As ridiculous as this sounds, what is the USB port actually used for on the MaxiDAS DS708? 

In the manual, it says, "USB (universal serial bus) Port - connects peripheral devices such as printers, and portable USB Drives" and repeats those use references--mostly in correct English--a couple more times.

The problem with this logic is that the choice of jack is USB type B.  Almost any USB-based printer or flash drive in the world will have a USB type A plug on the end and there are virtually no gender changing cables to facilitate these sorts of connections.  Type B is usually considered the destination end whereas type A is typically the source.

The manual also states nothing about flash drives and when it comes to printing, the instructions walk the user through using the network-based printing application which installs on a host PC.  This makes sense since Windows CE 5.0 isn't exactly prepared to interface with a growing range of flash drive chips and printer definitions.

Anyway, I just find this amusing.  I've seen this same sort of setup on embedded devices before, but usually so the device can hook to a host computer for firmware updates, copying files, etc.  Neither appears possible in this case.  It's included at a cost of parts and production for Autel, so there must be something it's good for...other than keeping me awake at night wondering.


-Jeff