-C/ThunderBolt port of my work laptop. This means that, when I'm working from home, I simply have to stick that USB-C cable into my laptop, and press the button on the remote control of the KVM switch. The KVM switch itself is hidden behind the monitor. But you can connect anything to that USB-C cable, and if I connect my (Samsung) phone or tablet, I get the full desktop experience with mouse, keyboard, and large screen.
Things I keep myself strapped with in my tech life: 1. 128gb USB key with Easy2Boot and all my portable OSes and PortableApps/AppImages on it 2. Multitool with screwdrivers 3. Small phillips screwdriver
Very useful to have a drive with Ventoy plus a handful of OS images, you never know when you will need it. I have a sdcard to usb a and sata to usb a adapter too.
1) A small motherboard speaker to go beep when a computer POSTs - I bought a pack of 5 many years ago. 2) a power on/off switch for the motherboard header to avoid the fiddly shorting of the pins with a screwdriver 3) An ethernet cable continuity tester 4) A switchable multi port USB hub so you can turn individual USB ports on and off 5) Various cases with compartments for organising various types of "very useful small computing things' - it's not useful if you can't find it !!!
I can kinda see the point to rubber port covers... But I also can't. Plus covering USB-C only avoids all the other types of ports that you normally contend with. I understand the HDMI Couplers, only in a cheap individual's sense. Meaning, somebody who is unwilling to buy a longer HDMI cable but has loads of smaller ones around. But I normally just buy longer HDMI cables anyway. The USB-C TO A adapter, ethernet and the micro SD reader, could have been covered in one hub really. I usually keep hubs like them around because of their versatility in coverage of multiple device types.
Today I learned about the Datashur encrypted drives. Definitely going to check them out; there's a model that takes a Micro-SD card for the storage medium and that looks very interesting.
I have a small Thule case in my bag with exactly the same items you have here. I also have a USB C to audio DAC, a Sandisk dual drive (USB A on one end, USB C on the other) and a number of bootable drives. I've been a bit slow on the Ventoy uptake
I have a fishing tackle box full of "very useful small computing things." I have a lot of other stuff in there as well such as spare SSDs, notebook wifi cards, spare PCI slot covers, a few small screwdrivers, legacy cables and port adapters and so on. You never know what you're going to need when working on computers!
On the first point of protecting USB ports from dust, I have found that older computers over time require some muscle to get the USB stick to insert and show. That could well be from dust getting in. I had never thought of covering them. Good show!
If you have an iphone with a lightning connecter, dust build up can prevent you from inserting the plug all the way in. Although the cable still worked
Dust isn't the only thing. You know those little bags of silicone desiccant? At work we had a number of laptops with staff unable to insert stuff into USB ports. It turns out those little balls of silicone in the sachet are the exact right size to get wedged in a USB A port. There also a real challenge to remove without damaging the USB port. The best solution we had was a suitably bent paper clip, sewing needle or cocktail stick.
My favorite computing thing is my pair of digital calipers! Being able to measure small things in metric and imperial is so satisfying! I use it in product reviews all the time!
Thanks for this. I have several of the items you discussed, but some of the others have made their way to either my cart or a list on A..zon. One device I have from the transitional days from PATA to SATA is a small board that plugs into a SATA drive and adapts it for use in older computers. Not as useful these days, but it was a lifesaver at the time. Today, I would likely use a PATA to CF Card adapter and call it a day for an old computer.
"Gotta self-censor the name of that rainforest because plebbit says Le Algorithm is going to eat me!!! What, you don't do that??? You disgusting testosterone-fueled boomer!!!" No, but seriously. Stop.
I didn't think I would get much out of a video like this. I just find that each person I talk to has their own likes and dislikes, some go extreme and buy a version that cost $100 while I being more frugal seem to aim at the $10 option in every case. But after watching it you always do incredible and so this was a very fun video to watch. Thank you for doing what you do!
@4:23 -- USB -> SATA adapter. For a few dollars more, you can get one that supports 3.5" mechanical drives, because for those drives, you need an external power source, which you get with the slightly more expansive USB -> SATA adapters. And you do not have to use the included power supply, if you are using a 2.5" drive. It will work the same as the one in your video. But if you need to connect a 3.5" mechanical drive to a USB port, then you will be able to do that, too, with the ones that include the (optional) power adapter. If you are traveling, then that would be one more thing (the power brick) to carry around. But you do not need to carry around the power brick, if you have no intention of using the adapter with a 3.5" mechanical drive. Of course, I keep my adapter and it power brick together, because once separated, it is like trying to find that missing sock. I also put a label on the power brick, so that if it does ever turn up and I have no idea what it is for, the label will clear up that mystery. I would like to find a USB -> (68 pin) SCSI adapter. I have searched high and low. They simply do not exist. I have several old SCSI drives (68 pin, 15K RPM) that I would like to erase, before selling or dumping. It seems that I will need to purchase a PCIe adapter for SCSI drives. I am having trouble finding that, too. Argh! @5:30 -- Ethernet everywhere. For a few dollars more, you can get one that doubles as a hub. So you get the Ethernet connectivity, just as you demonstrated in this video, without losing a USB port (because the adapter will have 2 or 3 of its own USB ports).
I use a splitter for the microphone/audio jack on my laptop because they are combined and I wanted to use separate speakers and mike. Also I have a usb to sound interface - only a couple bucks but I needed another sound card to use for ham radio stuff. The other things I use are usb to serial port adapters, and a usb to bluetooth transmitter receiver with audio jack, and of course usb hubs.
The USB sound device was one of the most useful things I got that I didn't expect would be so handy. I haven't had a need to use it lately, but back when everyone was using Zoom, I had to set up a regular Zoom session with mic input and music playback. And it worked fine during tests using the computer's own sound hardware, but it would find ways to glitch out at the worst possible times to a point where only a reboot would fix it. There was some flaw with the hardware of that laptop and its mic port. The USB sound device fixed that situation. I wish I realized it sooner. And you have a totally different use for it, which shows how handy they are.
I got a simular collection of gadgets, but real useful for me was a $2 bag from Ali with green lining inside, elastic bands to keep cables and chargers fixed under and a mesh pocket with zipper for small stuff like SD Cards. Just unzip the bag, fold open and select the cable/tool you need. When done the cable gadget bag easily fits in your laptop bag. 🧑🔧
My favorite USB hub has a built in Ethernet port. It’s so useful to debug router/internet problems. I’ve found that the hub and my Chromebook can fix the majority of my friends’ and family’s issues.
Battery jumpers for cars are nice, I know it's not a "power bank" but the ability to jump your car and charge your USB in one! Shawanda is a good brand used in automotive.
