Ethernet Over Usb Adapter ?


Gemsi

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May 22, 2006
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This is just a general question really, we know the pandora will have wifi, and thats great, but not everywhere happens to have wifi, so I was just wondering is/will the pandora be compatible with a ethernet over usb adapter , and do these work out of the box, or would they require some form of driver/software deing developed as I have no real idea how they work.
 
They would most likely require a driver. I'm not sure whether networking over USB host will be available as it is with the GP2X though, because that would be an option.
 
Just FYI I have a Pegasus based 10/100 USB adapter I bought quite a few years back for a machine that didn't have ethernet or expansion ports, and use it even now on this old backup 500MHz dell laptop here at work.

There's definitely linux drivers for these things. Most do require that firmware be uploaded to them for the device to function. But that's all pretty standard for linux distributions nowadays.

They do require some power from the USB port to operate.
 
If you have a wired ethernet connection then you might just be better off spending $30 on a cheapo wireless access point rather than $30 on a USB based ethernet connection.

Just a thought for a different solution.
 
or they could add ethernet in the cradle! that would be a nice bonus.
 
Zoppe said:
or they could add ethernet in the cradle! that would be a nice bonus.
There's going to be a cradle? I was under the impression except for the AV cable there was nothing the Pandora couldn't do that didn't already have ports on the unit for? Other than I guess a glorified USB hub.

I think the best choice is to investigate how the GP2x did lan over the usb cable. There's likely a general linux driver/program for that already.
 
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No, it is obviously better to be able to attach an ordinary usb-to-ethernet-stick. With that, I can connect whereever I have a TP cable, whereas with the lan-over-USB-thing I need to have access to another computer playing at being a relay to the interweb. Eliminating extra components, especially big expensive components like an entire running computer under my control, is a good thng :)

Then again, these kind of things are not new and not rocket science. I can't imagine that there isn't already kernel modules for every available kind of USB/ethernet thingy evar.

Re "Buy a wireless access point" - Possibly, but a wired connection is still faster and more stable, and at least me personally tend to frequent a lot of places where I can nab a port off a router (things like "at work" or "at me parents place) even if there is no wifi, and buying a cheap wifi access point for all those places isn't cheap :)
 
Zarneth said:
There's going to be a cradle? I was under the impression except for the AV cable there was nothing the Pandora couldn't do that didn't already have ports on the unit for? Other than I guess a glorified USB hub.
A cradle would be ideal for the people who want to use pandora as both a console and as a handheld but don't want to be forced to unplug and replug wires whenever they want to switch between the two.
 
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Well, here's my take on all this. I can see folks that don't have a wireless router will want an ethernet adapter. That's completely understandable.

Other people may find this different, but my thoughts on the cradle is it is useless beyond the Ethernet, and even then, the USB adapter would be much more convenient. Pandora is meant to be mobile. The cradle reduces that mobility heavily.

Shiny said:
A cradle would be ideal for the people who want to use pandora as both a console and as a handheld but don't want to be forced to unplug and replug wires whenever they want to switch between the two.
Even if you had a cradle, it would still need to be replugged into that cradle again. I'd rather plug in the one plug it takes instead of paying $20 for a cradle.
 
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javaJake said:
Other people may find this different, but my thoughts on the cradle is it is useless beyond the Ethernet, and even then, the USB adapter would be much more convenient. Pandora is meant to be mobile. The cradle reduces that mobility heavily.
Some people won't be using it mobile all the time and will want a quick and convenient way to switch between console and handheld use.

javaJake said:
Even if you had a cradle, it would still need to be replugged into that cradle again. I'd rather plug in the one plug it takes instead of paying $20 for a cradle.
But with a cradle you can just drop it in and go. One could keep controllers, the TV out cable, some louder speakers, etc. still plugged into the cradle while the unit is mobile. Having to replug everything all the time would be a pain.
 
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Shiny said:
Some people won't be using it mobile all the time and will want a quick and convenient way to switch between console and handheld use.

But with a cradle you can just drop it in and go. One could keep controllers, the TV out cable, some louder speakers, etc. still plugged into the cradle while the unit is mobile. Having to replug everything all the time would be a pain.
At $20 and without the need for a separate power supply I see no problem with a cradle. I can see the need for a quick and elegant method of using the Pandora as a Console/Media Center.

On the other hand half the connections are on the front, and half on the back, this will make it a little difficult to interface. At minimum this will require an A/V connector on the front after you slot it into the cradle.

At this point we are really talking about a glorified docking connector/port replicator, nothing like the GP2X Cradle Fiasco.
 
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