05/18/19 HELP DESK

HELP DESK

Q: Reader K.A. Giles uses a laptop and a desktop and is looking for ''some kind of switch that would allow me to use my existing full-size keyboard and monitor without having to reboot either computer.''
A: Such a device exists, and it's called a KVM (for keyboard-video-mouse) switch. Manufacturers include Belkin Components (www.belkin.com), Black Box (www.blackbox.com), and Raritan Computer (www.raritan.com). All the contraptions work more or less the same way: You plug your keyboard, mouse, and monitor into a switchbox and then hook up the computers' ports to the corresponding connectors on the box. Push buttons then allow you to select the active machine.
The biggest problem with such switches has been their cost. About the only buyers for them were computer professionals, and the prices reflected that state of affairs. However, I was able to locate a Belkin OmniView switch that can control two computers for just $169 at Computer Discount Warehouse (www.cdw.com). Cable kits add about $10 per computer.
FOLLOW-UP: In response to my Apr. 27 column on the new CrossPad, a reader points out that because the pen is a radio transmitter, it probably cannot be used on airplanes. That appears to be correct. Although a spokesman for A.T. Cross says the company has not had discussions with either the Federal Aviation Administration or airlines, all carriers that I know of ban the use of radio transmitters at any time. Although the transmitting power of the pen is very low, and flight crews are unlikely to spot it as a radio, it's best to leave it stowed when you're in an airplane.
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