CableDrop: the aspirational cable clip
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 27th 2009 4:37AM
posted May 27th 2009 4:37AM
There's nothing really new here 'cept maybe a design inspired by the union of two fleshy buns. Nevertheless, cable clips are one of those great ideas we just never get around to purchasing. So here's your chance. CableDrop adheres to your desk surface or wall to keep cables from dropping to the floor after you grab your laptop to go. Convenient as hell and just $10 for a pack of 6.
They look like fortune cookies.
I like this. How many times have I crawled under the table to bring the power cable and USB to my laptop? (Many times)
I've twisted curtain hooks onto the back of my desk....
cheap!!
Looks like something from the sex shop...
I like teh sex
How about people not be so damn lazy and just go under the desk and get them again...
for those, the laptop can be below the table, so, they do not need these
and all these innovations make people one step closer to being lazy, and I believe only lazy people can be great innovators..;)
For some people with very little space and a lot of gadgets, they need to do the following:
1: move the desk away from the wall
2: grab a flashlight
3: take some benedryl or claritin (for the inevitable dust bunny attack)
4: work head as close to the wall as possible and identify the correct cable among the 3000 other cables behind the desk
5: try to reach the cable by hand, but realize the cable's either too far out of reach or the gap is too small for their arm
6: retrieve a hangar or back scratcher thin enough to reach the cable
7: face the dust bunny attack again for 5 to 10 minutes while trying to fish the cable back to the desk surface
8: reach the available arm over the desk to grab the end of the cable (or go back up and find some clever way to catch the cable with something else because your arm isn't long enough)
9: get back up and try to catch the cable before it falls again, causing you to have to repeat steps 6 through 8
If that seems lengthy, trust me... I've had to do this. Well, except for maybe step 3; that only happened a couple of times. I eventually learned and started tying my cables together so they wouldn't fall, but seeing as these are only $10 for 6, I'll take 3 sets, thank you. I just hope shipping doesn't cost more than the product.
bah
-Tj- all that write up just for the green +1s,
i'm way too lazy for that and GOING UNDER MY F@kin DESK
@ TJ don't forget the spiders kissing your fingers :D
@jinjin
Aww, it didn't take long to write that. Took about as long as it would for me to:
1: move the desk away from the wall
2: grab a flashlight
3: take some benedryl or claritin (for the inevitable dust bunny attack)
4: work head as close to the wall as possible and identify the correct cable among the 3000 other cables behind the desk
5: try to reach the cable by hand, but realize the cable's either too far out of reach or the gap is too small for their arm
6: retrieve a hangar or back scratcher thin enough to reach the cable
7: face the dust bunny attack again for 5 to 10 minutes while trying to fish the cable back to the desk surface
8: reach the available arm over the desk to grab the end of the cable (or go back up and find some clever way to catch the cable with something else because your arm isn't long enough)
9: get back up and try to catch the cable before it falls again, causing you to have to repeat steps 6 through 8...
Luckily for me I own a respirator and goggles, so no dust bunny attacks for me.
Yes, and punish the disabled and elderly who obviously asked to have problems bending over etc.
I just put double sided tape on the back of the little plastic cover that was on my mac's charger when I got it, and attached it to my desk. Now whenever I unplug my charger, I have a place to put it which isn't the floor.
That laptop looks familiar....
Oh yes, its the school-required white plastic piece of crap currently boiling my scrotum.
While I may not be a mac hater, this still made me laugh, kudos to you sir.
I lol'd.
These do actually seem pretty useful considering all the shit that is being sold now-a-days.
macbook ftw!!!
mine burns my scrotum too sometimes tho... :(
I just use Blu Tack.
Personally I think they look really good :)
Thanks for THAT image, Thomas.
I'll just wait for wireless everything.
When's that? Next year?
Neat idea, though.
These are destined to revolutionise the IT industry even more than invention of the PC. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 5 years for them to leave the research labs and become commercially available.
nice idea. it gets annoying when my cable drops behind my desk, and i have to get under and then feed my cable through the tiny gap between the wall and the table and at the same time with my other hand try to grab it from over the table.
then again, my macbook power cable comes with that tiny clip which i just clip onto another wire on my table when i move my mac around.
My Laptop has a battery.
if it didnt, itd be called a desktop.
Wow. Multi-use nipples on a table! Epic win!
Are they removable, in case devices, attachments, and desks are moved to new locations?....or are they gonna mar the wood on my 200 dollar PC desk...
"Convenient as hell"...FYI, hell is not convenient...Actually these things do look useful...but I wonder too, how do these things attach to the table? Magnetically? A suction cup? 3M glue?
I'm pretty sure I remember seeing these exact same things way back in high school. You want to know what they were used for? They were put in lockers, and a pen or pencil was stuck in where the cable goes. Seems like someone just tipped their bucket upside-down and realized it can be used as a hat.
I have one of these on my desk side panel, it's called a Klick-Fix and holds up to 3 wires nicely (or a pen), unlike CableDrop which holds one, maybe two wires.
But what if you only want it to hold 1 cable?
I prefer cable keepers - http://www.keepacable.com/ - you can put up to 5 cables in each unit + you get 4 of them for 6.50 shipped.
They have the best commercials ever!
The Mac makes this instantly unattractive.
Ordering now.
because engadget told me too.
actually I really need something like this, well not really, the cord just lays next to the coffee table.
nevermind, move along, nothing to see.
Just ordered a set as well. Shipping starts June 8 according to the site.
two words:
docking station
One word: Money
Zero words:
Agreed. When my last laptop was my primary PC, my docking station was a godsend.
These will actually work well to hold my cell phone chargers up on my desk. Oh, and the random USB cables I have floating around for connecting iPods and digital cameras. They're just dangling around.
...of various ethnicity too!
I may pick a couple of these up... not because of any need to keep cables from falling when I take my laptop away from it's resting place. But to keep the annoyingly long cables from my keyboard and mouse from tying my legs together every time I try to stretch my legs out under my desk!
Really am curious as to how these attach... Looks to be some form of adhesive per the website.
Good grief! Just get a 10-pack of adhesive cable clips ($5) from your local Radio Shack or other store. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2255012
You can get them in a variety of sizes and in some cases color too.
Radio Shack has things for a reasonable price? You mean the same store that sold me three MiniDV tapes for $30?
Before everyone attacks me for being stupid - I know nothing about video cameras, and I was in a very big hurry.
I like these better, optically they are nicer.
Where can you buy this?
Click the read link at the end of the article or just go to bluelounge.com