how to manage multiple PCs from one Monitor, KB, and mouse...?

[dmitriyaz]

ok,

there is the software for it in winXP pro, right?
but it doesn't let you use ALL of the computers to the full extent, does it?
so that if i play a game NOT on my main PC, it won't be as good as if that PC was alone, right?

there are of course the KVM switches, but i got a few concernes:[list=1][*]they are pretty damn expensive. is it worth it (if i want the full use of ALL of my computers)?[*]hot swapping KBs, mice, and monitors is a no-no. the KVM switches don't just hot-swap them, they switch them safely, right?[*]the PS2 standard seems to be slowly dying, would it happen that i invest in a KVM and it'll be useless very soon? or are there KVM's with USB ports too?[/list=1]

[IFMU]

First, as far as the WinXP. Dunno, and wouldnt want to to be honest.
Second, They are a lil pricy yes, but worth it in my opinion.
Third, yes they work fine in the swapping around between PC's. Thats what they were made to do after all. heh
Forth, I do believe they make KVM's with USB but dont quote me on it. I would imagine that the PS2 will be around for some time still. It is not easy to totally phase out something that has been so mainstream for so long. example, look at the floppy drive! Those things are beyond useless. But you still have to have them it seems.

[dmitriyaz]

thanks IMFU,
i wish my parents were there when i needed them, just like you are
yeah, your probably right about the fact that PS2 will stick around for a while.
look at how they added the PS2 ports on the 2nd revision of Abit IT7

i need a 4-port...
i know some have software enhancements (hotkeys etc.), some have additional features (LEDs, additional buttons and other useless sh|t...), and obviously brand name ones have higher quality...

what should i look for?
which KVM brand would you recommend?

thanks

[IFMU]

Well as for a brand, I really couldnt say. I am still tryin to get the cash to get one myself.
Now one thing I have heard however, is get the electic kind, not the mechanical. By my understanding, the mechanicals have a tendency to give out rather quick.
Another suggestion I read somewhere is that to get a 1 step up for what you need at the moment.
i.e. if you need it for 3 systems, you will get a 4 port right? Wrong, get a 6 or 8 port. Its kinda like preparing for the future kinda thing.
Now granted, if you dont plan on having that kinda setups goin around, then just get the 4. But for me, I imagine I will end up having an a__load of machines running around here. Id much rather just use 1 or 2 keyboards and have 2 KVM switches to use for simplicity.
Something to ponder.

[dmitriyaz]

thanks
actually, at first i will have 2 computers to manage, so 4 port switch is fine.
if, and that is very unlikely, and for sure won't be soon, i get more than 4 computers running at the same time, i can buy another, very cheap KVM and have them cascaded.
right now i am looking into this Linksys router:
http://linksys.com/Products/product....id=30&prid=102
its got some neat features, it looks purty and its Linksys, meaning good quality at patheticly low price.
what do you think?

[IFMU]

That looks real scwheet.... Let me know what the costs end up being for you on that.
I didnt even know you could do that cascade thing. way kewl.. heh...
And yea, I have to agree with Linksys being good stuff. My Router and Switch are both Linksys. heh, Im even going to paint my Router one of these days to make it look like the Linksys stuff.. lol

[dmitriyaz]

Originally posted by IFMU
Let me know what the costs end up being for you on that.

dont hold your breath
after i decide to buy something, it'll take me about a year before i gather the money, buy all the stuff that i need even more than that, and have money left still.

Originally posted by IFMU
I didnt even know you could do that cascade thing. way kewl.. heh...

yeah! if you buy a whole bunch of those Linksys KVMs, they say you could have up to 64 computers managed from one! how keeewl is that?

Originally posted by IFMU
Im even going to paint my Router one of these days to make it look like the Linksys stuff.. lol

i dont get it, why is it so hard for most manufacturers to make their stuff look nice, like Linksys?

Originally posted by IFMU
My Router and Switch are both Linksys.

BTW, i will be buying the LInksys Router with built-in 4 way switch,
anything that i should be aware of?
as far i know, its not supet fast, but who cares, it aint gonna be soon that i will actually need 100mb/s on my network...
-> but good quality and easy to use...right?

[IFMU]

If its the router/switch built in then speed will end up not being an issue unless all the machines are trying to take up serious bandwidth each. Remember, the switch will switch bandwidth to whatever machine needs it more.
It should be easy as pie to setup. Mine was, all I had to do was set it up, get the wiring right. Plug in the router and switch, then reboot the machines so they could get the IP's from the router and not my ISP.
Simple as pie and runs great.

