iLynx USB + FireWire 800/400 Hub

 

iLynx USB + FireWire 800/400 Hub
Price: $60
Company: Aevoe Moshi
Moshimonde.com

Stop looking for the perfect port for any cable connection, you iMac owners (and potentially all Macintoshers). The brushed metal base of your late model iMac or Apple Cinema Display can be home to Aevoe Moshi’s iLynx, a multi-port bus-powered masterpiece of a hub. For $60, you’ll enhance the appearance and functionality of your desktop or portable Mac, and never again worry if you have enough USB or FireWire ports for your peripherals.

iLynx is the strangest Mac accessory we’ve seen for a long time. From its rear emerge one USB 2 and FireWire 400 source cable, with a versatile removable FireWire 400-to-800 adapter attached to the latter. These cables plug into the appropriate ports on your computer. On both of iLynx’s two angled sides are one FireWire 400 and two USB 2 ports, for your external devices. One each USB 2 and FireWire 400 extension cables are included, to lengthen iLynx’s reach. When the whole setup is active, cables are coming and going in every direction from the gorgeous beveled base with an illuminated “moshi” etched into the aluminum. Its underside has two clever parallel non-skid grip bars.

FYI: The three removable cables are alone worth more than half the cost of iLynx, when purchased at full retail cost. This is one sweet deal of a well-priced product.

iLynx will work perfectly well with almost any Mac, including Apple laptops. Recent MacBookers won’t be interested, on account of having no FireWire ports on their computers, but that is the only exception. When used with a laptop Mac, iLynx looks like it is from a different planet, because its cable array is so ungainly. Who cares — it works!

Aevoe Moshi is a high-style company, unique in the Mac marketplace. Some of their design implementations are better than others, but iLynx is a grand slam home run. When it is used in conjunction with an iMac or Apple Display, its appearance is intriguing, and its ability to add so many ports is brilliant.

But wait! It gets better. A company representative tells MyMac:

“iLynx uses our own patented technology called Dynamic Power Sharing (DPS). This means it can power multiple devices without the need of an AC adapter plugged into an outlet. In order for this to work, it must have both the USB and FireWire cables plugged in. You can test this out by connecting multiple devices (hard drives, iPods, card readers, etc.) at the same time. 

“From a design perspective, the iLynx was meant to rest on the iMac stand and to be perfectly color-matched to the iMac. It looks nice with MacBook / MacBook Pro as well, but there isn’t a standard way to connect it. You would just set the iLynx next to your notebook and connect it any way you see fit for your workstation. 

“The iLynx is compatible with the any notebook / desktop that supports both USB and FireWire. The machine must have both in order for our iLynx to properly power connected devices. The older PowerBook, MacBook 13, and MacBook Pro models all have USB and FireWire, so it works great with those models. They removed the FireWire from the recently-discontinued unibody MacBook 13, so it won’t work with that model, only with the new unibody MacBook Pro 13, 15, and 17. It is also worth mentioning that any machine you use iLynx with must have Mac OS 8.6 – 9.2.2 or Mac OS X（10.0 – 10.5.x).”

The first paragraph from the company contains huge information. You can bus-power peripherals that previously required a powered hub. I can’t overstate the significance of this capability for experienced users. The last paragraph is remarkable for its inclusiveness of all FireWire/USB equipped Macs reaching back nearly to King Tut’s nursery school graduation.

If I had enough iLynx units in the trunk of my car to use for every client, friend, student, neighbor, and family member who could have used it during the past years, I wouldn’t be able to shut the lid of the trunk. Two words of advice on iLynx: get it.

Highly recommended. MyMac rating: 5 out of 5

Quote from Nemo’s wife: “It’s very cool looking, John — sleek. What is it? What does it do? I have absolutely no idea!”

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