kabutohunter's Full Review: Belkin Switchbox (F1B024)
Seriously, what can you say about a switch?
The story of my Belkin Data Switch:
Several years back I picked up this nifty little data switch at a Garage Sale for about 50 cents or so. When I got home I realized that I hadn't really needed it, so it took up residence in a dusty spot under my bed for a long, long time. Come 2003, I buy a new computer with only one parallel port. Come 2004, I clean up my room (OMG!). "Oh, what's this under my bed?" Ah, problem solved!
The switch uses a standard setup. You plug the first cable from the first device into the first port on the switch, you plug the next cable from the second device into the second port. Then you take a third cable, plug that into the third port on the switch and run it to your computer's parallel port. There's a nice big switch on the front of it labeled "A" and "B" that lets you switch between the two devices.
The device is solidly made, all metal (which has a satisfyingly metallic clunk to it when you tap it). Has large, firmly attached rubber feet that don't look like they'll be coming off anytime soon. It measures 7" x 2 1/2" x 6". Is painted a nice tan color with orange designs and stuff on it, or at least mine is. And is, overall, a very satisfying switch.
The only thing I can see to gripe about is the lack of gold-plating on the contact points for improved conductivity, just plain ol' gray metal. But, really, who does do that in standard practice? Once or twice my Win XP system has crashed while switching between scanner and printer, but that was totally my fault and I suggest you don't switch things while the device is active. Also, it's a bit dusty. Although that's probably my fault :)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 0.50 Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
The 2-port DB25 Switchbox permits two PCs to share one printer, or one PC can share two printers. This manual switch is perfect for the budget conscio...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.