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Must-Have USB Peripherals/Toys

Started by Mushu Jan 5, 2007 at 3:47 PM 6 replies 3.9k views

Original Post

Jan 5, 2007 at 3:47 PM

Well, aside from the manditory keyboard/mouse devices, what kinds of USB peripherals do you guys require/want/etc? I discovered a couple of days ago my laptop isn't BlueTooth-equipped. Which means I can't get into the WiiMote awesomeness (like, using the WiiMote to play existing games using some joytokey-like interface). Someone suggested getting this USB Bluetooth thingy, though it doesn't use USB2.0. Granted, I've never found any other use for Bluetooth previously, and it would probably handle anything I could throw at it with a WiiMote. Other than physically throwing the WiiMote at it, I guess. The second peripheral that I've thought of getting is a pair of USB-rechargable AA cells. These little batteries plug in directly to a USB port, and take about 5 hours to fully recharge. Now, my Wii tends to eat through batteries pretty quickly (because the WiiMotes tend to be left in awkward button-depressing positions, which drain the batteries). The Wii itself has 2 USB ports in the back which could be used to power these batteries, which would mean that there's always spares available in a hard-to-forget place. The problem with these is that they cost (approximately) twice as much as good conventional rechargable batteries, and don't seem to have any benefits to them other than the 'HAHAHA OH WOW' factor. Haven't decided whether or not that warrents the money. Anyway, not that I'm going shopping, but what other kinds of USB toys do you guys find nifty/cool? Also, inb4usbvibrator.

tstrimp

Jan 5, 2007 at 3:50 PM

Everyone needs one of these...

Hint: It's a link

Not sure how you could use it in conjunction with your Wii peripherals though.

LilBudyWizer

Jan 11, 2007 at 12:00 AM

The Logitech Harmony universal remote control. I have been through so many remotes that it isn't even funny. Always I've had to end up using the remote that came with the device for some odd function. With this I just answered a few questions about what devices I use and it configured the remote. I've been using it for six months and have yet to ever use the original remotes.

I just hit a button saying "Watch TV" and it turns on the receiver, cable box and TV, switchs the AV receiver and TV to the correct inputs and configures the buttons to operate the approprate device. I hit "Watch a Movie" and it turns off the cable box, switchs on the DVD player and switchs inputs on the TV and AV receiver. If I'm watching TV and hit pause then it pauses the DVR, if I'm watching a movie then the DVD player instead. Everything works intuitively set to the defaults for the devices I specified.

Under the rare instances that I need functions not automatically set for by the "Watch..." I can hit the "device" button, select the specific device and I get access to every button on the original remote. It isn't some mass of buttons. It has an LCD screen flanked by six buttons. There's a "next" button that flips the LCD to the next set of six. That significantly reduces the buttons needed and eliminates the odd assignments that are difficult to remember. The thing is so easy to use that even my wife can use it.

That last part is well worth the price. Using four differant remotes or one universal most of the time with an occasional need for the others is something she simply refuses to do. She insists that watching TV should not be that difficult. I no longer have her storming into my office all flustered because I watched a movie before going to bed and now the tv "doesn't work". The only problem I have now is that she sets the damn thing down before it turns all the devices on or off and gets out of sync with the devices. That's a bit beyond her, she claims she can't tell off from on, but the remote handles it just fine.