The Midisport 2x2 can be used, but it's slightly challenging. There are three issues: (1) the Midisport boxes don't have a firmware. It's just a Cypress EZ-USB microcontroller, and the only thing it can do after power-on is to receive software from the host computer, to be able to do anything. The driver uploads software which makes it work as a Midisport. (2) The software that the Windows and Mac drivers push to the microcontroller, is not class-compliant. You'll have to find a class-compliant alternative. (3) After having programmed the Midisport box with a class-compliant firmware, you have to somehow keep it powered while you connect it to your Akai device, or otherwise the memory is cleared and it loses the software and is just a dumb microcontroller. But it's doable!

Akai MPC/Force hackers who do the "SSH hack" etc. could, in theory, maybe, add the firmware-uploading to the Linux system and so people could use their old Midisport devices.

Having the uploader on the MPC/Force itself would eliminate issue 3, and make the Midisports actually usable.