USB-Cable Reviews

Have been using this KVM for about a week. It works well and I like it...However;

If you are considering this purchase and use IBM Netfinity or Netvista computers you should go to Avocent's web site and look at their "Knowledge Base" for Switchview. Apparently the switchview doesn't handle the 2 and 6 pin on the mouse connector properly on these computeres and you need to buy the correct type of cable for a workaround (basically swap the keyboard and mouse cables).
This bit me and luckily I purchased Avocent cables and was able to use their workaround. Other than that, this is a good product. Works very well with other computers.

I bought this to replace a different brand rated for up to 1600 x 1280, which caused a very obvious loss of video quality on my LCD monitor 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz, analog input.

What a difference the Avocent made. I'm running 2 identical LCD monitors from a dual-head card, one connected directly to the computer. Side-by-side, I can't see any degradation at all on the switched monitor.

This KVM has a single button. To move from computer B to A, you press it 3 times. I was used to a separate button for each computer, and thought I'd miss that. But switching via keyboard (CTR, CTR, A, Enter) is even easier than reaching for the individual buttons; no software required.

Another unexpected advantage is the all-plastic case. Every once in a while, I'd feel a static discharge when I touched my metal KVM, and usually that would disable the mouse and keyboard until the KVM and all computers were rebooted. Doesn't happen with the Avocent.

All the connectors on the switchbox are female, i.e, require male connectors on the cable. My video cables were female, so I also bought Avocent cable sets. They're as good as any I've used, despite their moderate price.

This KVM is powered from the computers, but also has an input for a 6 vdc 700 mA wall wart, not supplied. The manual (CD only) doesn't say when you'd want to use direct power - maybe with older computers that don't power the keyboard when off.

My one email to the company - pre-purchase inquiry about whether it was reasonable to expect no video loss on an LCD -- was answered accurately, same day.

I've owned 4 desktop KVMs over the years, and used a number of high-end ones at work. Of those, this is the least expensive but the one I prefer for home or individual work area. I didn't do a lot of research, and can't tell you it's the best one currently available, or the best value. Just that it works well for me and is a whole lot more than I expected for the price.

I had to load the XP drivers off the included driver CD, but otherwise, this adapter works perfectly fine.

PROS:
I had searched high and low for such an adapter so the fact that it exists is a big plus. The other plus is that it works perfectly fine. I think nearly all of the USB to serial adapters out there require you to load some type of driver first.

Also, this driver has a blue light (maybe an LED?) on it to let you know it's hooked in properly. The light didn't go on at first, but did once I loaded the drivers.

CONS:
The connection is very slow --- 9600 bps. I'm not sure if this is specific to this adapter or to all USB/Serial adapters.

My other complaint is that the driver put the adapter on COM port 9 (COM9) for some reason. I had to go under control panel and change it to COM1 before the adapter worked.

This items works fine for me under XP Home on my laptop. Comes with easy to follow instructions and a CD with the drivers. The blue LED glows when connected, glows brighter when a serial device is connected, and flashes as data is transferred between USB and serial. I did quite a bit of research trying to find a USB to serial solution - I am very happy with my choice.

I purchased the GCS1734 to use with my iBook, G4 tower, and my Linux/WinXP box. I'm currently using a Logitech Elite keyboard and Optical Wheel Mouse. The KVM switch installed quickly and easily after reading the instruction manual.

The only problems I've noticed so far:
1. My Mac's will not go to sleep and remain asleep.
2. I cannot operate the iBook with the screen closed, it will try to sleep after 5-10 seconds, then wake up, then try to sleep again. This doesn not happen when the keyboard, mouse, & monitor are plugged directly into the machine - only when using the KVM.
3. After installing the Logitech drivers the wheel mouse would not work when plugged into the USB mouse port on the front of the KVM switch. Moving the mouse to a "peripheral" port on the rear of the KVM fixed this.
4. The audio switching feature is nice, but it cuts the low frequencies off around 100-150Hz. My Klipsch Promedia 2.1 subwoofer was not thumping like usual when run through the switch, so I do not recommend using this feature if you like good sound.

