Author Topic: Clever simple gadget - usb stick that lights up in color on notifications (Read 8,754 times)

mouser · « **on:** June 01, 2018, 04:56 PM »

Here is a cute little idea and you can code your own scripts to have it notify you about different events. It's $30.

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blink(1) is a small USB light to give you glanceable notice of anything on your computer or the internet. blink(1) makes it easy to connect data sources in the cloud or on your computer to a full-color RGB LED so you can know what’s happening without checking any windows, going to any websites or typing any command. Connect blink(1) to IFTTT, your mail, URLs or your favorite scripts.

https://blink1.thingm.com/

from http://kk.org/

cranioscopical · « **Reply #1 on:** June 02, 2018, 03:10 AM »

I have one. It's useful when volume needs to be low. Acquired it from Kickstarter some years ago.

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2018, 03:13 AM »

Took me a while to realize what you were saying.. You mean it's useful when you want a visual alert about something rather than an audible alert.
It seems to me the biggest advantage of it is if you step away for a bit, you will miss an audible alert but can see at a distance this glowing thing.

Shades · « **Reply #3 on:** June 02, 2018, 04:23 AM »

After buying a memory expansion for my Amiga 500 back in the day, it came with a led, showing me when it was being used. I always enjoyed having such visual indicators. In the early days of Windows and computer cases there were still visual indicators (or 'blinkenlights') but those were already more generalized. Nowadays it seems to me that even these generic indicators are phased out.

Network related equipment still makes use of the 'blinkenlights' but that stuff is usually hidden away in server rooms and relegated to the back of computers. Thanks for bringing these glowing USB lights to my attention.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #4 on:** June 02, 2018, 07:52 PM »

Quote from: mouser on June 02, 2018, 03:13 AM

Took me a while to realize what you were saying..

I get that from my wife quite a bit...

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You mean it's useful when you want a visual alert about something rather than an audible alert.

Correct.

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It seems to me the biggest advantage of it is if you step away for a bit, you will miss an audible alert but can see at a distance this glowing thing.

If you program it to flash you'll probably see it out of the corner of an eye even while concentrating on something else (such as trying to understand what some people say

)