Today’s computer tip
Desktop users: Do you use a USB computer mouse? Not sure? Refer to this handy chart:
PS/2 & USB connectors
Great. For those of you that do use a mouse with a USB connector, do yourself a favor by following this easy tip.
- Get a hold of a mouse with a PS/2-style connector
- Connect it to the back of your computer
- Leave it there, hidden away
- Forget it ever existed
But Mike, what’s the point?!
Trust me, citizen of the internet age, the day will come when your USB mouse will break, or be badly needed elsewhere. When that happens, there is will be a 99% chance that you will have a very important document open for which you haven’t saved changes, a program running that you need to finish using, or a similar computer task which you won’t be able to figure out how to use the keyboard to do what needs to be done.
Why is that a problem? Unlike USB devices, you can’t just plug in a PS/2 mouse & expect it to work; rather: you can expect it not to. That’s what it does. Your computer needs a restart to figure out old-school devices like that.
Some day, you’ll be so happy you did this.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I prefer using my PS/2 mouse and keyboard on my desktop, because they work the same way, but they don’t take up any of my USB ports! Which is really helpful because the front USB port on my desktop is broken (which is why guests in my house are not allowed to touch my computer now), so I have a limited number to go around. I don’t need my peripherals taking up a slot that I might need for a flash drive.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
hmmm, this could help when your desktop refuses to recognize those weak usb ports in the front of the ‘puter.