MacBook & USB Hub

[shady825]

I have a AT&T 3G laptop card that I use most the time for internet access. The laptop card "flares out" making the 2nd USB port unusable. I'm going to pick up a USB hub to resolve this problem.
Any recommendations on a particular hub?

Thank you.

 

[dukebound85]

make sure its usb 2 and a powered one

at least thats what id get

or you could uses a usb cable extender to be able to use the other port. thats a cheaper alternative if you dont need more usb ports

 

[shady825]

make sure its usb 2 and a powered one

at least thats what id get

What are the ones that say something like "power protected or overload protector" or something like that?? Is it kinda like a surge protector?

 

[shady825]

or you could uses a usb cable extender to be able to use the other port. thats a cheaper alternative if you dont need more usb ports

Thats what im doing now, its just kinda a pain!
It would be nice to have 1 or 2 more ports.

 

[dukebound85]

What are the ones that say something like "power protected or overload protector" or something like that?? Is it kinda like a surge protector?

i really dont know

as far as price, you can pick one up at best buy or walmart for around 20 bucks for a 4 port usb hub. i havent had any issue with mine

 

[shady825]

i really dont know

as far as price, you can pick one up at best buy or walmart for around 20 bucks for a 4 port usb hub. i havent had any issue with mine

Are the transfer speeds the same on all of them?

 

[dukebound85]

Are the transfer speeds the same on all of them?

if they are usb 2.0 hubs then yea

 

[shady825]

i really dont know

as far as price, you can pick one up at best buy or walmart for around 20 bucks for a 4 port usb hub. i havent had any issue with mine

"over current protection" <- thats what i was talking about.. Do you know what that is for?

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

the cheapest solution and the best imho is just using an extender. or maybe find a "hard" extender, a small brick thing with usb female and male ports on either side. I don't know if they exist, but you could trying googling. there are less wires, and powered usb hubs use AC adapters which add the the bulk.

 

[shady825]

the cheapest solution and the best imho is just using an extender. or maybe find a "hard" extender, a small brick thing with usb female and male ports on either side. I don't know if they exist, but you could trying googling. there are less wires, and powered usb hubs use AC adapters which add the the bulk.

I have an "extension" cable now but as i was saying i'd like to maybe have a few more USB ports..
Powered vs NON powered?? Whats the diff? Does the non powered just run off my mac battery? I really dont think id want to carry around a AC adapter as you said.

 

[dukebound85]

"over current protection" <- thats what i was talking about.. Do you know what that is for?

this is what i found from here

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/766085.html

According to the USB standard, a USB device may
- freely draw up to 100 mA
- after negotiating additional power, may draw up to 500 mA
These values are "per port" - or a total all devices connected to a
single port. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hub
for a brief explanation of this limitation.

You may want to check the configuration of ports / devices to make
sure you are not exceeding those limits on your existing USB hubs and
ports (and make sure you have enough ports).

Once that is straightened out, it will be difficult to determine the
"most powerful" self-powered USB hub. Many devices such as
http://www.eizo.com/downloads/brochures/pdf/i-stat.pdf
advertise a maximum of 500 mA per port when self powered. Some will
also advertise an "over current" protection of something like 700 mA
per port (to protect the hub / wiring) as well. There may be cases
where a device can provide more power (without overload) but that
capability will not be advertised.

Please indicate if a general survey of self-powered USB hubs will
answer your question.

emphasis is mine

hope that kinda answers your question

I have an "extension" cable now but as i was saying i'd like to maybe have a few more USB ports..
Powered vs NON powered?? Whats the diff? Does the non powered just run off my mac battery? I really dont think id want to carry around a AC adapter as you said.

i have both the powered and non powered. the difference is this. a non-powered one works great with like printers, mice, controllers, etc. the powered ones are great if you say want to charge your ipod, or to run a thumb drive in most cases (as they need power to run) or if you had a portable hard drive like this that need a powered usb port to run. if you try to run a thumb drive or that hard drive i linked, it will say that there isnt enough power to use device

 

[shady825]

this is what i found from here

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/766085.html



emphasis is mine

hope that kinda answers your question

Yea thank you! I guess i could of just as easily searched for that! Sorry!

 

[dukebound85]

Yea thank you! I guess i could of just as easily searched for that! Sorry!

no worries, glad we could help you out

 

[petermcphee]

Meritline.com has 4-port usb hubs for $6 after shipping. I just bought one for a different machine. Worth checking out:

http://www.meritline.com/4-port-usb-2-0-hub-silver-hh201.html

 

[qwikrex]

I picked up a Kensington 7 port powered USB 2.0 hub for my Alu macbook.

 

[shady825]

thanks guys

 

[CaptainCaveMann]

That thing is sic! Is it faster than wifi?

 

[shady825]

That thing is sic! Is it faster than wifi?

Are you asking about the 3G card??
Yea its pretty fast but it's no WiFi. It definitely gets the job done!
No complaints!