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I have been using Synergy for a few days now on my Windows 7 desktop (as server) and Macbook (client). Unfortunately, it seems to be buggy - often, the keyboard would stop working on the Mac to the point of forcing me to use the Macbook's keyboard. There are other weird problems as well.

Is there a better/proprietary alternative to Synergy? It should support both Windows and Mac. I'd be more than willing to pay for it if it would just work.

Edit: How is VNC/TeamViewer supposed to help? I'm not looking to merely access a remote desktop, I only want to share the keyboard/mouse with multiple computers (mac, windows) retaining their own display.

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Though this isn't really helpful, I use Synergy constantly between multiple Macs and Windows machines without issue - are you sure it's set up right? (Not that I had to do much setting up!) – Rich Bradshaw Nov 23 '10 at 19:19
Possible duplicate: Synergy (plus) Alternative – yhw42 Nov 25 '10 at 6:06
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5 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

I am beta testing http://www.share-mouse.com/ and it finally delivers what the Synergy promised for too long.

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But.. but.. does it support Mac? – Sridhar Ratnakumar Jan 29 '11 at 4:42
It does support Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac OSX "Snow Leopard" or "Lion" – villares Mar 9 at 13:54
That works pretty well -- Share Mouse is the first application like this that I've seen that really makes the setup completely painless. Thanks for the recommendation. Took me 30 seconds to setup 3 systems. – Andrew Flanagan Mar 16 at 16:09
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up vote 3 down vote

I used synergy+ last I needed this. But as an alternative I know there is this software, Multiplicity, from Stardock. I have never used it though, so I can't speak to its features, though it does look good from the website. Although it doesn't seem to support Mac at the moment, though you might want to contact them. They update their software fairly regularly, and may be working on that soon.

Some of its highlighted features:

  • Copy and Paste - Share your clipboard contents among your primary and secondary computers, including images!
  • File and Folder Copying - Easily transfer files or entire folders between computers! (Pro Version)
  • Hotkey Support - Multiplicity supports fast switching to the connected computers via configurable hotkeys and mouse buttons!
  • Fade/Darken Indicator - Multiplicity can fade or darken the non-focus computers, to further enhance navigation speed.
  • Onscreen Display - Multiplicity can be configured to display an onscreen indicator of your current location.
  • Locking - Support for locking your mouse to a specific desktop (configurable).
  • Security - Full password protection, and domain control internally.
  • Threshold Option - Full support for threshold control of mouse movement between machines.
  • Alternative Control Methods - Multiplicity supports various control methods, such as Jog Dials, and Spatial Controllers!
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I used to use Synergy when my job meant I needed three separate PCs. I was constantly frustrated by clipboard failures and the right-hand shift key not working in TS windows. When I moved to Synergy+, I found I no longer had these problems. Synergy and Synergy+ have now merged. – Adam Thompson May 24 at 2:11
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up vote 1 down vote

On Windows, start Synergy with Administrative Rights...solved all my problems for me.

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Some notes in addition: (1) setting AutoRun for Admin is tricky but possible; (2) Synergy saves settings per user, so it's easier to manually opy its config to Admin's profile once it's set up for the noremal user; and (3) Sometimes (v.1.3.8) it still hangs the mouse and keyboard which gets fixed with plugging them off and on (NOTE USB only; never try it with PS/2) – bytebuster 2 days ago
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up vote 0 down vote

The are various clients which use VNC to do what Synergy is doing. I used x2vnc to link from linux to windows. It should work just as well from max to Windows. Win2vnc is likely what you want.

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up vote 0 down vote

Check out this webpage from Alternativeto.com...it lists the (mostly) free alternatives to Maxivista...as good of a list as you're gonna get...

http://alternativeto.net/desktop/maxivista/

Also, check out QSynergy (better GUI) and Synergy+ (Although, now Synergy and Synergy+ have merged...

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