# Storm\`hit,\`Computer\`Keyboard\`No\`worK!\` **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2007, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282 "2007-07-10T23:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/21 "2007-07-11T03:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] Those should be serial connectors. [/QUOTE] Eh, probably not. More likely, they are AT-type keyboard connectors (5-pin round DIN plugs, about 1/2" in diameter). It was the _mice_ that used the 9-pin D-sub serial connectors you’re referring to for that generation of machines. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/22 "2007-07-11T03:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Eh, probably not. More likely, they are AT-type keyboard connectors (5-pin round DIN plugs, about 1/2" in diameter). It was the _mice_ that used the 9-pin D-sub serial connectors you’re referring to for that generation of machines. [/QUOTE] Crap, you’re right. I forgot about those. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/23 "2007-07-11T05:12:17Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] XP now comes with something marked “On-Screen Keyboard.” I wonder when that happened. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure that it dates back to _at least_ Windows 98 Second Edition, which is about as far back as I can remember using it. It’s certainly there in Windows 2000. However, since it’s considered part of Windows’ “Accessibility Options”, it may be an _optional_ item at the point of OS installation, although ISTM that on XP systems it’s installed by default. I use it all the time; for probably 80% or more of my Web-browsing, I don’t have a keyboard immediately to hand, so the On-Screen Keyboard (“osk.exe”) is always loaded and ready to go. With judicious use of macros and jump-pages, it’s amazing what you can do with just the mouse (if you know in advance that that’s how you’re going to be working!). An example: I’m lying down, watching a DVD on the PC, and the lights are out. The mouse is within reach of my right hand, but I don’t particularly want the keyboard on my lap – I can’t read the keys anyway, and I’m at best a 90%-accurate touch-typist. If I want to pause the movie and look something up _(why are you all looking at me like that – doesn’t **everyone** do this?)_, I can minimize the DVD, and type whatever I need in Google or Wikipedia using OSK, and a few seconds (or hours…) I’m ready to go back to the movie. For writing a document of more than a couple of dozen characters (such as this post), however, it’s obviously much faster to use the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/24 "2007-07-11T10:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] He’s using the character map in Windows. Basically, he’s trying to type by pointing and clicking on a little keyboard on the screen. Slow and not easy [/QUOTE] Heh, reminds me of when my sister had digital cable and writing emails was done via the remote control 😛 ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/25 "2007-07-11T11:53:11Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] And I sure would have loved using an “onscreen” keyboard! I used the mouse and cut and pasted a lot from an ASCII text. It certainly didn’t help that my access passwords were so full of characters! Fortunately the guest desktop had no password, and the last thing copied on the guest desktop could be pasted after logout to relog into my own desktop. Getting access to SDMB and then asking for help took the better part of an hour. Google news has lots of words, but seldom the ones I’m looking for. 😉 [/QUOTE] Ahh - the digital equivalent of making a ransom note from cut up newspaper headlines. 😛 Si ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/26 "2007-07-11T11:59:55Z")
The same violent storm hit me last night, probably 30 minutes before you, but I was merrily typing and mousing away all during and after the heavy downpour with no damage. I must have all the luck. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/27 "2007-07-11T12:42:15Z")
[QUOTE=si\_blakely] Ahh - the digital equivalent of making a ransom note from cut up newspaper headlines. 😛 Si [/QUOTE] I thought that very thing while trying to post! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/28 "2007-07-11T12:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] they are AT-type keyboard connectors (5-pin round DIN plugs, about 1/2" in diameter). [/QUOTE] You got it! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/29 "2007-07-11T12:57:12Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] However, since it’s considered part of Windows’ “Accessibility Options”, it may be an _optional_ item at the point of OS installation, although ISTM that on XP systems it’s installed by default. [/QUOTE] Should it install from Accessibility Options in XP Pro? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/30 "2007-07-11T13:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] You got it! [/QUOTE] You can buy adapters to convert those to standard PS/2, although that won’t do you any good with your current situation. Just an FYI for future reference. ---
**Author:** ![NBYodo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9a28c/32.png) [@NBYodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NBYodo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/31 "2007-07-11T13:56:56Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] I did not know that. Seems like bad design to me, but then I use USB these days anyway. (I’ve got so many USB ports I don’t know what to do with them.) [/QUOTE] Man, I’ve got the opposite problem. Too many USB things and too few USB ports. 😛 Gotta get me another USB2 card… ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/32 "2007-07-11T14:41:11Z")
[QUOTE=NBYodo] Man, I’ve got the opposite problem. Too many USB things and too few USB ports. 😛 Gotta get me another USB2 card… [/QUOTE] They have USB hubs/splitters you can get much cheaper and install much easier than a card. I have 7 things plugged into one USB port on my laptop using the hub. That way, I can have all my peripherals able to be plugged in with one USB plug when my laptop is at my desk… it is easier to plug into and out of “homebase” that way. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/33 "2007-07-11T15:07:48Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] I tell you, using the computer with only a mouse is a challenge. [/QUOTE] Amateur. You should try rubbing a paper clip in your hair to build up just the right amount of static electricity and then tapping lightly on the internal processors in just the right place. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282/34 "2007-07-11T15:11:40Z")
edited because I didn’t bother to preview. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storm-hit-computer-keyboard-no-work/411282.md?page=1)