
Infinite USB Plug - Flemlord
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/infinite-usb-plug-is-a-big-idea-for-small-conveniences/
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NateLawson
I don't think this guy understands USB. It isn't a matter of not having
passthrough connectors, it's a matter of one device per port is how it
fundamentally works. Unless he is planning to put a small 2-port hub in each
connector (one for the device, one for the downstream port), this kind of
thing just won't work.

I'm guessing this is an issue of an industrial designer thinking "those silly
computer engineers, why didn't they think to add passthrough?" without
understanding how USB works.

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axod
Surely a 2 port hub would work and would be simple enough? That's how I
assumed it'd work. Obviously you'd run out of power after 3 or 4 maybe, but
that'd be enough to be useful.

You can get pretty tiny 4 port hubs now.

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pmjordan
From the Wikipedia page on USB:

 _Additional USB hubs may be included in the tiers, allowing branching into a
tree structure with up to five tier levels._

So by "infinite" they mean "five", unless the connectors can make use of a
non-standard communications mechanism between each other which makes them
appear as only one big hub.

The other downside of daisy-chaining is that you have to unplug everything to
remove a lower-level device.

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jules
And more than 5 of these sticking out of your device could easily break.

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spamizbad
Well, power-wise it's limited to a 5 unit load (100mW each) for USB 2.0. USB
3.0 can go to 900mW (150mW per load). This means you probably couldn't daisy-
chain charging USB devices.

Not infinite but still a compelling design.

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tezza
Ok, I need to remove a device in the middle of the chain...

Now what will I be disconnecting to make this happen?

I hope it's not my external HDD 2 hours into a transfer with 30 minutes left
to go.

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potatolicious
This has always been the reason I liked Firewire more than USB...

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fnid2
The question is, will usb device manufacturers pay for the extra hardware at
the end of the wire?

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chaosmachine
Most USB devices aren't hardwired to a cable (except mice/keyboards). You just
need to buy a few cables with these ends on them. It would also be possible to
create an extension cable with one of these ends, for devices that are
hardwired.

