On Mon, 2005-08-29 at 18:00 +0800, Neil Houghton wrote: > > 1x A5 Wacom ADB graphics tablet with 1x iMate ADB to USB converter > > $30 (Will not split) > > Graphics tablet works under classic OS's only (will function under > > OSX but no pen pressure sensing). iMate can be used to connect old > > ADB devices such as software dongrals keys > > Just a word of caution here - do not assume that an ADB software dongle will > work through an ADB/USB adaptor. I had such a dongle to use Ashlar Vellum 3D > (CAD software) and bought such an adaptor (belkin from memory) - no go
It is, however, well worth a try. I use an iMate ADB->USB adapter to handle the hardware dongle for some software the POST uses. It's entirely fuss free - it even works under Mac OS X (in Classic) with the new drivers, despite the original software being of Mac OS 7.1 vintage. Now, what I'd prefer to do is find the person responsible for deciding that a hardware dongle is a good idea and beat them with the dongle. Alas, in this case that's impractical. As for why I have such a problem with them: It's an artificial single point of failure in what is usually a key business system. They're a major cause of incompatibilities, faults, and other problems in otherwise fine systems and software, and I just can't imagine what sort of thought process leads to shipping them. After all, if you actually want to illegally copy the software you'll just tweak it so it "forgets" to look for the dongle - this is, after all, not all that hard. A hardware key is increasingly a strong factor in purchasing decisions here. I don't like being treated like a criminal who'll do the wrong thing if given the chance, and I don't like the extra point of failure hardare dongles introduce. I've already had to temporarily "fix" software until I can get a replacement dongle - it's tiresome, and something I'd much rather avoid. > > This is an incompatibility. The USB ADB adapter only works with ADB mice > > and > > ADB keyboards. It will not work with other ADB devices unfortunately. The same is true of the iMate out of the box, but Griffin provide a driver that lets it support more (presumably by providing a virtual ADB bus). Maybe it's worth a try? I think I have a spare here - if I can find it I might be able to loan it to you. -- Craig Ringer
