Main > Main Forum

Ipac Usb Vs, Ps/2

Pages: << < (13/21) > >>

patrickl:


--- Quote from: RandyT on June 17, 2004, 08:14:34 am ---
--- Quote from: patrickl on June 17, 2004, 03:51:52 am ---But I understand Tiger-Heli's explanation. Of course KeyWiz would loose customers if people would understand they will have trouble finding PS/2 connectors in the near future.

--- End quote ---

Hehe 5+ years = near future.......what are you, a redwood tree?   :D

--- End quote ---
Ehm I said 2 to 5 years  (in two years hard to find and in 5 years virtually extinct) that's something different from 5+.

--- Quote ---BTW, you are still homing in on small meaningless portions of the discussion, and  your tactic of attempting to discredit me personally rather than address the points I make in my posts, is transparent at best.
--- End quote ---
If anyone is homing in on meaningless points then it's you. I keep trying to get you back on the big issue, but you keep defending compeletely meaningless examples.

Unfortunately you often seem to miss the general point of my messages and you only seem to look for small details to pick on. So I just repeat the points again and let the misunderstandings slide (or at most give a slight hint). I like "meaningless" discussions like this, but I do like to keep things on track. I won't react to most of the sidetracking and misinterpretations you post.

Only personal thing I did was highlight one of your examples. I described how meaningless it was to use exceptions like that as a rule to contradict a general trend. I also felt I needed to show how far you stretch the definition to call something a PS/2 device. Instead of understanding those points you actually start defending a 0.00001% market share item as an obvious sign PS/2 is here to stay.

--- Quote ---How about taking on that issue of how you get people to buy into technology that 90% of average consumers don't need, rather than dancing around trying to save face?  Your entire argument hinges on this question.
--- End quote ---
I don't understand what you mean with this, but my point actually IS that (at least) 90% of the people don't need a PS/2 port on their PC so they won't care if it goes. I'm all for not paying for stuff I don't need.

--- Quote ---Up to now, you added very little substantive information to this discussion, just a lot of unsubstantiated predictions / rhetoric.

--- End quote ---
Well you are right I did not add anything after my first few posts. But let me sum it up for ya:
1) PS/2 is obsolete (no function demands it's existence for the general public and newer alternatives exist)
2) PS/2 is virtually solely used for keyboards and mice
3) a new PC usually comes with a keyboard and mouse anyway (so the old PS/2 mouse and keyboard can stay with the old one it replaces)
4) PS/2 is targeted for termination by the hardware and software manufacturers
5) I have witnessed PC manufactures drop obsolete standards in a hurry over and over again (I bought a few PC's with a DIN keyboard connector and the next year when I needed one extra I couldn't find one anymore with that connector)
6) I have witnessed that almost all past PS/2 devices are already migrated to USB (in fact the "PS/2" mice and keyboards I bought over the last few years actually need an adapter to connect to PS/2 and are really USB devices)
7) I have witnessed the trend that PC's are starting to drop PS/2 ports right now

Those seem pretty easy to understand points to me. They are all factual observations and hardly unsubstantial or rhetoric. Of course there is no hard evidence that these points will result in PS/2 going away rather qucikly, but it seems a very likely path.

You on the other hand have claimed that PS/2 will never go away because you (and probably a few other people as well) own some old PS/2 connected devices (other than mice and keyboards) that you would like to keep using in the future and ... ehm well that was it basically. Well, maybe your remark that PS/2 devices are still sold was meant as proof, but then most of them are USB devices at the same time as well.

Tiger-Heli:

Only a few very minor quibbles here:

--- Quote from: patrickl on June 17, 2004, 09:56:10 am ---
--- Quote ---How about taking on that issue of how you get people to buy into technology that 90% of average consumers don't need, rather than dancing around trying to save face?  Your entire argument hinges on this question.
--- End quote ---
I don't understand what you mean with this, but my point actually IS that (at least) 90% of the people don't need a PS/2 port on their PC so they won't care if it goes. I'm all for not paying for stuff I don't need.

