It can be tempting to try to save a little money (yours or the company’s) and buy tools or devices that are just a little cheaper. Sometimes, that works out fine, but you need to be careful — read carefully what you’re getting. Sometimes you’re better off spending the extra money.
Case in point: I just bought a 4-port KVM. I wanted to keep the bill low (it’s for work), so I searched for, and found, the least expensive USB KVM I could find. I did note, at the time, that it said it was USB and PS/2 KVM. Well, that seems fine — nothing wrong with having PS/2 connectors in case you need them, right? I was going to save about $30 by getting this one, so I went ahead and ordered it.
Well, all in all, it’s a pretty good device. The keyboard and mouse you actually use, however, pretty much need to be PS/2. It includes a 3-port USB hub, so you could take up two of those spots for keyboard and mouse but… the Hotkey function (switching consoles with a keyboard sequence) only works on PS/2 keyboards.
It’s okay — it’ll do the job — but I would have been better off spending the money and getting a “real” USB KVM. Live and learn: buy the right tool — the best tool — the first time.
