It’s alive!
Computer and cables go together like coffee and pie. In fact, one of the great things about tablet computing is that a tablet has only one cable. Thank the Lords of Kobol for that!
Having been a computer nerd for over 300 years now, I’ve collected a vast array of cables. The image at the start of this blog post is from the bone yard out in my garage. There are two shelving units for old computers, monitors, keyboards, and assorted parts. The tangle of cables is hung up on the wall next to the shelves. (In the image you also see the tops of my kids’ Razor scooters, which they haven’t touched in 7 years, and some plywood waiting for a project.)
Believe it or not, I’ve purged the cable ganglia several times since moving in. The first purge was to get rid of all the SCSI cables. They were thick and stiff and didn’t hang well anyway. Other older cables have been purged as well, mostly used for device I no longer have and are no longer available anyway.
I do occasionally use those cables you see above, and prefer to store them outside as opposed to cramming them in a drawer or stuffing them behind the computer. Just the other day I visited the boneyard to look for a USB extension cable. So it’s nice to have spares.
When I was out looking for the USB extension cable, I noticed that it’s probably time to purge again. The culprit? Some old printer and monitor cables.
It’s been years since I’ve hooked up a printer by using the old parallel cable. Ditto for a monitor with a VGA cable. I suppose I could toss out all those cables. Well, I’d probably toss out all of them but one. I still have an antique serial cable, which I keep because I still have an old 56K modem — just in case.
Then again, why do I have the modem when I don’t even have dialup phone service any more? Gotta purge that, too.
The majority of the cables are pretty much related to current standards: USB, IEEE, Ethernet, and power. I probably don’t need all of them, but it’s just tough to throw out old technology. I mean, I still have those memory cards I swore I’d throw out years ago, even though there’s not a computer in the house that could use those ancient DIMMs.
The thought of purging old cables is enticing, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. What will take a lot of time would be turning to the shelving units and purging old stuff from there as well. It will be another trip down memory lane . . .
Be very careful if you purge your Bone Yard, I have found uses even for the oldest bits and pieces. As a horder myself (of electronic junk) there is noting worse than the feeling as you are trying to get a job done of “I had one, I know I had one where is it!” (that has happend to me several times) and then a trip out to buy an over priced cable, card what ever. DIMMs for instance hang onto as the individual components on them can reach silly costs and to get prototypes working I have seen SIMMs, DIMMs and old motherboards be canabalized to make them (and when there are no more motherboard it off eBay!)
Glenn
Comment by glennp — January 12, 2013 @ 11:30 am
I generally do a multi-stage purge of old equipment, cables, and so on:
First, I don’t purge anything. That’s a good step, but not goal-worthy.
Second, I put the items that I absolutely know I don’t need into a box. I post-date the box, such as “If you don’t need to look into this box and it’s past October, 2013, then DON’T OPEN THE BOX, throw it away!”
Third, I look for any boxes I’ve created and, if the time is past, I throw them away.
I’m generally successful in this approach, though occasionally curiosity overcomes me and I open the damn box. Still, using this method I’ve only managed to throw away a couple of things I wish I still had. Nothing serious, just one of those “Didn’t I have a dongus once?” moments that eventually pass.
Comment by admin — January 13, 2013 @ 2:29 pm