Customer Reviews

Griffin 2001-ADB iMate/Universal ADB to USB adapter

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hey - IGNORE the dummy who left a bad review on this item, when he never bought or tried it (DUH!). I'm an Apple Mac tech, and after researching this item, I could see no reason why it wouldn't work with Mac OS 10.4 and my Intel Mac Mini. After all, OS X still supports generic ADB stuff. Asking it to support 3rd party ADB devices like Wacom tablets that require specific drivers is pressing your luck, but I figured my old ADB Datadesk Trackboard (combo keyboard & trackball) would work. Sure enough, I plugged it in and restarted, and without any drivers being installed it worked great. Even the power key works (a missing feature I really miss on the newer Apple keyboards). I'm running OS 10.4.11, and my old Trackboard is still doing the job. Thanks Griffin, and of course Apple!

I purchased one of these for use with an old ADB Apple Extended Keyboard, which along with the old IBM Model M is one of the more reknowned keyboards in history. If you want to use one of these classic keyboards with mechanical key switches on a Mac, you are pretty much restricted to the Apple Extended Keyboard due to the special Mac keys.

These classic keyboards can be had for a song on EBay, so even when combined with the cost of a Griffin iMate you are getting a great keyboard (which originally retailed at $199) for a great price. The keyboard works great with Leopard (and Windows too), and is plug and play with no software driver needed- the Panther and older compatibility is for other ADB devices that require the software driver.

Note- I do not have an Apple ADB mouse, so have not tested compatibility with those (would be useful if those work as well, since the Apple keyboard has an extra ADB port for a mouse.)

When we got my wife a new Mac a few years ago, we had to get an adapter to use her old ADB keyboard. (It's a $200 ergonomic keyboard, so an adapter was cheaper than a new one--and the anti-ergonomic keyboard Apple shipped with the Mac was not an option.) The one we got worked, most of the time, but it was a lot of hassle. We had to reinstall the drivers at least once; and it had a persistent problem that it kept hanging, or something, so that we had to unplug it and plug it back in again to reset it.

Then she moved to OS X, and the old adapter didn't work any more; no drivers for it. So, again, it was cheaper to get a new adapter than to get a new keyboard. This one turned out to be great: no flakiness, and it didn't need drivers; OS X just recognized it and it worked. It Just Works.

This review was written on an Apple Extended II Keyboard plugged into a Griffin iMate which is plugged into a MacBook Pro. It works fine, and no drivers are needed. For hardware other than keyboards or one-button mice, you're on your own.

I've used an older Alps keyboard for the Mac with the Griffin iMate, from a G4 thru my present MacBook Pro running 10.4.10; and it still works like a charm. Love my old keyboard, and I appreciate the Griffin iMate that allows me to use it.

I just discovered that an open source driver is available for this device, to allow it to work with devices other than mice and keyboards. it is called imate-osx. it is available at code dot google dot com slash p slash imate dash osx (url mangled to hopefully get it thru amazon filter)

I'm using two of them, with an Apple Extended Keyboard II (GREAT keyboard) and since my Pro Mouse started skittering, an old Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II i had in the back of a drawer!! Using an Intel MacBook Pro 2.16GHz intel core duo. Have not tried 10.6, but from what the Apple tech reviewer says in another review, I'm hopeful

This ADB to USB works perfectly for an old avid keyboard plugged into my 5 year old macbook pro. It didn't need any drivers or bs like that. You just plug it in and it goes thru a little mac set up thingy and then it works fine.

MAC OSX 10.6.8 with Apple Design keyboard. Keyboard does everything except turn computer (Mac mini) on. I am very happy I made this purchase; I was just about to order a new keyboard, now unnecessary.

I had a left over keyboard from a dead MAC II that I liked, but could never find a use for it with the newer technology until I found this device. I used it with my workstation and my laptop. Both worked without a problem.

When I attempted to add the old MAC II mouse, I ran into a small problem because it was a single button mouse and any click was interpreted as a right click rather than a left click. After unplugging the mouse and using the normal mouse, I had no problems with the use of the MAC II extended keyboard.

As mentioned in other reviews, the power on button will not work, but the Apple keys act as Windows keys, so there are other methods for shutting down a system without a mouse if you need it. So far I have been very happy with the iMate.