bubba freaktree
08-19-2003, 05:27 PM
hi guys,
i wanted to tell you about a cool piece of equipment i just got. there are a lot of really smart computer people on this site. it won't be news to them, but maybe it will help some others:
It's called the MiniView Micro, made by IO Gear.
it allows you to command two computers by only using only one keyboard monitor and mouse.
first you hook the monitor, keyboard and mouse jacks from each computer into this box (it comes with the wires already on it) then you hit the scroll-lock button twice, and it switches between the two computers.
this is really cool for someone like me who likes to keep clutter to a minimum.
it only cost about $29 or $39. and you don't have to hook up any drivers or anything. it's pretty much idiot proof, and works right out of the box. and the instruction manual is great (even though you really don't need one).
i think i do notice a slight degradation of the video quality (maybe a bit of flicker or some hard to define subliminal blurriness). i'm not sure if it's because of the box itself, or because it actually lenthens the monitor's effective cable length from 6 to 12 feet by the time you hook everything up. the mouse and keyboard feel fine.
but it's definitely a very cool under $40 tool to have around.
there are actually many of these made. they are called "KVM" devices, meaning keyboard, video, mouse. You can even get ones that control 4 computers or even something crazy like 128 computers for corporate server tech people.
But i like this one because it's priced right, small, makes sense, and has all the wires you need hanging right off of it, and it switches between the two computers using a key command, so you don't need a clunky box taking up space with an old-fashioned switchbox that you don't need.
just thought i'd pass this info on...
i wanted to tell you about a cool piece of equipment i just got. there are a lot of really smart computer people on this site. it won't be news to them, but maybe it will help some others:
It's called the MiniView Micro, made by IO Gear.
it allows you to command two computers by only using only one keyboard monitor and mouse.
first you hook the monitor, keyboard and mouse jacks from each computer into this box (it comes with the wires already on it) then you hit the scroll-lock button twice, and it switches between the two computers.
this is really cool for someone like me who likes to keep clutter to a minimum.
it only cost about $29 or $39. and you don't have to hook up any drivers or anything. it's pretty much idiot proof, and works right out of the box. and the instruction manual is great (even though you really don't need one).
i think i do notice a slight degradation of the video quality (maybe a bit of flicker or some hard to define subliminal blurriness). i'm not sure if it's because of the box itself, or because it actually lenthens the monitor's effective cable length from 6 to 12 feet by the time you hook everything up. the mouse and keyboard feel fine.
but it's definitely a very cool under $40 tool to have around.
there are actually many of these made. they are called "KVM" devices, meaning keyboard, video, mouse. You can even get ones that control 4 computers or even something crazy like 128 computers for corporate server tech people.
But i like this one because it's priced right, small, makes sense, and has all the wires you need hanging right off of it, and it switches between the two computers using a key command, so you don't need a clunky box taking up space with an old-fashioned switchbox that you don't need.
just thought i'd pass this info on...