[Cool toys] Synergy-- open source network KM sharing

I have two machines running at work-- a Dell desktop (SUSE Linux 10.1) and my Toshiba Protege tablet PC. The tablet sits on a docking station so that its LCD is right next to the desktop monitor. I've been sharing a single keyboard between them with a cheap PS/2 KVM switch for a year, but recently, the switch seemed to act up from time to time. Besides, I've deleted some important stuff by mistake, mea culpa, by forgetting to switch and typing into the wrong computer.

That's why I was delighted to discover a great open source package: Synergy. With Synergy, you can easily share your keyboard and mouse-- and your clipboard too, over a network connection. They have sharing clients and sharing servers for Win, OSX and X11(UNIX/Linux).

Setup took some time to figure out, especially on the Linux side. The configuration scripts were straightforward but took some reading of the documentation (all very good) on the Sourceforge page, to get it all just right. I also had to figure out how to punch a hole in the SUSE firewall. Setup on the Windows side was very simple b/c of the graphical interface they provide.

Once setup was over, everything worked perfectly. The switching is seamless-- you just move your mouse from one screen to the other as if you had a dual monitor setup. When run across my 10/100 firewall-router, there is absolutely no delay in keystrokes or mouse movements. The clipboard sharing is especially convenient, although it only carries plain text. The setup has performed pretty consistently all this week.

The only worry, I guess, is security. I'm hoping it's fairly safe since I'm local and behind a firewall... Aside from this worry, however, the only complaint I have is that I wish I had found this software earlier!