odd usbdevs output

[Giorgos Keramidas]

On 2007-08-06 11:26, Bernd Walter <ticso at cicely12.cicely.de> wrote:
>On Mon, Aug 06, 2007 at 03:31:20AM +0300, Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
>> % keramida at kobe:/home/keramida$ sudo usbdevs -dv
>> % Password:
>> % [...]
>> % Controller /dev/usb4:
>> % addr 1: high speed, self powered, config 1, EHCI root hub(0x0000), Intel(0x0000), rev 1.00
>> %   uhub4
>> %  port 1 addr 2: high speed, power 80 mA, config 1, USB Mass Storage Device(0x0163), ????????y(0x1307), rev 1.00
>> %    umass0
>> % [...]
>> 
>> Does the odd `????????y' vendor name mean that the kernel prints
>> random `garbage' here?  If that is so, how can I use kdb and watch
>> this while it happens?
> 
> It does mean, that the device has an unprintable name.
> The strings in USB are unicode and the device is free to use non ascii
> character, but the kernel has to reduce it to printable ascii ones
> and replaces ever other character with an '?'.
> But more often than using non ascii characters broken devices uses
> plain ascii with garbage in the high byte.
> Anyway - it's the device sending non ascii codes.

I see.  Thanks for the enlightening reply :-)