I absolutely love my Toshiba Libretto 50CT, but it has one major flaw: there's no way to connect a mouse without a bulky (and rare) expansion dock. I've theorized two possible ways:
1: Solder in a PS/2 to USB Adapter
This would be an internal modification, where the PS/2 adapter would be soldered to the PS/2 pins for the expansion connector inside the machine, and then a wireless mouse receiver would be connected to the adapter. Someone has already done this, but they broke out a PS/2 connector on the outside of the machine. I am not interested in doing that to a relatively uncommon vintage laptop - I would like this modification to be internal-only, and hopefully reversible.
Challenges:
1. I can't determine how PS/2 to USB adapters actually work. Is the peripheral device (the mouse) responsible for speaking both USB or PS/2, or does the adapter actively translate between USB and PS/2 serial data? If it is the former, a wireless mouse receiver (such as for a Logitech) is unlikely to work, as it probably won't support PS/2 protocol in 2022.
2. Could I even fit a PS/2 to USB adapter + wireless mouse receiver inside the Libretto?
2: Pipe Serial Mouse Data Through the IrDA port
This one is admittedly very outlandish, and would require development work well beyond my capabilities. I thought I saw (but absolutely cannot find) a Cathode Ray Dude video where he piped serial mouse data across a 56k modem, which suggests that Windows 9x really doesn't care where the serial data comes from.
A Bluetooth mouse could possibly be paired to an ESP32, which would pick out or translate the right serial mouse data, and pipe it through the IrDA port. You'd have to power the ESP32 of course... but a 500 mAh Lithium-polymer battery would likely run it for hours. Just set it behind the Libretto and power it on... off you go.
Challenges:
1. I haven't validated that Windows 9x doesn't care which COM port serial mouse data can come from
2. There is significant hardware design to be done
3. There is significant software engineering to be done
4. There is a small pool of Toshiba Libretto users who would benefit from a device like this (although it should work with any device with an IrDA port)
3: Other Solutions
PCMCIA serial cards exist, but are very expensive (and block the PCMCIA port for storage, Wi-Fi, or other cards). USB PC Cards exist, but I can't find a USB 16-bit PCMCIA card (plus again, that consumes the only PCMCIA slot).
I'll leave it there for discussion!
1: Solder in a PS/2 to USB Adapter
This would be an internal modification, where the PS/2 adapter would be soldered to the PS/2 pins for the expansion connector inside the machine, and then a wireless mouse receiver would be connected to the adapter. Someone has already done this, but they broke out a PS/2 connector on the outside of the machine. I am not interested in doing that to a relatively uncommon vintage laptop - I would like this modification to be internal-only, and hopefully reversible.
Challenges:
1. I can't determine how PS/2 to USB adapters actually work. Is the peripheral device (the mouse) responsible for speaking both USB or PS/2, or does the adapter actively translate between USB and PS/2 serial data? If it is the former, a wireless mouse receiver (such as for a Logitech) is unlikely to work, as it probably won't support PS/2 protocol in 2022.
2. Could I even fit a PS/2 to USB adapter + wireless mouse receiver inside the Libretto?
2: Pipe Serial Mouse Data Through the IrDA port
This one is admittedly very outlandish, and would require development work well beyond my capabilities. I thought I saw (but absolutely cannot find) a Cathode Ray Dude video where he piped serial mouse data across a 56k modem, which suggests that Windows 9x really doesn't care where the serial data comes from.
A Bluetooth mouse could possibly be paired to an ESP32, which would pick out or translate the right serial mouse data, and pipe it through the IrDA port. You'd have to power the ESP32 of course... but a 500 mAh Lithium-polymer battery would likely run it for hours. Just set it behind the Libretto and power it on... off you go.
Challenges:
1. I haven't validated that Windows 9x doesn't care which COM port serial mouse data can come from
2. There is significant hardware design to be done
3. There is significant software engineering to be done
4. There is a small pool of Toshiba Libretto users who would benefit from a device like this (although it should work with any device with an IrDA port)
3: Other Solutions
PCMCIA serial cards exist, but are very expensive (and block the PCMCIA port for storage, Wi-Fi, or other cards). USB PC Cards exist, but I can't find a USB 16-bit PCMCIA card (plus again, that consumes the only PCMCIA slot).
I'll leave it there for discussion!
