Well first item you should check is the speed of your laptops usb ports. If they are 1.0 a 2.0 hub will do nothing for you. And if your devices are not 2.0 usb devices they will not be affected. But if your laptop is 2.0 and your device is 2.0 and your hub is 1.0. it will be slower. The burner may be 2.0, you should look up the model numbers and find out the speeds of everything you are using.
Another way plug something in. If you are using XP usually it will say. "you have a high speed device pluged into a non high speed ....whatever..."
I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.