Aha, who needs these black things?. But when used correctly, they can distinguish a clean and working USB port from a decrepit one. I depend on the reliability of USB ports, and on more than one occasion a dirty port has caused me a lot of trouble. Never again. They are just as easy to connect as they are to disconnect. It's easier than turning on the light in the kitchen. You just have to get used to using them and your USB ports will always be clean and vibrant. As long as the device they're connected to keeps doing what it's supposed to.