There are thousands of open source applications available so it is difficult to look at them all and recommend the ones that are best. I recently ran across Synergy. This utility will allow you to use one keyboard and mouse with multiple computers and monitors. Think of it as a KVM without the hardware.
It is different from a KVM in that each computer requires its own monitor. The software is loaded on PCs running any Microsoft Windows operating systems (except Vista which is not listed as supported and has not been tested by me as of this writing), Macintosh operating system (10.2 or greater), and Unix or Linux based operating system. You can then control one or more machines using the same mouse and keyboard. You set it up so that when you move the mouse pointer off to the side of the screen the mouse and keyboard begin to control a different machine and the display that is active is the one for that machine. If you have ever used a dual monitor setup on a PC, you know how this works.
The reason that I think this product is great is that it supports all the most common operating systems and enables you to have a little less clutter on your desktop. One keyboard and mouse does the trick.
Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting
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