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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.

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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It's time to dig in. It feels like we were just here two years ago...

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Libe Goad

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A Disney-branded set of portable speakers.

Status: Give away

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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Various audio cables. I'll keep at least one of each type (XLR, 1/4-inch to RCA, etc.)

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A classic GameCube wireless Wavebird controller. I have no idea what happened to the receiver.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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I got this ART guitar effects box back in college. It probably hasn't worked since then, either.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A pile of old hard drives. Some day, I'll go through them for old photos and docs.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A couple of Xbox 360 face plates (that naturally don't fit on the new "slim" version of the console).

Status: Give away

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A classic Alesis SR-16 drum machine, circa 1996. I never use it, but it's a legendary piece of recording gear.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A collection of old PlayStation memory cards. I bet I'm never going to go back and finish Resident Evil: Nemesis.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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Long before the Nintendo 3DS, there were handhelds such as the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

Status: Give away

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A few recordable DVDs. I almost never use optical media anymore, but you never know when you'll have to burn something.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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I think this was a giveaway Skype phone.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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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

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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I knew there'd be a floppy disc in here somewhere.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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Part of an international power adapter set. I'll hang on to this for my next Euro vacation.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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Pity the poor component cable: its lifespan is limited as HDMI and protected content paths take over.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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I'm sure I needed this for something at one point, although I never took it out of the original packaging.

Status: Trash

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A handy hard-drive dock for both IDE and eSATA drives.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A souvenir of my early dot-com 1.0 days at UGO.com, circa 2000.

Status: Keep

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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A good concept that never really worked out: the portable Rock Band drum kit.

Status: Give away

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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Here's our cleaned out wire and gadget boxes, pared down from four crates to two.

Updated:March 9, 2011Caption:Dan AckermanPhoto:Dan Ackerman/CNET

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