Blog: Don't Let Anyone Take Away Your Big Box of Cables
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
A blogger taped a printed social post onto his family's box of old cables.
The small ritual is a counterpoint to games and media going digital-only.
Background
The post is a response to a skeet by Tyler Gaw, who wrote that he dug to the bottom of his "Big Box of Cables" to find two cables he needed, after they had sat there for over 10 years, and concluded: "Don't ever let anyone take your Big Box of Cables away." The blogger, Jim Nielsen, screenshotted the skeet, printed it, cut it out, and taped it to his own cable box — one his wife labeled "FAMILY TECHNO BOX" — so the box reminds him why he keeps it and warns family members against throwing it away. The post sits alongside a broader discussion about physical media: Ars Technica reported that GOG is offering printable, foldable packaging scans and 3D models for some PC games, as Sony plans to discontinue retail PlayStation releases, Xbox lets disc owners transfer games to digital "entitlements," and Nintendo releases many "retail" Switch 2 games only as data-free "virtual game cards."
How it unfolded
- recentlyTyler Gaw posts on Bluesky that he found two cables he needed at the bottom of his Big Box of Cables after 10+ years, and says not to let anyone take the box away.
- recentlyJim Nielsen screenshots the post, prints it, cuts it out, and tapes it to his own cable box, labeled "FAMILY TECHNO BOX."
- Sep 8, 2026Ars Technica reports GOG is adding downloadable 3D models and printable, foldable high-res packaging scans for some PC games, framing DRM-free installers as a way to keep games from being taken away.
Who’s saying what
- Blogger
- Jim Nielsen writes that the taped post will remind him why he keeps the box and serve as a warning to family members who think it should be thrown away.
- Platform
- GOG says its DRM-free installers let users "take matters into your own hands" with files that can be copied endlessly, so "no one can ever take the games you paid for away from you."