An Ethernet to usb adaptor plus a 3 mtr Ethernet cable has got me out of many a hole with no available WiFi. A usb 3 card adaptor with SD, Micro SD, m2 slots etc comes in handy. I strip down old broken laptop/PC components & collect standoffs, screws, nuts, switches & cables, you could be in the middle of a project & you just never know? A good set of tools, taps & dies (M2 -M4) great for making bespoke standoffs. Thanks Chris your video has given me more ideas to add to my collection :)
What I kept thinking of throughout the video was "Things Club with Jack Hargreaves", from "Settle Out Of Court The Burkiss Way" (unfortunately not available on BBC Sounds at the moment, so I can't check that the reference is correct). I bet nobody knows what I'm talking about!
My favorite thing is my little magnetic cable with different connectors. The magnet allows me to clip it on my backpack, so I can literally always offer someone a cable to borrow if they’re in a pinch.
I have a 2.5gB version of the ethernet connector you have , has pulled my bum out of the fire a few times , I often find it performs better than even the onboard ethernet as well , I have used it MANY times. one of my favourite go to data transfer /cloning solutions is my toaster, I picked one up years ago on a boxing day sale at a local computer store (think I paid around $40 for it) , it can do SATA and IDE, have used it to migrate many devices from spinning rust to SSD
Unfortunately, _most_ of the dust plugs seem to come only in black. I've found it useful to have odds and ends in bright colours so they aren't lost as easily, and it makes identifying them quicker.
Quite a useful collection of gizmoes you have got there. The thing I have found the most useful is a wi-fi extender with an Ethernet socket. Plug in the extender and connect the an Ethernet lead to any computer without WiFi! Thanks for uploading.
Asus used to make the WL-330NUL - a device that combined the wireless repeater + router + usb ethernet into a tiny form factor. I still have mine that I travel with but sadly I think it was so niche that no one made anything like it and it just disappeared once ASUS stopped supporting them.
I'm a big fan of the rubber covers, whether it's type a, type c, hdmi, display port, or otherwise, if it doesn't have a plug in it all the time, it deserves a cover. My absolute favourite computing thing is probably a usb3 type a to M.2 NVMe adapter in the form factor resembling a slightly longer and wider than normal flash drive. Having recently upgraded the 2280 NVMe SSD in my computer, i had a 500GB drive that was still reasonably fast (gen 3 i think) so i threw it into a nifty little enclosure and oh boy is it fast! I frequently use it as a ventoy drive as it only takes a few seconds to drop a new Linux distro or Windows ISO onto it and it reads the installation media often faster than the drive it's being installed to. It's a massive time saver, although I do want to build another one with a 2TB drive in it, just for moving copious amounts of data from one device to another very quickly. Edit: another gem i picked up recently was an active display port to HDMI adapter, although i should have probably gone along the route with a female DP and a male HDMI so i could more conveniently plug it into the back of my monitor on the end of one of the many DP cables i have laying around the house that have never actually been used. Oh well, now i know for next time i go shopping i guess...
Superb video. Just one cautionary note on the HDMI coupler idea: Not all HDMI is created equally. This includes the cables, the adapters, and the signal origin (source) and the signal destination (sink). I can also include any powered devices in the middle (repeaters). Today, we are dealing with various versions and qualities of cable and connectors. The electronic components use standard, ARC, and eARC ports. Also, the particular EDID settings are a factor. By themselves, these factors can greatly impact how successfully an HDMI signal passes to its final destination device. However, the MOST critical issue that I would call attention to is what is known as "attenuation", or deterioration of the HDMI signal over cable distance. HDMI is inherently a low distance signal consisting of multiple signal elements that easily go out of timing sync, over distance. It is also payload sensitive, meaning that particular signal elements (ex. resolution, color space, audio type, and other metadata) can greatly increase the danger of attenuation-related loss. This brings us back to the issue with HDMI couplers. Depending on combination of devices, signals, cable types, cable lengths, cable quality, and the qualities of the coupler itself, it is possible that the addition of the coupler could impede the HDMI signal. In my business, we ban all such couplers. At home, I do keep a few, but I'm always prepared to see an adverse result. Happily, in 90% of cases, things seem to work out. Thanks again! (BTW: In the months and years to come, USB-C is going to become far, far more problematic for the same reasons.)
Thanks for this. I think it really depends on the environment, and my use case is I accept unusual. I've been using a lot HDMI cabling in a production environment for about 15 years, often with many cable runs (via couplers) over 10m, and with the setup of connections between tethered cameras, splitters, mixers, recorders and computers often switched multiple times a day (sometimes 20 to 50 times a day for a camera as setups change). So for me couplers are what make it work. Before I used them, it was very rare for an HDMI cable to survive six months, whatever quality I purchased. But I've been using couplers for over a decade now, and cables now last years. And I am not damaging HDMI ports on equipment. So for me, couplers are what stop me having the sync and connection issues you mention. Hence whilst in your business they may be banned (maybe fixed installations?), in mine they are a must that save a lot of time and money.
@@ExplainingComputers Well said. As I mentioned, in 90% of the cases there is little chance of an issue. That potential 10% will always be those who push the limits of HDMI. High resolution, HDR, Deep Color, gaming, and high performance gear are examples of this. One thing that can provide a hedge to the signal cliff is the use of HDMI certified cables. They are no longer necessarily expensive. Monoprice has an excellent selection that is actually cheaper than many lesser retail cables. I've used them in commercial projects. Though, I do believe that these potential issues will become more prevalent in the future, as these performance curve of AV graphic continues to rise.
Nice video, thanks. I travel a lot, and prefer using a mouse over a trackpad. I bring a thin mousepad made by 3M and have found it indispensible, especially when I only have a rough surface to work on.
A very useful item to buy in bulk are UTP caps. You can put them on the end of any network cables that aren't in use and they'll protect the plastic latches from getting snapped off.
Some of mine: 1. An excellent Debian 12 system for when my Windows 10 machines give up. 2. A powered SATA HDD/SSD dock with 2 slots for drive cloning or copying. Has come in handy when installing new drives in media server.
It's interesting when I get highlighted as a "LINUX USER" then that time comes when I pull a little USB stick out of my pocket / fix or clone their drive / reboot their system and then ..... print { " MICDROP " } .....
Another quality video. Thanks! I prefer a USB 3 to Gb Ethernet/USB 3 hub. The extra ports are useful for mouse & keyboard. I used to carry an Ethernet crossover cable for devices that didn't auto-detect. When I did customer presentations, I had my video dongles: VGA, DVI, Displayport, HDMI. Now everything's HDMI.
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One of my favorites is a microSD card... card. It's a plastic case with 10 slots for microSD cards, about the thickness of a credit card. A brilliant little bit of lo-tech hi-tech.
I have them too.. does an excellent job of keeping my micro SD cards organized.
Neat. Think I'll be getting one myself. I just use the plastic sleeve that comes in the package. Works but not what I would call the most effective in keeping my microSD cards organized.
That was one of the first things I 3D Printed.
I've 3d printed one of those, extremely handy to not lose sight of my microsd's!
