Today I will be reviewing Linksys’ 4-port USB Hub. It’s really amazing how the USB Technology has exploded. At first, everyone said this thing had no chance due to the small data transfer rate. Behold, look at all the products currently on the market that support USB. USB is here is stay. USB will become even more prominent once USB 2.0 is implemented, since it will have support for high speed data access. I think we’re taking in the 100-400megabyte/sec range. That is a great increase over the current standard of USB and should help to further entrench this technology in our computers. Now that USB is a big thing people want to be able to use more than just 2 USB devices with their computer. Since most motherboards only come with 2-ports that has prompted the invention of the USB Hub.

The USB Hub is simply a device that connects to one of your USB Ports and offers support for 4 or more, more. By doing this it greatly expands your ability to use USB devices. For example if you went out and bought 4-port USB Hubs you would then have support for 8 USB Devices instead of just two. Pretty cool isn’t it? That is what a lot of people and companies also though. There are currently tons of USB Hub devices on the market so there must be people buying them. Linksys is one of those companies and today I will be evaluation their product.

One of the many advantages of USB, is a super easy installation. You can connect the item to your computer when it is turned on, and start using it right then, after loading the software. You can also hot swap USB devices while the computer is on. This is great if you have tons of USB devices, but a limited number of USB ports. There are no drivers for the Hub and it will work with any OS that supports USB (eg. Win 98). If you were wondering, I had no problems installing this USB Hub. They have even included an adapter if you don’t want to use the Power from the Power Supply. That is an especially good feature if you have a small power supply or no more power left on it.

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