USB hub with on/off switches: Buffalo does it right
It’s been over a year since I first posted the idea of a USB hub that would let you switch each port on or off. To save energy, avoid peripherals from waking up each time you fire up your PC or simply because you won’t be needing the USB missile launcher today. Soon after that, Brando actually released one, but it wasn’t quite what I had envisioned.
Buffalo seems to have done a far better job, with what look to be decent switches and a power supply in case you need to connect things that need the full 500 mW of power that USB can supply. I’m sure I wasn’t the first person to think of this, especially since the Brando came out a month after my blog post. But it’s nice to see the idea catch on.
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This is the personal blog of Roy Tanck, designer, geek, entrepreneur and WordPress enthusiast. It's also the home of projects like
roytanck (1496):
I would love to get a hold of one of these Buffalo USB Hub with on/off switches but they seem to not be available in the US. Can we get someone from Japan to start selling them on ebay? Can we get Buffalo to make them available in the US? Can we get another manufacturer to start making them?
Comment by Charlie Zamzow — February 3, 2011 @ 8:20 pm