usb network dongle (was Re: dhcp on usb0)

[Al Johnson]

On Friday 07 December 2007, Jay Vaughan wrote:
> > this is kind of going off at a tangent, but are there any decent usb
> > network interfaces with linux drivers included in OM? personally, i
> > would rather connect my neo direct to the router in my house than have
> > to boot a computer as well, whenever i want to update packages. or are
> > there other reasons to make this impractical?
>
> The question I have about this is how do we connect USB devices to
> the neo?  Isn't it so that the USB Host port is only on the debug
> board?  If so, thats mighty fidgety to plug in and get set up with a
> USB hub and so .. I must confess I have cursed at the ribbon cable
> and its feeble, wimpy, connectors more than a few times since I got
> my neo ..

The USB connector on the Neo can be switched from client to host mode, but 
last I heard (some time ago now) the code to do the switching hadn't been 
implemented. You also need the host mode cable which IIRC only comes with the 
developers' version, or you can make one yourself. Then you either need 
self-powered devices, a self-powered hub or a cable mod to provide the 5V 
because the GTA01 can't provide the power for devices.