In an informal and spontaneous contest to see who could share the geekiest key holder from their office or coworking space, a series of Redditors (on /r/geek) submitted a great series of photos featuring clever (and useful) key storage systems – you can ignore the vote count, though, and pick your own favorite, as each has features to recommend it (though a few may have bugs as well).

First and by far the most popular, the top-voted design features ethernet cables looped and plugged into a 5-slot box. While more of an aesthetically-inspired setup and not technically active as such, commenters suggested modding the device to register which keys are in place at any given time (via zedpee, who was ‘gilded (given Reddit Gold) for his efforts).

The Keyboard 2.0, meanwhile, actually works not only to tell you whether keys are plugged in but also has a locator system that lets you find your keys when you misplace them around the office – its plug-and-play interface also looks somewhat more robus, using traditional snap-in key ring connectors rather than breakable plastic (via h0uz3_).

Finally, no geek collection would be complete without something using LEGO, perhaps referencing Star Wars and/or including a comic book superhero, so this last submission conveniently does all three, with detachable blocks that let you snap in your key chain easily and without requiring much extra pocket space (via Spaz_Chicken).

The post DIY Hackers: 3 Geek Key Holders for Shared Office Spaces first appeared on Gajitz.

Charging gadgets and sharing data are so much a part of our daily routine that we hardly think about them anymore – until we happen to find ourselves without the proper hardware, that is. The Symlis Sparrow is a flash drive and USB charging cable that fits onto your keychain so you’re never without your files and a charge.

The Sparrow is more or less a USB cable with magnets in both ends so that, when it isn’t in use, it forms a little loop that can easily be carried on your keychain. A plastic cap fits over the business ends of the cables for security, and so they don’t end up filled with pocket lint or purse crumbs.

One end of the cable is home to a flash drive of 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB. You can carry around your important work documents, store music or movies, or even share information between devices by copying files from one phone onto the Sparrow and then handing off the Sparrow to a friend.

If your phone’s battery starts running low, you can plug the USB end of the Sparrow into a computer and the other end into your phone’s charging port – it’s available for iPhones or Android devices. Although we’ve learned to be skeptical of crowdfunded gadgets, the Sparrow seems pretty attainable. It starts at a pre-order price of $35 on Indiegogo.

The post Hard-Working Keychain is a Flash Drive + Charging Cable first appeared on Gajitz.