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A comment on Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by modeless on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @12:58AM (#35435269)
Oh yeah I have one of those no name brand USB switching hubs, they are great. Comes with several "illegal" USB-A male to male cables, which I find funny. If your monitor supports it you can also switch inputs from software, and you have a complete KVM setup without the ridiculously expensive KVM box.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by nicolaslem on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @03:37AM (#35436328)
Did you know that some monitors have built-in KVM nowadays? I discovered that recently and switched to one. Basically I can connect my laptop with a single USB-C cable for display/charging/peripherals and instantly switch to my desktop PC that is connected via HDMI + USB.

The fact that the monitor itself is responsible for display inputs removes all kind of problems that traditional KVM boxes have.

In theory the monitor could also switch headphones audio from one computer to the other, and it works, but the output quality is garbage. So I still have that cable to switch manually.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by modeless on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @03:51AM (#35436429)
Cool! I thought my monitor had this but I tried it and it didn't work. Good to know that some of them work.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by lotam on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @10:18AM (#35440028)
I have the same setup, with some speakers, and it works great. So happy with solution. I also use a DP instead of HDMI, so I can daisy-chain multiple monitors
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by moxli on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @05:47AM (#35437222)
I have the same setup and use the following software to send the switch signal to the monitor.

https://github.com/haimgel/display-switch

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with you... by quercusa on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @10:01AM (#35439764)
Learned about this on HN a few months ago. Less than 20 minutes to set it up with a cheapo USB KVM switch and it works great. I have a Model M keyboard plugged into a PS/2-USB adapter and the switches don't even confuse the keyboard.
[ Parent | on HN ]