hubs

Before purchasing, I read the many reviews and noted how many folks were upset that they couldn't find an external power supply(!). This should not be looked upon as a full-blown hub for connectivity of a bazillion devices. Even though it's self-powered, I've never had a problem with the lack of a power supply. I feel that it's a great little convenience item that makes laptop computing that much more bearable. The device indeed does have a very short cord. This is actually a good attribute, if used as the item was designed. It's perfect for a laptop or a USB port on the front of a tower case. Because I lug my laptop to work and home each night, I just keep the hub connected to the cable of my optical mouse. That way I can connect the mouse, a camera or memory key (or all) at any time. I also do a lot of traveling and find it's small enough to use on a plane.

My laptop came equipped with only one USB port. And, for the past couple of years, I have been swapping wires in and out of that port in order to use my external CD burner, PDA cradle, and digital camera. Concerned that I was putting my only USB port through unnecessary "wear-and-tear", I began to shop for a USB hub.

This particular Linksys hub is perhaps the best thing I have ever purchased for my LAPTOP computer! With it, it's as though my computer has four brand new USB ports, which can operate simultaneously!

NOTE: I absolutely wouldn't recommend the hub for a desktop or a tower-style system; if you read one of the preceding reviews (titled "The hub works, but..."), you'll understand why.

Nevertheless, this hub successfully allows me to download digital pictures, use my CD burner, and synchronize my PDA... all at the same time, with no glitches at all!

[I should also mention that none of my USB devices draw power from my computer's USB port. As long as you don't have any devices that require power *from* the USB port, you won't need the optional adapter that can give supplemental power to the hub. (If you do have a USB device that draws power from your computer's USB port, you will need to also purchase the optional adapter.)]

One final thing.. this hub is designed for USB ports that are 1.0 or 1.1. Be sure to check your USB devices for compliance before purchasing this hub.

Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this hub! It's truly amazing!

A neat device with little functionality, firstly i would not recommend to use it with power hungry usb devices, having more than one device attached at the same time will be a problem. Secondly, the ports are so close if you are lucky you will get 4 devices in at the same time.