A voice activated device for producing control signals in response to speech is self-contained and requires no additional software or hardware. The device may be incorporated into a housing that replaces a wall switch that is connected to an AC circuit. An alternate housing is portable and includes a jack that plugs into and lies flush against a standard AC utility outlet, and at least one plug for accepting an AC jack of any electronic product or appliance. The device acts as a control interface between utility power and connected electrical devices by connecting or disconnecting power to the electrical devices based on speech commands.

A communication cable comprising a trigger and a wireless transmitter coupled to the trigger and adapted to transmit a wireless transmitter coupled to the trigger and adapted to transmit a wireless signal to activate a user identifiable locator adjacent a cable connector disposed on a device. A processor-based system a cable connector, a user identifiable locator disposed adjacent the cable connector, and a controller coupled to the user identifiable locator and triggerable wirelessly to facilitate guided connection between the cable connector and a communication cable.

When a person first enters an unfamiliar work space, it is useful for that person to know what devices are present in the space and often the person will spend the first few minutes looking around, effectively carrying out an inventory of the devices present. In order to simplify this process the devices are arranged to announce their existence by sound in response to a prompt, such as a handclap. To avoid the announcements being made all at once in an unintelligible manner, the devices interact with each other to order their announcements so that each device announcement is, at least in due course, made uninterrupted by announcements from other devices. Typically, this interaction involves the devices using a collision-detection and back-off protocol applied to the announcements themselves.

The lighted table top water fountain includes a water bowl, a superstructure rising from the water bowl with a view area, overhead, a pump supplied with electrical power, and a water delivery system to carry water from the water bowl through the superstructure above the view area and drop the water into the view area. A plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) are mounted beneath the view area such that the waterfall is illuminated by the upwardly directed LEDs. A fiber optic light system is mounted between a scene board and a backboard, both of which are mounted at the rear of the superstructure behind the view area. Light generated from the fiber optics is emitted from said scene board into said view area and is reflected and refracted off of the waterfall. Optionally, an audio control turns ON and OFF the lights.

An electronic key or other missing object locator device is responsive to the impulse characteristics of received sounds to distinguish expected impulse-like triggering sounds such as humanly produced hand claps from other impulse-like sounds such as speech or music or non-impulse-like sounds. Errors may be counted whenever the received sounds do not correspond to the expected characteristics of the expected impulse-like triggering sounds. Whenever the expected number of triggering sounds having the expected impulse characteristics have been discriminated and detected, an audible alert is sounded, provided that the errors are not too many. The device of the invention is thereby able to distinguish expected hand claps (or other humanly produced sounds) from non-intended music, speech or other impulse-like or non-impulse-like triggering sounds, rendering it operable even in noisy environments. False alarms from mechanical wave energy are prevented. The user may clap his or her hands in a free manner, and almost any "natural" clap succession, whether or not evenly spaced, and whether or not comparatively-fast or comparatively-slow, will result in the audible alert.