Mac laptop, PC desktop - how do I make this work?

January 3, 2012 2:38 AM

Do you use a Mac laptop in combination with a PC desktop computer? Please tell me how you manage your workflow between the two. Can you recommend useful software and/or hardware to make coexistence as painless as possible?

I have semi-replaced my old PC laptop (which had been operating as a desktop due to a broken screen) with a Macbook Air. I want to keep the PC around, because it still works fine, has a bigger hard drive than the Air, and does a few things the Air can't, like read optical disks and take a mic input. It also serves as my only television (using a TV tuner and iTunes downloads). I keep it hooked up to an external monitor, wireless mouse and keyboard and it uses my stereo speakers for audio. I am not a fan of unitasker gadgets - most things in my apartment do double or triple duty.

On the other hand, the Air is shiny and beautiful and I imagine myself spending a lot of time writing on it outside the house - in documents I might then want to continue editing in ergonomic comfort at my desk. I would like to make it easy to either a) sync selected documents between the two computers, or b) hook my Air up to the monitor, keyboard, mouse and stereo with minimal fumbling and annoyance.

Could those of you with similarly weird workflows suggest smart ways for me to make this work? I am a new Mac user, so please explain it to me like I am a child. (And no, buying a Mac desktop isn't an option, however much I wish it were!)

posted by embrangled to Computers & Internet (21 answers total)

I use a 4gb thumb drive to copy files between mine, that's it...
posted by TrinsicWS at 3:07 AM on January 3, 2012

Could you describe the kind of work and tasks that you need to move from each computer? iCloud or Dropbox could serve most of your needs if you need access to common files.
posted by andendau at 3:13 AM on January 3, 2012

Consider Dropbox for data storage. There are Mac and Windows clients, and you can set up what you want to share between machines.

You'd need a DVI KVM switch or similar for the easiest switching over of DVI monitor, USB keyboard and USB mouse devices, and a Mini DisplayPort-to-DVI converter — assuming your display is DVI. Not all KVMs have audio cabling, but some do, and this would make audio switching part of the bargain.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:14 AM on January 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

I use dropbox on all three of my machines (mac and linux at home, windows at work). I use Libreoffice instead of Word most of the time, because the interface isn't different between Mac and Windows the way it is for Word. When I use Word, I am constantly getting tripped up by the differences (especially now the Mac version won't let me use my Windows Word Macros).

Most other software I use runs fine on all three systems. I use Xmarks to sync bookmarks between my browsers. I use Picasa for photo editing on all three OS types. Gimp instead of Photoshop, but I don't know whether or not Photoshop works on all systems. It might do. Gimp certainly does.

I tend to look for java-based software when I am looking for new things, because it usually runs on everything.

One small aesthetic thing: I keep my desktop wallpapers and various settings files in dropbox, and point all three systems to it, so that all my machines have the same desktop background, scripts running, etc.
posted by lollusc at 3:22 AM on January 3, 2012

Response by poster: Could you describe the kind of work and tasks that you need to move from each computer?

Mostly OpenOffice/NeoOffice documents but also occasional audio and video files. Wireless internet is not available in all the places I'd like to go to write, in case that's relevant. I haven't used Dropbox before - could you give me an idea of how it would work in this situation?
posted by embrangled at 3:30 AM on January 3, 2012

Dropbox creates a folder that syncs its contents with each computer. Anything added or deleted is downloaded and synched. If you don't always have internet access it may not be the best solution.
posted by andendau at 3:36 AM on January 3, 2012

Dropbox doesn't require a persistent connection to the Internet; all of your files remain in your Dropbox folder even when disconnected. I think it's perfect for your situation. Just make sure Dropbox says it's synced up (green checkbox on the Dropbox folder icon) before you head out afield to write.
posted by zsazsa at 4:17 AM on January 3, 2012

I have this exact setup and then some. I have a Windows desktop that's my primary and an Air that I use whenever I can get away with it. Additionally I have a Windows laptop that I use when I need to do "serious" work while traveling. I use dropbox to sync everything. The secret on the Air is that you want to use Dropbox's selective sync feature to limit things due to the smaller hard drive. I have a folder that I keep documents I'm currently working on and that's all I sync.

I use Firefox Sync to manage browsers. This way I can open a tab on one PC or my phone or wherever it's set up and access it anywhere else.

I also use Trillian for IM, this keeps everything synced across all platforms plus my phone. I can begin a conversation on my deskotp, decide to head the coffee shop, open my Air and it's right there where it was on my desktop. Same works in reverse.

I highly recommend the Air. I've go through computers like athletes go through running shoes due to my job and it's the best laptop I've ever had.
posted by feloniousmonk at 4:19 AM on January 3, 2012

Also, if you're doing Office-type work on a Mac you should check out iWork. It doesn't do everything the bigger suites do, but if it does what you need, odds are good it does it better.
posted by feloniousmonk at 4:22 AM on January 3, 2012

Nthing Dropbox for docs and a bookmark syncing solution (pick one) for the web.

