If you work between several different machines at once or need to be able to use your keyboard and mouse on more than one computer, Synergy represents an easy and free solution.
Synergy works between computers independent of the operating system you use, so it's ideal for those working between PCs and Macs. It could be especially useful for a video editor who has two different machines for editing footage in the same studio.
Redirecting the mouse and keyboard simply involves moving your mouse off the edge of the screen. When you do this, it automatically transfers control to the other machine. It's also handy for cutting and pasting between different computers because it merges the clipboards into one. Your screensavers will also be synchronized so they start together and your screen-lock passwords will also work under one password for both screens.
Setting up Synergy simply requires that you identify the network name of the computer you'd like to share. Alternatively, you can opt to share your screen so that another Synergy user can connect to you instead. Of course to do all this, you'll need to have enabled 'TCP/IP networking' on your machine for which Synergy provides little guidance.
Overall though Synergy is a useful application for those who work on dual screens or multiple machines and don't want the confusion and clutter of another keyboard and mouse.
