June 19, 2011. Paul Hixon
credit: adactioTangles of cables are slowly building throughout the world in offices, bedrooms, and living rooms. A growing number of people, however, are finally taking control of their cord management in order to keep room for the newest gadget they have had their eye on.
By using a few simple devices you can allow yourself to make use of all of your devices without having to sacrifice any port space.
Basic cable care should always be practiced, first off. Things like never wrapping too tight or never tightly connecting devices around corner or edges should be at the forefront of your mind when you are trying to extend the life of your cables. Of vital importance, however, to anyone with animals is the need to keep them away from your cables. Buying sprays that help to deter them will help greatly, but you might find that it is an ongoing struggle with some pets that just seem determined to destroy your cords.
For computer cable management it doesn’t get much more convenient than a USB splitter. What a splitter will do is allow you to have multiple inputs for every existing port on your computer. Power users will find this essential when plugging in your external hard drive, phone, mp3 player, and ebook reader all at one time.
In the living room, the mass of cables behind your entertainment center is far from ideal. Especially when you think about the price, just try finding cheap HDMI cables for xbox 360 after you have ruined your existing ones with poor care. Remote controlled HDMI hubs can be lifesavers in this situation. These tend to take up more room than the smaller USB counterparts, but they are essential nonetheless. Also, keep in mind that you needn’t worry about loss in picture quality from using a device like this. HDMI signals are pretty resilient and don’t lose quality easily.
With so many electronics available it is never too soon to start tackling that growing menace of cables hiding in your home. Taking control of it will allow you to spend more time enjoying your products, rather than trying to figure out how to plug them all in.
Updated June 19, 2011. Published June 2, 2011. Paul Hixon
