On Wed, 02 Jan 2002 19:44:41 -0600 Chopin Cusachs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Also wonder how well parallel port backup drives would > work via printer adapter through USB hub. How would > the speed compare with the present parallel port? It wouldnt be much of an upgrade. With the proper ECP/EPP cable, a modern parallel port will do 3-5Mb/sec. USB has a theorhetical throughput of 12Mbps, but in practice it's much less than that. (usually 4-8Mb/sec). > $30 is reasonable, it that is all that has to be purchased. > I might be interested in a digital camcorder at that price, > but since I don't even have a permanent film camera, I > won't go over $50 for any kind of camera. For an adapter card? Firewire is starting to be built into some newer PC motherboards as a standard device (Apple "invented" Firewire, and Macs have had them for some time). Firewire cards can be had for as little as $15. Pricewatch turned up many for under $30. > Wonder if > there are firewire to parallel converters to permit printing > and using parallel port backup devices. > > Remember the whole idea is to save money, not to have to > buy a whole suite of new devices costing, perhaps as much > as $100 each. How about a USB sound card adapter? > That would free up an IRQ. I'd advise against it. Most new motherboards (even dirt cheap ones) nowadays have sound built-in. Even on-board AC97 sound is going to work a lot better than USB. USB is no panacea. Check Usenet or google groups - it just doesnt work that well. There's boatloads of "USB is crap" posts. USB isnt just a fast serial port than can hook up multiple devices. Classic DB9 serial ports (RS-232/RS-422) are very simple devices with simple routines to control them. USB is more like a network, with complex protocol stacks, and handlers for specific "device classes". More complex usually means less robust. There are many reports of people who have a USB device working fine, but when another is added, neither works, or speed drops dramatically. There are other reports of USB being very CPU intensive, or motherboards having bad implementations of it, or bad USB BIOS routines. "one day it works, the next day it doesnt" ...i just read on google. Various names i've seen it called: universal s**t bus, unstable serial bus, "Unreliable Stuff, Beware!", Unsolicited Single Beep (I guess referring to motherboard diagnostic error beeps). Many experienced users _dread_ USB devices. Many would reject an ISP if they thought their broadband adapter would be USB based (like Bellsouth DSL, i believe). It just doesnt look to be a technology you want to bet the farm on. I'm not anti-USB...I'm just saying be wary. This is what got my goat reading the Clickers Ask the Experts group. Many of those that answer questions there (often CCCC BOD members) have this religiously-held illusion that technology proceeds in discrete steps, and each "generation" is better in every possible way than the one before it. Not only is that usually not the case, it's often the exact opposite. Often the "new way of doing things" is demonstrably worse than the old "obsolete" way. -- Mark Orr [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================ BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change your subscription information. ================================================
