I have been trying to determine which of the many USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards
are compatible with my Apple Ti-book (original version, 500MHz, w/1152
x 768 screen) running OS X 10.3.2 (Panther).  I've tried
unsuccessfully to learn if Panther has all the proper drivers itself
making all cards compatible, or if any particular company's products
are.

I'm looking to find out one or more products that are fully compatible
with my system.  A good answer would tell me one or more specific part
numbers and clearly state that it is compatible including a reference
stating such.  I can find out where to buy it myself, and a tip will
be in part based on the best price I can find.  (The prices of ones
I've seen vary from ~$30 to $80.  Obviously I'd like it closer to the
low end. :) )

A 2 port unit is fine, no need for more and I don't think there are
any with just 1.  The PC Card must give USB 2.0 speeds - my computer
already has 2 built in USB 1.1 ports.

Hello leoj-ga!

First, I verified that your model of PowerBook Ti does indeed have a
PC Card/CardBus slot. According to the AppleSpec database
(http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43095), your computer
has:
- One PC Card and CardBus slot
- Support for one Type I or Type II PC Card or CardBus card

Then, I went to find compatible products. Apple's Made4Mac database
gave the following appropriate products. All cards listed here have
two or more ports, and all support USB 2.0 high speeds.

PRODUCTS
KeySpan USB 2.0 Cardbus card, U2CB-2 model
USB 2.0 480 Mbps
Price: as low as $39.95 -- view price listings here:
http://keyspan.links.channelintelligence.com/pages/prices.asp?sSKU=U2CB-2
Product info pages:
http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/u2cb2/
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=295600
According to this FAQ document (below), Mac OS X 10.1.5 or greater has
built-in USB/FireWire drivers and does not need additional software to
run this card.
http://keyspan.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/keyspan.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=UOjQ292h&p_lva=&p_faqid=186&p_created=1034958445&p_sp=cF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTgmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT0zJnBfcHJvZF9sdmwxPTIwJnBfc29ydF9ieT1kZmx0JnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=

D-Link DUB-C2 2-port USB 2.0 CardBus Adapter
480 Mbps USB 2.0, backward compatible to USB 1.1
PCMCIA Type II 32-bit CardBus
Price: USD$39.00 from D-Link's online store
http://guide.apple.com/action.lasso?-database=macosguide&-layout=cgi_detail&-response=/ussearch/detail.html&prodkey=61840&-search
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=151
D-Link notes that this product is not supported under OS X 10.2.
However, OS X 10.3 has built-in USB 2.0 drivers. Considering that this
product is listed under Apple's "Made for OS X" database, it is likely
that this adapter will work.

ADSTech USB Turbo 2.0 for Notebooks
USB 2.0 480 Mbps, CardBus, hot-swappable
Price: $57.78 from CDW
http://guide.apple.com/action.lasso?-database=macosguide&-layout=cgi_detail&-response=/ussearch/detail.html&prodkey=59647&-search
http://www.adstech.com/products/USBPort(Cardbus)/intro/usbx2001intro.asp?pid=USBX-2001
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=373851
The ADS website does not reveal whether this product works under
Panther specifically, only that it is OS X compatible. Since Panther
has USB 2.0 drivers, this product probably works.

OrangeMicro OrangeUSB 2.0 High Speed PC Card
USB 2.0 480 Mbps, CardBus Type II, 4 ports
Price: $61.47 from CDW; $79.00 direct from OrangeMicro, $54.00 from
SmallDog Electronics
http://www.orangemicro.com/OrangeUSBCardBus.html
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=277887&RecommendedForEDC=373851&RecoType=alternate
http://www.smalldog.com/product/38812
OrangeMicro provides drivers for Mac OS X 10.2. They do not provide
drivers for Panther; it is not known whether this is because it works
by default or they were too lazy to write drivers.

CompuCable USB 2.0 CardBus Controller
USB 2.0, 480 Mbps, CardBus Type II, model PCC-USB2-2
http://www.compucable.com/firewire/embed.asp?stuff=se_fx_usb2_body.html
Listed as "Mac OS X compatible"

If you are brave, you can buy a PCMCIA USB 2.0 card by IOGear on eBay:
Price: (current bid) US$10.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3454991121&category=42323
Note that the Xlr8yourmac.com report (below) noted some trouble with this product.
IOGear's website, however, notes 10.1.x+ compatibility. IOGear
provides 10.1.x and 10.2.x drivers. Perhaps the user who submitted the
negative report just ran into some bad luck with 10.2.8...
http://www.iogear.com/products/product.php?Item=GPU202
http://www.iogear.com/support/download.php?Item_ID=152

CONCLUSION
My recommendation is that you buy the KeySpan product.

Generally, when I buy in a new device, I plug it into my Mac and see
if it works. If yes, I leave it alone and forget the drivers. If it
doesn't, then I try the drivers that come with the product.
Most of the sites that I browsed through had drivers for older Mac OS
X versions and the Classic Mac OS. None explicitly mention Panther,
but imply that later versions of the OS have built-in USB drivers and
will work fine with the CardBus devices.

According to reader reports on Xlr8yourmac.com, the devices do work.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/firewire/fw_usb_card_deep_sleep.html
- scroll down to the line "(added 12/15/2003)"
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/OSX/10.2.8_feedback.html#PCI
- scroll down and read the entry "Here's a more positive USB 2.0
PCcard report:"; it notes that USB 2.0 devices worked under 10.2.8.
Logically they should work under 10.3 as well.

I hope this answer gives you enough information to feel confident
about purchasing a USB 2.0 PC Card.

