First of all, I wish you all a happy new year!
Yes, the hub works as expected. I have the MicroFreak connected right now. It gets power from the hub and I'm playing the MiniFreak V with it.
You need to use the included power supply when using the hub though. That is, if you only power the MF4 from USB, the hub is not active. With the power supply connected, the USB hub can deliver 500mA of power.
(I'm removing your duplicate thread in the Technical Issues sub forum)