X

Wire box cleanup: 2011 edition (photos)

It's been two years since our last wire box cleanup. Find out how we got the clutter back under control.

Dan Ackerman
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Dan Ackerman
DSC_0108_1.JPG
1 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Our starting point. This isn't going to be pretty. We'll go through the junk in these boxes and divide them up into three categories: keep, trash, and give away.
DSC_0120_1.JPG
2 of 28 Libe Goad
It's time to dig in. It feels like we were just here two years ago...
DSC_0121_1.JPG
3 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Will I ever use this wind-up emergency radio? Probably not, but when the zombie apocalypse comes, do I really want to kick myself for tossing it?

Status: Keep

DSC_0124_1.JPG
4 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
An original DJ Hero turntable controller. Will there ever be a DJ Hero 3? Who knows, but we'll give this a pass for now. We're not off to a very good start on this cleanup.

Status: Keep

DSC_0125_1.JPG
5 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A Disney-branded set of portable speakers.

Status: Give away

DSC_0129_1.JPG
6 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A Polaroid camera, circa 1997. I thought there was one shot left in it all these years, but alas, no--it was empty.

Status: Trash

DSC_0130_1.JPG
7 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Various audio cables. I'll keep at least one of each type (XLR, 1/4-inch to RCA, etc.)

Status: Keep

DSC_0131_1.JPG
8 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A classic GameCube wireless Wavebird controller. I have no idea what happened to the receiver.

Status: Trash

DSC_0132_3.JPG
9 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I got this ART guitar effects box back in college. It probably hasn't worked since then, either.

Status: Trash

DSC_0136_1.JPG
10 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A pile of old hard drives. Some day, I'll go through them for old photos and docs.

Status: Keep

DSC_0139_3.JPG
11 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A couple of Xbox 360 face plates (that naturally don't fit on the new "slim" version of the console).

Status: Give away

DSC_0140_1.JPG
12 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A classic Alesis SR-16 drum machine, circa 1996. I never use it, but it's a legendary piece of recording gear.

Status: Keep

DSC_0141_2.JPG
13 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A collection of old PlayStation memory cards. I bet I'm never going to go back and finish Resident Evil: Nemesis.

Status: Trash

DSC_0142_2.JPG
14 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Long before the Nintendo 3DS, there were handhelds such as the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

Status: Give away

DSC_0143_1.JPG
15 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A few recordable DVDs. I almost never use optical media anymore, but you never know when you'll have to burn something.

Status: Keep

DSC_0144_1.JPG
16 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I think this was a giveaway Skype phone.

Status: Trash

DSC_0145_1.JPG
17 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I clearly have not been playing enough downloadable classic games on my Wii, as this classic controller is still in its packaging.

Status: Give away

DSC_0146_2.JPG
18 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I'm not sure when or how I got this Monster RCA cable, but they're so pricey, there's no way I'm getting rid of it.

Status: Keep

DSC_0147_1.JPG
19 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A four-way headphone distribution amp. Like much of my old music gear, it's also nonfunctional. I'm sure I could fix it, but I prefer to save my tech support skills for things like plasma TVs.

Status: Trash

DSC_0148_1.JPG
20 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I originally used this old RF modulator to hook a DVD player up to one of my vintage JVC Videosphere TVs for a house party.

Status: Trash

DSC_0151_2.JPG
21 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I knew there'd be a floppy disc in here somewhere.

Status: Trash

DSC_0154_1.JPG
22 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Part of an international power adapter set. I'll hang on to this for my next Euro vacation.

Status: Keep

DSC_0156_1.JPG
23 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Pity the poor component cable: its lifespan is limited as HDMI and protected content paths take over.

Status: Trash

DSC_0157_1.JPG
24 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
I'm sure I needed this for something at one point, although I never took it out of the original packaging.

Status: Trash

DSC_0158_2.JPG
25 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A handy hard-drive dock for both IDE and eSATA drives.

Status: Keep

DSC_0159_1.JPG
26 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A souvenir of my early dot-com 1.0 days at UGO.com, circa 2000.

Status: Keep

DSC_0160_1.JPG
27 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
A good concept that never really worked out: the portable Rock Band drum kit.

Status: Give away

DSC_0161_1.JPG
28 of 28 Dan Ackerman/CNET
Here's our cleaned out wire and gadget boxes, pared down from four crates to two.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos