A couple of toys arrived today - a Linksys 4-port KVM switch, and a new IDE controller.

The new IDE controller means I can run my DVD-R on a seperate IDE channel, since it’s not very sociable with other IDE devices (seems to require PIO mode). I also should be able to play DVDs properly, since the DVDROM no longer fights with the recorder. We’ll see.

More interesting is the KVM switch. For those that haven’t seen one, it’s a device that allows you to run multiple PCs from one Keyboard, (Video) monitor and Mouse - very handy on crowded techie desks, or in server racks. Mine is for a crowded desk - I have a big noisy PC with all sorts of bits in it, and a tiny silent ITX box that I’d like to be able to leave on all the time, but I don’t want all that keyboardage.

The usual problem with these things is that they don’t always deal with high resolutions very well. This one handles my Windows desktop of 1600×1200@75Hz with no visible problems at all. However, it doesn’t seem to like my beloved IBM Model M keyboard, and possibly my MS Explorer optical mouse, although I haven’t established exactly what combination is the problem. With those two, the switch will lock up as soon as I press a key. So I’m reduced to an inferior keyboard and mouse, which really kind of sucks.

There’s also an odd quirk that I haven’t gotten to the bottom of yet - when I switch away from Windows to the X terminal, some things seem to not continue… for example, when I switch back to see how far along a CD is burning, it is where I left it, but suddenly ‘catches up’. I’ve not actually measured to see if it really is slower yet, but I am a bit suspicious.