06.01.07
Synergy: multiple PCs and displays, one keyboard and mouse.
I have two PCs right next to each other, each with their own display. One runs Windows XP Professional, and the other runs Ubuntu Feisty Fawn. I have one keyboard between the two of them. KVM? Nah, that’s too passe. Far better to be able to switch between computers just by moving the mouse.
Synergy describes itself like so:
Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It’s intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s).
This is actually really cool. It’s almost like having a really large display, as the mouse flows between all windows. I type on my Ubuntu desktop, then switch over to a Windows application on a different monitor by moving the mouse. The two computers share an “edge”, so my mouse moves seamlessly between them. To type on Windows, I mouse to the Windows side; to type on Ubuntu, I mouse to the Ubuntu side. Simple and effective. What’s even cooler is that the machines share the clipboard buffer! I can copy text on one side, mouse over to the right side, and paste it.
Configuration
Configuration is simple. Select one machine as your “server”, which has the actual keyboard and mouse you want to use. Other machines are “clients”, and connect to the server. In my case, I set up my Ubuntu PC as my server, and set up my Windows machine as a client. It could have been the other way.
Interestingly enough, it’s slightly easier to configure the “server” on Linux, if you use “quicksynergy”. This allows you to just specify where the other client computers are. Just fire it up, tell it that a client’s display is left / right / above / below your existing display, hit Start, and you’re off to the races. You can also manually configure it, but that just doesn’t seem fun.
Configuring the server on Windows is a bit more complicated, but quite a bit more extensible as a result. You specify which clients share an edge, but have to specify it both ways — e.g., if you say a computer A’s display is to the right of computer B’s display, you must also say computer B’s display is to the left of computer A’s display, or you’ll end up with a one way transport.
As far as client configuration goes, all you need to know is the hostname or IP address of the server. Provide the client names to the server to allow connection, and you’re all set.
Compatibility
Mac has something similar, called Teleport, which actually works better, but only works on Macs. I don’t think Teleport and Synergy are compatible. While there is a Mac version of Synergy available, it’s not fully supported yet. Synergy works on most modern versions of Linux, as well as most versions of Windows, though it has this caveat for Vista: “…when an application running with elevated [privileges] is focused Synergy stops working.”
Conclusion
If you use multiple PCs on one desk, Synergy is a no brainer. Get it, install it, and simplify your keyboard and mouse situation. Also, since most modern keyboards and mice are now shipping as USB, you may find that KVM switches don’t work, as they are often powered off PS/2 devices. Synergy sidesteps that issue completely. Besides which, having a shared copy / paste buffer between PCs is amazing — try doing that with a KVM switch!