Control 2 or More Computers with One Mac, One Mouse, One Keyboard, and No KVM Switch
- 2006.02.23
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 1GB $23--Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here.
Other World Computing: Go Longer Between Charges with a NewerTech NuPower Batteries! Not just another battery, NuPower available for PowerBook and iBook models, is built in the USA to offer the longest Run Time + the longest useful LifeTime too! In Stock at OWC from $99.95
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
Memory For New Intel Core2 DUO MacBooks, MacBook Pro, MacMini & iMacs" 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20. Click to Maximize your Macs...
If you're a new Mac convert and you've gone and bought yourself a Mac mini, you've probably been thrilled at the versatility, delighted at the simplicity, and darned near ecstatic about working on the computer and listening to birds chirping outside.
Yes, that's right. It's so quiet - especially compared to that old (or even new) PC - that I can hear the birds chirping while tapping away on my Bluetooth Apple keyboard (clearly an amazing feel in a keyboard!).
When it came time for me to expand my desktop with another monitor, I found myself short on cash and physical desktop real estate. I simply had to find a way to use a second monitor with my mini. I came up with a few ideas: The KVM tangle was overpriced, and no USB-to-SVGA solution yet exists for the Mac.
You can't tell me that Apple, a company that's thought of nearly everything, forgot about a dual monitor solution for the mini!
As it turns out, OS X Macs have a Unix underlayer called Darwin. Stemming from Unix, you can only guess how many thousands of programs now run on Macs. Many of these programs and utilities have been released under a BSD, GNU, or GPL license. This translates into free use (for us non-developer, noncommercial, non-profiteering types), and some of these programs are categorized as freeware, shareware, or careware.
All of this starts with a free download (which discloses the apropos license) and ends with a very stable and thoroughly developed product. Without drowning in the politics, I'll refer you to the Wikipedia and the respective project pages for details on those licenses and their uses.
To complete my project, I started with RealVNC (Virtual Network Computing). It's simple to use, includes a server and viewer, runs on any platform, and functions across platforms.
I then downloaded OSX2X, which runs on my mini and is touted as an "excess keyboard remover". It basically allows you to control a computer running VNC or X11 servers with one keyboard and mouse. Very handy.
The only thing I needed was another (cheap and readily available) monitor for my PC and a crossover ethernet cable. I scrounged for some parts to make a functioning, minimal installation of Windows XP and set that computer next to my desk with the monitor on a two-drawer file cabinet. I ran a crossover ethernet cable to my mini, which was to act as a firewall, router, and the brains behind this operation.
- Editor's note: If you already have an ethernet hub or switch, there's no need for the crossover cable. Regular cables will do. Also, if you're linking two Macs, you might try FireWire networking for top speed. dk
Sharing the Internet connection is a breeze with OS X, and, thanks to Samba (another Unix thing), sharing files is easier than eating lettuce!
OSX2X is easily configured so you can run your mouse off one edge of the monitor with the Mac desktop on it, and it appears immediately on the corresponding edge of the monitor with the PC desktop (or whatever your second computer is running) on it.
I use my Mac mini with one monitor and have a second monitor hooked up to my old PC on the side - it looks and works like an extended desktop with dual screens, even though each screen belongs to a separate computer. I can even cut and paste between the two platforms.
This turns out to be really useful for doing processor intensive tasks that you don't want to have tie up your Mac. Say I wanted to uncompress video or compress video. If I had the software to do it on the PC, I could grab the file from the Mac, copy it over via the crossover ethernet cable, and then set the PC to work - for days if necessary - and still enjoy playing with my Mac.
I'm sure you'll find lots of useful things to do with this setup, and I'd enjoy hearing all the great uses for it, too. Remember, this will work across any platform. Two Macs, a Linux box, and more. You can designate which direction the other monitor is in, too, and OSX2X supports multiple connections. The one drawback is that each computer needs its own display, but that may cost you less than a KVM switch.
The only thing I regret is not hearing the birds chirp anymore,
as that old PC fan is still as loud as ever. Maybe if I smothered
it with this pillow.... 
Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.
Recent Mac Daniel columns
- Bringing G3 iMacs and other G3 Macs into the Tiger Age, Dan Knight, 12.07. Tips on hard drives, memory, WiFi, and getting Mac OS X 10.4 installed on G3 iMacs and other older G3 Macs.
