While we spent most of what seems like May waiting for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”; The Indianapolis 500, it was also the month that we finally come to the realization that we had to do something with Windows XP. Microsoft doesn’t support it any longer; the black hackers can’t wait to dig into what is left over, and the rest of us hope that the protection software we have is up to the task.

June on the other hand, is for me solving one of the thorniest problems on my desk; and that is having way to many things to plug into a surge protector that is not made for the AC adapters that seem to come with everything these days. What is most irritating is that they line up the AC outlets right beside each other and as soon as you plug in one of those miserable black AC adapters, you lose two plugs. The solution I found is perfect. The Powramid from Accell http://www.accellcables.com/ is a simple and yet very workable solution to the problem of figuring out which of those miserable blocks can sit next to another one. It doesn’t matter!

Ok, before I go too much further gushing about what a cool product it is, I hate the packaging. While it is an attractive way of displaying the Powramid, the heavy duty plastic package is not easy to get into which means you need to play with very sharp objects in both cutting the plastic and the resulting parts you have just cut open.
Once out, you have a very nice heavy duty surge protected unit with six well-spaced AC outlets around a center unit; an illuminated on off switch that is protected by a plastic dome to remove the oops I accidentally shut everything down by mistake syndrome, and two front mounted USB 2.1 charging outlets which actually work with my finicky Apple iPhone 5S with the super cheap Hong Kong charging cables I got.  It takes up far less space than the old APC unit I had on my table, looks cool, and protects everything plugged into it letting you know with a green led that it is protected.  While plugging in the blocks; it is a bit stiff to get them in but you know they will stay plugged in.  Another feature I really like is that unlike a lot of surge units, this will actually stop working when a charge or spike has blown it but with the new X3 MOV technology, this unit should last longer while offering the highest safety and fire protection. Accell is so confident that they include a 5 Year warranty with a 5 year connected equipment $100K insurance policy. All for just $39.95.  You should be able to find it at Newegg and Frys.  Hands down, if you are dealing with multiple AC power blocks get the Powramid as this is the perfect desktop accessory.