The days before USB keyboards and mouse..

26 Comments

  1. LightyLittleDust

    Oof. I remember this.

    I’ve been using both mices & keyboards with this connector.

    God, I’m ancient…

  2. GuNNzA69

    I still have a keyboard with a PS2 connector

  3. Lead-II-Acetate

    I hate these a lot. From my childhood.

  4. DneSepoh

    The worst was when cable broke a bit, so when it moved it would disconnect. Restarting PC it is.

  5. louiscools2005

    I remember those days. I think I still have a few mice and keyboards stored away that use PS2 connections.

  6. “How old are you?”

    Me: about this old – points to IBM Model M keyboard on desk

  7. My first was the AT connector which had 5 pins for the keyboard. The mouse was serial. Later I had the 6 pin PS2 connector like these.
    One thing I always hated was if it came loose while using the computer you had to reboot, plugging it back in wouldn’t work.

  8. ohthedarside

    From what ive heard about those i am extremely happy i am young enough to wear ive always used usb

  9. I had PS2!

    Oh, I love the playstation 2!

    No… I had PS2 for peripherals…

  10. The_Real_Black

    we called that the small connector back then. Was fancy to get a keyboard with the new plug.

  11. HankThrill69420

    How old are you?

    “PS2”

    Oh that’s not that old my brother had one of tho-

    “No, not that PS2.”

  12. tetsu_no_usagi

    I remember going into Microcenter back in the late 90s looking for a PS2 to USB connector (holy shit! I still have one in my desk! and back in it goes, ’cause it’s not like I need one these days), and one of the idiots working the floor told me no such thing existed. It was even more embarrassing because I had brought one with me to make sure I got the right one, but he stuck to his guns when I pulled it out of my pocket. Idiots…

  13. I thought that was a cassette then my old eyes focused properly.

  14. Oreo_McFurry

    I wasn’t exactly old, but my first pc was from 2005 and couldn’t even use internet and used both of those. I found it in my family’s garage. Now I’m 17 and thankfully don’t have to search for those keyboards and mice ever again

  15. Lente_ui

    These PS/2 ports became standard around the same time that USB became standard. The PS/2 port is older though. But before it, the DIN conneoctor was the standard keyboard connector, and a mouse was a serial device connected to a serial port, with a driver loaded with the autoexec.bat file.

    PS/2 ports are still made, still in use. Though the last 10 years or so they have really gone into decline. Why has this port stuck around? Why has it not been completely replaced by USB? Because it’s driverless, and it’s on an interrupt. A USB port is being polled. That means, every interval your PC needs to check if there’s any new information from the keyboard or the mouse to be found. That means the driver is running and constantly checking. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
    Not so with the PS/2 port. They are native and the keyboard runs without a driver. It’s on an interrupt. On every keystroke, your keyboard tells the CPU to stop whatever it’s doing and take care of the key you pressed. Which is a lot faster and efficient. Some gamers are really into that low latency stuff, and others like the low overhead stuff, so the port has survived.

  16. We still have the track ball at my work. Use it on the daily.

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