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This was a great idea for a 4 port hup but it was it badly Designed. The cables were way to short. It seamed too hard to add more than two extra USB cables because the extra USB slots seemed too close to gether.Thats my two cents.
It is compact for convinience and seems to do a good job so far. I can connect it to my laptop and disconnect it at any moment and all of my peripherial still work properly once reconnected.The only thing is when I first got it, it made my computer crash a few times when my laptop went into hybernation over night after leaving it on and the screen up. I have started closing the screen at night and it isn't doing that any more.
I am now using it with a Dell Laptop and it seems to be doing fine. I bought two of the hubs in June 2004. The other one I used with a Mac for about a year and a half now and it has failed. One of them failed in about a month of using it with a HP/Compaq Laptop. IOGEAR replaced it for me. I am beyond warranty so I will go with a different hub to replace it. It does run hot so I think it must have good ventilation to hold up well.
The idea behind this product is great: create four USB ports in the place of a single port and make the package small enough to be inconspicuous and eminently portable. Microhub didn't recognize a single one of these devices, causing me to ask "What's the point." I've got four devices and four USB hubs, and only one of them works (and erratically at that). At least that way I can use my mouse without wondering when it will decide on its own to open a context menu, slide down to the bottom of the screen or simply freeze in place.To add insult to injury, this so-called convenient piece of hardware heats up like an iron. Unfortunately, where the product falls short -- way short, I'm afraid -- is in its dependability.It so happens I have four USB devices I've tried to use with the Microhub: an external hard drive, a printer, a wireless mouse (the receiver plugs into a USB port) and an iPod. Try again. For each of these devices, the Microhub either caused the device to work improperly or flat out failed to recognize it.Using the mouse was an exercise in futility. IOGEAR did a fine job with the latter; this hub certainly is small and easy to carry about. I'm actually better off *without* the hub.
The mouse tracked poorly and the Microhub would execute phantom click actions without me even touching a mouse button. That's pretty frustrating when you're trying to close a window and instead the document starts scolling down.As for the iPod, external hard drive and printer, they were as good as gone. When I'm off to take my laptop with me somewhere, am I going to put this lava chip in my pocket. The only reason I haven't thrown it out yet is because I'm soaking it in a tub of ice water so it doesn't smolder in my trash basket.My suggestion is for you to save your pennies for something more useful like, say, a pair of sole-less shoes.
Uncanny, but my hub had the same problem - mine lasted for about 1 year, but now the middle two ports don't recognize devices. Wierd. When it worked I loved it, though.
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