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Synergy Virtual KVM

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wraith808:
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-to-configure-synergy-in-six-steps/

This tutorial is the one that I used.  I gave up on it after I spent the time to get it set up- it worked for a week, then I took my laptop home from work and when I came back, it didn't work.  I went through this a few times, and finally found Multiplicity and ditched Synergy.

Note: I did remember why I used Synergy for as long as I did - Multiplicity isn't cross platform, but ShareMouse is.  But the problem with ShareMouse is the pricing - you pay per computer that you use. :down:  You might want to give Synergy more of a try.  :-[

Renegade:
So far the laggy mouse it tolerable, but barely. I don't use my Mac all that much, so we'll see. If it costs me more than $50 in sanity, I'll get one of the others.

But thanks for the suggestions. I only need it on my desktop, so my laptop isn't a concern for now.

clean:
ShareMouse not good. It's from Bartels, so please see any thread world-wide where some of Bartels' products is treated, Bartels himself quickly intervenes, and in a way you won't believe your eyes. Btw, I tried ShareMouse, got a problem with it, kindly requested their opinion about it, and never got a reply. Furthermore, it's about 30 dollars plus VAT PER COMPUTER, well, for "power users", but then, almost anybody is a power user, right? I, for example, have a 10-years-old (and never updated) software by Adobe on my pc, which makes me a "power user", which means, I can "try" ShareMouse for 10 minutes (!).

So I use MouseWithoutBorders from Microsoft, which is free, even for "power users". Bartels even set up a special page within his site where he lists the "advantages" of his product over MWB, but you can resume that by "SM allows for multiple files to be copied together, and anywhere, between your two pc's, whilst MWB only allows for one such file at a time, and to be copied into a pre-determined folder". Here, you must know that both programs only work if your pc's are connected within / as a network, which means any file manager will do for as many copies and moves as you like, i.e. you don't need MWB or SM for such operations anyway. (He also claims that SM works with multiple pc's, but then, be aware that every pc for SM (and MWB) must have its own screen, and I suppose that's not what you want when you really want to command 10 pc's with one mouse and one kb.)

I would like to add that both progs, in spite of their names, are virtual "KVM" 's for your mouse (of course), AND for your keyboard, but not for any other, additional input devices you might have. For those, you need a traditional KVM, and indeed, I tried one of the more expensive ones, and nethertheless had lotsa problems with it, and on top of that, it contained a physical switch relais in its housing, clic, clic, clic for every switch, whilst from the description, I had thought that it was fully electronic. So I also mused about the possible life span of such a system, and returned it to the vendor.

So, if you don't need to connect a Mac, MouseWithoutBorders works as expected, just disable "Switch to All PC Mode" in the options - that option which is on by default can act as a bug making you lose data (that option on, you could find yourself in a situation where no mouse, no keyboard works anymore on any of your comps, so you'll have to restart them, losing all unsaved data then, but again, it's all about that option - people not aware of this could think this prog is total crap, which it is not al all, so beware of changing the option first)), but after disabling it, I did not encounter any more problems. So no need to enrich the incredible Mr. Bartels. (The same goes for his text expander - why not use AutoHotkey instead, which is free instead of costing 160 bucks.)

I had bought the thing for SOME real 2-comps uses only, but for frequent 2-comps-for-2-screens use since my notebooks don't allow for two EXTERNAL screens. So I ended up with using MWB in these cases, where I really need the second comp, but bought one of those USB-to-DVI adapters (with additional adapter to VGA), but one of the more expensive ones, with an internal and additional 128 M of memory (about 80 bucks), in order to be able to run TWO screens with ONE notebook, at last, and I am VERY PLEASED with this arrangement. It's only the mouse in mouse-heavy applications (IE8), on the second screen (and with an old notebook) that is not really fluent, so I use my primary screen for such applications, but for most applications I use, I do NOT see any difference between first (native VGA) and secondary (VGA by DVI by USB) screen, and this arrangement is SO GOOD that I now always have both screens on with my primary notebook, and, in case, a third screen, with MWB, with a second notebook whenever needed.

So please consider such an arrangement whenever possible, it's much more smooth working than with two different comps. And with modern notebooks, remember to check if they are able to serve two EXTERNAL screens at the same time, since just ONE such external screen, plus the usual notebook screen itself, means that the notebook itself, together with its keyboard, will get into your way - that's the most horrible work arrangement in my opinion.

40hz:
Life is too short for some things. I finally gave up and sprung for TeamViewer a while ago. I could never get Synergy KVM to work reliably or acceptably. There were always bad surprises on the rare occasions I could get it to work at all.

Renegade:
ShareMouse not good. It's from Bartels, so please see any thread world-wide where some of Bartels' products is treated, Bartels himself quickly intervenes, and in a way you won't believe your eyes.
-clean (November 02, 2012, 11:01 AM)
--- End quote ---

I've read a few threads like that with him jumping in. I've also seen ugliness on both sides. But yeah - they tend to get really nasty really quickly.

There was a thread in the ASP newsgroups with someone complaining about him. That didn't go well. I pointed to a thread outside the ASP, and promptly had the SAA (Sergeant at arms) jump on me for it -- I didn't renew my membership after that.

Life is too short for some things. I finally gave up and sprung for TeamViewer a while ago. I could never get Synergy KVM to work reliably or acceptably. There were always bad surprises on the rare occasions I could get it to work at all.
-40hz (November 02, 2012, 03:53 PM)
--- End quote ---

It seems to be going ok for me. Laggy mouse, but so far, so good.

Does TeamViewer let you do that? I thought it was for remote control.

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