KVM mouse misbehavior - was [plug] GIMP users to confirm behaviour

[Craig Ringer]

Steve Boak wrote:
> On Saturday 20 September 2003 08:24, Craig Ringer wrote:
> 
>>James Devenish wrote:
>>
>>>Aha...you know how Craig was suggesting random funny-sounding
>>>ideas as a joke, well, one of those things was to turn on scroll
>>>lock. So...finally...yes, I can only move entire layers (not
>>>selected pixels per se) but it is at least possible to do that
>>>much (as long as scroll lock is not enabled). I've never used the
>>>scroll lock before -- I don't even know where its semantics might
>>>be documented!
>>
>>It definitely modifies the behaviour of other modifiers, but I'm
>>not clear on how. I have a KVM switch that uses scroll lock as its
>>keyboard hotswitch key (because nothing uses scroll lock anymore
>>right? - surely not a server console!) so I run into that a lot. I
>>should probably have mentioned that.
>>
> 
> 
> Craig, do you use your mouse through the KVM?

At work, yes. At home, no. This is an entirely separate issue to the KVM 
fun, however. You'll probably find that if you turn on scroll lock and 
try to just work normally, some shortcuts won't work or won't work as 
expected, etc. It affects the modifiers somehow, but I'm not clear on how.

As it happens, I do use a Belkin KVM at work, and that's how I initially 
noticed the scroll lock problem. Sometimes scroll lock is on, but the 
LED doesn't show it as on, and modifiers do strange things. I've since 
seen the same issue on my home PC however.

BTW, my main issue with the Belkin KVM isn't it's shoddy mouse handling 
(scroll wheel doesn't work, whatever - I can deal with that, the rest is 
fine) but it's crappy hotkey switching. When I switch from one machine 
to another, the number key I use to switch (1 - 4) is still sent to the 
computer I'm switching from. Sometimes it is treated as held down, too, 
adding to the fun. I'll switch back to my main display and find a 
terminal full of thousands of "2"s. As for what crackhead thought scroll 
lock was a good choice (the Cybex ones are programmable - double-tap 
control, double-tap alt, or scroll lock-printscreen), I'd love to know. 
"Nobody uses scroll lock" right? Oh... except anybody working on a 
console, and nobody uses KVMs for that, do they? *sigh*.

> I had lots of trouble 
> switching between a Linux and a Windoze box using a Belkin KVM, with 
> the gdm on the Linux box getting really upset with the mouse 
> everytime I switched.

I had that. My KVM was f**ed, a replacement one did the trick. It only 
took 2 months of arguing with Belkin, having phone calls and emails not 
returned, and all sorts of fun. I will never buy from them again.

Oh - you also need to use the "PS/2" not "IMPS/2" mouse protocol under 
X, preferably use a native PS/2 mouse not a USB one with a PS/2 adapter, 
and if possible avoid running gpm or anything else that accesses the mouse.

> I gave up and use two mouses (mice?) and that 
> fixed the problem

ARRGGH. I use 4 systems on the KVM - no way in hell am I doing that.

> but I am interested if anyone else had the same 
> difficulties. If pressing the scroll lock does stuff in the 
> background, that may explain a few things.

It can, and because of the way the KVM sends events it shouldn't on to 
the PC your keyboard may show scroll lock as off when it's on - just to 
add to the fun.

Craig Ringer

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