Apple KB & Mouse over USb hub - possible?

AdmiralAK

Simply Daemonic
I have a Powerbook G4 and my girlfriend a iBook G4. About 50% of time one of us uses the desk in our office as our computing space and I wanted to have a keyboard, mouse, printer and other peripherals connected to a hub and then connect that to the PB or IB. I have a keyboard and mouse that I can snag for free, that way I do not have to pay anything, but will they work? I have heard stories of apple KBs not working if not plugged in directly to the mac - is this true?

If so, would a BT keyboard/mouse be a better proposition ?
 
The Apple keyboards ARE a hub, and I think they won't work connected to another hub vs. directly to the Mac.

The mouse should work if you plug it directly into the hub since that would be the same as plugging it into the keyboard.
 
It will work, but you may find that startup key combinations (like Command-C, Command-Option-P-R, etc.) don't work. You may find that they do, depending on the nature of the hub.

The Apple keyboard's hub should be just fine running through another hub. It's possible to chain hubs together (get a pair of any old USB hubs and connect one hub to the other -- works fine), although if the chain becomes too long, you may experience connection problems.

It's not recommended to run this way (having your main input devices run through a hub), but completely possible.
 
apple recomend plugging the apple usb keyboard directly into the computer or the usb ports on it may not work. this is apparently the case even with the usb ports on a new apple display.
 
Maybe you should consider a USB or KVM (USB) switch instead. This way there is no need to unplug you Keyboard (or the cable to the hub) if another person needs keyboard and mouse.

I have a similar setup to share a muse keyboard combo with my PC and a mac mini.

One cable connects mac mini > USB switch
Another cable connects PC > USB switch
The keyboard and mouse is connected to the USB switch
 
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