Good USB hub???

RussA · 28 Nov 2007 at 11:34

Got a feeling I sort of know the answer to this but...

I have a laptop to which I fairly frequently plug in;
1) A USB-connected printer
2) A external USB disk
3) A USB mouse - (plugged in pretty well permanently)
4) A USB web cam - (plugged in fairly frequently)
I'd prefer to be able to leave most of this plugged in if I could however my laptop only has 2 USB ports.

My wife also has a PC to which she occassionally wants to:
1) Connect to the same USB printer and
2) occassionally a different USB web cam.

My wife's PC is a Dell with a USB V1 which is too slow but hey ho.

What USB Hub and/or Printer switch would give me the best solution here?

RussA · 28 Nov 2007 at 17:40

bump....

J.B · 28 Nov 2007 at 18:43

Printers (even USB ones) can be networked, you need a device called a print server. I think Linksys do a good one that plugs into your router and has a USB port on the other side. I think there are also wireless options available.

In terms of your USB peripherals just buy a cheap USB 4 port hub.

tolien · 28 Nov 2007 at 19:57

Patience (6 hours before bumping doesn't count) and posting in the right forum for the win.

fobose · 28 Nov 2007 at 20:05

You could just "share" the printer on the laptop, unless you turn it off a lot? I would get a USB hub that takes your fancy (one that you like the look of).

tolien said:
Patience (6 hours before bumping doesn't count) and the posting in the right forum for the win.

Why bother posting that?

Aod · 28 Nov 2007 at 20:10

just about any powered USB hub will do, but i reccomend that you put the webcam on its own port because video is fairly bandwidth intensive (if its a high-quality one that is)