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  3. Looking for Software Recommendations: Sharing a mouse/keyboard between PC/Mac

Looking for Software Recommendations: Sharing a mouse/keyboard between PC/Mac

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  • C CodeWraith

    Did he not write something like one computer being a PC and the other being a Mac?

    I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.

    D Offline
    D Offline
    Dan Neely
    wrote on last edited by
    #17

    Yes I did.

    Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

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    • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

      OriginalGriff wrote:

      not too sure how that would work

      It works as a master-slave service-ring... However in contrasts to the hardware solution you have to have separate monitors for each computer...

      Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.

      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriffO Offline
      OriginalGriff
      wrote on last edited by
      #18

      You can get KM switches which are a lot cheaper than the KVM versions, if you want separate monitors (which can help, and can be confusing, all at the same time!). I'd certainly prefer it to the software solution, if only because it'll work even if the master computer isn't switched on, or even working.

      Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
      "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

      Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • D Dan Neely

        For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

        Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

        J Offline
        J Offline
        Jorgen Andersson
        wrote on last edited by
        #19

        Use a virtual machine. :~

        Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

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        • D Dan Neely

          Yes I did.

          Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

          C Offline
          C Offline
          CodeWraith
          wrote on last edited by
          #20

          Oooops. :-) Sorry, I was distracted by the boss. He rambled about something he calls work.

          I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.

          D 1 Reply Last reply
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          • J Jorgen Andersson

            Use a virtual machine. :~

            Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

            D Offline
            D Offline
            Dan Neely
            wrote on last edited by
            #21

            A VM can't: 0) use the screen in my second laptop. 1) Be OSX on my PC. 2) Have access to all of my configured windows software on my PC if running on the mac. 3) Run acceptably fast as a windows VM on the old macbook I've got.

            Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

            OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
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            • R Ron Anders

              Stardock synergy?

              L Offline
              L Offline
              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #22

              Synergy - Mouse and Keyboard Sharing Software - Symless[^] Here is a link for the lazy among us... ;P

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              • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                You can get KM switches which are a lot cheaper than the KVM versions, if you want separate monitors (which can help, and can be confusing, all at the same time!). I'd certainly prefer it to the software solution, if only because it'll work even if the master computer isn't switched on, or even working.

                Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
                wrote on last edited by
                #23

                ...and a nice reliable cable solutions cost half of the price of the supported (not free) version of the software one...

                Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.

                "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

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                • C CodeWraith

                  Oooops. :-) Sorry, I was distracted by the boss. He rambled about something he calls work.

                  I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.

                  D Offline
                  D Offline
                  Dan Neely
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #24

                  Ugh, how rude. :rolleyes:

                  Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                  C 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • D Dan Neely

                    For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                    Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                    R Offline
                    R Offline
                    Ravi Bhavnani
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #25

                    Remote desktop? /ravi

                    My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

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                    • D Dan Neely

                      Ugh, how rude. :rolleyes:

                      Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      CodeWraith
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #26

                      Not really. A good boss was just what I needed after some really bad ones.

                      I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • D Dan Neely

                        A VM can't: 0) use the screen in my second laptop. 1) Be OSX on my PC. 2) Have access to all of my configured windows software on my PC if running on the mac. 3) Run acceptably fast as a windows VM on the old macbook I've got.

                        Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                        OriginalGriffO Offline
                        OriginalGriffO Offline
                        OriginalGriff
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #27

                        Well, if you're going to be picky ... :laugh:

                        Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
                        "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • D Dan Neely

                          For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                          Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                          S Offline
                          S Offline
                          S Douglas
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #28

                          I've used Synergy in the past, works well (Im now using Mouses without boarders from MS) [Synergy - Mouse and Keyboard Sharing Software - Symless](https://symless.com/synergy)


                          Common sense is admitting there is cause and effect and that you can exert some control over what you understand.

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                          • D Dan Neely

                            For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                            Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            Marc Clifton
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #29

                            As others have recommended, Synergy. Awesome product.

                            Latest Article - Code Review - What You Can Learn From a Single Line of Code Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802

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                            • D Dan Neely

                              For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                              Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

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                              K Offline
                              Kris Dekeyser
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #30

                              It's not free, but not expensive either: I have been using Synergy for years for exactly the same purpose. It now costs $19 for the basic version, which is probably what you want. The Pro version for $49 will get you also clipboard sharing (and a lot of other things which are still in development), but for the basic keyboard/mouse sharing the cheapest version should be fine. I believe they have a money-back guarantee too. If you really want to squeeze out the last penny, the source code for the core component is available on GitHub. You will have to compile the C++ code yourself and check out the docs and code to find out how to configure it. I would probably go with the 1.8.8 version in that case.

                              - Kris

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                              • D Dan Neely

                                For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                                Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                                R Offline
                                R Offline
                                R Steyn
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #31

                                Try Synergy

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                                • D Dan Neely

                                  For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                                  Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

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                                  W Offline
                                  whogotmyname
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #32

                                  Back in the day, I used "Synergy" for that. It worked then, but have not used it in years... AFAIK it still exists in a free version though.

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                                  • R Ron Anders

                                    Stardock synergy?

                                    A Offline
                                    A Offline
                                    Alister Morton
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #33

                                    I used Synergy some years ago to do exactly what the OP wants amongst Windows and Linux boxen. It was also supposed to work with Macs. Once you get used to it, you just mouse from one machine to the next without worrying where the input is going to. It worked really well.

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                                    • D Dan Neely

                                      For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                                      Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                                      J Offline
                                      J Offline
                                      j krzaczek
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #34

                                      You're looking for: Synergy - Mouse and Keyboard Sharing Software - Symless[^] I used it in ver.1 and was working well. Probably even better now.

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                                      • D Dan Neely

                                        For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                                        Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

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                                        B Offline
                                        Bag O Wind
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #35

                                        I have been working with both PC's and MAC's for several years. Every MAC comes loaded with a VNC server. Turn on remote access on your MAC and download a free VNC client. It's free

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                                        • D Dan Neely

                                          For my sins I'm currently splitting my working time between two computers but don't have room on my desk for 2 keyboards (and would rather just use one anyway); is there something - preferably free - I can install to share them between the two systems? It doesn't matter (much) if the keyboard and mouse are plugged into my windows laptop or the mac.

                                          Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

                                          M Offline
                                          M Offline
                                          Mr _Blank
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #36

                                          I've used synergy which worked quite well between different systems. They used to have a free version but doesn't look like they still do. Synergy - Mouse and Keyboard Sharing Software - Symless[^] Edit: didn't see all of the other replies saying the same thing...

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