Average customer rating: 3.0
  • User interface issues are a drawback

Similar Items:
  1. D-Link DUB-H4 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub
Belkin F1U400 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch (12 Mbps)

Manufacturer: Belkin Components
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B00007IFJZ

Related Categories:

Switches Switches
Related | Wired Networks | Networking & Online Communication | Computer Add-Ons | Computers & Add-Ons | Categories | Electronics
Switches Switches
Related | Wired Networks | Networking & Online Communication | Computer Add-Ons | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
USB Devices USB Devices
Related | Upgrades | Products |

Product Description

The Belkin 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch (the Switch) lets you access four USB devices - such as printers, cameras, scanners, and external hard drives - from up to four computers simultaneously. This convenient design gives you immediate access to your USB devices through both a push button and through Belkin's new, easy-to-use Switch software. It keeps all your devices available without your having to detach and reconnect them from one computer to another, and gives you the option of using them all from a single computer or assigning each device to any of the connected computers.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars User interface issues are a drawback.......2004-01-15

I bought the F1U400 as a KVM switch substitute, allowing me to use a USB mouse and USB keyboard between two computers (I can't use a KVM for my monitor, due to RF interference).

The switch *blinks*. When a USB component is plugged into it, the box indicates this by blinking an LED for that component. The blinking is very distracting, and the design of the LEDs (lots of curves) would make it difficult to cover them up. I've ended up hiding the switch behind my monitor.

The box has four buttons to swap USB components among hosts. Pressing a button once lights up the current host. You then need to press it again to start cycling through the list. The box waits for input for five seconds; only after those five seconds are complete does it reconnect the component. Any other button presses in that time cancel the change. This means that switching from one machine to another is far more laborious than with a normal KVM (particularly if you're switching a keyboard and a mouse separately).

Because I'm operating in a mixed Windows/Unix environment, I haven't installed the Windows switching software.

The F1U400 is probably a reasonable approach for components like printers, mass storage devices and scanners, which won't be moving from machine to machine with nearly the frequency of keyboards and mice. You'll have to hide the LEDs, though.

Electronics:

  1. HP JETDIRECT 610 N 10/100
  2. 6-Port IEEE 1394 FireWire Hub
  3. Macally USB 2.0 Hi-Speed & Firewire Combo Hub for Mac ( HUB-UF )
  4. Micro Innovations USB740R USB 2.0 Card Bus PCMCIA 2-Port Adapter
  5. Belkin F5D6231-4 Wireless Cable/DSL Router
  6. Surfboard Cable Modem
  7. Motorola Surfboard SB5100 Cable Modem
  8. NETGEAR ANT24O5 Omni-directional Antenna (5 dBi)
  9. Belkin 8PORT NETWORKING SWITCH ( F5D5131-8 )
  10. Linksys WUSB54G Wireless-G USB Adapter

Electronics

Electronics