Mini-rant: 4-port USB hubs in LCD monitors

I always get LCD monitors with USB hubs in them, but they're always limited to 4 ports. That's not enough!

2 go immediately to keyboard and mouse.

The remaining 2 are shared with all my other USB devices I might have, like:

- portable scanner
- flash drive
- headset
- web cam
- smart card reader
- GPS device
- camera

Now, if they'd used 7-port hubs, they could have put 3 ports on the back (one would be the camera) and 4 ports down the side, and I'd be pretty well set.

Technological Innovation I'd like to see: USB and audio in video cables

I have these cables running from my monitor to my desktop PC:

- video
- audio to speakers
- USB

It gets worse if you have audio to microphone.

3-4 cables running from A to B is dumb. I know that HDMI includes audio, but it's hard to get resolutions over 1920x1080 with HDMI. And, no USB.

I wish DVI had included channels for USB and audio. Then I could have a cleaner space behind my desk.

Technological Innovation I'd like to see: USB control of monitors

I already have a 4-port USB hub in my LCD monitors, but it's just a bolt-on device. It shares only a housing an a power supply with the monitor.

I wish the monitor itself was a USB device. I hate pushing the tiny buttons on the bezel, trying to navigate awkward menus to change monitor settings. Instead I'd like to do it in software.

I already have a USB cable running from the PC to the monitor, so we're almost there!

I have heard that Mac monitors do this, so I'm just wishing that PCs would get their act together. It should have happened years ago.