- supermacman-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by supermacman-ga on 24 Jan 2004 18:47 PST

Hi,

I've found a slightly lower price for the KeySpan USB 2.0 U2CB-2:
http://www.digitallyunique.net/u2cb-2.html
$38.95 from Digitally Unique
The item is in stock and should ship the same (business) day you order it.

- supermacman-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by supermacman-ga on 24 Jan 2004 18:50 PST

Ooh! I've found an even lower priced card, but it appears to be a no-name brand...

$28.00
http://www.usbfirewire.com/ucards.html
http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-usb-usb2cb.html
"USB 2.0 Cardbus Adapter (2 Ports) PC and Mac"
This product even includes a free USB 2.0 cable.

Worth a look...

- supermacman-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by leoj-ga on 25 Jan 2004 12:14 PST

As far as I can tell, you've found the same information as I had,
which is that they probably work, but we don't know.  One thing I'll
do is share some of the texts of email responses I've received from
various companies:

Date of Reply: 1/15/2004 8:31:32 AM

Products:   DFB-H7
Operating System:  MAC OS 10.2


Currently, we do not have a Panther compatible USB 2.0 device.  The
DUB-C2 only as driver support for OS 10.1.5 right now.

Thank you for networking with D-Link. 

Sincerely,
Matt Sutherlin

D-Link Technical Support

That email really puzzles me if OS X has all the drivers built in. 

Here is another (In reference to an inquiry regarding the SIIG USB 2.0
Cardbus card US2246):

Entered on 01/20/2004 at 09:42:44 by Erick Marcos:
Hello,
 
We have not tested this product with the new O/S. Please check our
website once a week for an update.
Thank you,
Erick

For your info, I've been to two different apple stores and asked
people there.  Both times I could not get a conclusive answer.  Oddly,
both times they pointed me at Orange Micro and said that their
products were generally the most likely to be compatible.  I say oddly
because theirs are distinguished also by the fact that they are the
most expensive.

I guess I'm still looking for some specific reference of someone
coming out and saying in writing that either A) Their brand does
guarantee compatibility with Panther, or B) Apple saying the a
particular model is compatible with Panther.  Nevertheless, I'm going
to accept the answer tomorrow, regardless of whether or not you decide
to pursue it further.  I think I've realized that the effort to do
this is worth more than $4, but the info is probably not worth it to
me.

I hope you understand that I'm very happy with your effort, just not
the results - which is probably reflective of the fact that what I've
asked is just not out there in a clear manner.

---

Clarification of Answer by supermacman-ga on 25 Jan 2004 18:55 PST

You should also remember that the Power Mac G5 and iBooks and latest
PowerBooks has USB 2.0 slots built-in...
http://www.apple.com/powermac/specs.html
http://www.apple.com/ibook/specs.html
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html
... which means that Panther must have drivers for these ports and
their associated peripherals.

This page (http://homepage.mac.com/jimphelps/imind/C1759397408/E1177201140/)
provides anecdotal evidence that a USB 2.0 PCI card works fine in
Panther on a G4.

http://developer.apple.com/hardware/usb/index.html also implies that
the drivers included in OS X provide USB 2.0 support.

Other than the links I posted for you before, I can't find anything
else. I did fire off two e-mails and am waiting responses from Orange
Micro and Keyspan.

If you do end up buying a USB 2.0 card, you can bring your laptop,
tell a sales rep that you will buy it if it works, and then try it on
the spot. Most Mac retailers are accommodating to this.

I'm sorry I couldn't provide a definitive, authoritative answer.

- supermacman-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by supermacman-ga on 28 Jan 2004 15:14 PST

leoj-ga,

I received the following e-mail from Orange Micro. (I had inquired
about the USB 2.0 CardBus product.)

------------------------------

From: dwight_flenniken@orangemicro.com
Subject: Orange Micro

Our card works well under Panther.
 
 
Dwight Flenniken III
Director of Sales - Orange Micro Inc.
(714) 779-2772 x 206
 <mailto:dwight_flenniken@orangemicro.com> dwight_flenniken@orangemicro.com

Like I said before, I'm perfectly happy with the effort you put in.  I
guess I just wish the companies involved would say something about
their compatibility in clear terms so this confusion wouldn't happen.

One more link to anecdotal evidence:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/2914
-- It sure would be illogical for Apple to *remove* USB 2.0 support in
Panther. This is the best I can do, in terms of finding something that
says your card will 100% work under Panther.

OS X 10.2.8 has full USB 2.0 support
2003-10-24 10:52:44 mattdittrich [Reply | View]

In case any Jaguar users stumble across this article, I just thought
I'd let you know that since 10.2.8 came out, my IOGear GPU202 works at
USB 2.0 speeds in my TiBook 400, with no additional drivers needed.

Prior to 10.2.8, it would only run at USB 1.1 speed unless you
installed the driver that you can download from either the IOGear or
Orange Micro website. Once that driver was installed, it would work at
USB 2.0 speed, but removing the card from the slot usually caused some
sort of system problems. :( So I was kinda bummed, and decided that
the hassle wasn't worth the speed increase for me.

But now, with 10.2.8, it works flawlessly! Here's the order of
operations that I follow:

1) insert GPU202 into slot.
2) plug USB cable into GPU202.
3) do whatever you need to do.
4) unplug USB cable from GPU202.
5) use menu item to "Power Off Card."
6) remove card.

I imagine it should work just as well under Panther.... But I sure am
glad that Apple snuck this feature into the free 10.2.8 update!