Keyboard/monitor/mouse switches

[bhorne at banet.net (Bill Horne)]

Tom,

I'm not so sure I made the right choice:  the Belkin switch has 
its own problems, and I'm going to look at the Linksys and other 
models.

I'm going to cc: this to the discuss list:  I'll summarize the 
issues so far and ask for alternatives.

1.  As to adding diodes to the manual box: thanks again for the 
suggestion.  I may take you up on it after all:  only two of my 
machines need mice, and one of those is used so seldom that I 
can comfortably use the keyboard if it comes to that.  I didn't 
notice any video problem, but I only run my screen at ~800x600, 
so it's not an issue for me.  The question, however, is if 
that's the only change I'll need to solve the problem, or if 
I'll have to add pull-up resistors or other components to keep 
the PC's from getting transient characters when I switch.

2. The Belkin F1D104 (Omni View SE 4 Port) switch that I bought 
has three things I would change if I could:

  A.  It repeats the "next active" port command to the port when 
I switch.  In other words, when I enter Scroll Lock, Scroll 
Lock, Up Arrow to go from the WinTel box to the Samba server, it 
switches the port and also sends the "Up Arrow" command to the 
Samba machine, so that I get the previous command I issued 
entered at the command prompt, and I have to enter ^U to kill 
it.  A minor annoyance, but still there.

  B.  The Logitech Trackman Marble FX mouse I use is no longer 
recognized by the WinTel box as a three-button mouse, and I've 
lost the ability to set the third button to "double-click", 
which I really miss.

  C.  The thing beeps whenever I change machines, and the beep 
can't be muted.  Worse, it sounds like the last gasp of a dying 
chipmonk.

So, my questions to you and the list:

1.  Are there other devices that don't have these issues?  What 
and from whom?
2.  Is anyone using an electronic keyboard switch with X-Windows 
in three button mode?  Which one?
3.  Is the Linksys a better fit with Linux?

Bill

On Saturday, July 15, 2000 12:37 PM, Tom Metro 
[SMTP:tmetro at vl.com] wrote:
> > I considered using diode on the keyboard, but I decided my
> > soldering
> > days are over, and bought a Belkin switch.
> Good plan. When I consider the time spent fiddling with my
> switch
> (probably a couple of hours), it would have been well worth it
> to buy
> an electronic switch. But at the time I thought an electronic
> switch
> would run $150+ and my switchbox needs were pretty bare-bones.
>
> > Thanks for your note:
> You're welcome.
>
>  -Tom
>
> --
> Tom Metro
> Venture Logic
>                                     tmetro at vl.com
> Newton, MA, USA
>



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