Continuing on my journey through gadgets to go with my new Dell XPS laptop, we come next to a USB hub. Why a USB hub? Simple: my laptop has just one USB port on it, and I plug many things into it. For example, my keyboard and mouse, flash drive, digital camera, etc. In other words, I need interfaces!

The one I chose was the Gigaware 4-port USB hub. It appears you can only pick these up at Radio Shack. Fortunately, there’s one nearby.

USB hubs aren’t exciting, but often necessary. One reason I chose this model was that I wanted all my ports on one side. When you go USB hub shopping, you’ll see many models with ports on multiple sides (i.e. front and back.) For space considerations, having them all on one side worked better for me.

Using the Gigaware hub was absolutely simple. I just plugged it into my lone USB port, and plugged in my peripherals. Windows Vista recognized it instantly and installed the drivers, without my having to install them myself (which isn’t hard, but is another step that increases the hassle factor.) Everything worked without a hitch, and I have had no problems with the hub whatsoever. That’s what I like in a gadget; simple to install, works flawlessly, and I don’t have to think about it again.

Works for me!