Switched USB Hubs were a minor topic sometime ago and now ThinkGeek has got the USB 7 Port Hub with Power Switches back in stock so I ordered one to try as I liked the individual off/on switch per port so I can use that when messing with gadgets etc rather then plugging and unplugging all the time. When it arrives I’ll let everyone know more about it.
I would be interested to see how you get on with that. On the face of it it looks perfect.
Got it today with my Godzilla World Destruction Tour teeshirt ( http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/japanese/e8a7/ ) and it looks pretty good actually (shirt and the hub), 6 of the 7 switches feel rock solid, one is a little soft but definitely workable (I’m a tad fussy about stuff working perfectly). Flipping the switches on and off work great as my system drops/connects the USB accordingly and power on/off to the module means no more manually unplugging my Gadgeteer project when adding/removing stuff. It came with a short USB cable and a 5v 2A power supply so its definitely a powered usb hub which is great.
So far its working very with my setup so for $20 I’m a happy USB 7 Port Hub with Power Switches camper http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/e2d2/?srp=1
I bought one of these a while back. ThinkGeek was out of stock… It’s pretty typical Chinese build but so far it works although I haven’t really given it much of a stress test. I’ll let you know if anything changes. For the price ($7.19 + $0 s/h), it was worth trying.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110837862772&ssPageName=ADME:X:eRTM:US:1123