[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hello > > Sorry if this has been discussed in the list before, however I want to add a > USB card to my G3 333. Looking in eBay returns undesireable prices ugh! > Well I just got a TigerDirect catalog in the mail who knows why (yeah I know, > not Mac friendly/supportive) but I am looking at things that might be cross > platform and while looking for an internal IDE CDRW I found these: > > USB 2.0 PCI Card 5 USB Ports (for an unbelievable price) > and an Iomega CDRW called > Zip External USB CD-RW 4x4x6x (unbelievable price too after rebate) > > Of course there are other benefits that I can get from USB, hot swapability, > can use almost any peripheral with it no matter what platform I buy it for > and such. > Can someone tell me if this is a good idea? Will the USB card at least, work?
The Iomega drive is a fine, if slow drive (you will get only 2x speed out of the cd burner, at least I never did. It was recognized as a 4-speed drive, but it always throttled back to 2x, whihc could well be a limitation of USB) I had one for quite a while and it was quite reliable, never a coaster out of iTunes or CD Burner. Toast came with it, but I never used that. Some people have had problems with the multi-port (greater than 2) USB cards (like ports not being recognized, and things sometimes working and sometimes not), and there's not a lot of USB2.0 stuff with Mac drivers out yet, but if it is an OHCI (not UHCI!) compliant USB card it'll work as a USB 1.1 controller with Apple's USB extensions. The USB 2.0 driver will need to be supplied, as there are NO Apple 2.0 drivers; if they're not with the card, you're only getting USB 1.1 functionality. But the big thing is that it needs to be OHCI compliant. It should also be less than, say, $15, because that's what a generic card is selling for at my local electronics shop (unless it does come with Mac USB 2.0 drivers). A belkin 2-port card is $25 at CompUSA, their cheapo brands may work as well. If you need more USB devices a $20 or so powered 4-port USB hub is a mmore reliable way of getting the extra ports you need, imo. -- Bruce Johnson University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Information Technology Group Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
