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I use a small USB switcher box to let me control my personal machine and my work machine at the same desk. I also use a keyboard that lets me flip a switch to c
by dgunay 4y ago
I use a small USB switcher box to let me control my personal machine and my work machine at the same desk. I also use a keyboard that lets me flip a switch to change between Mac/Windows layouts. It has been very helpful to let me cleanly separate work from leisure, without having to give up the ergonomics of my desk setup. The friction to switch is low enough that I don't feel tempted to keep work related stuff on my personal machine.
I used to have dual monitors, but now I use a super ultrawide 32:9 monitor. It required learning to use window managers since most OS's don't support multitasking setups like that, but I can use layouts now that I couldn't before. I also use PaperWM[1] with it and it feels particularly effective on ultrawides.
[1]: https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM
- kvandy 4y agoAny advice on the USB switcher? I've had a hard time finding one that was of high enough quality to be a daily driver. I need USB3 for my webcam as well
- dgunay 4y agoThis is the one I use: UGREEN USB 3.0 Switch Selector 2... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6GD9JO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6GD9JO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_shar... I used a cheaper one before that but it was garbage - kept dropping inputs for a few seconds here and there.
- j_crick 4y agoBeen using this one for a year, no issues so far https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MVXZM9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MVXZM9G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... A USB hub is plugged into it, and all needed peripherals go into the hub first, including audio interface, external hard drive, printer etc.
- deadfece 4y agoI use this Tripp Lite USB 3.0 switch into a powered USB 3.0 hub: https://tripplite.eaton.com/4-port-superspeed-usb-3-peripheral-sharing-switch~U359004 https://tripplite.eaton.com/4-port-superspeed-usb-3-peripher... It's solid, boring, and works perfectly. I've never had a single problem with it, even with my X570 chipset constantly doing the old USB disconnect-a-roo that it's infamous for.
- j_crick 4y ago> I use a small USB switcher box Came to the thread to post this in case it wasn’t posted. Quite a ton of actual utility from a small noname box from Amazon for my same-displays-but-different-sources setup (Mac mini for work, PC for gaming).
- nickthegreek 4y agoI use the MX Master mouse and keyboard with the Flow options in the Logi Options+ software to achieve a similar thing.
- anon9931 4y agoI use a 4-computer USB switch; it has 3 device inputs. So I can switch keyboard, trackball, and a vertical mouse between 4 computers at one desk. Pretty handy. Work laptop, personal/gaming laptop, linux laptop, and desktop/server. With 2 monitors, I use one monitor exclusively with the linux laptop, and the other monitor I have on a HDMI switch to switch between the other 3 computers.
- aceazzameen 4y agoI use Microsoft Garage Mouse Without Borders[1] to control my old and new PC with one mouse/keyboard. Works over WiFi flawlessly for me. All you have to do is move the mouse cursor towards the monitor with the other computer(s) and it automatically switches. [1]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35460 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=354...
- mr_briggs 4y agoI love this tool - back at Uni, I discovered the lab PCs allowed me to use my Active Directory account on multiple machines simultaneously. I'd push 3 machines together, grab Mouse Without Borders from my student drive, open my online IDE (Cloud9) and wham, instant triple monitor setup.
- rr808 4y agoHow do you switch video? Just change inputs on the monitor?
- dgunay 4y agoYeah. It's not the greatest but KVM switches with video support drive up the cost quite a lot. I'll gladly press an extra button to switch the monitor input.
- rr808 4y agoThanks I figure its better quality to do this than try a kvm switch.
- modeless 4y agoYeah, and some monitors can be controlled to switch inputs from software, so you can setup hotkeys to do it just like a real KVM.
- modeless 4y agoOh yeah I have one of those no name brand USB switching hubs, they are great. Comes with several "illegal" USB-A male to male cables, which I find funny. If your monitor supports it you can also switch inputs from software, and you have a complete KVM setup without the ridiculously expensive KVM box.
- nicolaslem 4y agoDid you know that some monitors have built-in KVM nowadays? I discovered that recently and switched to one. Basically I can connect my laptop with a single USB-C cable for display/charging/peripherals and instantly switch to my desktop PC that is connected via HDMI + USB. The fact that the monitor itself is responsible for display inputs removes all kind of problems that traditional KVM boxes have. In theory the monitor could also switch headphones audio from one computer to the other, and it works, but the output quality is garbage. So I still have that cable to switch manually.
- moxli 4y agoI have the same setup and use the following software to send the switch signal to the monitor. https://github.com/haimgel/display-switch https://github.com/haimgel/display-switch
- quercusa 4y agoLearned about this on HN a few months ago. Less than 20 minutes to set it up with a cheapo USB KVM switch and it works great. I have a Model M keyboard plugged into a PS/2-USB adapter and the switches don't even confuse the keyboard.
- ergvgdvgrd 4y agoI do this virtually with a piece od software called barrier. https://github.com/debauchee/barrier https://github.com/debauchee/barrier
- epakai 4y agoIt's not clear from the page, but there's an issue somewhere that points out barrier has been abandoned for a fork called input-leap. https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap Also recently learned about waynergy as a upcoming wayland client. Haven't used either yet as barrier still handles my setup.
- piersj225 4y agoFor anyone curious, I think this is the issue, https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap/issues/1414 https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap/issues/1414
- theshrike79 4y agoI do the same thing, but I've got an USB-C monitor with an USB hub that has all my peripherals connected. When switching from personal to work mode, I just swap the USB-C between computers. Dunno if any USB-C switchers exist though.
- elric 4y agoI wish there were Thunderbolt 4 "KVMs". I have my laptop connected to my TB4 ThinkPad dock, which takes care of charging the laptop, attaches an external display over DisplayPort, has keyboard & mouse, external speakers, and has wired ethernet. When I switch to my desktop, I have to unplug the laptop from the dock and attach the desktop to the dock. It's a minor inconvenience, but it is an inconvenience, and it messes with the cable management.
- farco12 4y agoA tb4 kvm would be nice. I use a dock with my 2 laptops primarily to split video and USB to use with a kvm I share with my desktop so I don't have to switch out mouse, keyboard, and headset between everything. I will say my favorite accessory has been my particular KVM that allows me to switch between my dock and desktop with a special keyboard command. Beats fiddling directly with the many buttons I had to press on my monitor to switch video inputs previously.
- lotam 4y agoI had the exact problem, and found and expensive but clean solution: I bought a U2723QE Dell screen, acting as a Hub. All my devices and RJ45 are plugged to the screen. My laptop uses the charging USB-C port. My desktop requires 2 cables: 1 DP cable (so I can chain another screen) and 1 usb-c cable to the usb-c upstream port. Whenever I want to switch, I just need to change the input source on my screen, between DP (desktop) or USB-C (laptop). All USB devices and internet are automatically routed to the right computer. It works like a charm, really happy with this (but once again, that's an expensive screen)