Escaping the Cable Jungle
Why, in the age of wireless, are we drowning ourselves in a sea of cables? There are cables connecting computers to mice, to keyboards, to printers, and to gizmos from cellphones and USB-powered hand massagers (yes, they do exist). And that's just above the desk. Below decks there's a jungle of wires that most of us wouldn't dare explore without a good machete and protective goggles. It seems we're willing to spend hundreds of dollars on the latest hardware to make our desktops look cool, but nothing on the cabling that links them.
I'm not going to explore the reasoning for that. I'm also not going to try to convince you to go as wireless as possible by switching to Bluetooth and radio keyboards, mice and printers -- that can wait for another column. What I am going to do is suggest a few ways to sort out this cable chaos both above and below your tabletop.
First off, spend some time working out what wires you've got and whether you can organize them better. For example, if you've got more USB devices than you have USB ports on your computer, you may want to consider buying a USB hub. This allows you to plug many more devices into your computer without having to scramble around swapping cables -- always an eyesore. A favorite of mine is the Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub ($70), which will handle up to seven devices.
Getting to the Dirty Part
Now the dirty bit. Below the desk is a great place to hide cables, but if it's a tangle down there, you're only creating other problems: a lot of dust and the danger that you'll snag a foot and either break a leg or unplug your PC if you stand up too quickly. The under-desk thicket of wires is best kept off the floor, which is where something like the Cable-Safe Cable Manager comes in handy ($35 from Cable-Safe.com). The Cable-Safe is a hook and platform that can hang from, or be screwed into, your desktop and can then house bits and pieces like a cable modem or other unsightly peripheral. The pack comes with a generous supply of straps, bungees and labels. More importantly, it lets you suspend power strips and cables above the floor and out of sight. The only downside? You'll have to do a fair bit of coiling, strapping and bungeeing to make the Cable-Safe really work for you, all of it whilst crouched under your desk, not really anyone's favorite locale.
If you're not sure you're ready for that, I'd suggest strapping a power cord to a table leg and buying a dozen or so Velcro cable straps to keep the cables neat and off the ground.
Another trick: Cables linking hardware above and below the desktop can be clustered together and fed into a cable spiral -- these are tubes, formed out of one piece of plastic twisted into, well, a spiral. It may not be the most beautiful creation you've made in your life but it is a lot more aesthetic than a tangle of individual creeper-like cables hanging down the side of your desk. These spirals can be found in most hardware stores.
If below-desk is more a question of keeping cables out of harm's way, above desk it's about aesthetics. Cables are best not just stuffed out of sight, but also coiled up so there's as little unnecessary slack as possible. This again makes things easier to clean, but it also means cables don't get tangled with each other. Plus, if done properly it can free up desktop space for other stuff like pictures of loved ones, knick-knacks, week-old sandwiches etc.
Works of Art
There are several ways you can do this. One is simply coiling cables and tying them in a loop. But better for the cables, and better for uncoiling them, are Velcro straps. These are short strips of Velcro. Some come with a noose at one end that lets you attach one end of the Velcro to the cable itself, so the two -- cable and strap -- are wedded. They should be included on every piece of cabling ever made. If your power adaptor cable or USB wire between two gadgets is too long, for example, fold it neatly and tie it with a Velcro strap. They won't break like elastic bands (or melt in the tropical heat) and they're easy to undo.
But if you're out to create a work of art out of your workspace, check out the design-award winning Cableyoyo ($5 from
www.cableyoyo.com), a deceptively simple spool for coiling most cables, from mouse leads to the cable hooking up your cellphone or iPod to the laptop. There's nothing fancy about them: They're not unlike the part of a yo-yo where the string would go. Just wind the cable around the spool and you can make even the most boring cubicle look kind of cool. There's a removable base and adhesive strip if you want to attach it to the back of a monitor or beneath a desk, say. Plus, they're portable: There's no reason you need to uncoil the cable when you take your gadget with you, and a Cableyoyo is flat enough to fit in a hip pocket. Oh, and it comes in three colors -- black, silver and iPod white. My only gripe? Don't try to coil the thicker kind of cable you get with some USB devices or power adaptors. The Cableyoyo is only for the slim and beautiful set.
For many readers this all may sound a tad fussy and unnecessary. A workspace is supposed to be strewn with cables, you might say. But I personally hate seeing mouse cables all akimbo, their frustrated users lifting them into the air to free up some slack like anglers preparing to cast. And don't get me started on that horrible feeling of not wanting to stretch one's legs out under the desk for fear of yanking out a cable or getting electrocuted. Loose Wire is not just the name of a column, but an affliction. The good news: It's an affliction that can be cured relatively easily, and, dare I say it, with a dash of style.