Aside for raspberry pis and maybe phones what do you use the micro sd for?
Literally at work team lead said "We need to connect these two HDMI cables together".
Me:
My team was amazed.
I use one of those with a Chromecast because I found putting the Chromecast near the USB power port was better.
And I bet there was that one guy in the corner saying “I’ll go get a longer lead” 😆
You told my favorite fake story of the day.
@@prezidenttrump5171don't be a buzzkill
Buzzing through lies all day. I work for Origin PC in Miami, FL. Him telling a fake story like that was extremely lame. @@mr.shplorb662
As a Helpdesk Tech, a lot of these things are a MUST for anyone doing IT work
I can't express how much I love this sort of technology. Adapters and little cool and convenient pieces of tech.
Another thing I would add to this list is a magnetic screw bowl. It's not really specifically for computers, but when you're taking apart or building computers or SBCs, having a place where you can't lose a screw is really great. I keep mine on the fridge when I'm not using it.
Isn't that what old HDD magnets are for?
@@fredjones100 I like to use old 3d printer hotbeds. They're sticky on the back and you can cut em up
There are also magnetic project mats you can use to keep your screws organized as well! There are even some with dry-erase surfaces you can use to take notes, especially useful for repairs or projects with a ton of different screws.
For work on the bench, I have one of those silicone soldering mats with a bunch of compartments along the edges. For work out and about, I use a pill organizer. Where a magnet really comes in handy for me is keeping a screw on my screwdriver bit when I need to maneuver it in a tight space. Right now at my day job I've been doing that with a little neodymium magnet that came out of a broken lighting connector... I really ought to get around to harvesting another or just buy some tiny magnets online.
If you dont have a bowl like tha you can just use any magnet lying around. Works well.
One of my favourites is a 4 way USB hub with on/off buttons. So that they can be populated and whatever is connected can be switched on or off as desired.
Which one do you own? Is it usb 3?
@@lekalotte2825i have one with a 7 usb port, it is kinda cheap probably around 10 bucks, it uses usb 3 port but only connects the usb2 part. So it only has usb 2 speed. Idk about the more expensive one
could do with one of those. My current usb c hub can often not initialise drivers correctly after waking from sleep, would be handy to turn it of and on.
Sort of the same here - a Tower power supply that is 2 outlets per power switch.... So I pick what hard drives and when....... Mwhahahahahhar! I AM THE MASTER!!!!! Sorry. I'll go back to my brown suit now....
@@lekalotte2825 Sabrent 4 port USB 3.0 with LED switches
Could have titled this video “Things you didn’t know you needed until now “
I’m getting some of those USBC bungs, brilliant video
This current title suits christ more.
indeed!
I will use them to fill my USBC bungholes LOL He is right... Those usbc holes are quite untidy and grubby.
If you have a recent samsung phone it wont save you,%60 of their charge ports are dying.
@@EmeraldHill-vo1cs
What do you mean by this?
I can hear how proud you are of that encrypted USB Stick it's really wholesome and respectable
We pay so little attention to these type of devices, but when we can't find them.... oh boy 🙂
We need a special mention to Mr Scissors and Stanley, whom we owe a major thanks....
Thanks for your support. I will say "hello" to Stanley and Mr Scissors.
Fancy seeing you here RoboNuggie :)
I always think Stanley the Knife is EC's serial killer alter ego.
@@replikvltyoutube3727 This is almost my second home..... 🙂
Indeed! Without the assistance and cooperation of Mr. Scissors or Stanley, we would not get the full benefit of these small computing devices. 😀
My favorite cable is *Ugreen Type-C to 3.5mm audio jack.* And this cable *has my favorite tip,*
to convert information from Type-C to audio for the audio jack this cable has an integrated audio interface in it, you can also see this cable's audio interface every time you connect it to a computer as separate from the other audio interfaces you have.
And this tip with this cable saved me, one time that i was helping on a presentation and for some reason the presentation's laptop integrated audio interface (Realtek) wasn't working, so i used this cable's 3.5mm audio jack output and this cable's integrated audio interface and presentation was saved. 😊
*every type-c to 3.5mm audio jack has an audio interface in it, because they need to convert from digital to analog. not only the Ugreen one, that's just what i use 😉
using those couplers to reduce wear and tear on the main component is a really smart idea
It's not a computing device, but it is an essential part of my computing activities....a cup of tea.
Helps me solve so many problems, I can't function without it.☕
100%. Even if it only delays you, to allow time to think.
What a British comment ☕😊
Not just British. Here in the States I also enjoy a cuppa while I am in my Computing mode.@@FuturePerfectEnglish
Imagine Bletchley Park without tea! Those brilliant boffins would never have broken the enigma machines without it?
if you're gonna go that way, how about the rubber ducky you talk to when you're stumped in debugging
I also recommend a USB audio device of some kind. I'm totally blind, and these are extremely useful for getting audio out of systems that don't support it, such as servers or when installing operating systems in cases where the screen reader can't be heard on the default sound device because it lacks drivers. Thank you for this wonderful channel! I look forward to every episode!
Good to see the blind community getting useful information about devices
Nowadays the converters just look like a USB cable that connects the audio jack to the connector, when in fact there's a tiny circuit board inside the USB plug that has a DAC to make audio.
@@gblargg I like them because they completely bypass the onboard sound device. For me, sound is just as critical as a monitor, so these are essential tools to make sure I always have access, regardless of the computer configuration. Braille displays are also handy for situations when you don't have sound, but they're very expensive, and you usually have to install drivers so they communicate with the screen reader. As such, I prefer universal audio devices.
I have one of those doohickies and I love it. My audio quit on my computer for compatibility reasons, and I tried several solutions. Ideally I use HDMI audio to the TV I use as my primary monitor, but I've had problems with that as well. I also have a digital-optical converter, but it's also a bit finicky. However the USB audio adapter always works. It also has a microphone jack. Perfect.
I have usb to sound card interface - they only cost a couple dollars. I needed second sound card for ham radio digital interface and these are simple to use for that purpose.
One bit of kit I can recommend is an USB C OTG cable. They're similar to the USB C to USB A cables shown in this video, but they work well with smartphones, as they allow you to use your smartphone in new ways. For example, I've paired an USB C OTG cable with a USB HDMI capture device, which with some free software allows me to turn my Android phone into a portable computer monitor, useful for troubleshooting devices that are usually run headlessly.
My house is FULL of almost 50 years worth of an endless collection of adapters, kludges,, interfaces, obsolete cables, boards, old drives and media, widgets, doohickeys, gizmos, thingies, gimmicks, doodads, whatchamacallits, MacGuffins, thingamabobs, and thingamajiggers. It always at least a full day's journey to find the right ones that still work, matching them to their technology mates, finding their software drivers, and then identifying what they actually still do. The labels are almost always missing or inadequate. The mystery is how you got it down to just so few. It proves though how ubiquitous the many USB devices have become, and how necessary passwords and encryption still are to us and our safety. Before USB came along, I think I spent almost half my life trying to configure serial ports. Once I have finally shuffled off this mortal coil, there will probably be a small fortune to be recovered in precious and valuable metals in all that stuff, not even to mention an archeological trove of ancient data to be translated and parsed for the historical record. Or perhaps just a trip to the landfill dump.
