In episode 155 of Hemispheric Views, I reminisced with Andrew and Jason about the old R2-D2 USB hub that sat on my family’s computer desk and which I purchased at Akihabara during a holiday in Japan. In all of its cheesy glory, you can see it in the image below, sitting next to our old iMac Intel Core 2 Duo! (Also, get a load of Mac OS X and all of its retro icons!)
Although the data transfer was incredibly slow, I loved that R2-D2 chirped and moved every time I plugged something into it. It was so whimsical! These days, I still keep a range of fun things around my computers at home and work, whether it’s a model DeLorean behind me on my bookshelf or a range of my old Star Wars toys, which my son loves to play with whenever he gets the (occasional) opportunity to visit my office. His absolute favourite is my Millennium Falcon Micro Machine, which has a spinning turret and a retractable handle at the back of the ship. It also opens to reveal tiny figurines and floor hatches that you can remove to reveal the smuggling compartments. I love keeping nostalgic items like these around to spark conversation and have a bit of fun, although such toys aren’t quite as amusing as an R2-D2 that speaks to you!
Make sure to listen to the episode (linked above) to learn how this peripheral confused the heck out of our nextdoor neighbour. We’d love to know what listeners remember from their desks in the past, so tell us on Mastodon (using #old, #HemisphericPeripherals or whatever floats your boat); otherwise, feel free to share it in our Hemispheric Discord.
Lounge Ruminator 