Technology

Technology is a big part of my life. Without it my job, not to mention the jobs of millions of other people, would be totally different (if not impossible). I am very fond of technology, especially when it works.

There are times when I wonder what a piece of technology is "thinking." Take today's example. I received a KVM switch I had ordered. (That's a keyboard-video-mouse device that lets you use the same keyboard, monitor, and mouse for two different computers by switching between them.) The packaging proclaimed the ease of use for the device. Maybe for idea conditions yes...

I plugged everything in. I turned on one of the computers. No keyboard or mouse control. I fiddled with the cords to make sure all the connections worked. No good. I tried hitting the caps lock on the keyboard (the most basic thing I could think of). No good. I restarted the computer. Nothing but video again.

Thus commenced 15 minutes of fiddling which only someone with true dedication would attempt. I used standard troubleshooting techniques...unplug all but one "part" at a time and see if it will work. Check each connection. Repeat.

So, what was the result you may wonder. Well I got it all working perfectly after I:
1) Plugged the keyboard directly into one computer, restarted, verified the keyboard worked, then switched the cord from the computer to the KVM switch.
2) Switched mice (from a USB mouse to a PS2 mouse).
3) Repeat step #1 with the mouse.

After I got computer #1 working I turned on computer #2 and it worked fine. The switch works like advertised. Excellent!

Except I can't help but wonder what on earth everything was thinking to begin with! The components are hooked up exactly the same (with the exception of switching the mouse) as they were the first time when nothing worked. Even if the mouse didn't work, the keyboard should have. Very weird.

Another thing...video cable splitters (the cable kind) don't work very well (unless you are not bothered by double-vision on your monitor). You really DO need a powered video splitting device.