Ugh. I know the feeling. I think I've even got an old 14Gb SCSI drive from the mid 90's in my box of obsolete hardware somewhere. I think it was the one I was using for Linux experiments back in the day. I actually got Debian installed on old 68k Mac at one point.
My dad has (and still uses) an DC adaptor that was made in West Germany 🤣 - old bits of kit can still be useful!
And the day after you ever have a tidy up (or throw out) any of those things, you will find that you really needed one of them, and that you can't buy them any more.
Or, just possibly, someone will come along with an unreplaceable bit of computer controlled kit that needs a no-longer manufactured lead, and will buy the whole shebang for that one cable.
@cromulence what's he use it for?
One thing I find useful with phones, tablets, smaller laptops, etc, is a small USB 3 hub with a built in Ethernet port. As you pointed out, a lot of small devices don't have an ethernet port, and adding one, along with extra USB ports (which they often don't have either) is sooooo useful.
I bought a regular-size one to upgrade my laptop from Fast to Gigabit Ethernet, while adding some extra USB 3.0 ports to it. It's a cheap Dell made in 2018, but it still serves all my needs, especially after I added memory to the maximum of 16 GB and installed an SSD.
that is so true, especially looking at my tiny Raspberry Pi Zeros, that only offer micro-USB ports
I had one of those at work until last week, no one knows where it's gone.... 🤔
I have one that has an SD card reader too, it's probably the most useful device I have
When choosing a laptop, I had narrowed down my choice between one with good performance and one with good I/O. I almost got the latter just because it had ethernet, but then I found out about those dongles.
My group in college called me Marry Poppins because I somehow always would have the cable or adapter you need, I absolutely love to see what others carry around! I would add a compact portable wireless USB keyboard to the list. For testing SBCs, troubleshooting servers, or even media control, having a wireless keyboard you can connect to anything gives you so much freedom.
oh man if I was in your group that wouldve been changed to Mary Pluggins or Mary Dockins
'wireless USB'??
One device I have is a usb power monitor. You can see exactly how much current is being drawn by a device. Seldom used, but very illuminating. When combined with a mains socket power monitor, it goes to illustrate how efficient (or otherwise) your 5v power supplies really are.
I was looking to see if anyone else would say this. These are brilliant!
$5, and you can see:
Is the device actually working? (drawing current in the expected range). No more plugging stuff in and wondering is it the device or the cord
How much power is drawn over time (great for seeing if batteries are shot. If a 5000mah battery charges with 300mah, you know its bad)
Something wrong with the port itself (Lost count of how many times I've been frustrated with frequent disconnections, thinking it was the cable, when the port itself was reading 4v at small loads)
After hearing you say “get it in Chris” I’m never going to be able to watch another of your videos in the same way again lol
a certain biology lesson in a monty python scetch came to mind.
@@DoctorOnkelap Family friendly and well said.
Micro SD to SD adapters. If you have a laptop with one of the nicer SD card slots where you can fully click an SD card into the slot, I personally like leaving an empty adapter in the slot.
A flash drive with linux installed on it. Useful for having a portable computing environment with your software and files you can run on any computer. Or for emergency situations. For example, if you only have one computer and the OS drive gets corrupted, you still have an OS you can boot up to fix things.
You can make these by launching a linux installer iso in a virtual machine and usb redirecting your flash drive into the vm. You can also format it so that it has a separate data partition that still shows up when you use it like a normal flash drive. You still have to do things such as using disk encryption (flash drives are easy to lose and had to sanitize) disabling time synchronization, disabling os prober, changing the linux partition types to microsoft basic data and enabling the hidden attribute so windows doesn't ask to format them, making sure a copy of the bootloader is saved to the efi removable path, making sure the bootlader plays nice with secure boot, and disable nvram updating for the bootloader. It's a little too much to explain for a quick youtube comment.
I'm highly impressed you got the HDMI leads into the coupler without having to turn at least one of them the other way around. I know you can set it up before recording, but i know how sneaky those cables can be if you look away for even a split second
Another useful item is a small box of various computer screw types. You can accidentally lose a screw when working on upgrading or just opening up a laptop or something else ect.
So having replacements is handy. And often there are screws already missing from previous work. A mini screwdriver kit is also a requirement, some come with tools to pry apart a laptop.
A couple of spare blank USB drives in various sizes are also useful, there are types that have a USB type A port at one end and a USB type C port at the other.
There are times when you just need to physically transport files, especially to use retail commercial services easily or to give someone a big file and you can't be bothered mucking around with dropbox - or explaining to someone else how to use it. That's why at least one should be a cheap basic USB that you don't mind giving away.
A good (labelled) drive can have a bunch of useful software repair tools on it, including a basic operating system, in order to help with computer issues.
A variety of various commonish USB cable types (micro USB, lightning, ect) and a good charger can also come in handy sometimes .... you'll regret it when you need one and you don't have them. "Where's the charger for your external drive? Does it use USB power?"
And just to keep your phone (and anyone else's) running, you may be doing a lot of screen time looking up solutions.
If you have the space (say in a laptop bag), a _long_ ethernet cable can be a lifesaver so you don't have to sit right next to the modem when the WiFi is playing up.
And a surprisingly overlooked item - a good lens cleaner spray and cloth. If you wear glasses it can do double duty and you probably already carry one.
And if you are going to be working on fiddly things, a pair of magnifying eyeglasses can save a lot of frustration - unless you're young and short-sighted you may need them, depending on your minimum focal distance.
I've had to have a friend hold my mobile phone in front of me with the magnifying app on, to make sure a connector was connected properly.
And to find the missing screw that had rolled onto the motherboard.
I've since gotten a pair of chemist bought magnifying specs to use for looking closely.
And a proper prescription pair of glasses solely for sitting at a screen, with the ideal focus distance set for that.
Make sure the frames look completely different, I once tried to go driving with my computer glasses on and was barely out of the driveway when I realised what was wrong.
A small plastic case to hold fiddly bits while you're working on something. A small magnet plate is useful for holding screws.
A roll of masking tape and a pen can be useful. You can bundle and label cables and use it for holding small items in place.
Trying to deal with a tangled mess of cables, you can as a temporary fix label a cable at both ends with the same number and then what its for. You can even find legacy/orphan cables taking up power points that are otherwise needed, which is nice when that happens as you get freed up power points.
Remember every time you need a item and don't have it, and then add it to your personal list.
All of these are items that at one point I needed and didn't have on me.
