[geeks] Cheap multiport PCI 10/100 ethernet cards?

[Dan Duncan]

On Mon, 2 Aug 2004, Bill Bradford wrote:
> I *hate* non-computer-related USB-powered devices, but I do have a nifty
> little goose-neck metal USB fan plugged into the USB hub on my LCD flat
> panel here at work, snaking up and over the top of the monitor so that it
> points at me.

I don't know that I hate them, but I do find some of them funny.  Some
of them are really useful and prevent a wall tumor from taking up
several precious outlets.  I built a charging cable for my cellphone (5V)
because it was cheaper than buying a spare wall tumor one for my office.
I need to pick up another barrel plug to build one for my 5V PDA as well.

> [0] the USB hub on the monitor turns on and off with the monitor power
> switch!  So, I can't run the keyboard and mouse through it, because when
> I turn off the money, the system bitches when the keyboard and mouse go
> away.. but this works out great for the fan - when I turn off the monitor,
> the fan turns off too.

I used a powered hub on one of those under-the-monitor power centers
to run my barcode scanner at my previous job so I could switch it
off easily.  The thing was extremely sensitive to vibration or static
discharge or something because any time I or the guy in the next cube
got up from our seats it would go through its startup sequence causing
my computer to pause while it found a new device and the scanner would
emit this annoying series of beeps.

-DanD

-- 
#  Dan Duncan (kd4igw)  dand at pcisys.net  http://pcisys.net/~dand
# There's more than one way to skin a cat.
# Method #23: epoxy and a straight razor