USB KVM between a Mac and a PC

Clodfobble · 02-20-2005, 06:16 PM

Alright dammit, I'm about to make my second trip to the return line at Fry's, as this is the second KVM switch that has been hokey.

The first was a Belkin brand, and with it the mouse would lag once a second and the screen had horrible static lines perpetually traveling up the screen. These problems were present on both machines, but were significantly more pronounced on the PC.

The second one has the retarded brand name of "KVM-in-the-Cable," and its problems are completely different and just as unacceptable. It specifies which of its USB ports must be for the mouse and which for the keyboard, except the keyboard USB plug doesn't work half the time, for reasons we can't determine. One workaround we tried was to plug the keyboard into the one working USB port, and use a Mac keyboard, which allowed us to plug the mouse into the USB port in the keyboard. But due to the crappy "this USB port is supposed to be for the mouse" limitations, it won't recognize hotkeys in this mode so I can't switch the monitor to the Mac, and every thirty seconds or so it loses and re-finds the keyboard.

Before I go back to Fry's again, does anyone have a suggestion for an (inexpensive) brand of consumer KVM switch that doesn't suck ass?

Carbonated_Brains · 02-21-2005, 02:36 PM

Make one!

Other than that, the Belkin one has always worked for me, maybe consider just getting it replaced; perhaps you had a bad unit.

02-20-2005, 06:16 PM	#1
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	USB KVM between a Mac and a PC Alright dammit, I'm about to make my second trip to the return line at Fry's, as this is the second KVM switch that has been hokey. The first was a Belkin brand, and with it the mouse would lag once a second and the screen had horrible static lines perpetually traveling up the screen. These problems were present on both machines, but were significantly more pronounced on the PC. The second one has the retarded brand name of "KVM-in-the-Cable," and its problems are completely different and just as unacceptable. It specifies which of its USB ports must be for the mouse and which for the keyboard, except the keyboard USB plug doesn't work half the time, for reasons we can't determine. One workaround we tried was to plug the keyboard into the one working USB port, and use a Mac keyboard, which allowed us to plug the mouse into the USB port in the keyboard. But due to the crappy "this USB port is supposed to be for the mouse" limitations, it won't recognize hotkeys in this mode so I can't switch the monitor to the Mac, and every thirty seconds or so it loses and re-finds the keyboard. Before I go back to Fry's again, does anyone have a suggestion for an (inexpensive) brand of consumer KVM switch that doesn't suck ass?

02-21-2005, 02:36 PM	#2
Carbonated_Brains Does it show up here when I type? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Between the smoky layers of a prosciutto sandwich! Posts: 355	Make one! Other than that, the Belkin one has always worked for me, maybe consider just getting it replaced; perhaps you had a bad unit.

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