On Wed, 2002-01-02 at 21:41, Mark Orr wrote: > On Wed, 02 Jan 2002 19:44:41 -0600 > Chopin Cusachs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Also wonder how well parallel port backup drives would > > work via printer adapter through USB hub. How would > > the speed compare with the present parallel port? > > It wouldnt be much of an upgrade. With the proper ECP/EPP > cable, a modern parallel port will do 3-5Mb/sec. USB has > a theorhetical throughput of 12Mbps, but in practice it's > much less than that. (usually 4-8Mb/sec). >
USB2 which is prevalent now is around 100Mbps. > > $30 is reasonable, it that is all that has to be purchased. > > I might be interested in a digital camcorder at that price, > > but since I don't even have a permanent film camera, I > > won't go over $50 for any kind of camera. > > For an adapter card? Firewire is starting to be built into > some newer PC motherboards as a standard device (Apple > "invented" Firewire, and Macs have had them for some time). > Firewire cards can be had for as little as $15. Pricewatch > turned up many for under $30. > > > Wonder if > > there are firewire to parallel converters to permit printing > > and using parallel port backup devices. > > > > Remember the whole idea is to save money, not to have to > > buy a whole suite of new devices costing, perhaps as much > > as $100 each. How about a USB sound card adapter? > > That would free up an IRQ. > > I'd advise against it. Most new motherboards (even dirt cheap > ones) nowadays have sound built-in. Even on-board AC97 sound > is going to work a lot better than USB. I would advise against USB sound also.... better to move a printer. > > USB is no panacea. Check Usenet or google groups - it just > doesnt work that well. There's boatloads of "USB is crap" > posts. USB isnt just a fast serial port than can hook up > multiple devices. Classic DB9 serial ports (RS-232/RS-422) are > very simple devices with simple routines to control them. USB > is more like a network, with complex protocol stacks, and handlers > for specific "device classes". More complex usually means less > robust. I have not had any problems with USB - even on linux. Though I have not used on a large variety of machines. I just bought a USB2 60 GB drive at CompUSA for $250 for backup purposes. Works fine in windows and linux.... > > There are many reports of people who have a USB device working > fine, but when another is added, neither works, or speed drops > dramatically. There are other reports of USB being very CPU > intensive, or motherboards having bad implementations of it, or > bad USB BIOS routines. "one day it works, the next day it doesnt" > ...i just read on google. > > Various names i've seen it called: universal s**t bus, > unstable serial bus, "Unreliable Stuff, Beware!", > Unsolicited Single Beep (I guess referring to motherboard > diagnostic error beeps). > > Many experienced users _dread_ USB devices. Many would reject > an ISP if they thought their broadband adapter would be USB based > (like Bellsouth DSL, i believe). It just doesnt look to be a > technology you want to bet the farm on. > > I'm not anti-USB...I'm just saying be wary. This is what got > my goat reading the Clickers Ask the Experts group. Many of those > that answer questions there (often CCCC BOD members) have this > religiously-held illusion that technology proceeds in discrete > steps, and each "generation" is better in every possible way than > the one before it. Not only is that usually not the case, it's > often the exact opposite. Often the "new way of doing things" > is demonstrably worse than the old "obsolete" way. > > -- > Mark Orr > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ================================================ > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > your subscription information. > ================================================ -- __________________________________________________________________ Shannon Roddy California Institute of Technology [EMAIL PROTECTED] LIGO Livingston Observatory ph: (225)686-3106 19100 LIGO Lane fx: (225)686-7189 Livingston, LA 70754 ================================================ BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change your subscription information. ================================================
