Fedora 17 USB Multiseat Compatible Hardware
Posted on 08. May, 2012 by bernie in UD-160-M
The Plugable $50 thin client KickStarter project is growing.
But we need early adopters so we have people using the solution, finding and fixing problems, and helping to spread the word. What we deliver now might not include some KickStarter extras and will be higher priced than through the KickStarter project, but it will include all the components and will work with Fedora 17 Beta.
Hardware
Interested in getting your hardware now? If you’re in the USA, here’s what will work with Fedora 17 Beta:
 |
Plugable USB 2.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station with DisplayLink DVI/VGA up to 1920×1080, Audio, Ethernet, and 4 Available High-Speed USB 2.0 Ports | Product Details | $79.00 |  |
|
 |
Plugable DC-125 USB 2.0 Laptop Docking Station and Multiseat Thin Client – VGA up to 1440×900 / 1280×1024, Audio, 2 USB ports | Product Details | $64.95 | |
Note the $79 version does not mention use as a thin client (it’s marketed for the laptop docking market), but it will work. And in the future and as part of the KickStarter project, we’ll have a UD-160-M model which is the same hardware, but with documentation tailored for the thin client / multiseat case.
International Shipping Options
If you’re outside the USA, we’re still working on expanding our options. Note that the UD-160-A is not sold on amazon.co.uk and the DC-125 sold there is not yet updated with Fedora support (we’ll let you know when it is).
So to reach the rest of the world, we’re offering a new option for international shipping of the DC-125 from the USA via USPS Flat Rate Priority. It’s the same price as in the USA ($64.95), but with an additional $16.95 shipping cost. Just visit the DC-125 page, and choose “more buying choices” in the lower right.
And look for the second option with “INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AVAILABLE”.
Let us know if you have any trouble with payment through Amazon. This version of the DC-125 includes all the components purchased through normal channels, but without the extra color packaging — this is so it can fit in a $16.95 fixed-rate priority international shipping box.
If you’ve never ordered and had an item shipped from the USA before via the US Postal Service, please research the rules in your country. We declare the actual value of all items, so in some countries customs and/or VAT taxes are collected, and all of those are paid by the recipient once the items arrive in country. And also note that while every shipment will have a tracking number, the tracking is generally poor once the item has left the USA.
Software
You can download Fedora 17 Beta here. Must be the default version (GDM) and use the “install media” option at the top — live CDs don’t work yet because of the modifications needed.
Install F17 to the hard drive of an available machine. For 3-4 thin clients, you can use a spare older machine – we’d recommend a machine with 1GB RAM and 2 cores or 2 GHz or more, but anything that F17 will run on at all, will work.
The thin clients will only come up to a green screen at this point. A few pre-release fixes are needed:
- Disable SELinux. Here’s how. Things will work now, but with some plug/unplug instability. To fix that …
- Get our latest fixes in udlfb.
- Get all latest fedora updates (so your kernel and kernel-devel headers are at the same version)
- sudo yum install gcc kernel-devel
- Get latest udlfb, compile and install. The following commands will do that:
git clone http://git.plugable.com/webdav/udlfb/ cd udlfb make sudo make install sudo depmod -a
- make sure none of those steps reported errors (missing module dependencies are actually ok). Reboot.
Now, any Plugable UD-160-A/M or DC-125 thin client you plug in should automatically pop up a new login.
Comment here or email support@plugable.com if you have any trouble at all – we’d be happy to help! And thanks in advance to the early users who help find issues and spread the word about how cool this technology can be!
Charging Your iPad or iPhone with a USB Hub
Posted on 13. Mar, 2012 by Aaron Knopf in Windows
“The only reason I bought this was that my computer’s USB doesn’t provide enough power to charge my iPad 2. Unfortunately, this hub doesn’t charge the iPad either, so it’s completely useless to me.”
“Bought this as a powered USB hub so that an iPhone and iPad could be connected to a MacBook Pro and charge both. Does not work.”
“So much for a ‘powered’ usb hub, it doesn’t power my iPad …, which defeats the purpose of me even getting it.”
