Many of us have more than one device, maybe a laptop on the go and a desktop at home – or perhaps two desktops built for different purposes.
Either way, when you’re settled at your desk, managing your productivity between the two can be a nightmare. For that reason, many people invest in KVM switches. These can be prohibitively expensive though, and so the tinkerers among you will be no stranger to free software alternative, ‘Synergy’.
Microsoft has now released it’s own application into the foray though, as a part of the “Microsoft Garage” experimental/hobbyist project software builds. “Mouse Without Borders”, by Truong Do, an MS developer, is a long-awaited solution for some; an alternative to Synergy for others.
I’ve been a Synergy user myself, and just a couple of hours experimenting with MWB has led me to uninstall Synergy. The bugs and flaws that often presented themselves have not been present in Microsoft’s offering – and it supports drag and drop between PCs too.
What’s more, installation takes seconds, and even fewer clicks, to complete. As far as I’m concerned the only reason to choose Synergy would be for the multi-platform support, which it does well. Hopefully Mouse Without Borders will spur on development with Synergy, and similarly with MWB in order to gain cross-platform support in the near future.
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