Ok, found the real reason: Kernels => 2.6.16 have a feature that checks whether devices can be given as much power as they claim to need. If there's not enough juice (like in my case), the device is not activated. So a feature, not a bug.
The Debian bug I linked to is about notifying the user about this. ** Bug watch added: Debian Bug tracker #380104 http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=380104 ** Also affects: linux-source-2.6.17 (Debian) via http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=380104 Importance: Unknown Status: Unknown -- user is not informed if there is not enough power for usb devices https://launchpad.net/bugs/67848 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