It seems like it should be so easy. You have a hub that is plugged into an electrical socket. Your iPad is plugged into the hub. It should recharge. But it says, “Not Charging.” Why?
It all has to do with how electrical current is supposed to flow through USB ports and with confusion caused by proprietary behaviors that Apple has implemented in its product ecosystem that lead to different recharging results in seemingly identical scenarios.
If you want to avoid the answer to the “why” question and just know how to charge your Apple iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch when it’s connected to a self-powered hub, here are your two options.
Option 1: The iPad/iPhone/iPod is connected to a hub that is plugged into an electrical outlet and a computer simultaneously. The Apple device will recharge by pulling current at a rate of 500 milliamps when attached to this hub (the hub’s power supply must have enough amperage to provide this current).
- The iPhone and iPod both will indicate they are charging in this state. Total recharge time will be about half as fast as when they are plugged directly into a Mac’s USB port or an electrical outlet.
- The iPad will display “Not Charging” in this state if its screen is enabled. Put the screen to sleep with the Sleep/Wake button on the iPad’s exterior, and the device will start to charge. In our tests, an iPad charging at a 500-milliamp rate will add about 10% to its battery meter every 1.5 hours.
Option 2: The iPad/iPhone/iPod is connected to a hub that is plugged into an electrical outlet but not a computer. The Apple device’s power must be completely turned off for the device to recharge when attached to this hub. Here are step-by-step instructions.
- Plug the iPad, iPhone, or iPod into the hub. If the device was previously shut down, it will turn on upon sensing power from the hub.
- Perform Apple’s shutdown routine for the device. You can’t just let the screen go blank. You need to hold down the physical Sleep/Wake button on the exterior of the iPad, iPhone, or iPod until you see the red arrow on screen that you can swipe to turn off the device.
- Swipe the red arrow to complete the shutdown process.
- Once turned off, the Apple devices will draw power through the hub at the 500-milliamp rate.
Please be aware that if you attach multiple Apple devices at one time to your hub in either scenario that you might start to exceed the amperage available in your hub’s power supply. We cannot verify charging will occur once this has occurred.
In our tests, when we overloaded the available power supply, we saw varying results in how the attached devices consumed power. However, we did observe that iPhones and iPods (not iPads) still would charge–albeit very slowly–when drawing power at the 100 milliamp rate.
If you want to know more about how USB power works and where Apple deviates from the USB 2.0 standards, read on.
USB Power Primer
The USB 2.0 spec permits devices to pull current at a default rate of 100 milliamps from a USB 2.0 port (we’ll call this the host)–enough to power a mouse but hardly enough to charge an iPad battery.
If a USB 2.0 device needs current at faster rate than 100 milliamps to function, it is allowed to negotiate with the host to increase its consumption rate to a maximum of 500 milliamps from the host’s port.
When a device tries to draw more current than is available to the host–often described as overcurrent–you can end up with a warning that there isn’t sufficient power to meet the device’s needs. This warning might appear on the host (e.g., a popup in the Windows taskbar, like the one shown to the right). But others, like the Mac, disable the port without any warning, often creating the erroneous impression that the devices are broken. They aren’t–they’re just not able to draw any power from the port anymore. A reboot re-enables the port, but the port will shut down again if you don’t take any action to reduce the power consumption by the mix of devices attached to the port.
When multiple devices are connected to a single USB 2.0 port via an unpowered hub, it can lead to an overcurrent situation, especially because all the devices attached to the hub have to share the 500 milliamp current available through the host’s port. The hub can only split the available current, not multiply it.
A self-powered USB 2.0 hub–that is, one with its own AC adapter–can alleviate this situation, because it can tell the host, “Don’t worry, I can take over as the provider of the current that these devices want.”
For example, if the hub’s the power supply can deliver current at a rate of 2.5 amps (100 milliamps = .1 amps), and there are five ports on the hub, the host now can let each USB 2.0 device attached to a port on the hub negotiate for up to the USB 2.0 maximum of 500 milliamps (2.5 amps / 5 ports = 500 milliamps / port) without exceeding the hub’s power capacity.
