control a PowerBook through a KVM switch

On 2/1/05 at 8:37 AM, Sander Tekelenburg <tekelenbeuronet.nl> wrote:

> Thus I'm wondering if I could hook up the 12" Powerbook to my
> (USB/VGA) KVM switch and that way control it with my Apple
> Extended keyboard and 21" CRT at at least 1280 x 1024.

Absolutely. I do just that with my work Powerbook (1Ghz TiBook 15") and my
home G5, both hooked to a Dell 2001FP LCD monitor (1600x1200), Apple
Keyboard, and Logitech "Cordless Click!" wireless mouse. The KVM I use is
an Iogear MiniView Micro USB Plus (GCS632U). A double-tap of the control
key switches between the two systems.

--
Todd Ruston
toddhackneyponies.com

You can hook up the monitor directly to the iBook G4 using the mini dvi to VGA connector which comes with the computer. For the keyboard, if it is the old ADB type, you will need a ADB/USB converter and then it too con plug directly to the iBook. A KVA switch is not neccessary in this case.

> I know people hook up external keyboards, mice and monitors to their
> PowerBooks. But how about doing that through a KVM switch? Is that
possible?

Yeah, absolutely, I used to do this with a Wall Street PowerBook. I don't
have such a set up now, but I use a PowerMac G4 (MDD) with a KVM from
IOGear and it works great. There's no reason it wouldn't work with a
PowerBook.

  http://www.iogear.com

I have a PowerBook at home that sits in a laptop stand and attaches to a
17" external monitor, effectively turning it into a desktop station. A few
caveats:

- When you hook up your laptop to act like a desktop, you tend to add all
kinds of devices to it just as you would a G4 tower -- and the two USB
ports quickly become very limiting. This may not be the case since you'll
have a Mac mini too, but something to keep in mind.

- Hooking up an Apple keyboard through a KVM switch effectively kills the
ability to use the volume, screen brightness and eject keys. Those signals
don't properly make it through the KVM to the Mac, unfortunately. This is
actually kind of a big bummer for me. If anyone knows of a KVM that
supports these keys, please let me know.

> Thus I'm wondering if I could hook up the 12" Powerbook to my (USB/VGA) KVM
> switch and that way control it with my Apple Extended keyboard and 21"
CRT at
> at least 1280 x 1024.

So long as the video card supports it, I don't see any issues.

Good luck,
Khoi

work: www.behaviordesign.com
play: www.subtraction.com

On 2/3/05 at 4:59 AM, publicsubtraction.com wrote:

> - Hooking up an Apple keyboard through a KVM switch effectively
> kills the ability to use the volume, screen brightness and eject
> keys. Those signals don't properly make it through the KVM to the
> Mac, unfortunately. This is actually kind of a big bummer for me.
> If anyone knows of a KVM that supports these keys, please let me
> know.

The Iogear KVM I mentioned previously works fine with the volume and eject
keys on an Apple Keyboard. Screen brightness? I don't see keys for that on
the external keyboard.

--
Todd Ruston
toddhackneyponies.com

The F14 and F15 keys are the brightness keys you're looking for. I
found this out in OS X the missing manual (Thanks David Pogue!)

On Feb 4, 2005, at 3:40 PM, Todd Ruston wrote:

> On 2/3/05 at 4:59 AM, publicsubtraction.com wrote:
>
>> - Hooking up an Apple keyboard through a KVM switch effectively
>> kills the ability to use the volume, screen brightness and eject
>> keys. Those signals don't properly make it through the KVM to the
>> Mac, unfortunately. This is actually kind of a big bummer for me.
>> If anyone knows of a KVM that supports these keys, please let me
>> know.
>
> The Iogear KVM I mentioned previously works fine with the volume and
> eject
> keys on an Apple Keyboard. Screen brightness? I don't see keys for
> that on
> the external keyboard.
>
> --
> Todd Ruston
> toddhackneyponies.com
>

One much cheaper and simpler option I am considering for similar purpose is

KMRemoteControl - available via version tracker at http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20771

This allows you to use a keyboard/mouse on one machine as input to another machine via the network connection. I guess a software KM switch (no video). Of course, it requires you to be able to see the video of both machines. But, for instance, if you have your powerbook/ibook on your lap, and your mac mini connected to a plasma/lcd etc, you can use your laptop keyboard to input into the mac mini via airport as an example. I think the cost is around $12 for this shareware.

I cannot personally vouch for it, but I have heard good things about it, and will be trying it as soon as I get a chance. It's not the solution for people who need the video switching, but it may work for others who have the video sorted, and also need a wireless solution (though it would work via ethernet as well).

Ian

On Feb 7, 2005, at 1:44 PM, Ian Hobson wrote:

> One much cheaper and simpler option I am considering for similar
> purpose is
>
> KMRemoteControl - available via version tracker at
> http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20771

There's also osx2x, which is free. It uses either VNC or an X11 server
to connect to another machine. When you connect to a machine, you
assign an edge of the screen to it. When you move the mouse off that
edge of the screen, the mouse pointer & keyboard focus shift to that
machine, with an arrow displayed on the Mac's screen pointing in that
direction. You'll still have to have a monitor on the other machine,
however. It's very cool.