Keyboard help 101 USB
A reaction which displays a lack of familiarity with normal survey processing back in the days of punched cards. Multipunching was the normal way of dealing with questions with multiple answers...
I have seen keyboards that support PS-2 and USB in a single package. They are supplied with a pbuttive adapter that simply re-routes the wires on the PS-2 connector to a USB A connector, along with some connections on the otherwise unused pins. On powerup, the keyboard tests the state of those pins to determine if the USB connector is installed, and if so, begins operating as a USB keyboard. Otherwise, it begins operating as a PS-2 keyboard.
In other words, a keyboard has to have been built to 1) recognize when the USB adapter is installed, and 2) behave differently when it detects this is the case. The smarts (and the USB interface) are all in the keyboard. Your old model M (or whatever it is) has no hope of working with a pbuttive connector designed for one of these keyboards.
An active adaptor is actually a small embedded system. It emulates a USB keyboard on one side and a PS-2 master on the other. The PC thinks a USB keyboard (or composite keyboard-mouse) is attached, while the keyboard thinks it is attached to an old standard PC. The smarts (and the USB interface) are in the adaptor.
Cramps is because there is no movement to relax and flex the muscles. As a typist I would splay my fingers occasionally. This is why I...
I have not seen pbuttive USB connectors sold separately from the keyboards, but I wouldn't be surprised if that has happened, as replacement pieces if nothing else. Without the special keyboard, these are as useless as the USB cables with the A connector on both ends.
HTH,
-=Dave -- Change is inevitable, progress is not.
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