When There’s No Host
When a self-powered hub is plugged into an electrical outlet but not connected to a host–think of it as a USB-based power strip in this configuration–it becomes wildly unpredictable how devices attached to the hub will behave when trying to draw power. The original USB 2.0 spec just didn’t envision how important USB-based power consumpution would become.
Without guidance from the spec on what to do in this scenario, device manufacturers can implement whatever behaviors they desire. Some devices will pull power at the same rate as they do when attached to a host-connected hub. Other devices will downgrade to the 100 milliamp default. Certain devices may try to exceed the 500 milliamp limit in the USB 2.0 spec–not necessarily a bad thing for improving device charging times.
In the case of the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, we saw different power consumption behaviors depending on whether the devices were powered on or off. When powered on, they could draw only 100 milliamps of power. When turned off, as explained earlier, they would draw 500 milliamps of power.
This image shows an iPad's power consumption when plugged into a self-powered hub that has no data connection: On the left, the iPad in a powered-on state is drawing 100 milliamps from the hub. On the right, the iPad in a powered-off state is drawing nearly 500 milliamps from the hub. Click the image for a larger view.
If you have questions about whether your specific phone, tablet, or handheld device will charge if it’s plugged into a hub that’s being used like a power strip, the only way to know is to plug the device into the hub and see what happens.
Apple Bites Back
Apple makes great devices, but it also makes the USB-charging situation even more confusing. As explained, the iPad, iPod, and iPhone will recharge when pulling 500 milliamps of current. But Apple has engineered these devices to prefer to pull more than USB 2.0-specified maximum of 500 milliamps. However, to do so, the devices must be connected directly to USB ports that have been customized with Apple’s proprietary charging extensions.
Click the image to go to Apple's support document that explains the proprietary USB charging behaviors in Apple's product ecosystem.
In a support document on Apple.com about USB charging, Apple explains that “some Apple computers and displays can provide up to 1100 milliamps [1.1 amps] … through the port to which the Apple peripheral or device is connected.” In other words, when an iPad or iPhone is connected to a newer Mac as its USB host, an iPad can draw current at more than twice the standard USB 2.0 rate.
The current isn’t delivered at as fast a rate as the 2.1 amps provided by Apple’s special AC wall adapter for recharging an iPad. Gizmodo has done a speed test of the fastest (and slowest) ways to charge an iPad. Charging via a Mac’s USB port at the 1.1 amp rate was the slowest way in the Gizmodo test, but it still got the job done. As we’ve identified, even 500 milliamps will get the job done as long as the iPad’s screen or power is off.
And 500 milliamps is the only rate that you’ll ever get from a Windows PC or any other USB 2.0 host that lacks Apple’s proprietary charging extensions.
You might be thinking that the ideal solution is just to get a Mac plus a USB hub. Then you can have all the benefits of multiple USB ports and can use one to charge your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch at the faster rate available when connected directly to a Mac.
Unfortunately Apple only allows these devices to draw the 1.1-amp current from a Mac’s USB port via a direct connection. Apple explains: “An Apple peripheral device must be plugged directly into an Apple computer or display. Apple peripheral devices connected to hubs will not have access to extra power above the standard USB specification of 500 milliamps.”
In other words, if you connect a hub–powered or not– to your Mac, you lose access to the proprietary charging extensions in the Mac’s USB port that allow the Mac to charge your iPad, iPhone, or iPod at the 1.1-amp rate.
If you want to know how Apple establishes these proprietary USB charging behaviors, Ladyada.net has a great video and blog post on the technical underpinnings of the mysteries of Apple device charging. As she explains, it has to do with how Apple has engineered its devices to deviate from the USB 2.0 spec when they sense a special amount of voltage from the power source on two of the four lines that make up a USB connection.
Where Do We Go from Here
There is hope that in the future USB-connectable devices will consume power in a way that meets the “universal” promise in the USB name.
There is now a USB battery-charging spec that was developed to standardize USB-based charging behaviors. Unfortunately, the spec has not yet been widely adopted. And the lack of any strong industry efforts to market or brand spec compliance makes it difficult for customers to identify and buy products that already follow the spec.
