[geeks] KVM switch recommendations

[N. Miller]

On Sep 26, 2007, at 12:53 PM, nate at portents.com wrote:

>> The USB, Firewire 400, and Firewire 800 power specs are horribly
>> abused by device manufacturers...
>
> I've heard the contention that because the specs often cost money,
> companies looking to save some money have simply guessed at the right
> power specs instead - which has created the wide variance we now see.

Given that I didn't pay for the spec, and the details (for USB  
anyway) were quoted on one of the public web pages for at least one  
of the major electronic parts houses, I would say that's b.s.  It's  
in their best interest to help people design electronics that can  
deal with both the spec and hardware that doesn't conform (otherwise  
they won't sell components), so I trust the info they provide.

Firewire might be more of a black box; I know from reading even  
companies like Apple that favor it do dumb stuff wrt to spec  
conformance.  I've read horror stories about the original iSight, for  
instance.  At least on Firewire accessory manufacturer recommends  
isolating all FW devices behind a powered hub to prevent excess power  
draw from compromising your motherboard.  Their rational being it's  
cheaper to replace a $30 hub than your expensive Apple dual Xeon  
motherboard.

=Nadine=