I noticed on Dabs the price of the docking stati

EddWo · 06-03-2003, 10:20 PM

I noticed on Dabs the price of the docking station has dropped from about Â£300 to Â£220. I am considering getting one for use at work. I would probably go on using my desktop machine for development as it is a P4 1.5 and is considerably speedier than the tablet.

Has anyone used or can reccommend a KVM switch for use with the docking station so I can swap between the desktop machine and the tablet extended desktop with the same keyboard, mouse and monitor?

I use a Sony 21" CRT + USB Optical mouse and a PS/2 Keyboard. Therefore I would like a KVM that supports USB. It wouldn't matter if I needed to switch to a USB keyboard as well.

Does the docking station come with its own power supply or do I need to use the power adaptor that came with the tablet? It would be quite nice to leave the accessories at home and just carry the tablet as a slate to plug into a keyboard attached to the docking station.

Edit: spelling corrected. Thanks for the replies regarding the power supply.

I already have a cd-rom/dvd drive as I bought the Sony MPDAP20U but it would be a shame to let the multibay slot go unused. I know theres an additional hard disc for it available as well, does anyone use this?

EricMCarson · 06-03-2003, 11:10 PM

My docking station came with its' own power adapter (bought in the U.S. from amazon). Sorry, can't help you with the KVM switch.

mcmitch · 06-03-2003, 11:16 PM

I don't have an experience with KVM switches, however I can say my docking station came with a power supply unit, bought in the UK. So I have a spare one i take if I am going away, and leave the other one connected to the docking station.

celstark · 06-04-2003, 04:37 AM

Just about a week abo, I purchased the IOGear MiniView USB KVM switch to do just this. Works like a dream to go b/n my Tablet and my Linux box. It's all USB, BTW, which would mean you'd need a new USB keyboard.

Craig

EddWo · 06-04-2003, 05:22 AM

thanks, i'll check it out when I get home

Dennis Rice · 06-04-2003, 03:19 PM

I installed abelkin SOHO KVM for a client. You can use either PS2 or USB devices, so it is nioe if you have mixed environment. Check it out......

EddWo · 06-05-2003, 01:12 AM

Usb supporting ones seem to be few and far between. I like the look of the iogear one, about the right size features etc, but I can't find a store that will sell one in the UK. I can't seem to find anyone that sells any iogear products, though they have been reviewed on several UK based sites. Ebay isn't turning up much either.
I think the belkin one is a bit expensive, considering you also need to buy the cables.

Perhaps I should just stick a ps2 adaptor on my mouse and go for a cheaper one. My colleague has a belkin omniview ps2 model that he uses to control our domain server, that seems to work well enough.

PenMax · 06-05-2003, 08:21 AM

Let's kick it up a notch. Anyone had problem setting up a USB KVM (Belkin SOHO USB KVM), wireless keyboard (Microsoft BT KB & mouse), a desktop and a TC1000 to function together?

EddWo · 06-09-2003, 10:42 PM

I think I finally found a suitable one. Maplin has a "Sitecom 2 Port USB KVM Switch" priced at Â£59.99, this includes 2 sets of cables.

Maplin Shop page
http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/mod...76&modulecode=

Manufacturer Product Page
http://www.sitecom.com/products_info...d=179&grp_id=5

This looks quite suitable as it supports both USB and PS/2 connections. Has OnScreenDisplay and supports up to 1920 x 1440 resolution. It seems that the switch connects to both computers via one usb cable each. This must emulate a USB hub on the computer so that both keyboard and mouse are supported. It also supports an additional usb device, eg a card reader or printer that you wish to share between the computers. Because it requires software drivers it will only support Windows PCs.

Edit:
On looking at the product manual it says it only supports 1600x1200, still this is probably enough for most people.

ajshapiro · 06-10-2003, 05:43 AM

I use a Belkin OmniView USB KVM (it has PS/2 ports for the mouse and keyboard but I just use the USB ports) to switch between the TC1k docking station and a Mac. Using Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. It has 4 USB ports so I also plug my scanner in and it is switched as well.

Generally, it works well, but if you ever call Logitech for support, don't tell them that you are going through a KVM or even a hub... they'll run like cowards! They won't even talk to you if you tell them that (because they don't officially support that configuration, at least with my model). That's a problem because Logitech software stinks in the first place.