In a world where following this spec was the norm, you could plug your hub into a wall, attach a bunch of devices, and get them all to recharge in a reasonable and predictable amount of time without having to take any special action.
Regardless of what happens in the future, our aim always is to make sure that you know what to expect from Plugable products today and that you are satisfied with the ones you purchase. If you have questions or comments about this article or device charging in general, feel free to leave a reply here, and we’ll respond.
If you have other questions about any Plugable hubs, docking stations, adapters, or cables, get in touch with us through our support website at support.plugable.com or e-mail us at support@plugable.com. We’re here to help.
Unleash the Easy Transfer Cable
Posted on 12. Mar, 2012 by Aaron Knopf in Windows
The simplest way to move files from one PC to another is by direct connection. The Plugable USB-EASY-TRAN easy transfer cable allows you to connect two PCs via their USB ports and achieve data transfer rates between the two computers at USB 2.0 speeds (USB 2.0 required on both ends). Because the cable is six feet in length, you won’t have to squeeze the computers into a small space to connect them.
The power of this incredibly simple piece of hardware is maximized by two software packages.
- Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer software is built in to Windows 7 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview and is available as a free download for Windows XP (SP2 or higher required) and for Windows Vista. It provides a step-by-step interface for migrating Windows user account settings and files from an old PC to a new one.
- Plugable’s cable comes specially with a free license for Bravura Easy Computer Sync (a $19.95 retail value on its own), which enables drag-and-drop file transfer between two computers connected by the cable–a must-have tool for data management in non-networked environments. Even with a network, you can gain efficiency and security sharing data directly via the cable rather than by moving files to and from a network- or cloud-based drive.
The rest of this article focuses on when and how to use each of these two software packages.
Using Microsft Windows Easy Transfer
You’re thinking about buying a new Windows PC, but you’re daunted by the thought of transferring all your documents, photos, and Windows account settings from your trusted old PC. Have no fear. With Plugable’s easy transfer cable and Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer software, you can migrate
- from a Windows XP SP2 (or higher) or Windows Vista PC to a Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC,
- from one Windows 7 PC to another,
- from a Windows 7 PC to a Windows 8 PC, or
- from one Windows 8 PC to another.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Plug the easy transfer cable into a free USB port on each of the PCs (make it a USB 2.0 port if possible for the best connection speeds).
2. Windows will attempt to install the driver for the cable. An Internet connection may be required so that Windows can get the cable’s drivers from Windows Update.
3. Now you need to open Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer software.
If you’re running Windows XP SP2 (or higher) or Windows Vista, an autorun option will give you the opportunity to launch the Windows Easy Transfer software if it’s installed. If it’s not, you’ll install it on the PC in a later step.
If you’re running Windows 7, Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer will open on screen when an easy transfer cable is plugged in:
If you’re running Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you’ll need to run a search on your PC for Windows Easy Transfer to launch it.
Search is available at the top of the pop-out menu that’s accessible from the lower right corner of the Windows 8 screen.
Within the search box, just type “Windows Easy Transfer”; launch Windows Easy Transfer with the icon that appears on the left.
4. On the new PC, you’ll select whether this is the new or old computer. Choose new and continue.
5. On the new computer, you’ll be asked if you’re going to need to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer. You will need to do this on Windows XP and Vista computers where the software hasn’t been installed and there is no Internet access. In such cases, on the new PC choose “I need to install it now.” Follow the prompts to copy the software where you want it: either a network or USB drive.
If you don’t need to install, choose either “I already installed it” or “My old computer is running Windows 7.”
6. On the old computer, if Windows Easy Transfer is running, select that it is the old computer.
If you first need to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer, you have two options:
- If you have an Internet connection, you can download an installable package from Microsoft at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-easy-transfer.
- If you don’t have an Internet connection, use the install package on the network or USB drive that you created earlier.
7. Once it’s installed and running on both the old and new computers, the Windows Easy Transfer software will connect the computers.
From this point forward, you will make all your decisions on the new computer.
8. On the new PC, the Windows Easy Transfer software lets you choose what you want to pull from the old computer and how you want the synchronization to occur.
