On Thu, Jun 30, 2022, at 14:41, Rich Shepard wrote: >> 1. It's astonishing that a brand new USB-C KVM switch knows what a windows >> key is, since they all seem to be built with otherwise 101 key PC-AT/PS2 >> keyboards and never tested (and definitely never working with) absolutely >> anything else. > > Joseph, > > I use small keyboards (mini-keyboards) that are the same size and > configuration as those on laptops. I never had a use for separate number > pads or the other windoze-specific stuff they put on them.
My keyboard is an 87 key, a "tenkeyless" model. It has the option (the option, mind you) of NKRO. That means it has a full USB HID device mode, as opposed to "USB boot protocol" (read AT keyboard emulation for BIOS), but that's turned off. No, it doesn't support things like … with a function key, I can control volume. It doesn't support the difference between left and right alt keys, the latter being typically used on International keyboards to type things like é and ü. As well as “ and ” and modern conveniences like 🤪 which is how I feel when trying to find a KVM that actually supports a modern keyboard. The keyboard I'm typing on now literally disconnects/reconnects over and over again from the last keyboard I tried. But a couple of others don't work with it either. They work with my older KVM, but this one doesn't. Possibly because this one has a built-in USB hub for a mouse? *shrug* >> 2. Randomly disconnecting video and input devices from X.org seems to send >> it into a permanent DPMS power saving mode from which it refuses to wake >> up. > > So Tomas wrote, too. This is the big one. All the rest I could find a solution for. I like my QMK-powered keyboard that doesn't support the last KVM I tried at all, but … I could get another. I like having volume control at my keyboard, but I could program something more mundane to control that. The screen randomly shutting off and refusing to ever turn back on and having no way to force it back on is a deal-breaker. >> 3. They just seem to suddenly stop working, randomly. > > That's not nice. > > I'll re-learn how to set up network file system (NFS) and use that to mount > the secondary desktop on the primary desktop. > > Thanks for sharing! These days it seems like SMB is the most standard solution for that. I know people want nothing to do with SMB because "it's a Microsoft thing" … but no, at this point it's kind of not. Both Apple and the Samba team have extended SMB quite a bit for specifically working with UNIX systems. Not just UNIX permissions either—ACLs and extended attributes too. These things typically are not supported by the aging NFS systems out there. If NFS gives you any headaches, I recommend giving samba a shot.
