VanLUG Email Archive
Bruce Balden (balden*NOSPAM*@home.com)
Mon, 10 May 1999 14:52:27 -0700
Tim Bray wrote in message
<3.0.32.19990510122720.0119aba0@pop.intergate.bc.ca>...
>At 11:43 AM 5/10/99 -0700, Harondel J. Sibble wrote:
>>good point......
>>I do the same, I am sharing 1 monitor and keyboard with 4 computers. Cheap
>>simple solution. You could use the money you'd spend on the monitor and
get a
>>good electronic switch box.
>
>Where do you buy them? I've seen 'em in the datacomm catalogue, but
>never on the shelf around town here. -T
[1] Smaller computer stores will generally order them for you, along with
suitable cables
[2] There are two types: active and inactive.
The latter are far cheaper.
In addition to the box itself, you need specialized cables between each
computer and the the box (ordinary cables suffice from the box to the
monitor and keyboard).
Generally speaking, I don't switch the mice. Mice are small and cheap. The
only thing you may need is mouse extension cables.
You can expect to pay about $25 for the box itself (4 way) or slightly less
for 2-way, or about $250 for an active box. The latter have the benefit of
keeping the keyboard state held in buffers whilst you are typing away on a
different machine. With an inactive device, the keyboard is re-initialized
every time you switch. If you switch too rapidly, this doesn't happen and
the keyboard will not work.
For me it isn't a question of the cost of monitors (I already have one not
in use), but simply of where to put all the equipment.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Mon 10 May 1999 - 14:56:31 PDT