Michael Bidun wrote:
>
> I have heard that I may be able to use something called "hubs" which I may
> be able to plug into either my USB or FireWire port. Supposedly, MicroSoft
> required that each piece of hardware that can run Windows 98 have the
> ability to have "hubs." These act as multiplexing ports. Does anyone know
> about LINUX support for hubs or have any more info on the subject.
>
Well, for USB (and possibly for FireWire too) the USB port is a SERIAL
link so apart from electrical considerations (i.e., amount of power
pulled from the port) the software doesn't have to know whether there
is a hub behind, or not. The software will just see (or not see)
the DEVICES connected either to the hub, or the port directly,
it will never see the hub itself if any.
Some devices also act as a hub in that they have a "repeater" port
where you can plug something else (including, possibly, a hub).
There is support for __some__ USB devices in Linux (not yet all)
and patches are available for __some__ FireWire devices.
Now to go back to the original thread, PCMCIA is NOT a serial port
(it's a parallel port, I believe 32 bit) so that's a completely
different kind of beast ... and no, I don't know personally
of any "hub" for it.
Now if you meant that you heard of a multi-PCMCIA "hub" that you
can plug on USB port, that would be a very special beast indeed.
IMHO, USB (12 Mbits maxi) doesn't have the bandwidth to handle
even ONE PCMCIA port, let alone several ...
FireWire could manage the bandwidth, but is there such an animal,
and more to the point, what would this cost ???
--
Jean-Louis Debert [EMAIL PROTECTED]
74 Annemasse France
old Linux fan
