Synergy: Coolest thing ever?
TechnologyMy brother just recently bought a new system, complete with two 22" widescreen flat panels. In his new set up he now has two pc's, two monitors, one keyboard one mouse. What is a man to do? (no KVM's allowed). Well, he installed Synergy.
synergy: [noun] a mutually advantageous conjunction of distinct elements
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).
Hearing about his successful installation and configuration\, I decided I needed to try this out on my own setup.
Here is the way it was:
- Generic Deskotp: Windows XP/Ubuntu 6.10 dual boot with two 20" CRT's, keyboard, mouse
- Dell XPS laptop: Ubuntu 7.04 using its own built in display, built in keyboard,usb mouse
Here is the way it is now:
- Generic desktop: Windows XP, one 20" CRT, keyboard, mouse
- Dell XPS laptop: Ubuntu 7.04, one 20" CRT (I control this one with the keyboard and mouse connected to the desktop)
Installation is very easy after you get an idea of what Synergy needs to know.
Installation/Config on Windows machine (server):
Download the .exe from Sourceforge, install it, and then go to the application launcher in your Start menu. This will bring up the configuration window.
Select the "Share this computer's keyboard and mouse (server)" radio button. This designates the desktop as the server for your synergy setup.
Click on the "Configure" button and add two screens: one for the name of your current machine, the other will be the name of the other machine.
Next, set up your Links. In my set up the desktop is to the left of the laptop. Don't forget to do the inverse as well...the laptop is to the right of the desktop.
I also chose to enable autostart for this machine. (there is an "AutoStart" button in the configuration window)
Installation/Config on Linux machine (client):
(This is so easy its crazy.)
First: sudo apt-get install synergy
Last: run this in a terminal synergyc ipAddressHere (for example synergyc 192.168.1.100)
Thats it! Isn't technology cool?
I have been using this for over a year now, and I LOVE it.
Thanks to Synergy, my work setup is currently using 3 screens and 3 different computers with a single wireless mouse and keyboard.
The monitors: 2 22" CRTs and my 17" widescreen laptop display.
The computers: Win 2000 generic desktop, Win XP generic desktop and my (docked) Win XP HP laptop.
I am getting a bit of eyestrain lately, and I think it is from going from the LCD on the laptop to the CRTs too much. I am thinking of swapping the CRTs for a couple 22" widescreen LCDs
Wonder if that's a good enough reason to justify another purchase...
Three machines, all three running a different OS, working with the same keyboard and mouse. First I ever heard of it, I was skeptical as to how well it would work.
From the first install to the latest, its easy as hell to set up and a fantastic tool to use.
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