yeah... they just released an updated firmware today that allows the USB port on the back of the router to be used for hard drives, printers, Multi-Function printers, and other stuff like that. Sad thing is i don't think one can plug a USB hub into it and use multiple devices. Other sad thing is that only one computer can access it at a time. Kinda makes sense though, since it's basically seen as a remote USB port, and not a network drive. Going by the manual for the software needed in order to access said devices (which is also available on the same page where the firmware update is)... seems rather easy to manage. Kinda has it's own little menu similar to that of the "Safely Remove Hardware" system.... easily allowing you to access whatever is connected to it, and also stop your computer from accessing it when you're finished with it. Gonna try it out shortly.... attach a Western Digital 60GB Passport hard drive to it. I'll report back with my experiences. gonna test on both my desktop and laptop.
edit: just tried it out with the Passport. Works quite well i must say. Some may find it a bit tedious to have both the SharePort software, having to install it on every computer on the network if you want every computer to have the opportunity to access the attached device should the situation arise that another computer needs it, but i find it to be not that big of a nuisance since the software takes seconds to install. Only other downside is that if i understood correctly, if you're sharing a printer/multifunction, each computer that you want to be able to access it needs to have the printer drivers installed. Makes sense. I mean, there is printer sharing when you have a printer connected to a computer on the network, but that's because it can pass the print job through that computer. no way to store printer drivers and such on the router.
Copied CoreTemp from my desktop to the drive connected to the router. Installed the SharePort software on my laptop after booting it up, and realised that it's also a nice addition that they added a "Request to use" selection in the menu when right-clicking the device in the SharePort window, and it has a dialog box pop up on the computer currently using the device saying to disconnect the drive. Sadly doesn't do it automatically.... but i guess that could be a bad thing too if it did that.
