Belkin OmniView Keyboard Splitter

[Cernunnos]

Does anyone know if this Belkin OmniView Keyboard Splitter dealy will work just as well as a Y-mouse? The Belkin can be had for about $33 each from Amazon , which is considerably less than the Y-mouse. Belkin seems to indicate simultaneous keyboard use, which makes me think it performs the same function as the Y-mouse.

Does anyone have any experience with it?

[Ant]

I have no experience with that but mabye a usb keyboard might be cheaper

[Cernunnos]

I have no experience with that but mabye a usb keyboard might be cheaper

Sorry, I suppose I should have given context. This would be for an all hardware 5-boxing setup. There are many ways to go with this, but most of them involve at least one Y-mouse keys (e.g., Bradster's). Some setups (e.g., Xzin's) involve 5+ of those. So the costs can really add up if you want to use a lot.

I've been 5-boxing in software using Keyclone. It's not too bad, but it's kind of a non-starter for PvP. I also have (very occasionally) issues with dropped keys. Those are extremely annoying. Full hardware eliminates this.

I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a USB KVM (such as what Bradster did) or a single keyboard + mouse that controls all 5 PCs at once or each in turn. I really like the clean setup of single kb + mouse, but it's quite a bit more expensive. This would help mitigate the cost a bit, *IF* it works.

[Ziran]

I used the Y mouse for awhile but then I have switched to a much cheaper (and for me better) USB solution.

Instead of using Ymouse to merge the PS2 from the multiplexer and the switch I have used the monoprice's PS2->USB device (like $5) and a USB hub. High level (and somewhat simplified) overview:

I have an 8x PS2 switch, 8x PS2 multiplexer. The keyboard is plugged into the switch, the xkeys chain into multiplexer.
The output of the switch gets converted to USB and plugs into a 4way USB hub (one hub per computer). The output of the multiplexer also gets converted and connects to 2nd port on the HUB. I have a 4x USB vetra multiplexer that I use to multiplex a USB trackball. That connects to 3rd port on the HUB. Then I have an individual trackball for each computer (they are small) and that connects to the 4th USB hub input. The output of each USB hub goes to each computer.

This way I only have ONE USB cable per computer going from the "central spaghetti" that has all my mouse/keyboard on it. It is more manageable then the mess of PS2 cables before. This way also you can switch the keyboard between any character without loosing the xkey multiplexer input (at the same time).

Ziran