[dmitriyaz]

kewl,
and while your there and your in a good mood , another question:
when you have your cable internet shared by several computers with a router,
its pretty much the same as if each computer had its own cable service, right?
if no, why?
if yes, another question: if you got 10 computers and they all are downloading crap, will your 1 cable modem handle all that? and will it do a good job at that? just as good as if every computer had its own cable modem?

[IFMU]

Heh, good mood heh? LoL ok sure.. lol
It is the same, but not quite. Keep in mind that all the systems will be using the same lines. So they can only get so much out of it.
As for the routers handling it, yes up to the point they are rated at.
By my understanding, routers are rated same as nics basiclly.
So your router should be able to handle the 10/100 speeds that the nics could support. Im not real sure beyond this, I am very network illiterate. I can set it up at home and get it all working right. But I dont really know alot of the details behind it.

[dmitriyaz]

Originally posted by IFMU
I am very network illiterate.

well, then i'm a complete network idiot
i am not so much worried about the router handling it,
but the cable modem...
i wonder how the whole thing works...how exactly does the cable service decide how much bandwidth to assign to you...
i am confused as shizit and going to sleep with that horrible feeling

[IFMU]

Well the ISP will asign each cable that goes out a certain amount of bandwidth space.
Then you have that to use. No more, unless of course your able to find some way around it. Which would be illegal so of course none of us law abiding citizens would ever do something illegal. LoL

[dmitriyaz]

ok, i took a shower, and now i'm back

Originally posted by IFMU
Well the ISP will asign each cable that goes out a certain amount of bandwidth space.
Then you have that to use. No more,

actually, as far as i know its the exact opposite.
cable (unlike DSL) ISP dont actually assign anything to you, they just let you connect to the network. so when you connect 15 servers to it, you are hogging the bandwidth for your area (like 10 blocks maybe).
so that you are pretty much sharing, but not what the ISP assigned to you, but to the whole 10 block area. which is more than kewl with me

Originally posted by IFMU
Which would be illegal so of course none of us law abiding citizens would ever do something illegal. LoL

um, well, sure i mean, why not?

[IFMU]

heh, well Like I said, Im not to sure on most of that stuff there. Just never got the chance to really learn it to much.

[dmitriyaz]

ok, i just brushed my teeth, and i'm back again
ne wayz, thanks for all the help, IFMU, now i'm going to sleep FOR SURE.
btw, why is your name IFMU?? does it stand for something?
good night
(yes, i drink a lot before i go to sleep )

[IFMU]

No probs with the help, thats why for we all B 'ere aye?!

Now, heh, for the name thing.... well its a v ery long story, but a very short cut down version. I was in a car accident many years ago. The car was in the position in the pic below for an hour and a half. The car was a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo. It seriouslly looked like it wanted to fly. So, it was named the
I.F.M.U.
Incredible Flying Mobile Unit.
So, when I first started getting online, I did what everyone does, try to find a cool name. Well, heh, they were all taken. SOOO, I started to try to think of a name that folks would be able to relate directly to me. So, I started using IFMU. And well, heh, Its stuck. Why break a good run aye?
And, odds are, it wont be taken.

Heh, and yes, that was the short version!~!

[IFMU]

Ok the pic didnt take.. but here it is.. the black on the bottom was the ground, the bar on the left was a telephone pole. The yellow was tension wires. 1 was holding the car up, the other snapped on impact... LoL

Ah yea, btw, that is the same basic body style of the car I had, the 70, 71 and 72's were all almost the exact same. The one in the pic is a 72, and as said earlier, the one I had was a 70.

[dmitriyaz]

i see
but how the hell did you manage to get it up there?

[sjohnson]

Doing work as a New Jersey EMT, I've attended patients who've done exactly that. High speed plus the guy wire of a power pole = launch time.

Paint marks on surrounding trees showed an apogee in one case of about 30 feet. That patient survived but had to be flown to a trauma center.

[dmitriyaz]

oh...
that not really funny is it?

[TheDude]

I've seen some crazy stuff on my commute to Pittsburgh every day...upside down cars and trucks...a 4x4 passing me sideways in the snow...another truck sliding on its roof...people wrapped in sheets...but the strangest was a car perfectly balanced on the railing of a bridge, driven up there by a drunk.

[dmitriyaz]

wow that last one is really f|cked up
damn it, i can't stop laughing!

[TheDude]

dmitriyaz,

I wish I had scanned the pic..it was on the front page of the paper....don't know how he managed to do it! They used a crane to get it down.

btw I got a linksKEY switch from Newegg for $29...it's plug and play 8 port...just plug it in and it works!...no rebooting or even turning pc off...no uplink port...it figures it all out for you..pretty cool.

[dmitriyaz]

lol.
i am trying to imagine what was going on inside the driver's head at the time.

[TheDude]

i am trying to imagine what was going on inside the driver's head at the time.

Probably not a whole lot I bet!