The “Customize” option lets you select which file folders and settings to synchronize on to the new PC.
Choosing “Advanced” from this menu allows you to select specific files to transfer rather than the whole folder.
Back in the main window, the “Advanced Options…” link lets you decide whether to pull the whole user account associated with the files and settings from the old PC to the new PC or to merge it into an account already on the new PC.
From the “Map drives” tab in this window you can determine where on the new PC the files will be transferred if you don’t want them to be placed in the same file path as they had on the old PC.
9. Once you decide what you want to copy from the old computer to the new computer, choose “Transfer” and watch the progress as the data is migrated. When it’s finished, you’ll get the chance to see what was transferred.
Another useful option that this final window offers is to see what programs were installed on your old PC that you might want to install on your new PC.
This is helpful since the Windows Easy Transfer software moves documents and account settings but not your installed apps. Now you can see what you might need to re-install on your new PC to match your old PC’s functionality.
10. You now can close the Windows Easy Transfer software on both computers and disconnect the easy transfer cable.
Using Bravura Easy Computer Sync
The first scenario involved a common requirement when setting up a new PC. But a lot of times you simply need an easy way to share files between two computers on an ongoing basis.
For those purposes, you’ll want to install and use the Bravura Easy Computer Sync software that’s made specially available to you at no extra charge once you buy a Plugable easy transfer cable.
You can the Bravura software for moving any files between two PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 in any combination.
It’s easy to get started with Bravura Easy Computer sync. After your easy transfer cable purchase, you will receive an e-mail from Plugable similar to the one below (customized to your order) that tells you how to download and install the Bravura software.
Thanks for your purchase of the Plugable USB 2.0 Easy Transfer Cable!
In addition to compatibility with Microsoft’s built-in Windows Easy Transfer software, this cable also includes a full license to Bravura’s Easy Computer Sync application ($19.95 value), which adds drag and drop and other additional features.
You can download the latest version at http://www.bravurasoftware.com/easy-computer-sync/
This download also includes and installs the latest versions of Microsoft’s drivers (required on XP and Vista).
Your Bravura Easy Computer Sync product key is XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Please enter this key when requested by Bravura’s software.
This product key is uniquely matched to this Amazon order number, and is licensed for use with this cable on multiple machines.
1. You will need to install the Bravura software on all computers where you want to use it and then register it with the license key you received from us via e-mail (use the same key on all computers). The software works on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
2. Once the software is installed, connect the two computers with the easy transfer cable.
Close Microsoft’s Windows Easy Transfer software if it comes up automatically once the cable is attached. The Bravura software will get confused if Windows Easy Transfer is open on either end of the connection.
3. To launch the Bravura software, look for the “Easy Computer Sync” folder in the Start Menu (for Windows XP, Vista, or 7) or its icon on the Desktop (if you chose to have a shortcut put there during product installation). In Windows 8, there will be a new tile on your desktop for Easy Computer Sync.
Remember to launch the software on both computers that will be involved with the sync.
4. You’ll click “Next” on some introductory screens.
5. When you come to a screen with default set of folders to sync, you’re almost there. This screen offers a repeat of the basic Windows Easy Transfer functionality. Ignore it in favor of using Bravura’s drag-and-drop file transfer between the connected PCs.
To do so, click the “Drag & Drop Files” button.
6. You’ll switch to a new UI that shows a traditional looking file manager for both computers.
You now can traverse the file system on either computer and move or copy files between the two by drag and drop or via the cut/copy/paste commands. Be careful with the power of this interface. Just as when you’re in Windows Explorer, don’t move or remove any files if you don’t know what they do.
If You Need Help
We’ve tried to cover the basics of how you can make the most of your Plugable USB-EASY-TRAN easy transfer cable in conjunction with Windows Easy Transfer (migrating Windows account files and settings from an old to a new PC) and Bravura Easy Computer Sync (general file transfer between two computers). But we’re always here to help with your specific questions and use cases.
Feel free to comment here or write us at support@plugable.com.
 |
Plugable USB 2.0 Easy Transfer Cable | Product Details | $15.95 | |
Recent Comments