Great post!
Adding to the ones you mentioned, I'd recommend a power cord extension, or a multi socket adapter with cord. I always have one in my laptop bag, even if it requires a lot of space. And a flash light when you drop a screw and it tends to go at the far end of the table leg's end, at the darkest spot possible. Of course the led light of a smartphone is also perfect for the job.
This is a great post, I wouldn't be without my occupational glasses I had made, I can look at the screen & take notes without loosing focus on either. :)
I bought a giant 100 piece bag of m.2 nvme screws for this exact reason.
And an old toothbrush. Useful for cleaning out stuff you can't otherwise get to and can't comfortably take apart. Particularly good for that awkward fan you can't unmount.
Have you noticed that no matter how many screws you put back in while reassembling a PC, there are always some left over? :D
NVME to USB A to clone hard drives is my latest favourite.
Thanks Chris for your top shelf videos👍
Yep, bought one too, for upgrading these laptop thingies or getting info from that borked boot drive. Actually, after the USB to IDE and USB to SATA it's the next logical thing. Wonder if it can also support other M.2 PCIe devices... maybe something for a video.
you are one of a kind. many talk about software and hardware but no one for these ''humble'', little practical computing ''gadgets''. i didn't even know what a usb ethernet adapter was, until my pc tower's usb main ethernet slot failed and i desperately needed a stable connection for some online academic courses during the pandemic... . most useful upload. thank you!
The fact that I've bought some of these thing before, because i needed them. Is proof they are SUPER useful.
I recommend a ventoy USB drive (at least 16GB) ventoy is a software that lets you copy the ISO file directly onto the USB, and then you can boot into the ventoy manager on any PC, and run those ISO's. Very helpful for installing operating systems. Especially many different types
Ethernet dongles and portal protectors,
SD adapters and GPIO testers,
Cable extenders all tied up with strings,
These are a few of my favo(u)rite things!
Try leather cable ties
@BenLJackson I think you might have missed that the comment is structured like the lyrics to a song, specifically "My Favorite Things" from the film The Sound of Music.
@@BenLJackson
It's no SKIN off my nose
However - I often Use VELCRO cable ties
in a cable management system - where cables
where cable arrangement needs to be or requires
to be altered frequently.
Otherwise I would use nylon cable ties in the example
arrangement below for 3 cables ||=||=||
This is some of the best dongle content I've seen in some time.
Everyone loves dongles!
Benny Hill music...
He hangs dongle
WRT the USB to Ethernet adapter, I use many other them in my work connecting to isolated networks with static IPs assigned. Of course, to communicate with the various devices using my laptop I have to set a static IP address in the same range for the laptop too. It turns out that Windows remembers the static address on each adapter even if you unplug it. I therefore carry several of the adapters and have one for each customer’s IP range and I don’t have to keep reassigning the static address on an adapter. There is the expense of buying multiple adapters but, they’re cheap (~$20 each), small and well worth it for the time and effort it saves.
P.S. I Dymo label each adapter with its static address so I know which one applies to which subnet.
Really love the USB to SATA cable. Worth mentioning that these don't work with 3.5 inch drives unless they've got an additional power source though.
I have got a ugreen one with external power adapter.( power supply wall adapter not included)
Yes, and you might want to check if which port you plug it into when using 2.5" hard disks. 2A or above is probably fine, but not every USB port is created equal.
3.5'' HDD and enterprise SATA SSDs tend to require a 12V power rail, which can be supplied externally on some USB-SATA adapters.
@@owlstead
Yes. My 2.5" ssd drive works fine with only 1A of current and 5w of power
I got one, and opening it up revealed there are unused pad for the DC jack
I love to a wireless keyboard/touchpad handy. It helps investigating issues without having to swap connected keyboard and mouse. My go-to is the Logitech K400 Plus.
Of umpteen USB sticks I have but one with a blinking activity LED which can actually be surprisingly reassuring. "May It be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out."
I once made the comparision that a micro SD card is like a modern floppy, small and inserts into alot of devices to get them up and running, I use a lot of the same bits always loved this channel.
I love these little things that don’t get the press but make things better. The finishing touches for a computing setup. Two places in my area of the USA that have well populated sections with these treasures are Daiso (a Japanese company) and Five Below (a discount store aimed at younger shoppers). Back in the day this would have been the type of thing keeping Radio Shack going.
I've never been in a Five Belºw store; I thought they were merely a clothier. Who knew?
Some very useful items here in your video. Thank you for sharing. One essential device I use a lot is the Sabrent USB to SATA/IDE hard drive adapter (USB-DS12). It does require external power but I use mine so much that I purchased another one to have and I wish I had gotten one much sooner in life.
We have fitted all of our stuff that has USB-C or micro USB charging/data ports with magnetic couplers. Like those rubber caps (and just as large), but with electrical contacts on them. All our chargers have cables with matching magnetic couplers at the end. All sockets on the devices are now protected from dirt by the couplers and do not wear out from plugging and unplugging. And all chargers can now be used with all devices without hunting for the 'right' cable. The couplers also provide data connections, so I keep one such cable plugged into my laptop. It might not be the best invention since sliced bread, but for me it comes close 😊.
And yes, I do have several of the 'handy little things' shown in the video - nice collection, Chris!
Which one are you using? Most of those seem to have bad reviews or are for changing only
Anyone who has built a few computers ends up with most of these items. Cables that change connector types or extend cables are really common IT grab bag items. I still use DVI and even occasionally VGA, so I've got the full menagerie of display conversion cables and dongles. And most of the items in this video are very affordable. I'd love to see a video on your ideal IT crash cart (if you have one). Mine is "lug heavy monitor and full keyboard/mouse around," which isn't ideal, but I don't really have to use it very often.
Great idea for the crash cart video. Noted!
I recall working in a shop and having to troubleshoot a CNC machine who's flat screen monitor stopped working. (My fault!) It turned out the fix was to hook up an old CRT monitor and get into the bios and fix the problem. The CRT fix was a hail-Mary, but it worked!
I've got a little tablet sized monitor that I sometimes use when trying to diagnose normally headless devices that won't respond to network.
Not a pleasant experience for long term use, but can be enough to get logged in to the device and fix the networking
I recently picked up a GPD pocket 3 with the HDMI-IN "KVM" module (think HDMI capture card + keyboard/mouse out via usb-c) partly for this purpose when I need to travel to a datacenter where I'm not sure what will be available.
for older equipment: USB to IDE adaptor that usually comes with a universal brick powersupply. There's a SATA version. I would mention my handy dandy side cutters.
I use the ultra cheap USB 2.0 one with 3.5 IDE, 2.5 IDE and SATA. From Aliexpress, less than 5 dollar.
Another excellent video. However, given their contributions I’m surprised Mr. Scissors or Stanley the Knife did not make an appearance :-)
Mr Scissors and Stanley the Knife are passing their mental health evaluations. Their omission from the video triggered existential crises about their role in being small and useful. But they will return, stronger, faster, better than before.
