Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub

Review:
Sooner or later, you're going to run out of USB ports. With the proliferation of devices and peripherals that you want to connect to a PC now using USB 1.1 or USB 2.0, you have two options. One, keep unplugging and plugging in your devices to create a spare port. Or two, get one of these sleek 7-port hubs from Belkin.

The device is small enough so it doesn't take up too much room on your desktop. The design is stackable, which means if seven ports isn't enough you can just stack another one on top and keep adding (up to 127, Belkin says). The design also allows for little USB devices (such as a flash drive or a reciever for a wireless mouse) to go on top of the hub, and let your corded USB devices (such as printers, digital cameras or MP3 cords) go into the back.

The 7-Port Hub works with both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices, so no worries about that. We installed on a Windows 2000 machine, and didn't need to install a driver, not sure whether you would need to install a driver on Windows 98SE.

The device is self-powered, so you will need an extra plug on the power strip, but having the hub powered is what will let you stack additional hubs on top of each other. And also, check with your specific device to see if it can run off of a USB hub, as some require direct connection to a computer.

Reviewed by Keith Shaw