* * * * *

       The only thing you can't do is move windows between the screens

[Three computers, three screens, one keyboard and one mouse] [1]


> 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).
>
> Redirecting the mouse and keyboard is as simple as moving the mouse off the
> edge of your screen. Synergy also merges the clipboards of all the systems
> into one, allowing cut-and-paste between systems. Furthermore, it
> synchronizes screen savers so they all start and stop together and, if
> screen locking is enabled, only one screen requires a password to unlock
> them all. Learn more [2] about how it works.
>

“Synergy [3]”

Synergy [4] is a neat program if you have multiple computers at your desk
(plus they need to be networked).

It's also easy to configure. All I needed to configure Synergy (which is run
on each computer) was:

> #
> # See that picture above?  On the left is my laptop,
> # blackbox.  To its right is the monitor for my main
> # Linux desktop computer, lucy.  And to the right of
> # lucy is the monitor for marvin, my Mac Mini.
> #
> # This configuration maps the spatial layout of the
> # computers to allow Synergy to move the keyboard/mouse
> # about the three computers.
> #
>
> section: screens
>         lucy:
>         blackbox:
>         marvin:
> end
>
> section: links
>         lucy:
>                 left  = blackbox
>                 right = marvin
>         blackbox:
>                 right = lucy
>         marvin:
>                 left = lucy
> end
>
> section: aliases
>         lucy:
>                 lucy.roswell.conman.org
>         blackbox:
>                 blackbox.roswell.area51
>         marvin:
>                 marvin.roswell.area51
>                 Sean-Conners-Computer.local
>
> end
>

There's more that I could configure (even remap the keys on the keyboard) but
what I have above works just fine, and man, it sure beats having to hit
ScrollLock-ScrollLock-0-1 or ScrollLock-ScrollLock-0-2 to switch computers.
And the cut-and-paste between systems is just icing on the cake.

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2009/06/15/setup.jpg
[2] http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/about.html
[3] http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/home.html
[4] http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

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