T is for Toy Fair 2020 Reports - D is for Dongles

Quick 'Stadswatch'

Untrained ventriloquist? Hahahahahaha . . . Priceless!!!! I was a [trained] machine-gunner once, do I get extra points for that? He's so far up his own arse he probably needs to be a ventriloquist just to communicate with anyone! Still he is posting more, better stuff now, so we're wining . . . a slow battle, not that his bursts of improvement ever last - too much effort!

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One of the changes over recent Toy Fair's compared to those I attended in the past has been the slow and steady uptake and application of IT to the whole business, most obvious this year with several big names not even bothering with catalogues, although I think that's short-sighted, as it is a tangible link with customers, helping maintain brand recognition because it's 'free' advertising which hangs around in the consumers own environment?

However, the biggest change I noticed between the twenty-tens and the twenty-teens was the provision of dongles (data-sticks, flash-drives, pen-drives, USB-drives, key-sticks &etc . . . yadayada!) with the press releases for both companies and the Toy Fair organisers - BTHA (British Toy & Hobby Association).

There were only three in 2018 (but I was late getting there!), while last year there was a shed-load (small, Playmobile shed maybe!), of which the best were the 8GB Pinstripe's from Verbatim of which I ended-up with two (black ones, bottom right), put straight to more useful work holding bits of the 'archive'!

They were given away by the Green Board Game Co., who weren’t there this year, and I wonder if their use of such large dongles had anything to do with any subsequent cost-cutting? Most use a half-gig' (512MB) or at most a 2GB drive.

I also thought the credit-card one from Mind Power in '18 was rather clever.

last year there were two uncommon designs which seemed specific to the companies, of which the Jumbo elephant was the best, although you can't use it on a multi-bus but why would you, I geep them as back-ups after copying everything to the archive dongles anyway.

This year there were less than last, and one (Gibson's) didn't happen, while another (Hornby) had to be asked for on their stand? University Games, an established US firm seem to have taken-over or merged with Paul Lamond, although both brands were on the stand, the corporate stuff was all UG, not that it affects figure collectors much, there are a few games from both with figures, and they carry the new Subbuteo.

Really, these dongles are minor curiosities as they contain little for the Blog, however they usually have an image folder with both this year's releases and some corporate or sub-brand logo stuff which will be useful on the A-Z pages in time, and who's to refuse a freebee, especially very small ones which take up little space and can be used for other stuff after formatting!

Already mentioned in the early (not dragged-out for six-months!) overview, the most interesting one this year was an ecologically-woke one, it's not to say you can dump it in the ocean, or any part of the environment, as there are still polymers in the actual drive part, but it has a much-smaller 'footprint' than the others!

And the accompanying press-pack is a throw-back to 1950's bureaucracy as well, with its card-disc/string-tie system, but we'll all be seeing more of this in the next decade, plastic has to be minimised and - indeed - limited to essential uses, while re-usability/longevity needs to be built-in to more 'stuff' . . . in the meantime; hats-off to the Paper Engine - practicing what they preach!