Which devices can be plugged into a USB hub? Which ones cannot?
 

I was reading an eriler post of mine about using a usb hub on my mac

and from that I was told it was best to have things like a memory card reader & a keyboard plugged directly into the computer.

well, I have a 2011 mac mini & it only has 2 usb 2.0 ports, directly on it
& my apple monitor has 2 usb 2.0 ports.

I have these usb only devices;

1. an epson scanner
2. 2 external DVD reader writer burners
3. a wacom intuos 3 tablet
4. a keyboard
5. a dedicated sony memory card reader
6. a dedicated SD card reader, just got these as i learned from here that it is better to use single specific card readers for single type memory cards instead of the all in ones.
7. my ipod when I connect to itunes
8. occasionally an external hard drive that is usb only

which of these items must go to the computer or monitor usb ports? & which ones can safely go into a usb hub?

& which hubs would be the best? right now I am using a targus 7 port usb 2.0 hub, with some of the ports that have a little lightening bolt icon showing the port has more power, which items should go to these more powered ports?

would a usb 3.0 hub be better to power things even though my mac only has usb 2.0 ports?

also, there is this new hub http://www.belkin.com/thunderbolt/ coming that i would be able to plug into the thunderbolt port on my mac, it is quite expensive, & not sure I would get it, but would this make the usb ports connected directly to my computer?

DLink powered (via AC adapter) hubs are excellent. And low-cost, too.This 7-port is currently available from Amazon.com for only $24 with free shipping.
Here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=digitalfaq-20

I'm about to buy one of these myself. Need more USB slots. :)

Macs don't seem to be quite as fickle about USB hubs as Windows computers are. This is one of those areas where Mac hardware quality is shown to be top-tier, instead of bargain basement. The USB slots are not underpowered, for example. Pretty much everything you have can be safely plugged into the hub. Should an item give issues, move it to the remaining non-hubbed port. Hard drives are really the only thing that can be problematic with a hub.

I generally avoid using the hub built into a monitor, unless I'm backed into a corner and need more slots.

So when it is monitor ports vs a usb hub, am I better off with the usb hub? on my mac? would this be true for a PC as well?

If I were on a PC, what items would be best directly into the oc ports & which cou;d go into a hub?

Windows computers get fussy about keyboards, hard drives, and sometimes mice. Those should not usually be on hubs.
Mac is less fussy about that.

A good powered hub is probably better quality than extra USB ports tossed onto a monitor. Hence the advice.

You figure out a lot of this by experimentation and observation. :)