June 15th, 2006 in Lifehack

Micro-Hack: USB Cords

Is it just me, or do you run into that situation often where you try plugging in a USB cord for something like your memory stick, or a peripheral like your scanner or your iPod, and you get it wrong the first few tries? Bonk. Nope. Bonk. Nope. Slot. That really started bugging me, so I took action.

This is so simple, I’m almost embarrassed to put it out as a hack.

I took a Sharpie and I made a big giant visible BLACK MARK on the side that had to face me when the cord is slotted correctly. I repeated this for every USB cable I use with my computer. Now? It just works like buttah baby.

Bonus: I have lots of USB cables for various things (camera, iRiver, iPod, PDA, etc). I stuck a little label on each one and threw them in a wall-mounted basket so I don’t have to fish around and try to find the right one by the “attempt to plug it in” method.

Stupid hack or maybe just something to ease a pain point: you decide.

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ChrisBrogan

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João Craveiro says on June 15th, 2006 at 9:46 am

Among those who entered college in the same year as I did, that “USB-always-wrong-the-first-time” syndrome is connected with my name: “Craveiro’s USB law”.

And there’s as interesting side of it: even though that black mark of yours works, more subtle marks that usually are already embedded in the plugs (like my M$ mouse’s Braille-like dot, the tiny arrow on my Kingston pen drive, or the USB logo on many others) don’t.

And there’s always the annoyance of the ports not being always turned the same way… =_=
Nick Burns says on June 15th, 2006 at 10:29 am

On all USB plugs is the universal symbol for USB, this symbol always faces up (or towards you) when plugging in. No “real” need to make a mark on it.
Marc says on June 15th, 2006 at 10:38 am

I did something similar for my coffee maker, which I have trouble plugging in when I’m barely conscious. I had colored dot stickers and I put one on the top side of the plug.

I also have a label on the inside with all the month numbers printed so I can cross them out as I clean the coffee maker, which is supposed to be done monthly. Unfortunately, I’m 1 for 12 on that.
ChrisBrogan says on June 15th, 2006 at 10:39 am

True, except they’re rarely colored differently or otherwise easy to see in situations like the dark. Also, my GE USB cord for my card reader has a big GE logo on one side and the USB symbol on the other.

On a search of 3 USB cables at my desk at work right now, 2 have the “open” part of the port aligned with the USB symbol, but one doesn’t.

Like I deffered in the main post, I know this is a small hack, but I also think it just shaves those few annoying seconds off my effort.
Gabe says on June 15th, 2006 at 12:49 pm

I like your idea of labeling USB cables. I’ve been having a problem distinguishing black-boxy adapters for various devices (we have, like, four Sony adapters for various pieces of equipment), so I’ve taken to writing the name of the device in gold paint-pen, right on the adapter. No more mixups when packing for quick travel!
Erik Mallinson says on June 15th, 2006 at 1:21 pm

I’d recommend ziploc bags for each cable. I have tons of cables and tangle frustration probably shaved a few years off my life. Now with ziplocs it’s easy to find the one I need. Added bonus - they are slippery, so it’s easy to kind of just swish them around in the box/milkcrate. I do this with anything that has a cord actually, alarm clocks, microphones, etc.

Next up is labeling the bag, though I’ll probably never do it.
Eric Swayne says on June 15th, 2006 at 2:35 pm

I used to do the same thing, but to make sure I connect all of my USB cables correctly the first time, I just used a mnemonic device. Every USB connector has two open holes on the top - I think of them like the eyes on a snake, always on top. This only works for the full-size (USB-A, I think) connectors, but those are the ones I usually get wrong.
Simon F says on June 16th, 2006 at 8:35 am

I’ve done a similar thing to my USB cables: I outline the logo on the “top” of the connector with a silver sharpie.

I’m not sure the seconds shaved off by this hack justify the time spent marking the connector, but do I feel much more effective when I can avoid little frustrations.
Christopher Penn, Financial Aid Podcast says on June 16th, 2006 at 10:34 am

Need an additional tip? Dot of white-out on dark/black cables.

Christopher S. Penn
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