Powering Up InFlight
A Visit To The Heck of a Guy Hardware Store
More than nine months have passed since the Heck of a Guy blog last showcased a non-virtual, three-dimensional, hold it in your hand & show it off to your buddy hunk-o-hardware sort of tool.1
That drought has been broken by a nifty item (pictured below) that I ran across this morning. It has the right combination of geekish appeal, easily understood utility, and enough obscurity (at least for now) that a user has a reasonable chance of impressing innocent strangers unaware that such a thing exists.
This gizmo is the Inflight USB Power Unit , a gadget that plugs into the armrest headphone jacks found in most commercial airplane seats to power iPods, cell phones, and similar devices through their USB connections.
Those headphone jacks won’t yield enough juice to run a laptop, but on long flights smaller utensils can recharge fully on the trickle of electricity.2
The charge unit itself goes for $35, and the same retailer also sells iPod and mini B connectors. Again, these items can be found at Inflight USB Power Unit ,
The Downside
Of course, when these Inflight USB Power Units and their competitors are easily available, you may find yourself seated next to someone plugging in one of those less mainstream (i.e., more socially toxic) USB toys.
From top left, proceeding clockwise: Plasma Ball, Oil Fragrance Heater, Missle Launcher,
I Love You Light, Pole Dancer, Best Friend, Fruity Fragrances Dispersers
Credit Due Department: I was alerted to the Inflight USB Power Unit by Lockergnome Windows Fanatics
Footnotes
- The most recent such tool was a nifty label printer featured in the November 20, 2006 post, The Fine Print(er) ~back~
- For the worriers, the FAQs report that “The Inflight Power cable is FCC certified and does not emit radio noise. You can use it anytime.” ~back~
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