When I picked up my Mac Mini Intel Core Solo, I handed my G4 Mac Mini to my mom. She has a Palm, a digital camera, a Canon printer, as well as a D-Link Bluetooth adapter to connect to the machine. Since the G4 Mac Mini only has two USB ports, once you add the keyboard and mouse, it only leaves one port on the keyboard and one on the back of the machine. I picked up a Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-Port Hub at my local Comp USA for about $25 before a $10 mail in rebate. I figured I could probably order it online for cheaper, but the time it would take for me to wait for it was not worth the price difference. This hub would allow her to connect all her peripherals without needed to swap them in and out of the USB ports on the back of the machine.

After purchasing the Mac Mini and collecting quite a few USB peripherals, the two USB ports built into the machine wasn’t cutting it especially since the keyboard/mouse use one of the ports. I needed a USB hub and I didn’t really care for the units that were made to match the Mac Mini. I figured if I ever got rid of the Mac Mini I could actually use a universal hub with another machine and it wouldn’t look out of place. I came across the IOGear GUH284R and figured that I was a great idea to have a card reader built into the hub with 6 USB ports. I had been collecting quite a few items such as digital cameras and phones that used removable media so I figured I could put the card reader to good use.