Hi ckbone, I've enjoyed your hacks, you have some very clever ideas.
Concerning the Fotoshow, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an IDE header in there. According to my research many of the external USB devices such as CDROMs, CDRWs, ZIP drives, USB hard drives, are just IDE devices mounted in an external case with a USB to IDE cable. Incidently, most USB CDRW drives are limited to 4X write, not my the drive, but by the limitation of the USB bus. Some of the devices that where made into USB devices are more obvious then others. A case in point is the 24X CDROM drive linked below:
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=24XCDUSB
If you pay close attention to the cable connected to the rear of the case you will discover that it is simply a USB to IDE cable. Also, some of the USB to IDE external enclosures available are 80% cable and 20% enclosure.
http://www.directron.com/excdromcdbox.html
However, it would be nice to have their drivers as they apparently can handle a multitude of IDE devices. Maybe these drivers will work with the Fotoshow IDE header?
I will receive my 24x CDROM Drive from the Geeks on the 11th so I'll let you know if I'm correct. If I'm right, with the right drivers, I will probably be able to use the cable with any IDE device. I'm gambling that for $77 dollars I'll be getting a $50 USB to IDE cable I can use on any IDE device and a laptop 24X drive for $27. Not bad! If not, I'll have a nice external CDROM for my I-Opener. Check out the link below and you will see what the cable alone is all about.
http://www.gwctech.com/Ud100.htm
It's real hard to find this cable retail as i'm sure all the USB drive manufactures (like Buslink) really wouldn't want everyone making/hacking their own high priced USB drives.
This hacking is fun!