- Multiple users on the same Mac at work, Dan Knight, 11.15. How to set up a Mac so multiple users can log in and use it - and use the same pool of work files.
- 1 working eMac from 2 broken ones, Dan Knight, 11.14. A pair of matching eMacs, each with a different failure, results in one working eMac and lots of leftovers.
- More in the Mac Daniel index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's eMate still a great tool in the classroom, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 05.09. How one teacher equipped his classroom with eMates with his own money - and plans to keep using them as long as possible.
- $199 iPhone coming?, iPod not a Walkman, crosswalk danger, iPods taking over cars, and more, iNews Review, 05.09. Also the iPhone is a second-rate phone, iPhone 2.0 may introduce handwriting recognition, Kensington battery pack and chargers, new iPhone apps, and more.
- Best Power Mac G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Used Cube, $479; 400 MHz PCI, $70; 450 AGP, $105; 733 DA, $150; 867 QS, $200; 1 GHz, $250; 450 dual, $295; 1 GHz dual, $400; 1.42, $600; more.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $1,100; 2.16, $1,295; refurb, 2.2 Core2, $1,449; 2.4 Penryn, $1,699; 2.5, $2,149; new 2.2, $1,525 after rebate; 2.4, $1,685 a/r; more.
- Best iPod touch deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09. Refurb 8 GB '08, $249; 16 GB '07, $329; '08, $349; new 8 GB '07. $269; '08, $280; 16 GB '07, $330; '08, $369; 32 GB, $475.
- MacBook sales explode, MacBook Air reviews, several new hard drives, and more, The 'Book Review, 05.09. Also silver-zinc batteries may outlast lithium-ion, Bell Aliant bundling MacBook with Internet access, notebook drives benchmarked, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Apple tops in tech support, Penryn iMacs and Psystar Open Computer reviewed, and more, Mac News Review, 05.09. Also the iMac philosophy, OpenOffice 3.0 going Mac, MozyHome backup comes to Macs, weather in the Dock, and more.
- More G4 upgrade advice, secure disk wipes, 500 MHz iMacs with Tiger in action, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 05.09. The importance of securely clearing your hard drive before you pass on your Mac, Pismo and closed lid mode, G3 iMacs in the classroom, and more thoughts on upgrading G4 Power Macs.
- 140 million copies of Vista sold (yawn), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.09. It sounds like a lot, but over 85% of Windows users are staying away from Vista. 20% of Mac users have embraced Leopard in one-third the time.
- Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, Mar. 1990 - This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
- List of the Day: Rocketeer is for those using the Radius Rocket.
- May 9 in LEM history: 00: 10 years an Apple user - The carpenter's PB 100 fix - 02: Mozilla gets browsing just right - Why Linux instead of OS X? - 03: The dark side of software upgrades - DVD burner for Lombard and Pismo - Working with MS Works files - 05: The Apple I and Apple II era - SilverKeeper: The quintessential free backup utility? - 06: A look at the fastest, most expandable pre-G3 Power Macs - Inexplicable ligature problem solved - 07: OS X on a 6500
- Why one Mac user chose BlackBerry over iPhone, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 05.08. The advantages of OS X, Safari, Mail, and iSync don't outweigh the familiarity of BlackBerry, its excellent software, easily replaceable batteries, and a camera-free option.
- 500 MHz iMac with Panther great for Internet, watching video, and more, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.08. At $65 with upgraded RAM and a bigger hard drive, it was too good to pass up, and it works very nicely with Mac OS X 10.3.
- Boomerang: The Blue and White Power Mac G3 that kept coming back, Charles Webb, The Webb Chronicles, 05.08. Over its nine-year lifespan, this Power Mac had at least five owners before it finally gave up the ghost.
- Best Intel iMac deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1.83 GHz, $699; 20" 2.16 Core2, $885; refurb 20" 2.16, $949; 2.4, $1,099; 24" 2.16, $1,199; 2.4, $1,399; 2.8, $1,599; Penryn from $1,049 after rebate.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Used 17" 1 GHz, $790; 1.33 GHz, $850; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $889.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.08. Mac OS X 10.5.1 single user, $99; 5 users, $139; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $450; unlimited, $899.
- More links in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Have a question?
Ask an expert!
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