--- End quote ---
The point is that you can design a functional arcade cab either without using the USB port, or without using the PS/2 port, so it's a choice of the cab builder which one to use.

--- Quote ---3) a new PC usually comes with a keyboard and mouse anyway (so the old PS/2 mouse and keyboard can stay with the old one it replaces)

--- End quote ---
Many people don't buy new PC's but rather upgrade the motherboard in an old one.  However, it is fairly cheap to either buy a $6.99 adapter or buy a new USB keyboard/mouse combo; so I don't think the average PC user would miss the PS/2 port.

--- Quote ---(I bought a few PC's with a DIN keyboard connector and the next year when I needed one extra I couldn't find one anymore with that connector)

--- End quote ---
There were both types of adapters - DIN keyboard to PS/2 PC (common) and PS/2 Keyboard to DIN PC (less common).  There are also currently PS/2 Keyboard-Mouse to USB PC adapters (although they wouldn't be recommended with an I-PAC or KeyWiz).  Interestingly, I haven't seen any USB keyboard to PS/2 port adapters (that worked universally with any USB mouse/keyboard) so perhaps this confirms that the industry is not concerned with this compatibility.

patrickl:


--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on June 17, 2004, 10:58:00 am ---
--- Quote from: patrickl on June 17, 2004, 09:56:10 am ---(I bought a few PC's with a DIN keyboard connector and the next year when I needed one extra I couldn't find one anymore with that connector)

--- End quote ---
There were both types of adapters - DIN keyboard to PS/2 PC (common) and PS/2 Keyboard to DIN PC (less common).  

--- End quote ---
FWIW, those DIN to mini DIN adapters never worked for me. They always would fall out after a while.

You are right of course that in the second hand market PS/2 ports will remain for much longer, but would you buy something that cannot connect to your current computer if a perfectly good alternative exists that will connect (even though your main aim is to connect to an old PC that does have a PS/2 port)?

But I'm sorry I went over you excellent post just before my large one. You indeed make some good points there. I doubt we'll ever get to the bottom of this.  :-\

To measure the timne from keypress to event in the PC, maybe you could build a testsetup where a scope measures the actuall keypress and then a program switches on a port on a parallel connector when it reads that keypress. Wouldn't that show how long the whole thing took? You might even be able to use a soundcard for this (left channel detects keypress and right channel sees when the event is registered.

But then again, as you already mentioned, would it really matter? If the keypress if obviously registered quicker than I can manually detect (ik click on a button and I immediately see the kepress in notepad or something) would it really influence game play if there even was a difference?

Tiger-Heli:


--- Quote from: patrickl on June 17, 2004, 12:03:30 pm ---FWIW, those DIN to mini DIN adapters never worked for me. They always would fall out after a while.

--- End quote ---
Been using one for years with no problems - anyway,

--- Quote ---but would you buy something that cannot connect to your current computer if a perfectly good alternative exists that will connect (even though your main aim is to connect to an old PC that does have a PS/2 port)?

--- End quote ---
Well, for probably 85% plus of computer users, their current computer does have a PS/2 port, so the question is "Would you buy a product with a possibly higher performance interface that may be phased out in a few years over a product with a possibly lower performance interface that is likely to be available for quite a while?"  Everyone has to answer that for themselves.

--- Quote ---I doubt we'll ever get to the bottom of this.  :-\

--- End quote ---
Me too!!!

--- Quote ---To measure the timne from keypress to event in the PC, maybe you could build a testsetup where a scope measures the actuall keypress and then a program switches on a port on a parallel connector when it reads that keypress. Wouldn't that show how long the whole thing took?

--- End quote ---
Sounds feasible - especially with an encoder instead of a keyboard.  You might be adding additional time to the circuit by routing to the parallel port connector, but as long as that was a constant amount of added time it would cancel out.

The problem is it needs to be done impartially.  If Andy Warne does this and says it works faster in USB, it will be viewed as an attempt to discredit the KeyWiz.  And if RandyT says it works faster in PS/2, it will be viewed as an attempt to discredit the I-PAC.  And I don't think anyone else cares enough to be bothered setting it up.

