Tangential Gadgets

"None of the links in the show notes will be affiliate links. We don't earn anything if you buy anything. You don't have to buy anything. But if you like the little magazine things I talk about, they're down there." So begins a Mac Power Users episode that is essentially a guided tour of David Sparks and Steven Robles's gadget drawers—a catalog of the "tangential gadgets" that orbit their core Apple setups. The throughline is not just about what they own, but about the philosophy behind each purchase: which accessories earn their place, which fail, and how to think about the tradeoffs between convenience, quality, and clutter.

The Charging Ecosystem: From Desk to Nightstand to Travel

The conversation reveals a deep preoccupation with how to keep devices powered without creating cable chaos. Sparks's desk setup centers on an Anker 100W charger with two retractable USB-C cables that "suck back" when tugged, plus a display showing wattage output and three full AC outlets on the back. He mounts it with a 3M strip so it stays put when he pulls a cable. Robles, by contrast, uses a walnut desk charger that puts his phone into StandBy mode in landscape, keeping it always topped up wirelessly during the day.