And the rules say that no "low power" device on the bus can draw more than 100ma (1 unit load). A "high power" device can draw up to 5 unit loads (500ma) after it has been configured, but there's no *working* configuration software for the 2.6 kernel (I know - I've tried...). Hence, the device dimply can't draw the 500ma from the bus, even if the device reports that it needs 5 loads.
Unfortunately, not all bus-powered devices follow the rules. Self-powered devices can draw 1 load from the bus and the rest from an external source, but they must be able to discriminate when the external source disappears so they don't overdraw the bus. Not all devices are this smart, unfortunately. I've run across a couple of low-end cameras that violate the spec all over the place. But, of course, we'd *NEVER* buy this equipment, right?
One major problem is that most manufacturers think that their USB 2.0 bus-powered device is the *ONLY* bus-powered device on the system. They discount other USB bus-powered devices that draw current from the USB bus, such as keyboards, mice, speakers, iPod cables, etc.
The other unfortunate thing is that the Linux kernel *enforces* the limits, while Windows doesn't. Hence, people think that Linux is screwed up, when - in actual fact - Linux is trying to *prevent* damage to your USB bus and the devices connected to it.
Give it time. We're not the only folks who have this problem.
(I have a mental picture of a cascade of 4 hubs daisy-chained from a single USB port on a laptop somewhere... just like that overloaded AC socket behind the lamp in the movie "Christmas Story"... LOL)
\burt