Gefen KVM USB Switcher Review

Gefen KVM USB Switcher Introduction

Anyone familiar with digital production or post-production, or anyone involved in the graphics industry is probably aware of the long-standing Mac vs. PC debate. While Macs have dropped considerably in price over the years, the highly-competitive world of Windows, plus the advances made in the WindowsXP operating system have taken much of the Macintosh market share and sent it west to Redmond Washington . Those die-hard Mac fans who remain love their machines and cherish the new Mac OX operating system and all that it has to offer.

What does this have to do with a USB KVM Switch? Well, I left the Mac scene around 2001 for the world of build-it-yourself PCs that cost less than $500 - but I cannot get myself to ditch the Mac for several reasons. As the Editor of the largest home theater review website I have to be sure that our pages, articles and designs look good on both platforms. I also admit that I like venturing into the world of Mac OS X from time to time for a refreshing (but fortunately no longer superior) alternative to the Windows world. The only way to make this transition is via physically moving from one PC to another - or by employing a KVM (keyboard, video & mouse) switch.

Dual Displays

I have had two display monitors since 1993 when I utilized an Apple AV expansion card for my PowerMac 6100 (the first Mac I ever bought.) By adding the AV card into the Nubus slot I was able to add a second 15" monitor to my setup - allowing me to have dual displays when some people were just getting into color monitors! This trend has continued with me through the years and I have not utilized a single display since. But what about utilizing two computers?

Dual Computers - The Next Phase

Once I decided to leave the Macintosh platform and saunter over to the world of inexpensive PCs and frequent upgrades, I discovered that running dual monitors on the PC was just as easy (as soon as Windows (98 SE came around, that is). But what about my old G4? How could I continue to use that for the things it did best and still be able to utilize the PC at virtually the same time? Enter KVM switches 舑 the devices that allow one to utilize two computers from a single keyboard, video display and mouse.