[ltp] PS2 Mouse, USB socket: any hope?

[Laurent Gilson]

Hello,

>> It depends on the mouse. It will work if it can talk USB. If the
>> mouse is not able to talk USB no PS2-USB adapter in the world will
>> help.
>
> EXPN "talk USB"?  ITYM "speak a PS/2ish protocol that the adapter can
> parse and convert into a USB HID stream".

The normal PS/2-to-USB thingies do not have any chip inside. They just  
reroute the signals. Or as dan puts it:

http://www.dansdata.com/imopt.htm :
"The Optical, like the other IntelliEye mouses, is also a dual-interface  
device - you can use it as a USB or a PS/2 mouse. The cable terminates in  
a USB plug, but you get a little green adaptor as well, that lets you use  
the older mouse interface if you like. Note that this adaptor is not a  
magic converter that can turn any USB mouse into a PS/2 one; the  
interfaces are quite different, and the mouse has the ability to output  
both kinds of signal. The adaptor just gives you the right kind of plug,  
and tells the mouse to switch to the other operating mode."

http://www.dansdata.com/logitech_mx.htm :
"They've got a USB plug on the end of their cable, but they come with an  
adapter to connect to PS/2. The adapter will only work with mouses that  
know, already, how to speak to both interfaces; don't expect to be able to  
use it to turn any USB mouse into a PS/2 one."

There were (very expensive and rare) adapters out there which really had a  
PS/2 parsing chip inside. The last i saw got over 60 US $ on eBay.

cu