#1 Yes er.... maybe.... sort of, depends on the actual pad(s).
I wouldn't do it this way, but some people suggested hacking apart a parallel cable and wiring the whole mess to one of those printer switches. They look something like the picture below. They used to be almost as ubiquitous as the USB hubs, but now they're more like dinosaur fossils. They're still around, but you gotta know where to look.
#2 Yeah, I guess so. There's different ways to attack this problem I guess. The switch box above would automagically resolve that problem.