[geeks] KVM revisited

[N. Miller]

On Oct 2, 2007, at 8:38 AM, Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> I asked about KVM a few days ago, and have more questions:
>
> Someone recommended IOGear.  The reviews I've read say they won't work
> with nVidia motherboard USB, which is what I have, and that a promised
> firmware update for the problem is 1.5 years late and counting.
>
> Lot's of people report they have issues with all kinds of cards.

I can't speak to the nVidia USB issue.  I've used mine with a Mac  
Quicksilver, a Powerbook 15", a Fujitsu tablet, an HP 8000 laptop  
(iirc, that was a work box a couple of jobs back), and a self-built  
box using a Gigabyte mobo with VIA USB.

As to nVidia chipsets, my husband's x86 box which isn't being used at  
the moment is one of those nVidia chipset mobo's, and frankly it was  
a bit of a pain the last time we rebuilt it, so I can see where it  
might be a culprit.

> The big one though is that for the unit detect your video resolution,
> you must boot the machine into the desired video mode when the unit
> has focus.
 >
> Does that mean you cannot switch resolutions?  What if you boot  
> Windows
> at 1600x1200, and then play a game at 1280x960?  Will the KVM not work
> then?  That seems a really serious limitation.

I don't think this is accurate.  I have changed resolutions on both  
my Macs and x86 boxes with no issues using this IOGear KVM and have  
no issues.  Other than occasionally losing the keyboard input as I  
mentioned originally (well, and the twitch necessary to switch the  
"switching" key :-), I've had no other problems with it.  Perhaps  
that's FUD?

> Any recommendations besides IOGear?

Again, I liked the Belkin I had (have, I guess, it's in storage), but  
managed to brick it.  It did sound and was USB as well--probably one  
of the first, as I specifically bought it so it could be used with my  
Macs back in '00 or so.  However, you'll pay more for Belkin--and I'm  
not sure it's worth the premium.

The big things with KVMs in my experience:

* Does it maintain power to the keyboard--an issue with Suns or  
you'll have to turn off keyboard breaks--I'm not sure the IOGear  
does.  You might be able to work around it with a USB to Sun DIN  
cable adaptor, but can't say for sure--I have a couple of those  
laying around if you want to experiment.
* Quality of video cables.  Well-shielded cables, hopefully with  
ferrite isolators to reduce the interference potential.

=Nadine=