The usb C caps are brilliant. Just purchased some for my various phones and tablets. Thanks Christopher and hello.
:)
some of them have cute keychains on the end! Mine is a teddy bear. :)
love to see that you are sooo close to 1 million subscribers. i love the videos and the format that gives me so many old memories. Congregations in advance for being so close to 1 milion subscribers. keep up the good work and keep teaching people about useful computer things.
Really practical video Chris! I don't think I have ever seen anyone on RUclips discuss so elegantly these very important things that make computing in any form, easier. I actually have most of the items you mentioned, but I am going to purchase a couple of the encrypted USB drives for password storage, and look into the two-factor security USB device. One of my other go-to pieces of hardware is a Logitech Wireless keyboard and mouse. They both connect using a single USB port. So far, I have found them to work seamlessly on all the computers and single board computers I have tested, no matter what the operating system is. Thanks for all your hard Work Chris! Take Good Care.
I don't know if this counts or not as a little computing thing but I probably would have put it in a video like this and that is a wifi to ethernet adapter (or is it ethernet to Wi-Fi?)
No that's not what they are actually called but what it basically does is you plug it into a wall outlet and then it has an ethernet jack on the side of it. Then you just take a regular Ethernet cable and plug one end into the device and the other end into whatever has ethernet and voila internet connection.
When you first buy the device obviously you have to plug it in and set up the Wi-Fi but after that you just plug the device in any wall outlet and any ethernet device. As long as it's in range you have Wi-Fi.
Very handy when someone brings over a device and while you're trying to help them with a problem you need to connect it to the internet no need to remember what your Wi-Fi password is.
The particular device I have is sold as a Wi-Fi range extender but I turned off the extender part. One time I was at a yard sale and I saw a device that literally looked identical to the one I have except it was smaller. Same color size branding everything. Lol
Great episode - you've got me interested in the Yubico security key. A really useful gadget for me is a right angled USB-A adaptor. In my case, I use it on my 3D printer so that the USB drive doesn't stick out, but rather lays flush against the front panel of the printer. This way, the USB stick doesn't get snapped off mid-print when somebody walks past (that happened to me once).
Your video names are great the USB-IF should hire you to simplify their mess of naming conventions
Re Sata-USB adapters: Missing from your presentation are the adapters for running mechanical drives from a USB port. They provide the higher voltages needed by a mechanical drive. Not everyone wants everything to be SSD when there's so many mechanical drives wanting new homes. Thanks!
One of my favourite pieces of tech is a 4-port, 2-way USB switch. I connect my keyboard, mouse, webcam and headset, and the switch is connected to my laptop and my desktop. I can swap everything between the two computers by pressing a button. Very handy, since I use my laptop for work stuff (and my desktop for my leisure time).
My favorite is something that combines two of the devices Chris showed off here. It's a USB-C Ethernet adapter with a built-in 3-port USB-A hub. Add in a USB-A to C adapter like the one Chris had attached to his Yubikey and you can use it to gain Ethernet and/or a few extra USB ports on just about any laptop or mobile device.
Some of my favorites are a 3 port HDMI switch. Cable ties, and several little pouches to keep things organized in.
Part 2 of this one, please! Very interesting suggestions in the comments! And very useful episode and idea!
My computer bits are just a continuation, of my collection of audio/video bits. Don't even get me started about random stock of electronic components to make my own adapter bits, but it really is lovely to be able to get so many adapters/etc inexpensive from China, for far cheaper than I could make them myself or even the postage the parts would cost to mail to me, due to China having subsidized postage that we US citizens are already paying for anyway so might as well make use of it.
For me, i use an Orico NVME usb adapter. Had a couple of NVME drives lying around and i've found this useful.
Keychain USB adapters have have saved me and people around me very often. USBC-lightning, USBC-Micro, USBC-miniB are the 3 big ones. I've used the lightning adapter a LOT. Also USB C headphone adapters.... surprisingly usefull.
As a side note, it would be a good idea to regularly clean the keys of anything you use to enter a password or code. Dirty keys are the ones not used for the code, and don't have faded print. Ones used for the code don't get as dirty and sometimes the lettering wears off, narrowing the possible guesses down considerably.
Glad someone mentioned it, once I saw the painted on (assuming) keys I figured with 10 years of use surely the code he uses has been faded making it much easier to brute force
I think anyone who works with protoboards and microcontrollers has made one (or a few) of those useful LED checkers.
My favourite ones use two single-pin connectors instead of a block. A little less convenient but a little more versatile. I put some heatshrink onto them so they look more finished.
A useful small computing thing I like is a USB switch. This lets me plug my usb keyboard and mouse and camera and other devices into a hub, and then use the same set of devices for both my laptop and my tower pc and switch the devices between the two computers as needed.
This was a very useful and insightful video. Thank you for that.
What I find indispensable is a combination of three small-ish devices: a KVM switch with USB and DisplayPort, a USB hub, and a 'docking station'. The KVM switch has connectors for USB-A keyboard, USB-A mouse, a USB-A hub, and DisplayPort. These connect to your peripherals. On the other side, a single USB cable goes to your computing device. One of those is my main PC, and the other one is the docking station. This docking station can connect a bunch of devices (USB-A, USB-C, Ethernet, DisplayPort, etc), plus a USB-C power supply. Then, a single cable goes to the USB-C/ThunderBolt port of my work laptop.
This means that, when I'm working from home, I simply have to stick that USB-C cable into my laptop, and press the button on the remote control of the KVM switch. The KVM switch itself is hidden behind the monitor.
But you can connect anything to that USB-C cable, and if I connect my (Samsung) phone or tablet, I get the full desktop experience with mouse, keyboard, and large screen.
Things I keep myself strapped with in my tech life:
1. 128gb USB key with Easy2Boot and all my portable OSes and PortableApps/AppImages on it
2. Multitool with screwdrivers
3. Small phillips screwdriver
Very useful to have a drive with Ventoy plus a handful of OS images, you never know when you will need it. I have a sdcard to usb a and sata to usb a adapter too.
I simply like the channel. Every time I come to visit the channel, I find something new.
You can add a small bootable USB 3.0 with a lot of userful liveCDs or other ISOs.
1) A small motherboard speaker to go beep when a computer POSTs - I bought a pack of 5 many years ago.
2) a power on/off switch for the motherboard header to avoid the fiddly shorting of the pins with a screwdriver
3) An ethernet cable continuity tester
4) A switchable multi port USB hub so you can turn individual USB ports on and off
5) Various cases with compartments for organising various types of "very useful small computing things' - it's not useful if you can't find it !!!
I can kinda see the point to rubber port covers... But I also can't. Plus covering USB-C only avoids all the other types of ports that you normally contend with.
