Tom’s Tuesday Tech Tip: Are Gold-Plated Cables Worth Their Weight in Gold?

I was unpacking my portable printer and I realized that my USB printer cable had gone walkabout, probably left behind on a recent trip. However, this was not entirely bad news, my CLNC^® amigos. This gave me a perfect excuse to drop by my favorite computer store, not just to grab a new cable, but to also wander the aisles with tech-lust in my heart and the company AMEX in my hand.

When the salesman recommended an expensive 6 ft. USB 2.0 printer cable with gold-plated connections, he assured me it would be corrosion free and the fastest cable my money could buy. Needless to say, I bought a much cheaper cable.

I want all Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to know that you can skip the gold-plated cables for your printers and just about all your tech items. In the days before everything went digital, gold-plating may have made a difference in an analog world if you were a CLNC^® audiophile listening to your favorite Al Stewart LP over an expensive sound system. But in today’s digital world, if there’s any difference in cable speed or quality, your printer, Blu-ray player and TV won’t notice it and neither will you. If you don’t believe me, Google^® it for yourself.

That’s all for this week. I’m going to take the money I saved by buying the cheap cable and take Vickie to lunch at Taco Cabana (as long as I can find my coupons)!

Keep on techin’,

Tom