It's actually quite easy to get the trackballs/touchpads/buttons running with a Serial to USB converter. Windows auto-recognizes most devices, even if it uses a generic driver instead of what may have been included with the keyboard... I had good results with a Chicony KB-5591.
No kidding! That's pretty cool. Having a good-sized trackball like that one—compared to the wimpy ones KBs usually have—would really be fun for paddle-type arcade games.
Does untested usually mean the seller didn't want to go through the hassle to test?
Sometimes. Or they didn't have a PS/2 connection. Or they did, but they were baffled by anything that wasn't USB.
Many of these high-volume sellers are much too busy to consider stopping to test individual used items, too.
Yes. And on a side note, this implies that you should be pretty suspicious of supposedly "untested" USB or PS/2 peripherals.
Well, this is in such nice shape, I'd really be surprised if it didn't work.
I don't think many eBay sellers are actively trying to cheat people. Certainly not one like this, who's sold 19,000+ items and has a nearly perfect 99.7% rating. (With a volume like that, you know the other 0.3% is the inevitable few crackpots who can't be pleased.)
This looks pad-printed, BTW, in case no one mentioned that. That said, I've always found pad printing lasts quite a long time if you wash your hands before you sit down to type. (Doesn't that seem like a decent idea with
any keyboard you like?) I've had many pad-printed boards over the years and, typing with clean hands, never saw the slightest amount of wear on any them. Dirt is abrasive.
