This is by no means a new bit of software, but I’ve finally had a reason to use it, and I couldn’t be more blown away. Synergy (not to be confused with the iTunes control app by Wincent) is more or less a software-based KVM switch…except it’s not…and it’s cooler.
So where a KVM switch allows you to use a single mouse, keyboard, and display with multiple computers, Synergy allows you to use a single mouse and keyboard with multiple computers (and their connected screens). You may be asking yourself – as I was before I used it for myself – “why would that be at all useful?” Perhaps explaining my setup with Synergy will shed a bit more light.
At my office I place my closed Dell notebook in a docking station which has an attached LCD, keyboard, and mouse. On top of the docking station (and next to the LCD) is where my MacBook sits. It’s raised-up a bit, and a minor inconvenience to reach for the trackpad and keyboard, and thus my need for Synergy was realized.
So with Syngery in place, all I have to do is move my cursor from right to left – from my Dell’s LCD to my MacBook’s screen – and the keyboard and mouse that are hooked to my Dell now control my MacBook too! Seeing it in action and realizing just what it’s doing really is the icing on the cake.
So how does it achieve this VooDoo magic? The power of TCP/IP my friends. Each of the versions – OS X, Windows, and Linux – includes a server and a client app. In my case, I’m using the keyboard and mouse attached to the Dell, so it’s setup as my server, while the MacBook is set as the client. The tricky part is that the Mac client runs through the Terminal, so if you’re not comfortable working in the CLI, you may have to take a little more time getting it fully setup. But believe me when I tell you, that once it’s working, it will blow you away.
As far as geekiness goes, this one’s at an 11. I haven’t been this jazzed about a piece of software since Quicksilver changed my life, and we all know the significance of that! But Synergy is pretty niche in what it offers – either you’ve got a multi-system setup that would benefit from it, or you don’t.
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