On Nov 1, 2007, at 4:54 PM, peter green wrote:

> There is no real reason for a computer vendor to strictly enforce  
> power
> limits on ports on the motherboard. I bet most boards don't even  
> measure
> it, why add extra hardware to shut off a device that is drawing a bit
> too much power when letting it run won't do any harm.

well, for instance in the arduino (USB AVR experimental board) there
have been reports of computers RESETTING (shorted 5V power rail, you
know?) when users accidentally shorted out the USB power cables.
That's not just bad for the computer and the programmer.  With 50A+
of power behind the 5V rail, that's a FIRE HAZARD.

BillW

-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist