You can connect a wide variety of other devices to your Mac via a USB connection. It means your Mac suddenly becomes a hub for all these amazing gadgets, which might make you wonder: Who needs the Internet? Email aside, USB gadgets open a wide world of techie exploration.

Kick it old school.

Digitize Your Vinyl

Yep, you can connect to a turntable and turn vinyl LPs into digital recordings. The Ion USB Turntable ($99.99) uses a standard USB cable. Once you’ve connected the USB Turntable to your Mac, go to System Preferences > Sound. Click Input, and select the USB Audio CODEC as the input device. Play your favorite LP on the turntable, and record the audio using the included Audacity sound-recording software.

Rip tunes from vinyl records using the USB Turntable and Audacity, then save the tracks as MP3 files that you can add to iTunes or edit some more in GarageBand.

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Get on the NetPhone

For making Internet phone calls, you need a head- or handset. Headsets make a lot more sense - and the Motorola ROKR S9 headset ($129.99) is a good option. To connect your Mac to the headset, press and hold the headset’s power button until a light flashes blue. On your Mac, click the Bluetooth icon in the menubar and select Set Up Bluetooth Device. Follow the instructions. Next go to System Preferences > Sound and select the S9 as both the output and input device.

The ROKR S9 is among the coolest-looking Bluetooth headsets around.

You can use the headset for Skype calls or multiplayer games where you chat with other players. Or you can play music - although your Mac doesn’t support stereo output over Bluetooth.

Skype supports many USB and Bluetooth headsets for hands-free telephone chats.

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