20 USB Gizmos That Have No Place in the Enterprise (But You'll Love Just the Same)
In the spirit of summer, we compiled a list of 20 USB-powered gadgets with very little business value—but that still tickle us pink.
Thumb-Size USB Fragrance Oil Burner
"Thumb Size USB Fragrance Oil Burner can aromatize your home, office, car, etc. Fragrance oil can also make you feel more relax while you are working," USB.Brando.com.HK's website states.
Candles, incense and other such ignitable products typically aren't allowed in most enterprise settings, presumably due to potential fire hazards. But we've yet to hear of an office that has banned USB-powered fragrance oil burners—perhaps because they just hit the market. Now you can "aromatize" all you want with the USB Fragrance Oil Burner. It looks like a typical memory stick with a small slot for oil, and it weighs 3 grams.
Appeal to your coworkers' olfactory senses with scents of rose, jasmine, peppermint and lavender. Each burner is a different color, based on which scent you select. The site says that you should use oil meant for use only with these specific burners; we bet you can expand your smell selection with oils from other producers.
Each burner retails for $8 and comes with one small bottle of fragrance oil. Your colleagues and staffers will be sure to visit your office more often, if for no reason than to crinkle their noses and ask, "What is that smell?"
USB Dance Pads for Feet and Fingers
"Dancing is great exercise, but it would be kinder to the world if most of us didn't do it in public," reads IWantOneOfThose.com.
Too busy to fit in the daily workout? Still excited from last night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance? Fear not, ye footloose fox-trotters: Red Octane's Ignition Dance Pad 3.0 plugs right into your computer's USB port, and it'll have you grooving in no time. Simply throw the pad on the floor, plug it in and hop around on its large buttons, in sync with software running on your computer. (Hopefully, your office has shades on both interior and exterior windows.)
The Ignition Dance Pad costs $80. It also works with Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles, as well as Microsoft's Xbox, in addition to plugging into your USB port-though third-party software or games are required and adapters for Xbox 360 and PS3 aren't yet available.
Perhaps you need to satisfy your dance craving but don't have room to set up a dance mat like the Ignition Pad. Or, for some reason, you fear the ridicule of coworkers. Either way, there's a USB-powered finger dance pad for you. You plug the palm-size pad into your USB port, stretch your fingers and follow a series of flashing lights to finger-dance stardom—or at least to early arthritis. You can play 30-second- or one-minute-long games. The lights blink more rapidly as you near the end of each time period. Music can be played during the games, and you even get a funky cutout of a disco-crazed, Afro-sporting woman to wear on your fingers. (Again, office window shades will come in handy.)
The finger dance pad sells for about $20, and you can track your success via a "move counter," though it's wise to remember that "success" is a relative term.
NEXT: Wish you could bring the pets to work?
