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Fred's Head is named after the legendary Fred Gissoni of APH's Customer Relations Department. Check out the bottom of this page for: Fred's Head on Twitter; receiving posts by email; browsing articles by subject; subscribing to RSS feeds; the archive of this blog; contributing articles to Fred's Head; and disclaimers.

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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

USB Switch: Control and Share USB Devices on Multiple Computers

The USB 2.0 Manual Share 4 Port Switch is a great computer system adapter that allows up to four computers in the same home access to the same peripheral device such as a printer, scanner or mass storage hard drive. It can be used to create a network printer that is shared by everyone or even as a way to share multimedia such as music and videos.

Simply connect a USB peripheral device of your choice to the input of the switch, then connect up to four computers to the output of the switch via USB. For long runs of USB cable from a computer to the switch, a USB balun is sold separately. No software is necessary for installation; each computer will recognize the switch automatically, which is confirmed by a solid LED light on the corresponding switch input. Accessing the shared peripheral is as easy as double clicking the Scroll Lock key from any of the connected computers. A small investment in this switch saves you money in the long run, as you won't have the expense of purchasing, maintaining and consuming energy from the same type of peripheral for every computer in your home.

Click this link to purchase the USB 2.0 Manual Share 4 Port Switch from Smarthome.com website.

Here's Another Idea

Nearly all modern gadgets attach to your computer through a USB connection. However, not all computers have enough USB inputs to manage all of these devices, and even if they do, the locations of these inputs are often difficult to get to. With the USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch Hub, you can make quick and convenient connections with up to four devices, and each of those devices can be connected to two computers. In the same fashion that you would add a power strip for additional outlets, simply link the hub to a computer (or two computers) with the included USB cable(s) and add power by connecting the AC adapter. With no software needed, once the hub has been connected and powered up there are multiple USB ports available for one or two computers to share. Connecting a flash drive, camera, card reader, keyboard, mouse, memory stick, or MP3 player is accessible and easy, and because this unit is powered, higher end peripherals like external hard drives, printers, scanners or fax machines can be connected as well. The hub has a hi-speed USB 2.0 rating offering data transfer speeds up to 480 mbps while being backward compatible with older USB 1.1 devices. Adding a compact and lightweight USB hub is an inexpensive and handy solution that will allow two computers, even laptops, quick access to the same files and peripheral devices.

Click this link to purchase the USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch Hub from the Smarthome.com website.

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