I'm curious as to why USB mice and keyboards are...well there. Neither device requires excessive bandwidth that I'm aware of, and anything a USB mouse/keyboard can do I don't see why a PS/2 equivalent couldn't. Why waste two perfectly good USB slots on your PC when there is already a PS/2 socket designed for use exclusively with keyboards/mice? I just don't get it. The only advantage I can see is that USB is hot-pluggable while PS/2 technically isn't. Someone please enlighten a naive me

R00ts: its rather simple ... its capitalism

the keyboard/mouse makers are trying to make people use all use usb, so everyone has to get more usb ports

and also people are sheep (as people in this forum love to say... tho i forget the link) and will buy anything "new" .. you could sell them a used old dirty clean-ex , if you tell them its a NEW TECHNOLOGY design specifically to protect from the ravages from fire, and RADIATION

that way either they stupid and think its new, or there stupider and think it'll protect them form fire (well, maybe it MIGHT if it was big enough to cover them),, or there even stupider and think it'll protect them a nuclear bomb (sorry to tell everyone... but if a nuclear bomb goes off near you (like a mile away) , YOU WILL be a crispy corpse)

Eh, I am a sucker for shiny things.

I bought a BASIC (I really dont like the Mice with 20 buttons on them) Logitech Laser mouse (the blue one). And saw it had USB on it. So I thought...what the hell why not?

So far it has worked with no problems.

Then of course I went out and bought a Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mice Dou set. I love it.

I can honestly say, I like the wireless mouse becuase it is heavy. I don't quite understand it, but its heavier (due to batteries) than a regular mouse and for some reason "feels" different when I move it...I dunno I'm wierd.

Of course, I use my computer as a night light in my room. See I like to sleep to music nowadays...or just sound in general the TV works fine too...So I turn on iTunes, take my wireless mouse over to my night stand and let the monitor go in to sleep mode within 20 minutes.

Wake up the next morning at 5 for work, smash the alarm clock, move the mouse, and BAM! I can see my room.

Mike

I am also one who prefers a mouse that doesn't have 20 buttons. All I need is right click, left click, and a wheel. Same thing with keyboards, I never use all those programmable web-buttons and whatever other crap they like to put on there. As for wireless mice/keyboards, I don't like them because they require batteries. Its just an annoyance to me. Plus do you normally move your keyboard at all??? A mouse I can see because maybe the wire bothers some, but it never bothers me.


Anyways this is about USB not other stuff what am i saying. :P Is there any mouse/keyboard out there that wouldn't work if it wasn't USB?

Yea I sorta went off into my own little world (again) and went into a tangent...lol...oops.

Little slow in the head, what are you asking there...like if the keyboard and mouse was only serial and didnt have the option of becoming USB?

Mike

Hey, my laptop doesn't have a PS/2 port (doesn't even have a serial port) so if i want to use a mouse other than the touchpad i've have to use usb.

Hmm, with laptops, as the above posts states, it's essential to have a USB mouse because so few come with PS/2 ports. However, with the general ATX design, PS/2 is still included. It doesn't really matter what you get nowadays, get a USB mouse and if it really bothers you that it's taking up a USB port, just use a USB-->PS/2 convertor or just get a PS/2 mouse.

On the subject of buttons, I really do like the 7 button mouse (SideLeft, Left, Wheel Down, Wheel, Wheel Up, Right, SideRight, 5 buttons including a wheel). I find the side buttons useful for browsing :)

I'll stick with PS/2 just because I have (in the past) not found USB to be the most reliable thing around - maybe I'm just biased but PS/2 works for me so PS/2 it'll be ;)

it doesnt matter to me as long as it works.... it probably wont be long and ps2 ports wont be on mobo's any longer.

While we are at it can we please ditch the db15 and db25 serial and parallel connectors? I know there are some people still clutching their vintage 1984 devices but please people. USB is finally getting stable and useful. I agree though, ps2 is still the way to go for keyboards and mice, unless they have features that could use the bigger bus or if you are talking about a laptop.

I know people at work that have their normal ps2 mouse and a USB mouse on a different part of their desk so they can be seated in front of their machine or not and still have some interaction with their machine.

even though USB is hotswap, that does not mean your keyboard is under some OSs. ie M$. the mouse still is PS2/USB.

i can see the use of a USB mouse as the USB provides power enough to help with the optical mice that are out there, but unless you are chaining the mouse to the keyboard like Mac users do, IMHO there is no use in buying USB mouse/keyboard over PS2.

i always try to get PS2 vs USB for those 2 unless im getting the logitec trackball. sadly they no longer come in a PS2 vs, and only USB. sucks because it does not work with RH9, but my logitect scroll mouse, also USB, works perfect with RH9. oh well. life moves on.

I had a USB keyboard that had an internal hub and 2 USB ports on it. I used one for the mouse and one for my joystick.

While we're on the subject, I do find that USB joysticks are far superior to the old style joysticks. You can have as many axes and buttons as you want, and no more calibration.

One good thing about USB keyboards is that you can have more than one attached. This can come in handy for devices like external keypads for laptops, etc. Does anyone here remember the old joysticks that would hook up in between the keyboard and the port so it could send keyboard commands (Gravis Firebird)?

While we are at it can we please ditch the db15 and db25 serial and parallel connectors? I know there are some people still clutching their vintage 1984 devices but please people. USB is finally getting stable and useful. I agree though, ps2 is still the way to go for keyboards and mice, unless they have features that could use the bigger bus or if you are talking about a laptop.

Think about what you are saying. Ditching the Parallel and Serial connectors, would mean that many motherboards would go into extinction, as most motherboards to this day only have 2 USB ports.
Sadly, as one of the ports on one of my MB broke I am down to using a 4 port usb hub. But I sugest manufactures make motherboards that are in tune with their CPU's they produce rather than wanking over USB hubs as a quick earner.

USB printers SUCK for businesses and need to stay away. printers need to be either RJ45 (ethernet) or Parallel connection ONLY.

trying to get many of the modern SOHO printers to run on a win2k server or win2k3 server is next to impossible as they are all USB and USB does not play well with those servers. not to mention that USB still does not play well with ALL distros of linux.

that being said, there is a place for USB, but printers, keyboard, and mice are not the place for them.

Not me. I disabled serial and parallel in BIOS No devices. Why delay bootup?

according to logitech, my mx310 is not proggramable in windows xp if its not using usb.

also, we have to remmember all the idiots using macs that think not having a beige serial port is an example of apples innovativeness and greatness and leetness. mouse manufacturers have to put up with their crap too.