For as long as I can remember, I have always had multiple computers on that I use simotaneously.  With multiple computers sitting on the same desk, I have always had a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse.  Unfortunately, the tray under my desk only has room for a single keyboard and mouse.  This means that I often clutter my desk unnecessarily with an extra keyboard and mouse.

Another unfortunate fact is that I have tendinitis in both of my wrists.  Putting my hands on the keyboard and mouse that sits on the top of the main desk really hurts my wrist and hand to the point where I can’t bear the pain.  This pain has triggered me to find alternative solutions to using the same keyboard and mouse that sits where I can easily use them without the pain.

One of my best solutions up until today has been using a KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) switch.  This essentially connects many physical computers to the same KVM.  This works fine on a single monitor setup when I only need one screen at one given time.  What happens when I need to have access to several monitors at once when I’m trying to read something and work on it at the same time?  There simply isn’t enough room on a single 17″ monitor!

Today I needed a better solution and I knew that there must be a way to transfer keyboard and mouse data over a network or the internet to another computer to make a dual monitor setup using multiple physical computer boxes.

A dual monitor setup wouldn’t work, this is because I only have a single monitor and a laptop.  I also like having multiple operating systems.  Windows is great because it has the ability to run all of the apps I use including Trillian, Internet Explorer (for Exchange email), and Adobe Photoshop.  I like Linux too because it has the ability to make remote administration really easy, plus I have to admit I miss not having a command line to control my computer.  If I don’t have to use my mouse, I prefer not to because I can type much faster than I can read and click.

With all of my constraints, I have a Ubuntu Linux desktop and a Windows 7 laptop that I wanted to combine a single keyboard and mouse to.  Using synergy and a little energy, I was able to easily make my single keyboard and mouse control both computers just like a dual monitor setup.  Although I can’t drag windows from one computer to another, I don’t really have a problem.  This has given me the ability to keep my Windows apps up and running while I can use Ubuntu happily.

If you need to control two computers with a single mouse and keyboard, I recommend synergy.  It will take a little work to get it set up and I found I needed it on a private network, but it is well worth the time to make it work.  It is really cool and easy to use multiple computers on my desk now and it doesn’t hurt my wrists!

Tags: computer, keyboard, kvm, mouse, synergy
Posted in Technology