--- Quote ---But then again, as you already mentioned, would it really matter? If the keypress if obviously registered quicker than I can manually detect (ik click on a button and I immediately see the kepress in notepad or something) would it really influence game play if there even was a difference?

--- End quote ---
That's another question I would like the answer to!

RandyT:


--- Quote from: patrickl on June 17, 2004, 09:56:10 am ---Ehm I said 2 to 5 years  (in two years hard to find and in 5 years virtually extinct) that's something different from 5+.

--- End quote ---

Well, since you are just speculating, and offered a range, I shot high.  The plus was my (and most likely others) opinion of the time frame.  I believe people are allowed by the cosmos to disagree with you.


--- Quote ---If anyone is homing in on meaningless points then it's you. I keep trying to get you back on the big issue, but you keep defending compeletely meaningless examples.

--- End quote ---

If providing a post outlining the fact that the PS/2 port uses a 6-pin mini-DIN is a "big issue" to you, you need to find more important things to think about.


--- Quote ---Unfortunately you often seem to miss the general point of my messages and you only seem to look for small details to pick on. So I just repeat the points again and let the misunderstandings slide (or at most give a slight hint).

--- End quote ---

Believe me, there are no misunderstandings about what you are saying, or doing for that matter.


--- Quote --- I like "meaningless" discussions like this, but I do like to keep things on track. I won't react to most of the sidetracking and misinterpretations you post.

--- End quote ---

Your wheels left the "track" so many times, I'm surprised you are still mobile.

But the fact is, you do react to small things you think you can get a foothold with, and ignore the true issues facing the tech industry as they try to abandon the past.  


--- Quote ---Only personal thing I did was highlight one of your examples. I described how meaningless it was to use exceptions like that as a rule to contradict a general trend.

--- End quote ---


Actually you are doing just that.  You cite your experiences with your own purchase of a computer and try to pass that off as a "trend".  Yet when I (and others) confront you with the fact that in spite of several year old documents from MS encouraging the demise of the "legacy" systems, major MoBo manufacturers have ignored and still are ignoring this because they fear loss of market share, you dismiss it.  Those, my friend, are "trends".


--- Quote ---I also felt I needed to show how far you stretch the definition to call something a PS/2 device. Instead of understanding those points you actually start defending a 0.00001% market share item as an obvious sign PS/2 is here to stay.

--- End quote ---

Just another instance of you putting words in my mouth in an attempt to distract from the larger issue and discredit my observations.  It added nothing to the substance of the discussion.


--- Quote ---
--- Quote ---How about taking on that issue of how you get people to buy into technology that 90% of average consumers don't need, rather than dancing around trying to save face?  Your entire argument hinges on this question.
--- End quote ---
I don't understand what you mean with this, but my point actually IS that (at least) 90% of the people don't need a PS/2 port on their PC so they won't care if it goes. I'm all for not paying for stuff I don't need.
--- End quote ---

Then let me try to explain it better.  A wise man once said "necessity is the mother of invention".  It's also the main driving factor of change.  If change is not necessary, it does not occur.  Another wise man said "Change is good. But change solely for the sake of change, is not."

By the time any of this becomes the slightest issue to PC buyers, there will be 6ghz or faster computer systems that will still have PS/2 ports on them.  Sure, maybe no-one will care at that point about PS/2, RS-232 or Parallel ports.  But what practical advantages will this system offer to the average computer buying consumer, that his 2 or 3ghz system (remember, still with the full complement of Legacy I/O ports) doesn't? What is going to drive the industry to completely "legacy free" systems?  What is it that will drive the need for even a 6ghz CPU in that fairly substantial market segment.  You have not answered these questions, because no-one currently has that answer.

Another important thing to consider is that the PS/2, Serial and Parallel ports are usually handled on one large "Super I/O" chip.  Therefore, it's very unlikely that you will see the loss of one without the others as well.  Seeing that each of those have their own dynamic in the marketplace, the picture gets even cloudier.


