Phil801 - Geek Blog

Apparently I’m late coming to the game with this as it seems everyone already knows about it and is using it but…. I just installed Synergy and I LOVE IT!

Synergy is an Open Source software KVM - actually it’s more like a KM (KVM is Keyboard, Video, Mouse) in the past, I’ve used bulky annoying KVM switches and got fed up with them and their miles of cables. Synergy lets me get that functionality back without the cables or the switching.

If you’re still not sure what I’m talking about, let me break it down more. I’m using a desktop (with 2 monitors) and a laptop - and planning on adding another desktop with 2 monitors. With my current setup, if I was working on my desktop and wanted to do something on my laptop, I had to physically switch mouse and keyboard to the laptop. Synergy clears this up for me - now I can move my mouse all the way to the right of my desktop monitor and (my laptop is to my right) the mouse jumps to the right, onto my laptop. Let me say that again, when I move my mouse to the right of my desktop, it jumps over to my laptop on the right. The keyboard has also moved focus over to the laptop - when I type with the keyboard connected to my desktop, it types on my laptop!

If that’s confusing, here’s the simplest explanation - my mouse and keyboard work for both my desktop and my laptop by moving my mouse over to the right.

Synergy is powered by TCPIP - the setup is a little bit daunting at first if you install it, make sure you go to the install directory and open the toc.html file and click on the configuration intructions on the left. Once you get your screens mapped and connected, you’re good to go!

I have wanted something like this for so long, I can’t believe that it’s been out there and I didn’t know it! Thanks to Clint (sorry Clint, I don’t know where to link to for you) for telling me about it! Now when I get my new desktop, I’ll have my old desktop to the left with 2 screens, my new desktop in the center with 2 screens and my laptop to the right……Heaven!!!