alt Hacker NewsMagic Switch: Share Apple Magic keyboard/track-pad/mouse between two Macs
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Fwiw, this has been helpful for a couple decades now:
https://symless.com/synergy/features
Given that even a corp Mac can now (policy permitting) allow a personal AppleID along with the corporate login, it's easy enough to do the same with just native OS controls even with 2 logins. Something magical about opening an iPad next to a MacBook and pushing the cursor across ... or, alternatively, wirelessly (or USB-C) making the iPad an extended screen.
But Synergy remains great.
If free is your bag instead of supporting the nominal cost:
https://github.com/deskflow/deskflow
They explain this here:
https://symless.com/synergy/blog/how-to-use-synergy-for-free
Very useful tool. I’m using this in combination with BetterDisplay to switch between my personal and work laptop.
I have both hooked up to 2 monitors. A shortcut triggers MagicSwitch to switch my keyboard and mouse to the other machine, while it uses BetterDisplay to send a DDC command to the monitors that makes it switch inputs.
Bound the whole thing to a key combo, and now I can easily switch between two machines.
Been using deskflow and works perfectly
Since I move a bunch of USB devices between my personal and work MacBooks anyway, I just wired my Magic Keyboard and Trackpad up to the same KVM switch and that works fine. However, it wouldn’t work for a Magic Mouse if I decided to use that, so I’ll give Magic Switch a try (especially compelling since it doesn’t require the same Apple ID as Continuity does). I’d like to see if I can wire it up to switch when the KVM switches from one laptop to the other.
Hmm. I bought the cheapest kvm switch i could find (vga + 2 usb only) and ignored the vga ports for this. The advantage is it's cross platform.
Have to switch monitor inputs separately but it will do, considering the other box is running either windows or linux.
Apple could just have a multiple device pairing indicator and switch like every other keyboard/mouse manufacturer on the planet, but of course they’re not allowed to implement any convenience features that escape the need for the ecosystem.
Yes, its also very annoying and has to be manually disabled if you don't want to constantly play "Where the hell is my cursor".
Why should I use this when Universal Control is in macOS?
i use deskflow between two mac’s and a pc, but it doesn’t support trackpads. so this is nice for those users
Odd living in Poland as an expat - is there a tax break on crypto maybe?
This is the kind of incredible stuff that I love seeing pop up lately due to a strong AI-assist.
The solution I settled on was swapping between my personal and work laptops with a thunderbolt cable that connects to a dock. The dock is connected to my keyboard, trackpad, webcam, and monitor. It’s been working like a champ for the past 3+ years.