I understand the HDMI Couplers, only in a cheap individual's sense. Meaning, somebody who is unwilling to buy a longer HDMI cable but has loads of smaller ones around. But I normally just buy longer HDMI cables anyway.
The USB-C TO A adapter, ethernet and the micro SD reader, could have been covered in one hub really. I usually keep hubs like them around because of their versatility in coverage of multiple device types.
Today I learned about the Datashur encrypted drives. Definitely going to check them out; there's a model that takes a Micro-SD card for the storage medium and that looks very interesting.
A step up for the USB SATA adaptor is one with a 12v barrel plug input.
Then by adding a standard 12v power supply you can power 3.5 disks.
I think I have most of those things laying around. Thanks Chris. I did see a couple of things that I didn't know I needed!
I have a small Thule case in my bag with exactly the same items you have here. I also have a USB C to audio DAC, a Sandisk dual drive (USB A on one end, USB C on the other) and a number of bootable drives. I've been a bit slow on the Ventoy uptake
I have a fishing tackle box full of "very useful small computing things." I have a lot of other stuff in there as well such as spare SSDs, notebook wifi cards, spare PCI slot covers, a few small screwdrivers, legacy cables and port adapters and so on. You never know what you're going to need when working on computers!
Have a few of these, super handy things I keep in a case in case I need to use.
I would be surprised, and disappointed, if no-one mentions Explaining Computers as one of their favourite useful computing things.
Most excellent!
Crap, I didn't think of that!
ubikey, hardware encrypted usb for password storage are interesting things. thanks for sharing.
On the first point of protecting USB ports from dust, I have found that older computers over time require some muscle to get the USB stick to insert and show. That could well be from dust getting in. I had never thought of covering them. Good show!
If you have an iphone with a lightning connecter, dust build up can prevent you from inserting the plug all the way in. Although the cable still worked
Dust isn't the only thing.
You know those little bags of silicone desiccant? At work we had a number of laptops with staff unable to insert stuff into USB ports. It turns out those little balls of silicone in the sachet are the exact right size to get wedged in a USB A port.
There also a real challenge to remove without damaging the USB port. The best solution we had was a suitably bent paper clip, sewing needle or cocktail stick.
@@dwgray9000 clear firmish but thin plastic packaging cut into a triangle works wonders
Always a joy to watch - thank you.
Saw the notification, and went from watching EVS to see this immediately. I know my priorities.
What is this
EVS?
And I came from watching a video about EVs 🤣
I am guessing Electric Vehicles. But I could be way off the mark.@@PineappleForFun
@@poppedweasel that totally makes sense. The S being capitalized threw me so I didn't consider that. Probably should have. Thanks!
My favorite computing thing is my pair of digital calipers! Being able to measure small things in metric and imperial is so satisfying! I use it in product reviews all the time!
Thanks for this. I have several of the items you discussed, but some of the others have made their way to either my cart or a list on A..zon.
One device I have from the transitional days from PATA to SATA is a small board that plugs into a SATA drive and adapts it for use in older computers. Not as useful these days, but it was a lifesaver at the time.
Today, I would likely use a PATA to CF Card adapter and call it a day for an old computer.
"Gotta self-censor the name of that rainforest because plebbit says Le Algorithm is going to eat me!!! What, you don't do that??? You disgusting testosterone-fueled boomer!!!"
No, but seriously. Stop.
I didn't think I would get much out of a video like this. I just find that each person I talk to has their own likes and dislikes, some go extreme and buy a version that cost $100 while I being more frugal seem to aim at the $10 option in every case. But after watching it you always do incredible and so this was a very fun video to watch. Thank you for doing what you do!
@4:23 -- USB -> SATA adapter.
For a few dollars more, you can get one that supports 3.5" mechanical drives, because for those drives, you need an external power source, which you get with the slightly more expansive USB -> SATA adapters.
And you do not have to use the included power supply, if you are using a 2.5" drive. It will work the same as the one in your video.
But if you need to connect a 3.5" mechanical drive to a USB port, then you will be able to do that, too, with the ones that include the (optional) power adapter.
If you are traveling, then that would be one more thing (the power brick) to carry around. But you do not need to carry around the power brick, if you have no intention of using the adapter with a 3.5" mechanical drive. Of course, I keep my adapter and it power brick together, because once separated, it is like trying to find that missing sock. I also put a label on the power brick, so that if it does ever turn up and I have no idea what it is for, the label will clear up that mystery.
I would like to find a USB -> (68 pin) SCSI adapter.
I have searched high and low. They simply do not exist.
I have several old SCSI drives (68 pin, 15K RPM) that I would like to erase, before selling or dumping. It seems that I will need to purchase a PCIe adapter for SCSI drives. I am having trouble finding that, too. Argh!
@5:30 -- Ethernet everywhere.
For a few dollars more, you can get one that doubles as a hub. So you get the Ethernet connectivity, just as you demonstrated in this video, without losing a USB port (because the adapter will have 2 or 3 of its own USB ports).
I never thought about dust covers for USB-C ports. Thanks for bringing those up!
I use a splitter for the microphone/audio jack on my laptop because they are combined and I wanted to use separate speakers and mike. Also I have a usb to sound interface - only a couple bucks but I needed another sound card to use for ham radio stuff. The other things I use are usb to serial port adapters, and a usb to bluetooth transmitter receiver with audio jack, and of course usb hubs.
The USB sound device was one of the most useful things I got that I didn't expect would be so handy. I haven't had a need to use it lately, but back when everyone was using Zoom, I had to set up a regular Zoom session with mic input and music playback. And it worked fine during tests using the computer's own sound hardware, but it would find ways to glitch out at the worst possible times to a point where only a reboot would fix it. There was some flaw with the hardware of that laptop and its mic port. The USB sound device fixed that situation. I wish I realized it sooner. And you have a totally different use for it, which shows how handy they are.
I got a simular collection of gadgets, but real useful for me was a $2 bag from Ali with green lining inside, elastic bands to keep cables and chargers fixed under and a mesh pocket with zipper for small stuff like SD Cards. Just unzip the bag, fold open and select the cable/tool you need. When done the cable gadget bag easily fits in your laptop bag. 🧑🔧
Love your videos. Been watching for years at this point and always look forward to Sunday for the next upload!
My favorite USB hub has a built in Ethernet port. It’s so useful to debug router/internet problems.
I’ve found that the hub and my Chromebook can fix the majority of my friends’ and family’s issues.
Battery jumpers for cars are nice, I know it's not a "power bank" but the ability to jump your car and charge your USB in one! Shawanda is a good brand used in automotive.
An Ethernet to usb adaptor plus a 3 mtr Ethernet cable has got me out of many a hole with no available WiFi. A usb 3 card adaptor with SD, Micro SD, m2 slots etc comes in handy. I strip down old broken laptop/PC components & collect standoffs, screws, nuts, switches & cables, you could be in the middle of a project & you just never know? A good set of tools, taps & dies (M2 -M4) great for making bespoke standoffs. Thanks Chris your video has given me more ideas to add to my collection :)
When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad. 😁😆
Cool.
