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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Bundle Up While Rocking Out

 

Rather than USB, the Motorola Audex Cargo Jacket ($645) uses Bluetooth to wirelessly connect to your Mac and give you access to your music or even VoIP apps like Skype. The Audex jacket is wonderfully geeky, yet stylish and functional at the same time. Most of the geek factor is contained within the parka under flaps and zippers that hide a Bluetooth controller on the sleeve, and a pouch for an iPod that connects to the headset - which consists of a left and right speaker embedded into the collar, and a hidden microphone.

 

This is more than just a stylin' parka.

 

To connect with your Mac to play music (mono only) or make a Skype call within Bluetooth range, click the Bluetooth icon in the menubar, select Set Up Bluetooth Device, and follow the prompts. Press the power button on the jacket’s battery, and the jacket will show up on your Mac as a Bluetooth headset. To connect your iPod, use the included Bluetooth adapter, which then transmits stereo music to the headset.

 

Keep your body warm and your music pumping.

 

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Launch More Than Just Big Ideas

Here’s something we bet you never thought of connecting to your Mac: a rocket launcher. The ThinkGeek USB Missile Launcher ($39.99) shoots soft pellets at your target of choice - and connecting it to your Mac gives you the added benefit of using any USB webcam or a built-in iSight camera to focus your shot. With the camera, you can position the rocket launcher in such a way as to allow the webcam to help you focus on a target.

 

You can have your very own WMD - weapon of much distraction.

 

Just as the name implies, it connects to your Mac via USB. Get version 1.4g of the Mac controller software at dgwilson.wordpress.com.

 

Best of all, no one gets hurt.

 

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Convert Video so It's Watchable on Your iPod

Connecting a video iPod to your Mac is a no-brainer. Understanding which video formats to use for viewing on your iPod can be a brain-teaser - especially if you don’t get all of your videos from the iTunes Store. Use the File > Import command in iTunes to import video files, then right-click (or Control-click) the video and select Convert Selection For iPod, which puts it in the proper video format, which is 320-by-240-pixel resolution H.264 or MPEG-4.

 

Any video you import into iTunes can be converted for viewing on a video iPod.

 

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Expand Your USB Port Options

If you’re running out of USB ports on your Mac, the solution is a USB hub. Kensington’s PocketHub USB 7-Port ($39), for example, connects instantly to your Mac (via USB, natch). Any device you connect to the PocketHub will work with your Mac—and there’s no need to plug in the included power cable because your Mac can power the hub itself. (Still, notebook users should connect the power when possible, because the hub will drain your battery faster.)

 

The PocketHub's best feature is its compact size.