逃出线路丛林
在一个无线时代，我们为什么要被有线的海洋所淹没？各种线路将电脑与鼠标、键盘、打印机，以及从手机到USB手部按摩器（别奇怪，这种东西确实存在）等设备连接起来，而且这只是在电脑桌上的部份，桌子底下还有一大堆纷乱的线路，不全副武装的话很少有人敢去探索清楚。看起来，我们愿意花数百美元买最新的硬件，使电脑桌上的部份看起来很酷，却不想在连接问题上投入一分钱。
我不想探讨这种现象的原因，也不想说服你尽可能地采用无线的方式，使用蓝牙、无线键盘、鼠标或是打印机--这个等到下期再说。我想做的是给出整理桌上桌下混乱线路的几种方法。
首先，花点时间弄清楚都有哪些线路，以及能否将它们整理得更好一些。比如说，如果你的USB设备比电脑上的USB接口数目多，就可以考虑买一个USB扩展坞(USB hub)。这样可以把更多的设备接入电脑，而不用频繁地更换线路，这样做太痛苦了。我最喜欢的是Belkin USB2.0高速扩展坞（售价70美元），可以同时接入7个设备。
现在谈难一点的部份。电脑桌下面是个隐藏线路的好地方，但如果弄得盘根错节，就会引起其他问题：不但容易积灰，而且会不小心把腿缠进去，要是突然站起来，不是你的腿断，就是插头都给扯开。桌子下如丛林般的线路最好远离地板，这就需要使用象Cable-Safe Cable Manager这样的产品（在Cable-Safe.com网站售价35美元）。Cable-Safe可以链接在台式电脑外部，也可以固定在它上面，它可以接入各种各样的设备，比如外置调制解调器或其他外围设备。它的一大作用就是让各种线路远离地板并隐藏起来。唯一的缺点是，要让它真正发挥作用，你得自己趴在桌子底下整理线路，用固定带和橡皮筋捆好，而这并不是件轻松的事情。
如果你不想这么做，那我建议你买十几个Velcro牌线路固定带，把线路绑在桌腿上，使其远离地面。
还有一个方法：桌上桌下连接各种硬件的线路可以集中在一个螺旋管中--这种螺旋管由一根塑料线盘绕而成，它可能并不花哨，但用它以后能让桌面更美观，总比象蔓藤一样垂著的线路好看得多。这种螺旋管在大多数电脑硬件商店都能买到。
如果整理桌下线路主要是为了安全的话，整理桌上线路就是为了美观。不但要把线路隐藏好，而且应该将其卷紧，不要拖拖拉拉。这样不但清洁方便，而且避免线路互相缠绕。此外，如果安排恰当，还能腾出不少桌上空间，放点家庭照片、小摆设和吃剩的三明治之类的东西。
有几个方法可以达到这个目的：一种方法是把线路卷紧，然后用绳捆好；还有一个方法就是使用Velcro线路固定带，这样既有利于线路保养，也便于解开。Velcro带有短有长，还有些一端带有套索，使其能与线路相连成为一体。每根线路其实都该有个Velcro带与其配合。举例而言，如果电线或USB连接线太长，就可以将其折叠后用Velcro带固定起来，这种带子不象橡皮筋那样易断（或在高温下易融），也便于解开。
不过，如果你想让线路布置看上去更有创意，可以尝试赢得设计大奖的Cableyoyo（在
http://www.cableyoyo.com网站上售价5美元），这是个看似简单的线轴，可以卷紧从鼠标线到手机或iPod电脑连接线的大多数线路。它们的原理很简单：就象优优球(yo-yo)那样卷紧和松开绳子。只要把线路绕在线轴上，就可以让桌面焕然一新。Cableyoyo有个带有不粘胶的面，可以把它粘在显示器后面或桌子下面。此外，它们也便于携带。如果随身携带设备而不想解开线路的话，把Cableyoyo放进裤子后袋就行了。对了，Cableyoyo有三种颜色--黑色、银色和iPod白。要问有什么缺点的话，那就是Cableyoyo不能卷那些较粗的USB线和电源线，它只适用于那些较细的线路。
不少读者可能会觉得这样有点小题大做，电脑桌就应该布满线路。但从个人来讲，我痛恨看到鼠标线拧成一团，只能象抛鱼线一样把它垂在空中弄直；而且我也痛恨那种不敢在桌子底下伸腿放松一下的感觉，因为怕扯坏线路或被电得半死。杂乱的线路让人烦恼不已，好在这种烦恼比较容易解决，只要去买点有品味的小玩意就行。