--- Quote ---Well you are right I did not add anything after my first few posts. But let me sum it up for ya:
1) PS/2 is obsolete (no function demands it's existence for the general public and newer alternatives exist)

--- End quote ---

Actually it still performs very well today doing exactly what it was designed to do.  In fact, when compared to it's USB counterpart, it's considered superior in a few ways.

Your conclusion is flawed because the foundation provided by your logic is weak.  Using your logic, every piece of hardware in virtually every piece of consumer electronics is "obsolete".  This doesn't support your argument.


--- Quote ---2) PS/2 is virtually solely used for keyboards and mice

--- End quote ---

And until it stops performing well for these devices, why change?  If you cited economic reasons for MoBo manufactures and OS providers, I might agree with you.  But technologically, there is no argument.

And of course, there are still those Joysticks and industrial devices you love to ignore.


--- Quote ---3) a new PC usually comes with a keyboard and mouse anyway (so the old PS/2 mouse and keyboard can stay with the old one it replaces)

--- End quote ---

And you know the really funny part about that?  It's pretty difficult to find a system integrator (not darling Compaq or Dell) that even offers a USB keyboard as a configuration option!  Just why is that?


--- Quote ---4) PS/2 is targeted for termination by the hardware and software manufacturers

--- End quote ---

That is true and Bin Laden is targetted for termination by the U.S Government too, but there are all these pesky extenuating circumstances that have to be taken into consideration.  

The hardware guys are manipulated by the market and the software guys are manipulated by the hardware guys.


--- Quote ---5) I have witnessed PC manufactures drop obsolete standards in a hurry over and over again (I bought a few PC's with a DIN keyboard connector and the next year when I needed one extra I couldn't find one anymore with that connector)

--- End quote ---

Why were you still looking for a system with that "obsolete" connector on it?  It seems so out of character for you to have done such a thing based on everything you said up to now.   :)

In any case, much of the technology has reached practical saturation levels.  You can't always base the future on the past, especially when it comes to the technology industry.  Look how long the Playstation has remained viable compared to the Genesis.  There's a lesson in there.


--- Quote ---6) I have witnessed that almost all past PS/2 devices are already migrated to USB (in fact the "PS/2" mice and keyboards I bought over the last few years actually need an adapter to connect to PS/2 and are really USB devices)

--- End quote ---

Actually, if you knew anything about the internals of those devices, you would know that they are dual-interface, not USB.  USB can't automagically speak PS/2 when you hook a piece of green plastic to it's connector.  Much effort went into making that device work the way it does, and those devices do not exist in the majority.  Most are one or the other.

Please define your interpretation of the word "migrated."


--- Quote ---7) I have witnessed the trend that PC's are starting to drop PS/2 ports right now

--- End quote ---

This is not evidenced by what is shown in the current offerings of every major MoBo manufacturer.  So I have to assume that you are lieing to prove your point, or you haven't witnessed much.  Which shall it be?


--- Quote ---Those seem pretty easy to understand points to me. They are all factual observations and hardly unsubstantial or rhetoric. Of course there is no hard evidence that these points will result in PS/2 going away rather qucikly, but it seems a very likely path.

--- End quote ---

It's not that I don't understand them, it's that I disagree with what I consider a flawed assessment of current market conditions.  And you are right, there is no "hard" evidence pointing in either direction.


--- Quote ---You on the other hand have claimed that PS/2 will never go away because you (and probably a few other people as well) own some old PS/2 connected devices (other than mice and keyboards) that you would like to keep using in the future and ...

--- End quote ---

Again, putting words in my mouth.  In the very post you are replying to, I stated "5+ years" as a prediction.  In one breath you consider that the "near future", but now it's "never" ?  Revisit that one when you make up your mind.


--- Quote ---ehm well that was it basically. Well, maybe your remark that PS/2 devices are still sold was meant as[ proof, but then most of them are USB devices at the same time as well.

--- End quote ---

There is much more being stated here, which you would know if you were actually paying attention instead of just trying to win an argument.  The fact that they are still being sold means that they are not "obsolete" as far as the marketplace is concerned.  And you are still woefully misinformed about the "most of them are USB devices at the same time" statement, as covered earlier.

RandyT

Pages: << < (13/21) > >>

Go to full version