New Year's Resolution: Stop caring about pointless USB devices

(Credit: Gearlog)

In the end-of-'06 wrap-up madness, there are a whole lot of people talking about Web 2.0, YouTube, social media, connected-home technology, the Wii and its corresponding Wiinjuries...the list goes on. But there's been almost no mention of the rash of completely useless USB-powered devices that infested the gadget market in 2006 with a viciousness that can only be compared to bubonic plague in a medieval village or head lice in a kindergarten classroom. I mean, they were everywhere. They're so ubiquitous, in fact, that I've decided I'm not going to touch 'em in '07. Not one bit. If there's a pointless USB device that demands Craving, it will not be covered by moi.

So, with only a few days left in '06, I decided to get one or two more Crave posts about useless USB gadgets out there. And it didn't take too much effort to find one: the Gearlog-featured USB Massage Ball. It plugs into your USB port, makes some funny vibrating motions, and is supposed to massage your poor, keyboard-weary fingers or wrists or various other body parts. Dumb, right?

But then I realized that a USB massager isn't really all that pointless--unlike, say, the noodle strainer that Erica Ogg had a lot of fun writing about. In fact, I could probably use one myself, if it works.

Guess I'll have to keep looking for pointless devices to cover over the next two days.