Datasheet

790
Upgrading the Basic Stuff
Figure 1-7:
The Belkin
In-Desk
USB Hub fits
into the hole
in your desk,
leaving
room for
cables.
Photo courtesy Belkin International.
You can plug one USB hub into another — daisy-chain them — to attach
more devices than a single hub can support.
You can string USB cable forever and a day, but if you go much more than 16
feet (5 meters) with a single cable, you’re stretching things thin. If you daisy-
chain powered hubs, you can probably get away with a total run of 80 feet
(25 meters) between the PC and the farthest-out USB-connected peripheral.
Understanding flash memory and USB key drives
Regular computer memory — random access memory (RAM) — needs a
constant supply of power to keep going. Flash memory is a special kind
of computer memory that doesn’t self-destruct when the power goes out.
Technically a type of Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory (EEPROM), flash memory comes in many different kinds of packages.
If you spend any time using electronic cameras, you probably know all about
memory cards — Secure Digital (SD), Compact Flash (CF), and Smart Media
(SM) cards — and if you’ve been around Sony equipment, you also know
about memory sticks. All of them rely on flash memory.
For us unrepentant computer types, flash memory also comes in a little
package — frequently the size and shape of a pack of gum — with a USB
connector on the end. You can call it a USB flash memory stick, a key drive,
a USB drive, a key-chain drive (people really use them as key chains? I
dunno — my favorite key chain looks like Watto from Star Wars), a pocket
drive, a pen drive, a USB key, or a USB stick (that’s what my cables do
when they get old).