I had that in my head throughout the video.
@@pipe2devnull 😁
@@pipe2devnull Me too.
What I kept thinking of throughout the video was "Things Club with Jack Hargreaves", from "Settle Out Of Court The Burkiss Way" (unfortunately not available on BBC Sounds at the moment, so I can't check that the reference is correct). I bet nobody knows what I'm talking about!
Hello Chris, thx for posting this video, and good points made on your Late Night Linux appearance for your end user manifesto!
My older bro, very nice video but please... isolate atleast one of these led legs, it can save you some money in the future ❤
My favorite thing is my little magnetic cable with different connectors. The magnet allows me to clip it on my backpack, so I can literally always offer someone a cable to borrow if they’re in a pinch.
Keep sharing your WISDOM! Thank you
I have a 2.5gB version of the ethernet connector you have , has pulled my bum out of the fire a few times , I often find it performs better than even the onboard ethernet as well , I have used it MANY times. one of my favourite go to data transfer /cloning solutions is my toaster, I picked one up years ago on a boxing day sale at a local computer store (think I paid around $40 for it) , it can do SATA and IDE, have used it to migrate many devices from spinning rust to SSD
Unfortunately, _most_ of the dust plugs seem to come only in black.
I've found it useful to have odds and ends in bright colours so they aren't lost as easily, and it makes identifying them quicker.
First time I've seen your channel, but I immediately love it.
Quite a useful collection of gizmoes you have got there. The thing I have found the most useful is a wi-fi extender with an Ethernet socket. Plug in the extender and connect the an Ethernet lead to any computer without WiFi! Thanks for uploading.
That's actually genius. Never thought of that!
Asus used to make the WL-330NUL - a device that combined the wireless repeater + router + usb ethernet into a tiny form factor. I still have mine that I travel with but sadly I think it was so niche that no one made anything like it and it just disappeared once ASUS stopped supporting them.
I'm a big fan of the rubber covers, whether it's type a, type c, hdmi, display port, or otherwise, if it doesn't have a plug in it all the time, it deserves a cover.
My absolute favourite computing thing is probably a usb3 type a to M.2 NVMe adapter in the form factor resembling a slightly longer and wider than normal flash drive. Having recently upgraded the 2280 NVMe SSD in my computer, i had a 500GB drive that was still reasonably fast (gen 3 i think) so i threw it into a nifty little enclosure and oh boy is it fast! I frequently use it as a ventoy drive as it only takes a few seconds to drop a new Linux distro or Windows ISO onto it and it reads the installation media often faster than the drive it's being installed to. It's a massive time saver, although I do want to build another one with a 2TB drive in it, just for moving copious amounts of data from one device to another very quickly.
Edit: another gem i picked up recently was an active display port to HDMI adapter, although i should have probably gone along the route with a female DP and a male HDMI so i could more conveniently plug it into the back of my monitor on the end of one of the many DP cables i have laying around the house that have never actually been used. Oh well, now i know for next time i go shopping i guess...
A very nifty collection of small computing things. Many thanks.
Superb video. Just one cautionary note on the HDMI coupler idea: Not all HDMI is created equally. This includes the cables, the adapters, and the signal origin (source) and the signal destination (sink). I can also include any powered devices in the middle (repeaters). Today, we are dealing with various versions and qualities of cable and connectors. The electronic components use standard, ARC, and eARC ports. Also, the particular EDID settings are a factor. By themselves, these factors can greatly impact how successfully an HDMI signal passes to its final destination device. However, the MOST critical issue that I would call attention to is what is known as "attenuation", or deterioration of the HDMI signal over cable distance. HDMI is inherently a low distance signal consisting of multiple signal elements that easily go out of timing sync, over distance. It is also payload sensitive, meaning that particular signal elements (ex. resolution, color space, audio type, and other metadata) can greatly increase the danger of attenuation-related loss. This brings us back to the issue with HDMI couplers. Depending on combination of devices, signals, cable types, cable lengths, cable quality, and the qualities of the coupler itself, it is possible that the addition of the coupler could impede the HDMI signal. In my business, we ban all such couplers. At home, I do keep a few, but I'm always prepared to see an adverse result. Happily, in 90% of cases, things seem to work out. Thanks again! (BTW: In the months and years to come, USB-C is going to become far, far more problematic for the same reasons.)
Thanks for this. I think it really depends on the environment, and my use case is I accept unusual. I've been using a lot HDMI cabling in a production environment for about 15 years, often with many cable runs (via couplers) over 10m, and with the setup of connections between tethered cameras, splitters, mixers, recorders and computers often switched multiple times a day (sometimes 20 to 50 times a day for a camera as setups change). So for me couplers are what make it work. Before I used them, it was very rare for an HDMI cable to survive six months, whatever quality I purchased. But I've been using couplers for over a decade now, and cables now last years. And I am not damaging HDMI ports on equipment. So for me, couplers are what stop me having the sync and connection issues you mention. Hence whilst in your business they may be banned (maybe fixed installations?), in mine they are a must that save a lot of time and money.
@@ExplainingComputers Well said. As I mentioned, in 90% of the cases there is little chance of an issue. That potential 10% will always be those who push the limits of HDMI. High resolution, HDR, Deep Color, gaming, and high performance gear are examples of this. One thing that can provide a hedge to the signal cliff is the use of HDMI certified cables. They are no longer necessarily expensive. Monoprice has an excellent selection that is actually cheaper than many lesser retail cables. I've used them in commercial projects. Though, I do believe that these potential issues will become more prevalent in the future, as these performance curve of AV graphic continues to rise.
Nice video, thanks. I travel a lot, and prefer using a mouse over a trackpad. I bring a thin mousepad made by 3M and have found it indispensible, especially when I only have a rough surface to work on.
A very useful item to buy in bulk are UTP caps. You can put them on the end of any network cables that aren't in use and they'll protect the plastic latches from getting snapped off.
Some of mine:
1. An excellent Debian 12 system for when my Windows 10 machines give up.
2. A powered SATA HDD/SSD dock with 2 slots for drive cloning or copying. Has come in handy when installing new drives in media server.
It's interesting when I get highlighted as a "LINUX USER"
then that time comes when I pull a little USB stick out of my pocket / fix or clone their drive / reboot their system and then
..... print { " MICDROP " } .....
*echo "micdrop"
Another quality video. Thanks!
I prefer a USB 3 to Gb Ethernet/USB 3 hub. The extra ports are useful for mouse & keyboard.
I used to carry an Ethernet crossover cable for devices that didn't auto-detect.
When I did customer presentations, I had my video dongles: VGA, DVI, Displayport, HDMI. Now everything's HDMI.