Sharing a mouse and keyboard between multiple computers

Its time I introduced you to a favorite little piece of software that I have been using for a long time. Its called Synergy. This little gem makes it possible to control multiple computers (with their own displays) with one keyboard and mouse, using nothing but your home network. My favorite application of this has to be pairing my work and home desktop with my laptop. At home I already have a dual monitor set-up, so Synergy only gives me a third screen, but at work (only having a single monitor) I don’t think I would be able to survive without it!

Another dandy feature is the ability to share a clipboard between PCs. Its a life saver being able to research something on my laptop while typing an e-mail, or the ability to read instructions and not have to minimize them. Oh, and did I mention Synergy supports a wide variety of OS’s? Just about any OS from windows 95 to Linux and even Mac (OS X 10.2 or higher). It even works on Vista (though the site may not specify Vista, I do run it on my laptop)

Many first time users may be a bit confused on how to configure Synergy, so be sure to check out the documentation before you run it.