SmartCard corruption

To all you people who know more about this than I do,
There are SO many devices now that have to be plugged directly into the motherboard ports. WHY is that? It is so annoying! I only have two USB ports on my laptop, and if one is the card reader and the other is the one connected to the hub, that leaves zilch for anything else that has to be directly connected (say, my printer). Why is this happening, and will there be any solution forthcoming in the forseeable future?

Thanks (and sorry for hijacking the thread!)

Not really, you can buy USB hubs that allow you to connect more than 2 devices to your laptop. But, do you really need to have them connected ALL the time? If you look at desktops now, they have 4,6 and even 8 USB connections. In the past, you had to attach most devices to your PC's motherboard via ISA or PCI slot.

Attaching wireless devices to your PC (bluetooth) is becoming more common, but afai, only one bluetooth can be connected at a time.

Basically, unplug what you dont need from your USB ports as each device takes power from your computer's power supply.

I try NOT to plug USB devices directly into my motherboard but use a powered hub instead. USB pulls a fair amount of current. By using a powered hub you can keep the load off your system. Also, I have much better luck using USB cards, hubs, etc. that are built with NEC chips than any of the other brands.

And, no, I have no connection to NEC