Sync/charge Cables

[speculatrix]

I've got one of those retractable sync/charge cables (from Brando), it's great, keeps things tidy, allows me to connect my Z to my linux workstation at work to charge it up and SSH in.

Sharp provided a USB cable but it doesn't provide power. Why not? Is there a reason why USB shouldn't be used (apart from the power loading on the computer)? Can I convert a Sharp usb cable to also be a charge one?

[Hrw]

USB provide less power then Zaurus use to get from charger - sooner or later USB port can broke when charged from it. Here I use usb sync/charge anyway but have one port broken and I suspect that's because I charged Sony Clie from it.

[speculatrix]

hmm, that's a worrying thought. I've used my sync-charge cable a lot.

one thing I have noticed is that if the Z battery is particularly low, then I can't get usbnet up on my linux box at work. I am wondering if the load is sufficient to make the USB interface shutdown in some way?

I've got a spare power adaptor now, so maybe I'll take it to work.