All in all, I feel this KVM switch is an excellent buy. The hardware is well designed and very compact. The cables are well sheilded and I see no "ghosting" on my CRT display - a very common result of using inferior RGB monitor cables. All keys and mouse buttons are mapped correctly and as far as I can see there are no fatal flaws in this product. I really appreciate the ability to update the firmware as well.

If you've been searching for a KVM that works with your USB mouse and keyboard... without having to give up the custom features of your USB keyboard and mouse... the IOGear GCS1734 is the one to get. I've ran into many problems with other IOGear as well as Belkin KVM's that support USB console and PC's... they usually work, but you usually only get basic functionality from your keyboard and mouse i.e. you don't get access to multimedia keys or volume control on your keyboard, or access to additional buttons on your mouse. The GCS1734 is the first KVM I've come across that has no problems with my Logitech Elite keyboard (volume, multimedia keys, scroll wheel etc all work fine... note I did not install any drivers... none were needed) and my Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (4.0... the one with the tilt wheel)... both work fine. I'm using the KVM with two Windows XP machines, an IBM laptop port replicator (for the T30 series)... and a Suse Linux PC. I can switch between them with no issues. Add to that the ability to also switch sound etc... this is the KVM to buy!

Negatives? It's not cheap... an On Screen Display would be nice for what you pay.

I did a lot of research on these all-in-ones, and my top two choices were this Lexmark X6170, and HP's OfficeJet 6110. I owned both for two weeks and as a result have a very good sense of their strengths and weaknesses.

First of all, these machines are highly comparable, in terms of print speed/quality, ease of use, size, and set up. Both are stand-alone faxes if desired. However, they each have little features that distinguish them, for better or worse.

Lexmark X6170: Has the ability to adjust fax transmission baud rate, which came in handy when faxing to older fax machines. Can fax from within applications on the connected computer, and from another computer on a home network. A very nice feature that I used all the time. *Much* quieter operation, nicer, more intuitive keypad, with (refreshing) blue lights on the control panel. Also, a more interesting design. The paper trays are less accessible, and use a slide-out extender, which I don't prefer. No power save -- it's always "on". About $50 cheaper than the HP.

HP OfficeJet 6110: Extremely noisy -- makes lots of clunking sounds during printing. Paper trays are conveniently located at the bottom of the unit. However, printed copies come out somewhat curled at the edges. Cannot use fax features from the computer to which it is hooked up (i.e. cannot fax from within Word or other wordprocessor programs) A solid design, and a slightly smaller footprint. Has a "power save" mode. Can accommodate an optional 6-colour cartridge for photo printing.

Ultimately, for reasons related to problems with static on my phone lines, faxing to certain machines from the Lexmark was a problem. Lexmark's customer support was very helpful, but ultimately I had to return it and have kept the HP. Still miss some things about the Lexmark, tho...

I already had a Lexmark Z53 printer and was very satisfied with the print quality. Needing a new fax machine I decided to buy this Lexmark X6170 based upon a great review on another site and I have been thrilled. I was up and running out of the box in about 20 minutes. The software is great. It lets you change your options either on your computer or on the printer's control panel. It shows the level of the toner cartridges every time you start to print. The cartridges are lasting a long time too. The fax machine will pick up a double or triple ring so you can order this feature from your phone company (with a separate number) for about $5/mth and not have to pay for a dedicated phone line. The 50 sheet document feeder works flawlessly for both faxing and copying. Its base is only 10 x 19 inches so it can be angled on a narrow desk or work-space. I can't say enough good things about this machine. Buy it - you won't be sorry!

I'm slowly transitioning from a Win98 laptop (with which I used my HP LaserJet 4L for year) to a new XP laptop (which has no parallel port). I wanted to continue using the same printer, and this adpater works great on the XP laptop. The only confusing thing was that the instructions didn't say how to install for XP, but all I had to do was plug it in and XP figured it all out.

But since this adapter comes with a Centronics connector rather than a DB25 connector, I had to plug it in directly to printer, replacing the cable that I would hook up to the parallel port on my Win98 laptop. So to avoid having to unplug at the back of the printer in cases where I want to print from the old laptop, I wanted to install this adapter on my Win98 laptop. It installed, but it is completely unreliable printing (on the test page the Win98 logo prints ok but the big font is all messed up, or on other tries it reports the printer is out of paper when it isn't). But I know the USB port on my Win98 laptop works bidirectionally with no problems with a ZIP drive, so I don't think it can be blamed on my older USB port completely.

