Steve Smith reviews and demonstrates how ShareMouse works and talks about various of the settings within.
Episode #8-37 released on May 6, 2018
The world of computers has changed a lot in the last two decades, where a person only had a single computer, we can have multiple towers and laptops now. Those that needed to have the use of multiple computers used to buy KVM devices to be able to use a single keyboard and mouse, and often share monitors. And, many of those KVMs are expensive, bulky, and the technology is often outdated. Welcome to the world of the Virtual KVMs, we are talking about ShareMouse, today. And, to start I will point of the differences between hardware KVMs and ShareMouse.
Hardware KVMs require a lot of extra cables to be connected to each computer. Adding a Hardware KVM increases the number of cables required by one, and many include video, as well. The number of cables when including video cables can increase dramatically. There is, also, the issue of the limited number of screens possible. And, even if you find a KVM with all the technology you need, it can be prohibitively expensive. They may, also, require an external power source, and many aren't that great anyway. And, as for the nature of my shows, also, can increase latency in the communications between devices, and there can be horrible for gaming.
Virtual KVM solutions like ShareMouse, don't have any extra equipment requirements. You simply need to have all the devices on the same network, and to install the client on each computer. No future modifications of your equipment are required, meaning that all your cable management doesn't go to waste.
I've been using ShareMouse for nearly two months now, and truly, it is a set and forget piece of software, for anyone wondering about the learning curve in using the software, there isn't any. There are some settings that will make your life infinitely better, and a solution to a bug that affects the software, which I will explain.
First, number of screens and computers supported for the Pro version is 4 monitors per computer, up to 9 computers. That is a total of 36 monitors. And a lot of horse power. If you are using that many screens and computers it is probably related to things like coding, design, server management, stock market day trading, etc. I myself am a programmer, podcaster, gamer and a streamer. My opinions will be from that stand point, and that alone.
Second, the bug in question is related to requiring a mouse to be plugged in at all times in Windows. I plugged in a cheap mobile mouse, and that was the end of the issue. This does not affect anyone who keeps all their keyboards and mice plugged in. Which you can, since the application doesn't use any particular computer as a server anyway.
Third, the actual settings window is simple to use, and understand. Switching, one of the sections is where most of you will go to adjust your experience of ShareMouse. You can enable personalized functionality from this window, but it is a per computer setting, meaning that each computer can be adjust independently, just in case you needed that. Exchange is where you can enable clipboard sync and drag and drop. The size of the file must be small, like photos or text files though. I haven't been able to drag and drop things like large files, yet. You can even sync things such as shutdown, suspend mode, lock pc, screen server, and unlock/login from this section of settings. If you head to network, you can enable password protection, this is great to prevent many instances of ShareMouse in the same network from being an issue, also, it prevents cruel pranks.
Forth, the monitor manager is simple to use. It is user friendly, simple to use because of drag and drop, and the software indicates which screen is which so no guessing which monitor you are placing in which position using the monitor manager. This is a huge benefit for those just starting to use a virtual KVM such as ShareMouse.
My last points, this application seems to be stable in my setup and can be updated without the need of plugging in extra hardware just for that part of the process, meaning those who are like me who like clean desks don't need to panic when it comes to using ShareMouse. It is compatible with all my needs without causing issues, with the only exception currently being the fact that I need a mouse to be plugged into my second rig at all times.
If you are interested in purchasing either the standard or professional version of ShareMouse, below are links to do just that. If you have any other concerns, they are very active on twitter as well.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net