I had an old black serial link connected to my old computer for more than a year. The funny thing is, it actually worked FASTER with TI Connect than the USB link (with a USB 2.0 port). How about that?

Well, USB 2.0 is much faster than any calculator can handle -- even USB 1.1 is, so that's a moot point.

Anyway, do you mean the silverlink or the directusb? Because I know my silverlink seems to go faster than the directusb with my 89T with a lot of small files.

I'm using the silverlink.

The relative speed could have something to do with the driver that controls the link...it makes no sense for a USB link to be slower than a COM link--they should be at equal speed, or the USB silverlink should be faster.

It should be the same, the serial ports on calcs can only do 9800 bps.

It seems that way to me too.

I normally leave my silverlink connected, even though I rarely use it... So more than a month, but less than a year.

All I have is the silverlink,
but it is connected all the time, unless I'm traveling.

I've had my Silverlink connected since I got it in the 8th grade.. going into 10th now, so what? 2003?.. 2 years.. 1.5.. somewhere around there.. never take it out!

Me too. I have extra usb ports, so, why not. Although I think I got it in ninth grade, not eigth.

I have had my black serial link hooked up for over a year and my directusb since I got it (when the 89Ti came out).

My laptop only has 3 USB ports. I use one for my external mouse, one for my webcam, the other (which is on the side of the mouse...)i use for my printer (when the calc cable is not in use)

Man, that's ghetto...

<obvious>USB hub!</obvious>
That is, unless you don't have a couple bucks laying around.

I was gonna say that! :(

ocd prevents me from leaving my cable in for longer than i am using it, but one time i forgot to put it away and it stayed in for a few days

I don't even know where either of my calculators *are*. I do know that the serial is connected to my computer, as is the miniB cable, since other devices use the same USB plug size.

Did you lose them?

I've just left my black link connected since I got it, so that would be *well* over a year (more like 2.5). No point in disconnecting it, and it would be too much trouble to reach around blindly in back of the computer every time I wanted to send some programs...

Exactly, me too. I don't see why people really remove it after use or something.

Well, I have two serial ports and:
1 serial terminal
1 TI-89
1 HP 49G
1 modem (not for Internet)
as well as a few other miscellaneous undescribable serial devices.

Yeah. I've had mine in since I got it (about a year), as there's really no point to crawl back behind my desk and plug/unplug a few wires all the time.

Indeed, same with me.

I bought it years ago, and haven't bothered to unhook it since.
(Well, aside from when I got a new computer, and moved it from the old one to the new one).

No particular reason to unhook it, so, may as well leave it in.

Get a Dell. the desktops have a couple USB ports on teh front to make it easy to plug in junk.

I've got a couple USB ports in the front of my box, but I use a black cable (serial).