Hardware, Hardware, and more Hardware

At the given moment I have the following hardware connected to my development machine:
2 - 20'' Widescreen monitors
1 - USB mouse
1 - USB wireless keyboard
0 - USB hubs - this would alleviate some of my problem.
1 - Zebra LP 2844 Barcode Printer
1 - Niton XL800 Alloy Reader
1 - Hermes IS400 Engraver
1 - PSC barcode reader
1 - IDTech magnetic strip reader
1 - Dell Axim X510 PDA
1 - 250Gb External Hard drive
1 - 8 port hub, which connects to:
1 - WYSE terminal with:
1 - standard PS/2 Keyboard
1 - stardard PS/2 ball mouse

With that said have:
2 - questions.

1. What's your most insane accessory setup?
2. Is there some sort of "accessory hub" out there--i'd imagine something like a KVM on steroids-- that i can use to manage all these things?  something i can set on my desk and plug everything in to so i don't have to crawl under my desk every time i get a new hardware-required app?

My work setup is nowhere near that crazy...

I have:

* (laptop)
* 20" Cinema Display (the SWOP certification makes it worth while)
* USB hub, connects to display
* 400GB USB drive (video & print projects really chew up drive space)
* 60GB iPod (have to have music to get through my day)
* Panatone huey PRO (USB gadget used for monitor calibration and automatic adjustments for light level changes)
* Bluetooth keyboard
* Bluetooth mouse

None of which sound as much fun as an engraver.

I'm sure there used to be a fourth thing on the USB hub under the desk, but damned if I can remember what it is.

My hardware:

* Dell Inspiron 6000 Laptop
* Seagate 100GB USB hard disk
* USB Mouse
* Dell printer
* Cheap Logitech 2.1 speakers (they sound good, though)
* 512 MB 1G iPod Shuffle
And the only really interesting thing hardware-wise that I've got is:
* MCU prototyping board + CSM12C32 educational module (houses a MC9S12C32 microcontroller and some other stuff), connecting via USB.

Yeah, I'm boring.

As far as "accessory hubs" go, it sounds like you're looking for a USB hub.  Unless you do a lot of stuff with serial or parallel port hardware, in which case you're just stuck with reaching around to the back of your machine.

CannotResolveSymbol wrote:

As far as "accessory hubs" go, it sounds like you're looking for a USB hub.  Unless you do a lot of stuff with serial or parallel port hardware, in which case you're just stuck with reaching around to the back of your machine.

CannotResolveSymbol wrote:

As far as "accessory hubs" go, it sounds like you're looking for a USB hub.  Unless you do a lot of stuff with serial or parallel port hardware, in which case you're just stuck with reaching around to the back of your machine.

PerfectPhase wrote:



CannotResolveSymbol wrote: As far as "accessory hubs" go, it sounds like you're looking for a USB hub.  Unless you do a lot of stuff with serial or parallel port hardware, in which case you're just stuck with reaching around to the back of your machine.

Just get USB to serial or parallel adapters and hang them of the same USB hub as everything else, that's what I do, at least for serial stuff.

and these just work?  no configuration neccessary?

Yep just plug them in and they show up as COMn: or LTPn:, can't tell them apart from normal ports.

I use a load of these plugged into a standard USB hub:

http://www.startech.com/Product/ItemDetail.aspx?productid=ICUSB1284&c=UK

http://www.startech.com/Product/ItemDetail.aspx?productid=ICUSB232&c=UK

Ignore the prices, much cheaper if you buy from some where like dabs.com, as in less than half the rrp.