Re: ot- buying a new name brand pc with xp

[J R FOX jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

--- On Tue, 1/6/09, Harry Binswanger  wrote:

> From: Harry Binswanger 
> Subject: Re: ot- buying a new name brand pc with xp
> To: xywrite@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 11:15 AM
> Jordan wrote:
>
> I beg to differ. Some USB-to-PS/2 adapters are either a
> tiny bit slow or
> give problems. I have gone all USB, because it's become
> universal (as its
> name, "Universal Serial Bus," indicates). You can
> get cheap *cordless* USB
> keyboards and mice, which are great.
>
> Harry Binswanger
> hb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, Harry, I'm very much a creature of habit, and as such unwilling to give up on my Omnikey-102
keyboard. Vertical F-Keys at the left *rule*, especially for XyWrite ! These keyboards last at
least a dozen years under decent conditions. I'm on my second Omnikey, and it's just to where it's
well broken in, which takes a couple years. Behind it, as an understudy, in an Avant Stellar
(direct successor) that has rarely been out of the box. So, I figure I'm well-covered in that
department. By the time I need something else, I hope we'll have powerful, self-contained,
thought-controlled computers that fit in your pocket.

I've used plenty of the USB keyboards: they're cheap junk, in no way acceptable. It won't be an
issue when I re-do the tower system, as I already have a couple of good circa-2006 dual-core
motherboards that can be loaded with any supporting cast I desire, but it is an issue for the
Shuttle XPCs, since the space is so tight and they barely offer *one* PCI slot whose access is
easily compromised by many video card choices or other things. But I would readily give that
solitary slot over to a PS/2 Port card if necessary, such is my esteem for the Omnikey.

Incidentally, I did not find any noticeable slowdown on the main system where I did this. It has an
E8400 processor, and a Max_something or something_Max keyboard -- can't recall the name now, but it
was a runner-up to the Omnikey / Avant that was discussed here some years back. So, this may be a
YMMV type of deal, depending on the hardware.


 Jordan