Q If your magazine ever has a "what peeves me off" competition, then let me be the first to enter.

A This is an issue that "peeves" many of us off! Adding a few additional peripheral devices to your computer can result in a tangle of cables. Cables running around your house or office can be dangerous. They could result in injury from tripping. Also, under most occupational health and safety standards, double adapters are banned as they can be a fire hazard.

Once you have purchased, there is no real solution to the problem. The best option is to select devices carefully ù reward those companies that take care with their design and protest to those that don't by taking your business elsewhere. Of course, if you really need a particular device, the luxury of choice may not be available.

There are lots of devices that require an external power source. These include printers and flatbed scanners. When going to make a purchase, have a look at the power connector, especially those with an external transformer. The best design is one where the transformer is half way down the cable rather than at the plug. When at the plug, the transformer is often so large it will block other plugs. You can use an extension lead between the transformer and the power board, but this often leads to more tangled cabling.

So the trick is to avoid devices that need to be plugged into the wall. First, if you are buying a new computer, consider your power requirements. The case should be large enough to house lots of internal devices and have a power supply with a high wattage. The wattage determines how many internal devices can be reliably added to your computer. Most power supplies are 200W. If you are looking to add numerous internal devices, then you should get at least 300W. The power supply should also have a connector that allows the monitor to be plugged into the back.

External add-on devices tend to be the norm, partly because many users are uncomfortable with opening up the case of their computer. However, many vendors offer internal versions and these are usually cheaper because they require no separate power supply. Examples include Zip drives and modems. If you donÆt wish to install them yourself, most places charge a modest fee for installation.

Finally, shop around ù there may be other alternatives. Take speakers, for example. Speakers have a certain amount of electrical resistance. Low-resistance speakers can be run off the signal from your sound card with no need for an external power source. I do this with the speakers on my computer. The resulting sound quality is not as good as when I use an external power supply, but it's adequate for most situations. High-quality speakers have a high electrical resistance and so cannot be run off the signal from the sound card.

USB devices have great potential to reduce cable clutter. Unfortunately, the range of USB peripherals currently on the market is still quite limited.