If you use a portable Mac with external speakers, this is the
best £2 you'll ever spend  During my days on the Genius Bar, one
common problem that I'd often see was damaged headphone ports on
the Mac. Whether it was due to the mini-jack snapping inside the
port (leaving part of it stuck) or the output was stuck on
digital out, what seemed to be a relatively minor fault would
often end up being quite costly.  I use my MacBook Air on a desk
with an external display, keyboard, trackball, and set of
speakers. Since I often travel with my MacBook Air as well, I'm
constantly plugging and unplugging the speaker's mini-jack,
something that would fill me with dread.  The solution? A £2 USB
sound card that requires no drivers, using OS X's built-in audio
device support. I keep this plugged in to my USB hub with the
speaker attached. As soon as I put the Mac on my desk, all I
connect is my display and USB cable and the audio automatically
switches to the USB sound card, thus avoiding cable fatigue and
any potential dama