Also, the drivers are only supplied on floppy (and aren't available at the manufacturer's online site!). So if you are using a computer that doesn't have a floppy drive (but is using an older Windows version where you need to load the drivers), be forewarned!

This cable enables you to connect an older, parallel printer to a USB port on your computer at nearly half the price of other cables in this category. If you have a parallel printer, a spare USB port and use Windows XP or 2000, you need this cable. Why? Windows XP and 2000 do not allocate a processor interrupt (IRQ) for the parallel port. This means that Windows must do this on demand and allocate more memory and processing power to the task of printing, which can bring your computer to a screeching halt at least for a few seconds. It will not be like having a new computer, but this small investment may save you time and frustration when you print.

I highly recommend this KVM switch if you need to connect two computers to one monitor/keyboard and mouse. It is extremely easy to hook up: All you need to do is connect your monitor/mouse/keyboard cables to the switch, and then connect the cables to each computer and that's it! The video quality has been great-I have not noticed any decrease in resolution or performance, and my scroll wheel mouse works just the same as it always has. It uses the scroll lock key to switch between the two computers which is very nice. I have used some KVM switches that use the control key to select between the two computers, which in some cases can interfere with the function of the key in some applications.

I will give one word of caution however: Treat the cables like GOLD! This particular KVM has the connecting keyboard/monitor/mouse cables permanently attached to the unit: If any of the pins on the connecting cables to the PCs for the keyboard, mouse or monitor are bent and you can't connect them, you're out of luck. You cannot detach and buy replacement cables like on some KVMs.

I highly recommend this switch as you can't beat the quality for the price.

I just got a new computer for Christmas and needed a KVM switch to use my keyboard, monitor and mouse on both my old and new computers. I was looking at other KVM switches, but saw this one at Fry's and bought it for $.... It is a great product. Worked fine first time, every time. No s/w to install. Controlled only by a keyboard hot key. No moving parts to break or wear out. And when you consider that it has 2 sets of 6 ft. cables built into the switch it is much cheaper than the competitors switches (have you seen what they charge for 2 sets of 6 ft. KVM cables these days!). Takes up almost no space and can be positioned under the desk if you wish. Great simple design, reliable, and inexpensive, considering 2 sets of cables are built in. Highly recommend it.

I bought this switch over a year ago after significant research.
My main criteria were video quality and the mouse response rate.
So far the unit performed flawlessly on both counts. Right now I have ATI Radeon 9600 on one computer, nVidia TNT2 on the second. Resolutions ranging from 800*600@140 up to 1280*1024@85 - no problem whatsoever. At various times I had also Radeon 9200, 9500, 9700, nVidia MX440 and relict ATI that came with Dell. I never had any problems with video quality. There were some DDC (monitor Plug and Play) problems with some ATI drivers, which disappeared after an update.
There are two minor problems: one is that while booting a PC keyboard is not available for approx. 2-3 seconds, so it's impossible to switch at that time. Another one is that there is a key combination for a mode when the unit constantly switches between computers and does not allow any mouse/kbd input. If you happent to hit this combination in a game - you'll get fragged.

I really enjoy having this controller attached to my OS X iMac - the blue glow is very cool, and everyone who sees it says "Wow, what's that for?".

However, it's not as useful as I hoped it would be. I like to use iMovie and Final Cut Pro a lot, and hoped that the Powermate would work as a jog-shuttle contoller for quickly selecting frames and edit points. Well, the Powermate control software does allow mapping of keys to the left/right movement of the Powermate, but it's not quite enough to make it super useful. You can't set edit points for example, and the frame advance and rewind isn't very fast or easy to use.

Yes, it does make a great volume control for iTunes. BUT the nature of the Powermate is that it controls either the entire system or a specific application depending on how you have set it up, so it's possible to get confused and start scrolling through a webpage rather than adjusting the volume as expected. And don't forget that iTunes and the computer as a whole have separate volume settings - which one are you adjusting?

