Linkskey USB and Audio KVM Switch

Linkskey USB Plus Audio KVM

If you’re looking to use two computers with a single monitor, USB mouse and USB keyboard, you might want to check out the Linkskey USB KVM switch ($28 @ Newegg.com).

This unit includes built-in cables for the USB, VGA, speakers and microphone ports, making the overall setup clean and simple. Since I have two sets of speakers for my computers, I did not make use of the audio support, which is often the weakest feature in most KVM switches. However, my 19″ Samsung monitor, Saitek Eclipse USB keyboard and Microsoft USB mouse all work flawlessly with the device.

The only drawback to the device comes from one of my two workstations running Ubuntu Linux, which seems to not want to allow the KVM to detect the double-tap of the scroll-lock key for quick switching, but placing the KVM in a convenient place so that I can easily use the button on the unit itself to switch from computer to computer has made this of little inconvenience.

Is Creative Labs in Trouble?

Ars Technica has an article up about Creative’s current financial situation in which they point out that the company has $396 million of inventory for the quarter, a number that is up from $184 million last year.

According to one of the company’s own reports, their total sales for the quarter were US$305.4 million, which if I’m understanding correctly, means that they’ve got more than a full quarter’s worth of product sitting in inventory slowly depreciating in value.

I have to wonder, then, just how much of an impact the number of quality motherboards available now that include on-board sound is having on Creative’s bottom line. My only real evidence is anecdotal, but it seems like the more people I talk to, the more I hear are simply sticking with their “sounds good enough” on-board sound.

I also have to wonder if Creative’s ability to buy out potential competitors and shelve their technology is causing a downswing in add-on sound card interest. While this business tactic obviously makes them the biggest name in the field, it also means that there’s no real competition to drive news items or reviews to keep the community interested in new product.

In many ways, I believe the competition between AMD and Intel or Nvidia and ATI keep interest in all their new developments high among consumers.

Battlefield 2: 1GB or 2GB?

SA Forums member “Therapy” ran a few tests recently to discover how much of a difference 1 GB or 2GB of ram made when it comes to running Battlefield 2.

Battlefield 2 Performance With 1GB and 2GB of Ram

As you can see, there is a difference between the average frame rates that can be as much as 17%. While that may not seem like a large amount to justify the expense of an extra gigabyte of memory, consider that most reported problems that gamers are complaining about are due to their minimum frame rate numbers being low. While the average numbers may not show a large performance difference, having 2GB of ram will significantly increase your minimum frame rate, causing fewer instances of stuttering.