[jon_hh_68]

I am going to share a powerbook 12 inch and G4 tower at home. I want to share a VGA monitor and usb keyboard and mouse between the 2 computers so I don't have to do a lot of cable switching when I move the powerbook. I assume I need a KVM switch. Dr. Bott makes one called the MoniSwitchUSB although I have not found this for sale in the states. Has anyone used it and where can I buy it? Would it be the right thing for me? I do not want to be forced to use a PS/2 keyboard.

[Macola]

By far the cheapest USB KVMs are by CompuCable. I use one of their 2-port KVMs that I bought for about US$30. I can't find my model on their site anymore, but check out their current models.

[normyzo]

Hi,

Be _VERY_ wary of KVM switches that use a mechanical turn-knob on the front. These are the cheap kind you can get for < $50. Most of the time its just a rotary switch that switches between the different leads of the monitor cables. This will cause a _noticable_ loss of signal quality and usually leads to ghosting like when you have only an antenna on top of your house for your TV and you don't get very good reception.

On the flip side, most KVM switches with electronic switching (ie no movable parts) are fairly good. Of course, if you want a _very_ good KVM, go Belkin OmniView But those are expensive and IT professional. Linksys has some good ones (I use a Linksys ProConnect 4-port) and other vendors do too. I have no problems with mine, I share between a FreeBSD server, my G4, and a PC. About $70 from PCConnection I believe.

Keep in mind that the Linksys ProConnect switches have a MALE connector on the switch for each computer (female for the KVM-monitor though), and you've got a female connector on the video card, so you'll have to get Female-Male cables. This is the _opposite_ of what most other places do.

A good place to get cables is www.cableclub.com. They have pretty much everything, though it may be a bit hard to find. Never had any quality problems with them.

Dan

[victorm]

Originally posted by jon_hh_68:
I am going to share a powerbook 12 inch and G4 tower at home. I want to share a VGA monitor and usb keyboard and mouse between the 2 computers so I don't have to do a lot of cable switching when I move the powerbook. I assume I need a KVM switch. Dr. Bott makes one called the MoniSwitchUSB although I have not found this for sale in the states. Has anyone used it and where can I buy it? Would it be the right thing for me? I do not want to be forced to use a PS/2 keyboard.

I will recomend to get an iogear.com USB Switch. They work fine with Macs and PC if you have one.