PS/2 to USB Connection? Is there a cure? Come with me..

PS/2 to USB Connector – 11/6/08

A bridge between the dark ages of personal computers and today.
(Or how I reinvented the wheel, again.)

Upon receiving and setting up the latest of the newest Personal Computers, a customized one, I found that the included keyboard and mouse combination (Logitech) did not suit me. The pointer (mouse) was OK but I preferred the keyboard that had come with one or another of the disgraced and disgraceful Gateway off-the-shelf PCs that had failed us. Part of the problem I had with the keyboard was the completely flat key layout.
I was taught to type by touch away back in the dark ages, on manual typewriters that had no characters on the keys. For me, the rows need to be arranged in a 'stair step' manner and the very flats of the fingers brush each step on the way to the top (4th) row.
Now the new PC I ordered came with 8 USB ports: six out back and 2 up front.
(I don't count audio and telephone ports as PC oriented. My request for a modem brought hoots of disbelief and condescension from the Tech who did the assembly. For, you have to comprehend, that effete individual, has access to DSL and other high-speed service sissy stuff; we are still on Dial-Up).

THE (Physical) PROBLEM

My desk is a wonder of fancy modular cabinetry with holes in most corners and the keyboard tray is a built-in wonder. Routing the mouse and keyboard cables requires a dive into the labyrinthine cupboard area below my knees; out the back, along the gap between the desk and the house wall, up to the PC port. It is awkward and bumps and contusions occur. Progress is measured by the quarter inch and I find that the English Language is Very Helpful with its endless supply of words to keep me company. It is like pushing a car up a hill with a rope. So, after the usual banging and yanking and wishing I had a different hobbying; I arrived at the end of the cable.
HEY! WHERE THE DEVIL IS THE PS/2 PORT?

THE SOLUTION?

The very concept of an adapter was foreign to me; surely the world is being purified from such mismatches. Try as I would, the round plug from the keyboard would not fit into that stupid rectangular hole!
Why ME? WHY DIDN'T SOMEBODY WARN ME? WELL? My wonderful partner, wondering about the drumming of my toes on the floor, brought a bucket of water but I ducked. We had to go in to town; where two Radio Shacks lurk. Here was once a haven for Pre-Geeks and I ran in to see if they had something for me. They did. There in an expensive bubble package was the loveliest thing I have seen; an itty bitty piece of wire with a PS/2 Port on one end and a USB (A) plug on the other.

Overwhelmed by gratitude, I inquired about whether or not I was qualified to buy one.
“Well, your blood type is probably wrong but we'll consider an offer.” “How about $3 ?”
“How about getting outta here, wisenheimer!”
“Can you break a TEN?”

Hysterical now, the clerk suddenly got an ugly look in her eye and I gave her my wallet. She fished out a Twenty, scowled at me for not having exact change, and gave me a receipt.
9-1-1 TIME!
 
--- $17.23 with tax.

I rushed home with my prize and it worked. I was happy until I started thinking; Hey, I can buy a keyboard for that much. Or, at least, a pair of donkey ears; it is Halloween. Too late. Another monument to my lack of adapterbility.

EPILOGUE

IT'S OVER? NO, IT AIN'T OVER 'TILL IT'S ALL OVER Suppose somebody else had thought of this quandary? Do you suppose somebody else had perceived this need? How would I review this triumph? Could the Internet be Helpful? Maybe Epinions could be of use. No, not really. Their part is different. I remembered Belkin and I discovered the wonderful world of cables and cable adapters. There, before my bleary eyes, was a display of HUNDREDS of adapters. Nothing mankind could invent to differentiate connections from one component to another cannot be solved by a determined company like Belkin or Pinnacle. After a long search and trying to figure out what the devil this thing was (Nomenclature is important, you know.) I found out that I could not find the Radio Shack part number nor the part itself.
What I did find was an adapter that could change BOTH PS/2 (i.e. Mouse & Keyboard) connections to ONE USB plug (and save a USB port).
Mine was an Idiot's Special made by Belkin for Radio Shack. The price for the 'double' solution was about $8.00 if purchased on line.

I had had my clock cleaned but good.

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Note: The real winners of the California Gold Rush were the purveyors of groceries & gravel. Here, it is clear, the follow-up or 'after Market' service groups are cleaning up while PC Manufacturers are going out of business.