[Tfug] USB Hubs

[Bexley Hall]

Howdy Earl,

> > Argh!  I've lost my second USB (2.0) hub this year.
> > Is this just bad luck on my part?  Or, are these
> > things known to be cheap/flakey/disposable?  Or,
> > do I perhaps need to mount it someplace where it
> > can better dissipate heat (I have it fastened to
> > the underside of my work table so the connectors
> > are convenient for plugging thumb drives, etc.)
> 
> I a 4 port that is called a Miro.  I can't tell you how long this will
> last because I've had it for only 5 or 6 years.  I ran a printer and a
> scanner off it for about 3 years.  Now it does just an occasional thumb
> drive.

First dud I had was a Belkin -- I never expected anything
wonderful out of it so when it crapped out I just shrugged.

This latest one is a DLink that I had *hoped* would be a
bit more robust.  Maybe just a fluke but its annoying because
things always break when you *need* them  :-/  (e.g., I
needed to scan a few documents and now have to crawl behind
the PC to plug into the USB ports directly.  This is not fun.)
 
> A few years ago I heard some thumb drives caused problems with USB
> circuitry but I never experienced that and don't remember the
> rumored evil ones (someone else on the list might know).

Hmmm... I hadn't heard that.  And, the thumb drives (I think most
of mine are "cruzers") haven't really given me any perceivable
problems.  The hub appears to have died sometime between powering
down the PC and powering it up the following time (i.e., everything
was lit up nice and green when it was powered down but the next
powerup wouldn't recognize the hub at all -- and I know that
port on the PC is working as I simply unplugged the hub and
ran the cable to an external CD-R/W subsequent to that)

> Old age and apathy are a bad combination for memory.

Gee, *I* wouldn't know, eh?  ;-)

Thx,
--don