One for the Computer Experts

[boatmike]

For my Nav software I have a USB dongle. For the C-Maps there is another USB dongle. I also use a USB mouse. The GPS is into a USB port too.
It all works fine but I don't like the dongles sticking out of the side of the laptop as they could get broken off so I have been using extension cables USB to USB and plugging them in remotely. To reduce the number of wires, can I use a 4 way hub to put all 4 into velro'd to the bulkhead where they can stay and just use a single port on the laptop? Should the mouse be kept seperate from the rest?
If so I see there are 4 way USB hubs that are just leads in effect and some others, that have a power lead and a 3 pin plug. Why would I need a powered one?
Gawd I never had these problems when I used a pencil! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[kimhollamby]

You could try an unpowered hub...

...but my guess is it could prove problematic. Powered hub more likely to succeed.

 

[snowleopard]

Yes, you can use a USB hub for any USB devices including mice and dongles. The reason for a separate power supply is that devices can draw power from a USB port and if you put several power-hungry devices onto an unpowered hub attached to one port on the computer you could overload it. For devices that draw little or no power, like dongles, the powered hub is unnecessary.

 

[andf]

I think an 'unpowered' hub will work fine. They are not really unpowered - they draw their power from the USB bus. I have a four port version on my machine which feeds the printer, broadband modem, scanner etc without problems. If you want dozens of ports then an externally powered is needed as there is a limit to the power you can take from the bus.

You may have to experiment with the mouse. Our machines at work want to see the mouse on a 'virgin' port.

 

[iangrant]

I plugged 'em all in without using the power supply that came with it.
USB GPS/Serial connection to GPS (Either/or connected)
USB Serial Connection to sat 'phone
USB wireless mouse
USB HP Printer

All seems to work OK - the laptop did however insist for a while that the serial GPS connection was a microsoft pointing device which sent the cursor bonkers in Navmaster, so I went into hardware properties, device manager and told it not to..

The USP GPS is power hungry as Kim suggests, I think another device on top of that and the mouse would break the camels' back and need the power cube.

Good luck

Ian

 

[boatmike]

Thanks for that. I guess then the best thing taking your advice and Kims (thanks also Kim) would be to leave the mouse in the first USB port and the dongles and GPS in the other. As the dongles are purely to confirm licences I can't see them robbing much power from the GPS. You have explained the difference though. I had thought of the port as purely one way traffic inbound but of course even little mices need power to work too don't they? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[boatmike]

Thanks Crianza. I was coming to that conclusion anyway but you have confirmed it

 

[boatmike]

Thanks Ian.
Yes I had that problem with the GPS at first but dumping the very expensive Garmin serial/USB converter and buying one from Maplins removed the problem. The Garmin one only works with Win 98 apparently....

 

[alanryall]

The thing I find really annoying is that they use dongles at all.What happens if the damn thing drops in the bilge mid Atlantic or snaps off when the boat falls off a wave. When I went back at MaxSea through Cactus I was told that I can have a soft key. Problem is if your system crashes or you change machines you have to get a new one - same mid Atlantic problem.

I have thousands of pounds worth of business, graphics and music software- all legal and none of it dongle protected but once again the marine suppliers are charging top dollar for yesterdays technology and simply don't want to listen.

 

[snowleopard]

If you are a small software developer producing a low-volume product for a niche market it is very upsetting to find customers ripping you off by giving copies to their mates. Larger companies can take the decision to go for volume sales and accept a hit from the pirates.

I was in that position and was forced to switch to dongles to protect my business. (Not in boat software by the way)

 

[boatmike]

The point as I see it with a dongle is that
1. It is a solid state device and very unlikely to go wrong
2. You can load your software on your home computer and your boat computer so long as you take the dongle ashore with you you can use both.
3. If your laptop goes wrong on the boat you can buy another one anywhere in the world load the software, shove the dongle in and away you go.
4. If you are worried about it breaking off put it in a hub which is velcro'ed in a safe place like I do. You are then less likely to drop it in the bilge or snap it off than you are to drop the laptop itself.
Unless you expect the software company to give you a completely unprotected piece of software which you could then create pirate copies of what else would you suggest? Sorry your objection seems to me to be unreasonable....

 

[[2068]]

I would never purchase any software that required the use of a dongle.

There are plenty of workable software licensing schemes that don't involve dangling blocks, and that can tie the use of software to one or a number of specific computers if required.

dv.

 

[boatmike]

Yes there are, but if you licence the software for a single computer and then it goes up the swanee you have to go back to the software house for a new licence. This MAY not cost you anything but you MAY also be hit with a charge. Either way you will not find it easy to do if you are far from home, but hey! it's your choice my friend.

 

[[2068]]

Okay, say I invent a device that stores licensing information. It looks and smells like a floppy disk. Or maybe a USB key. Or maybe a piece of paper. I don't insist that you keep this floppy/USB Key/paper connected to your laptop at all times, because you might want to use the floppy drive/USB port/scanner for other things.

It's up to you as to exactly how and where you keep this safe. How about with the car keys ? In any case, somewhere safe that you can reapply the key if your laptop goes "up the swannee".

Examples where you don't have to go back to the software vendor include where the key is tied to a particular host name (machine dead? just call the reincarnation by the same name). Or Garmin Bluecharts, where the charts are tied to the GPS set (using the GPS as a working, useful, dongle...), not any particular pc.

Dongles don't contain anything that can't be achieved in software.

dv.

 

[TheBoatman]

I love these threads

Because it's just like trying to read Russian and makes about the same sense.
ARE you guys speaking English?
Dongle certainly had a completely different meaning in the '60's. Has that now changed?

 

[BrendanS]

You can look up the necessary keys to any software on the internet. A dongle circumvents all that, and is much more secure.

 

[[2068]]

That's the point: you can't, if it's tied to a particular host name, or something else unique about your pc.

dv.

 

[boatmike]

Well why don't you then if you believe its that easy. Invent one yourself and make a fortune......

 

[PhilF]

Broke dongle

My maxsea dongle broke for no apparent reason and they charged me to replace it, £40 i think, effin liberty, but the alternative was redundant software and charts

 

[fireball]

Re: Broke dongle

Any form of licencing is going to cause problems when your PC goes wrong ...
your pretty stuffed mid Atlantic if your laptop suffers from a bit of damp (ok - so you dropped it into the bilge when it crashed again!) and there is no computer shop to buy anotherone out there (I haven't checked personally, but I have been told!)

Software protection in some form or other is there as a deterrant to stop the majority of people from pirating it. There is ALWAYS a way round this protection, the more popular the software is, the more likely you are to find a crack, hardware dongle or not.

With a software key it is possible to make an algorythm that checks your computer identity and ask for an authentication unique to your computer - even if you install an identical machine with identical software this is (usually) different depending on what the software programer has done in hardware checks. In these cases the software house is likely to provide a new authentication code upon request if you have the original serial number and a reason for requiring a new code - I know cos I've done it. I could tell you a method of getting round this, but it would be unethical and probably get the post removed!! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

With a hardware key you might get more flexibility ie - ability to have several installations on different computers and just carry a dongle with you - this does rely on the correct working of the dongle though and to get one of those replaced I would expect to pay towards it - it is hardware afterall!

I am aware of one bit of software (music score) that has a software key that is able to transfer the licence between installations via removable media, this is just a variation on the software key but does have some of the flexibility of the hardware dongle, but with the vunerablility of an unrecoverable system crash.

Personally I would go for the software licence version everytime - even with authentication code - nothing to hang off the hardware or loose....
and if you make proper backups of your computer your less likely to loose anything.