Now that there are finally some USB peripherals out there, it won't be long before those ports that've been gathering dust on the back of your machine (assuming you have USB) are used up. While the industry hype boasts that up to 127 USB devices can be connected to a single port, you obviously need a way to connect them all together. I'd understood that most USB devices would come equipped with a pass-through port, but so far, I haven't personally seen a single USB device that has one.

The ExpressBus hub is a simple device. It has four USB ports (a hub with seven ports is also available for around US$68 street) and a special USB A/B cable that connects the ExpressBus to one of your PC's USB ports. Lights on the device let you know if it's getting enough power and whether each port is working properly. One of the beauties of USB is that peripheral devices can get their power through the PC and the USB connection. This ability is dependent on how many devices you have attached to your USB chain and how much bandwidth each takes up. Under some configurations, you'll need auxiliary AC power. The ExpressBus hub can be used with the included AC adapter, if needed, or without, if the LED lights indicate that extra power is not required.

ExpressBus hubs can also be daisy-chained so that you can attach a second hub to a free port on a downstream hub and have another four ports available. If you think you're going to need more than five ports (i.e. the four on the ExpressBus and the second one on your PC--assuming you have two), you probably want to get one of the 7-hub models.

I'm not really sure how many USB ports the average user is going to need in the next few years, but I can tell you it'll be more than the standard-issue two. And in light of the few devices that have built-in hubs or pass-throughs, you're going to need an external hub. I haven't tried any others (and I doubt there's much difference between them), but the ExpressBus does the job just fine. If you shop around, you should be able to get the 4-hub model for under $50.