Synergy is a software application developed by Symless. It is used for sharing a keyboard and mouse between multiple computers, and is useful in situations where several PCs are used together, with a monitor connected to each, but are to be controlled by one user. The user needs only one keyboard and mouse on the desk — similar to a KVM switch without the video.
Partly open source and partly closed source, the open source components are released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which is free software. The first version of Synergy was created on May 13, 2001, by Chris Schoeneman and worked with the X Window System only. Synergy now supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems.
Once the program is installed, users can move the mouse "off" the side of their desktop on one computer, and the mouse pointer will appear on the desktop of another computer. Key presses will be delivered to whichever computer the mouse-pointer is located in. This makes it possible to control several machines as easily as if they were a single multi-monitor computer. The clipboard and even screensavers can be synchronized.
The program is implemented as a server which defines which screen-edges lead to which machines, and one or more clients, which connect to the server to offer the use of their desktops. The keyboard and mouse are connected to the server machine.
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Website | inputdirector.com |
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Website | symless.com |
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Release Date | 2001-05-13 |
Based on our record, Synergy seems to be a lot more popular than Input Director. While we know about 281 links to Synergy, we've tracked only 6 mentions of Input Director. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.
For the win8 tablet, I wanted to use it as an extra monitor but none of the normal options for doing it was working, so what I use now is Input Director. If you want to use multiple computers with dedicated screens per computer, this is the way! It allows you to control any of the running machines with the same mouse and keyboard by simply moving your mouse over to the corresponding screen. There are quite a few... Source: 10 months ago
If you are looking for a software solution, https://inputdirector.com/. Source: over 1 year ago
There are various software solutions (eg.: Input Directorbut using a proper hardware switch is most likely the better option. And there are always the remote desktop options…. Source: over 1 year ago
I have a 3 PC home setup, so, like you, I didn't need to worry about monitors for my switching solution. First off, I HIGHLY recommend Input Director (Windows only) or other software KVM for the keyboard and mouse. No hitting a button and waiting a couple of seconds, and you can even copy/paste text between the machines. Source: about 2 years ago
A friend recently gave me a box of their old hardware. It included an old Toshiba Encore 2 tablet running Windows 8.1. It's the first time I've used Windows on a ARM device, and it's been pretty amazingly usable. Not enough RAM or storage, but it has a single microSD card slot, at least. It works well for low-demand things. It's now mounted on a wall, running Media Monkey, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Pocket... Source: about 2 years ago
I use a software called Synergy. https://symless.com/synergy I have one keyboard and mouse connected to one "host" machine, and two machines connected as clients. Sometimes if the host machine bogs a bit (like running a build or something) then the clients will have some latency but I've used this setup for gaming and work for two years and it's been pretty good. My only complaint (about my personal setup, not the... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
I’ve been using a software solution for this for over a decade. It’s called Synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) and it is fast - switches instantly over wifi and also works across Windows/Mac/Linux. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
Synergy works well for this purely in software. Unfortunately it's not free or open source, but it's relatively inexpensive. https://symless.com/synergy. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
I want to be able to do things like Synergy, Steam Link, Unified Remote, and Media Servers between any of these devices, with as little added latency as possible (especially important for steam link). Source: 3 months ago
i've got several fedora linux machines running and sharing their monitors via synergy (https://symless.com/synergy) , all controlled by the keyboard/mouse on the primary synergy server. Source: 3 months ago
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