brianr@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Brian E Rhodefer) (07/21/90)
In article <23848@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> jma@beach.cis.ufl.edu (John 'Vlad' Adams) writes: >Let me put it this was. Hewlitt Packard will *NOT* honor warranties >on their laser printers attached to mechanical switch boxes.... There >is live voltage in the connections of the switch boxes, along with >unfiltered static charges... >-- What next? Refusals to warranty digital voltmeters because, after all, their inputs get mechanically switched to (gasp) live voltages as the probes move around? Interfaces such as the ones being discussed here can easily and inexpensively be designed to tolerate live attachment/removal of user-accessible cables. It is NOT unreasonable to expect to be able to plug and unplug mice, keyboards, joysticks, audio cables, serial cables, printer cables, and, yes by damn, even video monitor cables, without harming the equipment at either end, whether that equipment is powered-on or not. Of course, its even easier and more inexpensive to design interfaces that are easily damaged by live cable attatch. Such equipment is, however, shoddy, and should be avoided if possible. Brian Rhodefer