# Smart Card Keyboard & KVM
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-card-keyboard-kvm/578481
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 15, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-card-keyboard-kvm/578481 "2011-04-15T13:56:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mines\_Mystique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mines_Mystique)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-card-keyboard-kvm/578481/1 "2011-04-15T13:56:12Z")
I am looking for a KVM switch that will work with [this](http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=330-2904&baynote_bnrank=1&baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch) Dell smart card keyboard. I am using 2 computers, a laptop via a laptop dock and a desktop, so anything scaled for a data center is out of reach. I’ve tried an Iogear GCS634U with no luck. Any ideas? Thanks.
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### Author:  [@inkling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkling)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-card-keyboard-kvm/578481/2 "2011-04-16T06:04:02Z")
My experience with KVM switches is that they work pretty well for the normal keyboard function, but not at all well for any extra buttons or controls. I think they emulate a standard keyboard somehow as a sort of placeholder, but none of the other gewgaws are standard and aren’t emulated, and stop working when you switch computers.
Oddly data center switches are likely worse, as all the in-rack keys and pointing devices are I have seen are pretty bare bones.
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### Author:  [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-card-keyboard-kvm/578481/3 "2011-04-17T23:56:30Z")
> [@Mines\_Mystique](#):
>
> I am looking for a KVM switch that will work with [this](http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=330-2904&baynote_bnrank=1&baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch) Dell smart card keyboard. I am using 2 computers, a laptop via a laptop dock and a desktop, so anything scaled for a data center is out of reach. I’ve tried an Iogear GCS634U with no luck. Any ideas? Thanks.
I use this unit
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817399061](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817399061)
which is, alas, twice as expensive.