After a month or so of use, I find I use the Powermate to do these things:

1. Wake up my iMac when it's in Sleep mode
2. Impress friends with it's pulsing blue glow.
3. Er, that's about it.

It's still cool, but if you want a shuttle controller for video work, buy a dedicated shuttle controller, not the Powermate. If you enjoy having a lump of machined metal that glows on your desk (like I do) the Powermate is still worth getting.

Note: the driver software for the Mac was recently updated to version 1.5, which addresses some issues I listed above. For example, it's possible to make the Powermate ONLY work as a volume control, and avoid some confusing behavior.

I have a Wacom Tablet and just bought a powermate w/ the last drivers.It worked perfect with windows xp until i restart my computer.the powermate didn't work and i have to unplug and replug wacom to make powermate work.
Need a solution!

So many people are probably baffled by this device. They think it is just a knob that does nothing but look cool, but these people are WRONG. You can do so much with this device. It has per-application settings, so you can have one setting for iMovie and another setting for the Finder, etc... You can have this device alter your sound volume, scrub through movies, perform commands. For example, you navigate through your iTunes library. The software is so open-ended, you can have a click simulate a key combo. The software even distinguishes between click and "long click."

I was renting a DCM225R Cable modem from Charter - and when I saw this modem on sale, I decided it was time to stop renting. It installed with no hassles at all. Just wait and watch the lights telling you what it's doing (searching for the downstream connection, searching for the upstream connection, etc.) Then boot up your computer. I didn't have to do any configuration changes at all. And it might be me - but the link seems even faster now!

Until 2 months ago I used Com21 modem that often was disconnected from my cable provider. I called Charter and complained; they imediately replaced the COM21 (said they had issues with that brand before) and replaced it with this RCA unit. Not only I had no problem ever since, it is also lot faster than the previous unit. Highly satisfied with this product!

The RCA Digital Cable Modem (DCM245R) is a cable modem that just works.

First purchased in June of 2002, my unit has never given me one bit of problems. During those times when something seemed wrong, it was due to the cable network NOT my modem. I have been able to count on a connection day in and day out with this unit.

It is DOCSIS compliant which means that it should be usable with many of the cable networks out there. However, check with your cable provider to make sure.

I can hardily recommend this unit as it has withstood the test of time and continues to provide me with exceptional service to this day.

Highly recommended!

It's ironic that this came with a warning about the length of USB cables which basically meant to say "Don't use this product" It should be atleast a foot shorter to avoid exceeding the 10 foot maximum described in their warning tag, since all usb devices come with atleast a foot of cable built in (that this extension plugs into) but no matter, I've used it for over a month on a USB webcam with a 6 foot cable built into it which I plugged into this cord and haven't had any problems yet.

...That such an excellent piece of equipment could be 'reviewed' by persons that are computer challenged. These JOKERS should seek help before buying a product and writing negative reviews because THEY bought the wrong product! GEEZ!

This USB extension cable has performed beyond my expectations for over 8 months. There has been NO noticeable [at least not to me] degradation in performance to my accessories [digital camera, webcam and JUMPDRIVE ] by using this extension cord and it means that I do not have to be fiddling behind or leaning down in front of the computer to attach and detach the equipment.

It is a GREAT buy!

I bought this with the Lexar Media 256mb jump drive pro (which took forever to ship, still not here, etc) but since the usb flash drive was over $25, when I bought the cable, I got free shipping also. The cable came within 3 days even though it was free shipping. They sent it separately for free also, and that was great. I just need the drive now so I can put the cable into use.

It really is a bit much for a cable. It does what it says and gives you flexibility on the road...but if you can find a cheaper alternative...do that.

For [the $...] you could probably build your own and still go to a movie and have the big popcorn.

Forget infrared sync, it's way slow compared to serial, and WAY, WAY slow compared to USB. If you travel, this is a must to keep your iPaq in sync with a laptop. Of course, if you don't take a laptop, it's useless and you should get a CF modem to dial up your ISP.

I can only rate 3 stars though because of the blatant price gouge Compaq is sticking us with. The USB cradle costs $10 LESS than just this cable, and it gives you more functionality.

used without a hitch. what more needs to be said. sync time was cut in half compared with the serial cable sync time. recommend highly