IOGear USB 2.0 Upgrade Kit mounts in Floppy space |
April, 12, 2003 3:01 PM |
tomquinlan |
I've been wanting to try the CUPS/GimpPrint printer drivers since Epson doesn't support my printer past 10.2.1. But all four of my old Entrega USB ports were full, so I needed an extra USB port to hook up my printer (which is currently hooked up firewire). I bought the IOGear USB 2.0 Upgrade Kit. It comes with a 2-port USB 2.0 card and an internal 3-port "hub" that is made to be installed in a 3.5 or 5.25 inch drive bay. The hub has about a 12 inch cord that plugs internally into the back of the card. Since the Mac floppy drive seems to be of no more use in X (and I rarely used one in 9 anyway), I was hoping that the three ports on the internal "hub" would show through the opening in the floppy bezel if I just removed the floppy drive, thus giving a cleaner Mac look than if I just used the PC ugly flat 5.25 inch plate that came with the unit. I drilled a few small holes in the frame that came with the "hub" so that it could be mounted to the floppy sled that came with the Mac (if you try it be sure to have it protrude over the edge of the sled the same amount the floppy drive used to). The USB ports turned out to be about an eighth of an inch too low to be usable, so I added a shim between the sled and the hub assembly and it's working fine. I haven't tried CUPS yet but my digital camera (which supports USB 2.0) now FLIES when transferring pictures! And... my computer is now devoid of the useless floppy. Tom |
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