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Background :.

My setup at home has for a long time been laptop and desktop. Previously, when at home, I would use my laptop while on the couch and I used it for basic tasks and it runs Linux, and occasionally use my desktop when I was doing 3D/2D editing or I needed to do something on windows XP. So I always used one or another, but never both at the same time.

Then at work, I was given a dual monitor setup and I started to crave the extra desktop space when I came home. Since I didn't want to pony out the extra cash for a second LCD, I just made do. On a recent trip to Providence, Edwin briefly showed me how he could move his mouse from his XP water cooled box to his new Powerbook. While I thought this is interesting, I was discouraged when he muttered something about it being really difficult to set up.

Installation :.

Being a long Sunday afternoon, I decided I would kill some time and set up Synergy on my machines. A quick search on google brought me to the Sourceforge page for Synergy. After quickly scanning the FAQ. I decided to download the App. The windows software comes in a ZIP File. For the Linux Software. I googled for an RPM that was built for my distribution. The search phrase "Fedora Synergy" will get you that link.

Windows Server:.

Installation on Windows was incredibly easy. I opened up the file called 'Install' This instructed me to unzip the folder into c:\program files\synergy. After Unzipping, I double clicked on Synergy.exe to bring up the GUI. From the GUI I was able to either set up the machine as a Server or as a Client. I decided to leave my desktop as a server, Which in retrospect seems like the best idea, because the Windows Server looks like the easiest to set up. All other Servers require editing text files.

I first added the name of my desktop machine to the list of monitors. I then added my laptop name to the list of monitors. For each monitor, you can specify the orientation of the other monitors in relation to that monitor. What seems logical to me is to have the mouse scroll to the left side of the screen to get to the desktop to the physical left, and vice versa. But you could set it up to have both monitors have the trigger border be the top of the screen to switch to the other monitor.

You can also tweak timout settings or a click before the mouse will jump desktops. You can also tweak the port the communication will go over and whether you want to start Synergy automatically as a system tray app or as a service. I chose to go with the service. Just in case.

Linux Client :.

At this point, you can install the client. Installing on the Linux Client was as easy as unpacking the RPM. After that, you can start the client from the command prompt. I set up an alias to kill the client and an alias to start up the client to make attaching and disconnecting easier without having tou remember any IP addresses or arguments.

Hook Up :.

After instlling the client, you can test the client Server Connection. You can initiate a test session on the server. After confirming connectivity, you can go ahead and start the server permanently.

The desktop app runs in the background and takes up about 3 megs of memory and 0 percent of cpu when the mouse is on the server. When you move the mouse to the client computer. It takes up to 20% of cpu. The transition from Server to Client is seemless and instantaneous. The control and typing is smooth and is no different from using a keyboard and mouse connected traditionally. Perhaps if you're a counterstrike junky you might notice some "lag", but I notice no lag at all.

Compatibility :.

So far I experience no compatibility issues with Windows or Linux. It has a cool feature to synchronize screensavers. As far as I know it seems like a smooth and well written app. My only feature request is drag and drop file transfers, which I hear is on the way.

Bottom Line :

For the Price, this app is definitely worth it. It takes minimal setup if you're using windows, a little more if you use only linux or a Mac. Definitely worth it if you have a laptop and a desktop or have several laptops. With wireless networking, its an easy way to not have a docking station or kvm switch. And its a great way to get a fake dual monitor setup. In fact I don't see why this wouldn't be able to scale to a 3 or more setup either. If someone has tried this. please let me know.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5