PS/2 connected cat

hello folks!

when i read that the 'Cat was a functional tool for me to use here, i was o'erjoyed! i recalled that my mother had one in the stash of stuph for her computer that she no longer uses. it took a while to find - but i now have it sitting next to the pc ready to hook up. but..

i discovered this morning that it is a PS/2 connector type, not a USB. does anyone else here use one? if so, are there any pitfalls or tips and tricks to offer before i attempt to connect and intall the device?

i am leary of hooking it up as, should i screw up any other functionality on the PC my wife may not be happy! and if she ain't happy...well you know the rest.

thanks in advance for any attention you may have to this topic

ralph

If you don't have a USB port, don't try the PS/2 to USB adaptors because they don't work.

One "drawback" of the PS/2 version is that they're not as simple to "turn off" when you're through. Unlike the USB ones which could just be unplugged, you would have to unplug the keyboard to unplug the CueCat, which might necessitate a restart of your computer.

So that means you'll have a permanent red glow from the CueCat's mouth. You get used to it after a while. The LED inside doesn't get hot, so you don't have to worry about where you leave it.

Otherwise, it shouldn't cause any other problems with your computer.

I believe that you may need drivers for a PS/2 CueCat - I've seen different reports on different sites. Some say that it's just plug and play with Windows XP.

Best thing to do is to plug it in and see if you can get output into any software that takes text - Windows notepad is fine.

Yeah - I'm a couple months late, but I thought I'd jump in anyway, as others may still read this.

USB-PS/2 converters DO work... BUT you need to get the right one.

There are two types: the cheap ones which come bundled with PS/2 mice are about 1 inch long, and have a PS/2 port on one side and a USB port on the other. These do NOT work! They're just a method for changing the physical connection. The mouse already supports USB connections, just not the connector.

The type which does work is more expensive (about $20 vs about $2), and is bigger. Mine has a USB port on one side, a couple inches of cable to a little box, then two PS/2 connectors coming out of the little box (one for the keyboard, one for the mouse). It's designed for newer laptops which don't have PS/2 style inputs. This converter actually contains a processor which converts the PS/2 signals into USB & vice versa.
See http://sewelldirect.com/usbtops2.asp for a picture -- plus this one's only $8. (I've never ordered from sewelldirect, so can't say whether they're a good company -- it's just the first hit on Google which had a good picture of the correct procuct!)

My PS/2 :cuecat works just fine on my desktop computer, but I want to use it with my laptop which only has USB ports. I got a converter like the one you suggested, but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Do I need to install USB drivers now?

What OS does your laptop have? Actually, since it has USB ports built in, it probably has USB support built in (XP or later, certainly). So now plug the USB end of your converter into a port, plug the CueCat into the keyboard side of the adapter (it should show which one's which, usually a small image on the plug itself), and try scanning into Notepad or something. Do you get anything? It should produce some characters (what depends on whether you've neutered your Cat yet). If nothing shows up, then you can start thinking about whether it needs drivers.