I have one keyboard that has an odd-ball, semi-ergonomical layout, but I don’t reallyu like it that much bechause I’m, not bvery accurate wityh it… :smack: but it’s wireless, and it has buttons that I can use to pause and fast-forward and rewind movies that are playing on my computer. I’d like to keep it solely for its “remote” capabilities.
I’ve got another keyboard that is the split configuration, and I like it quite a bit.
Is there any way to have both hooked up, so that I can type on the one I like, but use the other one to control movies from the couch? Or is there any other way to have a “remote control” for DVDs playing on my computer?
I have to admit I had not tried this before…(Microsoft Natural Elite USB on PS2 adaptor)…
But I have an unused mini-USB keyboard nearby (Zippy MK-801 USB, kinda like a laptop keyboard, for a desktop PC)…
And I plugged the Zippy into a USB port on the computer with the MS still connected as normal, and both work. Both show up in the “keyboards” listing in “control panel”. So yes, you can. At least in WinXP.
…But I should say I suppose, that I do not use “enhanced” keyboard drivers, I just use the basic ones that the OS installs by default. Both the MS and the Zippy came with driver CD’s, but I did not install either of them. You might possibly get into conflicts or other input wierdness if you did that.
Also I tried using the mini-USB-keyboard on a PC running Linux and found that Linux would run it fine on a USB port but could not use it through a PS2 adaptor at all. Sometimes when you’re torquing with Linux you need to type before the OS boots completely, and the USB service is one of the later services to start up, and so yer USB keyboard and mouse don’t work. So for the penguin you may be better off getting PS/2’s.
~
I have a small box with four push-buttons on it, which is used for simple diagnostic games by psychologists. It is in fact made from the innards of a USB keyboard with the buttons wired up like four of the regular keys (makes it very easy to write programs for). Works a treat on XP.
I have a PS2 keyboard with all the ‘extra keys’ (volume, office keys, web home, play, ff, etc.) plugged into my PS2 port and a mini keyboard plugged into the USB port on my ‘backup pc’ (It’s an old PC and doesn’t like booting up without something connected to PS2 port) - I keep the big keyboard off the desk unless I am using the pc to type something out (usually just use it to websurf). So if you use XP (don’t know about other systems). (FWIW, I also know you can attach multiple pointing devices - I keep a trackball at my desk at work and plug it in when I need to surf around on the jumbotron rather than pick up my mouse 20 times to move it across the very wide screen.)
However, if you are looking for remote control as an optimal solution instead of 2 keyboards, that is doable too - I know for a fact that most newer motherboards have pinouts for ir recievers (XP ‘media player’ pcs are becoming more popular) - I would assume that there is a USB solution as well - unfortuately, can’t find anything on a quick search, and cant spend too much time on it as I’m at work.
first two are RF, third is IR, apparently the second has universal remote capabilities as well.
I can’t recommend any of them because I don’t know too much about them, but I’m starting to think I want one…
My PowerBook is so old it has ADB, and once just for the heck of it I daisy-chained four external ADB keyboards to it. With the built-in laptop keyboard, that made 5. (Theoretically, it’s dangerous because of the risk of pulling too much power on the ADB circuit, which is very limited on a PowerBook, and frying the board, but keyboards really don’t draw that much).
I haven’t tried it yet with USB (let alone wireless) but from what y’all are saying it sounds like it works fine with USB as well.
How about mice? Kinda hard to daisy-chain mice — I’ve yet to see one that has a port for plugging subsueqent devices in — but I’ve had an ADB mouse, a USB mouse, and the built-in trackpad all working at the same time and had “cursor wars” with two other geeks (we amuse easily, I guess). And I suppose I could plug several USB mice into a hub…
You can definitely use more than one USB mouse at a time. I once secretly connected a wireless mouse to a friend’s computer and then used it to hijack his cursor and mess with his mind. Yes, I get amused easily too…
On a more practical note, this also allows you use things like drawing tablets (which act as mice) without unplugging your regular mouse.