Unfortunately, the magazines that have been recommending these products haven't been doing their research. You must investigate all the specifications, and you must also read the entire manual before buying. Someone might have noticed that the firmware update feature on the Omniview isn't well documented. Then, there must be testing of all the features with multiple operating systems; and clearly, those recomending these products have failed to do this.

Linksys (the best) and IOGear are clearly better products than this one.

Just a warning from an experience with the DVI version (Rating: 1.00)
Review : I'm extremely unhappy with the Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM DVI Switch with Audio. I'm sure most of this applies for the VGA version

1) It is nearly impossible to connect a cable to the console DVI Connector. Belkin had to overnight a special extender to connect the monitor DVI cable to the KVM.
2) Connecting the Power Adapter to the KVM blocks one of the peripheral USB ports.
3) It's absolutely impossible to put on the cover (i.e. cable management cover) if you connect the four (Belkin) cables to it.
4) Connecting only two PCs with a resolution of 1600x1200 to the KVM resulted in green shadows for one connection. (both NVidia cards GeForce 4 (4200 series) and a Geforce 5 (5200 series)
5) The Microsoft Wireless Keyboard doesn't work as stated in the manual. I did manage to plug in the wireless dongle connector to the USB mouse port on the KVM but now I can't use the hotkeys to switch between computers. Belkin has also indicated that wireless keyboards don't always work as stated in the manual

6) There isn't a FAQ or software/firmware upgrade listed for this device. I would recommend checking out the belkin support pages or lack there of.

The switch that doesn't (Rating: 2.00)
Review : I'm pretty dissatisfied with the 2 KVM switches I've used so far. This (the Belkin OmniView) is the second one. An IOGear was my first and it suffered primarily from a problem where it masked the true identify of my mouse and keyboard (it only offered "standardized" versions of both to attached systems). They both barely perform the basics.

What's wrong with this unit?

1. It's not trustworthy. It will sometimes lose contact with my mouse, keyboard or both switching between systems.

2. Following the directions to remedy the problems makes the value of this KVM much smaller. Belkin asks you not to use any additional software related to your mouse or keyboard. I'm trying this without success on the mouse and haven't tried it on the keyboard. The major bummer here? I won't be able to use the handy media, Internet, and email features provided on my keyboard. I will say that a Belkin 8-port KVM I have in the office works great with my Microsoft keyboard (including the extra buttons for media/etc.). However, I need this to work with other brands as well (I remotely suspect that wireless keyboards, my primary focus, are even more troublesome since the transmitters don't like losing power when switching systems).

3. Belkin doesn't support today's more enhanced keyboards and mice (I've tried Logitech's and one other brand). The keyboard manufacturers likewise don't support KVMs. What a kroc!

If you can avoid KVMs, do. Try using Windows XP's Remote Desktop feature, creative keyboard/mouse placement and/or just using the handy multi-input features of most newer monitors.

Solid KVM Switch With Audio (Rating: 4.00)
Review : I bought this over a year ago, and am very pleased with it.

It was easy to set up, and works well with all my Windows XP Pro boxes. Switching between PCs is fast enough, with only about a second delay (typical of KVMs in general) to restore the mouse pointer. Once locked to a particular PC, the KVM is very stable. I've had no problems with either the video display or keyboard/mouse functionality on any of my Windows-based systems and can play games as well as perform all normal office-type tasks with no noticable performance degradation.

The only issue I have is with losing mouse control when switching to my Red Hat 9.0 server running X (not a big deal since I primarily access the terminal from the command line on remote anyway). There is no issue when I boot up the Linux box and use the KVM without switching to another workstation. I suspect the problem may be fixable, but it has never been enough of an issue for me to pursue it, given my needs.

The unit has the unique ability to support stereo audio as well as firmware upgrades. In addition, the cable management is cleverly built in to the sleek housing as opposed to completely exposed as in most square footprint KVMs, thus saving a small amount of desktop space.

Overall, in my experience, the Omniview has been a good KVM for the money.

Pros:

Supports Audio switching
Unique cable management design
Supports most common and higher-end video resolutions
No noticable performance loss with games or everyday tasks
Upgradable firmware

Cons:

Sketchy support for non-Windows OSes (though I haven't yet upgraded the firmware)
Does not support 5.1 channel audio
Requires specific type of KVM cable (male male)
cable management design can be limiting

Truly frustrating! (Rating: 2.00)
Review : Like a '54 XK120, this thing is beautifully styled, and utterly unreliable. It randomly loses connectivity to both my Intellimouse, and my MS USB keyboard. 30 - 90 secondes go by and then it reconnects, sometimes to redisconnect within seconds, sometimes it'll stay connected for half an hour at a time. Weirdly, it seems to maintain connectivity to the Monitor - though often as a generic display rather than as a flat panel Samsung. I used an IOGear two port KVM successfully until I got the third machine going, but I got sucked in by the style. my mistake! I give it 0 stars for performance, 4 stars for style, average, 2 stars.