Impaqt,

Apology accepted. Please also accept my apology. As I stated I have a lot of respect for you (which may be part of the reason I got so defensive).

As far as USB "black boxes", there are many that we use for a variety of applications including adding legacy serial control to PCs, Ethernet control to various peripherals that have USB but no 10/100BaseT, etc. There are also boxes that allow addressable relay control via USB ports. USB is also a way of extending XBox controllers farther than the 9' that is traditionally offered in the gaming arena. AMX offers a USB stick, called the NXA-USBCC that allows Modero touchpanels to access the PC directly from the touchpanel...I am sure Crestron will follow (in fact, how does their new touchscreen from ViewSonic interface? I haven' seen one yet, but maybe USB?).

Again, I am not a proponent or oponent of USB, but it is here to stay and I make the best use of it that I can.

I hope this answers your question.

Randy