Keyboard/ Mouse Help!

Discussion in 'Mac Basics and Help' started by intempo808, Dec 17, 2007.

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  1. intempo808, Dec 17, 2007

    intempo808 macrumors regular

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2007
    #1
    Hey,
    I'm new to the world of Mac (not Apple, I'm a full-fledged iPod fanatic) and intend on buying a Mac Mini early to mid next year.

    Now currently I'm 15 and don't have masses of money, hence the Mac Mini and not the iMac, and i can't really afford to buy the nice Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse. But i have a perfectly good keyboard and mouse (which i am using now), however, it is a PC keyboard and mouse set, its wireless, it has all the keys like shift, CTRL, ALT and the windows key and finally it has one of those PS/2 connections on it, so I'm a little worried if it will work on Mac.

    I have found a PS/2 to USB converter on a website that i can buy from for a very cheap price, and it is apparently compatible with Mac OSX 8.0 and above. So I'm guessing it will work on Leopard. However, are these PC keyboards and mice going to work on Mac? They don't need any drivers or anything, so they should work straight off, but could someone put my mind and wallet at ease by shedding some light on keyboards and mice that work on Mac, but are used on PC's?

    Thanks in advance!
     
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  2. Fleetwood Mac, Dec 17, 2007

    Fleetwood Mac macrumors 65816

    Fleetwood Mac

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2006
    Location:
    Canada
    #2
    You're right; PS/2 keyboards and mice will not work with a Mac. The converters don't always work either, and probably won't be worth the effort on you're part.

    You can purchase nearly any USB keyboard and mouse combination though (Doesn't need to be for a Mac). You can find cheap ones at your local computer shop and save on the shipping.
     
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  3. MarkMS, Dec 17, 2007

    MarkMS macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2006
    #3
    Just as Fleetwood Mac said, just opt to get a USB keyboard/mouse combo. Some are relatively inexpensive ($30 or so) and if you can't find something that cheap at a local store, just give newegg or amazon a try.


    Also, keep a look out for Apple keyboards and mice in the MR Marketplace. :D
     
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  4. Big-TDI-Guy, Dec 17, 2007

    Big-TDI-Guy macrumors 68030

    Big-TDI-Guy

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2007
    #4
    For what its worth - I've had success using the USB to PS2 adapter.

    I used a generic - which died (I think from ESD)

    Then got a belkin, and used it for a long time. The only issue I had - was sometimes (and I believe this to be unique to my keyboard, not the adapter) but it would not initialize fast enough to hit the "alt" key on occasion. (which can be a pain with an intel mac when you're trying to boot into Windows or OSX)

    I eventually broke down and made my own USB keyboard.
     
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