UsbSharing
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IOGEAR rolls out USB-sharing Net ShareStation
We're not exactly hurting for wireless, USB-sharing options right about now, but when it comes to devices that let us yank another cable from our desk, we're all for a bit of excess. This latest one comes to us from IOGEAR, which opted for the sharing-over-network method with its new Net ShareStation. Like other similar devices, this one plugs straight into your router (wireless or otherwise) and, in this case, accommodates up to four USB devices of your choice, although you'll need to provide your own AC-powered 4-port USB hub if you plan to use more than one device with it. If that last rather lame detail isn't a deal-breaker for you, you can get your hands on this one now for $80.[Via Blast]
USB MultiSwitch hub hits prototype stage
Thanks to those fancy chips from SMSC we saw back in April, USB MultiSwitch hubs are just around the corner, bringing convenient USB device sharing to your desktop early next year. Now SMSC has a prototype all prepped, and has answered a few more questions regarding the technology. It sounds like implementation is pretty straight forward: a MultiSwitch-equipped PC can share any of its USB-connected devices with any other MultiSwitch PC via a single USB cable, or you can mix things up with a MultiSwitch hub which provides its own sharing chops. Unfortunately, multiple users can't access a shared device simultaneously, you have to instead specify which user is using each device, which could get cumbersome. SMSC's tech does support Wireless USB, but only "upstream" to the client PC -- the shared devices themselves have to be wired USB connections. Still, despite these limitation we're sure we'll be able to find plenty of uses for the spiffy new hubs when they hit the market in "early 2007."
