Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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USB Gadget Holder

here, hold this...
  (+12)(+12)
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A tiny model hand that plugs into a front USB port by its wrist. When an object is placed on the hand it closes firmly enough to hold stuff: that cord so it doesn't fall on the ground, or the USB drive that's not plugged in, the CD case, pencil, whatever. Lifting the item up disengages it.
FlyingToaster, Mar 24 2010

Magic Hand Bank http://www.mileskim...f-8214-000423bb4e95
Another similar device (called "Monster inside the Box") had a more ghostly hand that would reach out and turn off the activator switch after you flicked it on. [jurist, Mar 25 2010]

[link]






       This I like quite a lot. [+]
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 24 2010
  

       This USB hand has so much potential. For example, you could unlock your computer by using a secret hand-shake, rather than a password. [+]
hippo, Mar 24 2010
  

       I assume that it would be a powered hand and if so would the grip be strong enough to damage inappropriate things placed within the hand?   

       Another potential problem is just how strong is any given USB connector? In some cases the connection could be the weakest link.   

       However it is a good idea.[+]
Aristotle, Mar 24 2010
  

       //damage inappropriate things placed within the hand? ..... Another potential problem//   

       This is a non-sequitur, shirley?
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 24 2010
  

       Cybernetics. Obligatory [+]
8th of 7, Mar 24 2010
  

       //Inappropriate things placed in the hand// Would this be used in conjunction with that "jello wrestling nymphos" site I hear so much about?
mouseposture, Mar 25 2010
  

       Looking at your link, [FlyingToaster], the "east" flash drive looks pretty close to what you have described in your original idea. Despite the fact that it doesn't move, it would hold a cord or a CD case or a pencil. But I like the "eerie" factor that your idea could incorporate, especially if it was made from a greenish-white phosphorescent plastic like the hand from Monster in a Box or Magic Hand Automatic Coin Banks (popular in the late '50s) and was somewhat reminiscent of the (later) Addams Family's "Thing". <link>
jurist, Mar 25 2010
  

       I'm just thinking of the lawsuits that a gripping hand might produce. You have to think of the stranger, possibly accidental applications, whether they involve jello or not. In the same way it is the duty of every manufacturer of killer robots to ensure that they don't go on a murderous rampage ...
Aristotle, Mar 25 2010
  

       // killer robots to ensure that they don't go on a murderous rampage //   

       Tautology ...   

       What is the point of a killer robot that can't go on a murderous rampage ?
8th of 7, Mar 25 2010
  

       ...not big enough for my coffee cup? oh well you can put this little croissant on it +
xandram, Mar 25 2010
  

       // What is the point of a killer robot that can't go on a murderous rampage ? //   

       Fiction does contain the concept of respectable war droids that only shoot the enemy and follow the rules of war. Hammerstein from 2000AD's ABC Warriors and Ro-Busters is one such example although not all of his companions are so well- behaved.   

       I've always been fond of the robots of Gamma World, the role-playing game, who are often murderous by accident because they are following the rules of long dead civilisations or because they completely misunderstand the contemporary life forms that emerged since they were programmed.
Aristotle, Mar 25 2010
  
      
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