Lynn,
For an alternate "solution" try checking out synergy on sourceforge -- I
use it constantly to use a single keyboard and mouse on my Linux and XP
workstations. It's also a big plus to me to be able to cut and paste
from one environment to the other.
With Synergy you define one system to be a "server", and others are
"clients". The server's keyboard and mouse can control all the others
and switching is automatic -- it follows the mouse. The server and
clients can be practically anything -- Windows back to 95, any Linux
flavor and most Apple releases.
HTH,
Richard Wilson
On Thu, 2007-02-08 at 18:37 -0700, Lynn David Newton wrote:
> Esteemed Gentlemen (and Ladies),
>
> This is not strictly a Linux problem, though a computer
> running Linux is involved. Bear with me as I explain it:
>
> o Computer A is an iMac 1GHz PPC G4 running Mac OS X 10.4.8.
>
> o Computer B is a home built AMD64 based PC running SuSE
> Linux 9.2. I use this machine 95% of the time.
>
> Years ago I purchased two identical Logitech wireless
> mouse/keyboard duos, one for each computer. They worked
> flawlessly until about a month ago.
>
> o The keyboard on computer B (the PC) suddenly went dead
> after a couple of hours of intermittent flakiness, and was
> not able to be revived by replacing batteries,
> reconnecting with the receiver, rebooting, testing it on
> computer A, etc.
>
> o I took the keyboard off computer A and put it on computer
> B. It works fine. I'm using it now.
>
> o The next day I bought a new Logitech wireless duo, one of
> the ergonomic models.
>
> o When I attached it to computer A, at first the keyboard
> seemed to work, but the mouse would not connect. I tried
> following the instructions a dozen times. Connecting a
> keyboard is not rocket science.
>
> o When I took the new keyboard off computer A and attached
> it to computer B, the mouse would connect to the receiver,
> but not the keyboard.
>
> o As a stopgap measure I dug the original iMac USB keyboard
> and mouse out of a drawer. These worked, except that
> several keys on the lower right - keypad and arrow keys -
> do not work due to a coffee spill long ago, part of the
> reason I replaced it. At least the system is functional.
>
> o I took the recalcitrant new device back to Fry's today and
> bought a different Logitech model duo combination, one
> that is $20 cheaper (without ergonomic features).
>
> o With this USB-only new device (i.e., no PC-type adapter),
> the keyboard connects, but the mouse does not. I can't try
> to use it on my PC because there my USB bus is currently
> broken. (Sigh. Another problem.)
>
> o I found to my surprise that I could plug the Logitech
> receiver into one USB port and my original iPod one-button
> stupidest-device-ever mouse into another - by plugging it
> into the port on the keyboard unit because of the
> connector size, and putting that through to a second USB
> port. So I now have a bizarre new wireless keyboard and
> old one-button corded mouse combination, technically with
> a second keyboard on the bus (and *yes* I can type from
> either one), but the system is functional.
>
> o To complicate matters, it seems to be throwing signals at
> the completely different model receiver on computer B,
> because with the receiver plugged in on computer A, typing
> is erratic on the keyboard on which I'm now working. A lot
> of keypresses don't respond, then suddenly I'll get a half
> dozen of a single letter. This went on for twenty minutes,
> and when I unplugged the receiver on computer A, it
> stopped.
>
> To summarize: I had two identical wireless keyboard/mouse
> duos that worked perfectly for years until one wore out.
>
> I've since replaced it with two different model
> keyboard/mouse combinations, the first of which works on
> neither machine, then the second of which does not work on
> computer A and cannot even be tried on computer B.
>
> I think that covers it. Anybody got any ideas on this? I
> don't have time to make a career out of changing keyboards.
>
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