A lot of things I think about when I am pondering the future of technology are convergance products.
Most of the time this means combining your PDA and your cellphone, or your DVD and VCR, or DVD and TiVo, etc.
But, I’m looking to expand my computer a little by adding a USB card reader, and I’m finding some difficulty in figuring out how to do it. I don’t want to swing any USB cables from the back of my computer to the inside, and I already am using my pin-headers for my front-mounted USB (rember how fun that project was rob). Also, I want the card reader to have a USB port and Firewire port on it, so I can have some more front-mounted ports. With my ipod, USB phone charger, Wacom tablet, and some other stuff I’m starting to run short.
Also, I want to add bluetooth for my new phone (when I do finally get it), so I can sync my phone w/ my computer wirelessly. And, I don’t want to use those dongle things, cuz I’m afraid I’ll break it off, or waste a USB port.
So, I’m looking for a combination of products, since I can’t find a USB / FIrewire hub that has internal ports as well as external, which also comes with a card reader (and not audio ports or SATA ports….which is just a wast of space IMO since I don’t use my headphones jack on my computer), that also has a bluetooth radio on it.
But, I did find this neat BT / USB hub which would be a good start w/ just minor modifications. I think maybe I can combine that w/ a card reader I saw that also has an internal firewire port (so I can reconnect my existing firewire port I modded my case for.)
Anyway, all that said, I’m glad they are packing more stuff into a smaller space, but I find it frustrating I’m always looking for something just a little to specific to be able to find.
Ahh, the life of a tech nerd.