I flit between my laptop (also a new Air, love it), a desktop I share with my other half, an iPad and even my phone, editing and updating the same documents all the time. Dropbox just works, and I know I have a copy of whatever I need, wherever I am. I even sync up with two other computers in other countries. When I arrive, my stuff is already there.

You can pump Dropbox up to 10Gb for free, which is enough for almost any doc-creation work.

I use XMarks rather than felonious's Firefox Sync, but that's pretty much the same difference. It does add iPhone/iPad syncing, which is handy in our house.
posted by rokusan at 5:42 AM on January 3, 2012

I used to move between a laptop and desktop all the time, something made MUCH easier by Dropbox. Install on it the Air and your desktop PC, keep all your 'shared' docs in it, and everything will always be synced up when you need it. The only difficult thing is that you need to connect to the internet to sync data from the laptop if you're not always in wifi range - so if you go to a coffee shop (or whatever) and do some writing, be sure to connect to the internet BEFORE the next time you want to edit the same document on the desktop. You don't need to manually tell Dropbox to sync, just connect to the internet and it will do it automatically.
posted by anaximander at 6:22 AM on January 3, 2012

The go-to app for sharing a mouse/keyboard between two computers (as though you were using one computer with two displays) is Synergy. It requires a little technical know-how to setup, but it works pretty well, and it's a lot better than dealing with a KVM switch. It works over your local network; there are no extra wires involved.

But just last night I came across the j5 create JUC400, which is a clever USB cable that does basically the same thing as Synergy. It got a stellar review from Macworld last week, but seems to be brand-new and almost impossible to find, unless you live near a Fry's (where it can supposedly be procured locally but is backordered online).
posted by thejoshu at 6:24 AM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

Another vote for Dropbox here. I use it to sync between my Windows laptop, home Windows desktop, and work iMac. By far, it is the simplest solution for synching files. As others have mentioned, be sure that the files are synched before working on them. Another thing to note is that the file won't sync up until you've closed the file on whatever computer you've used.

Dropbox is also super handy for its backup functionality. If one of your computers crashes, it will be available on the other computer. Further, it backs up online so if something happens to both computers, your files are still out there. You can also access your files from a web browser.
posted by puritycontrol at 7:08 AM on January 3, 2012

Dropbox syncs when you have internet access, so not having internet access where you're working isn't really a problem, as long as you sync before you go there (which happens automatically if there's an internet connection)..

Dropbox also has basic version control, and if you accidentally delete something from there, you can recover it.
posted by empath at 7:13 AM on January 3, 2012

Install on it the Air and your desktop PC

One caveat about the Air and dropbox -- if you've got a pile of stuff saved in your dropbox folder, it all gets copied to the Air, which can take up a lot of precious SSD space.
posted by empath at 7:14 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

I use a flashdrive and Google Docs. Dropbox sounds more convenient than google docs, maybe, because of the automatic syncing and the version control.
posted by sarae at 8:18 AM on January 3, 2012

On the newer versions of Dropbox, you can selectively sync folders. So if you do run into an issue of not enough space on your Air (most likely only an issue if you move to a paid Dropbox account to go beyond 2 GB), you can designate a folder just for Shared Docs and sync that to your Air.
posted by shinynewnick at 9:01 AM on January 3, 2012

Another vote for Dropbox or box.net. I used to switch between Mac and PC a lot and Dropbox makes transferring files nearly seamless if you have a constant Internet connection.

Another thing that helped me: transfer as many of your tasks as possible to your Mac. I did this by using a Windows emulator. (I went with Parallels, but I hear VMWare is good too.) Hardware related issues aside, Parallels let's me do everything I need on my Mac, like running PC-only applications (in my case ACT, CorVu and BusinessMap—pretty data-intensive and network-heavy activities, and well-outdated too), networking in an MS Exchange environment, connecting to shared drives in my office. It's all worked so well that I've finally got rid of my PC and have everything running on my MacBook Pro.
posted by slogger at 10:54 AM on January 3, 2012

A couple things that have been useful to me in a household with Macs, PCs, and Android devices:

1. Using SuperSync to keep iTunes libraries synced every so often.

2. Using SugarSync to keep the Android device's photos backed up on the Mac.

3. Using Pinboard bookmarklets and apps on all three platforms to keep bookmarks synced.

4. Using Firefox Sync to keep local bookmarks up-to-date.

5. Using Google Apps' Gmail, Tasks, Contacts, and Calendar to keep everything synced up.

6. Setting up Boot Camp on the Mac with a Windows install so I can back up Windows-specific programs, use those programs on the move, have a ready recovery option, etc.
posted by limeonaire at 8:19 PM on January 3, 2012

Oh, and in terms of mouse and keyboard sharing, a basic wireless Microsoft mouse and possibly a wireless Apple keyboard, if the PC has Bluetooth built-in or via a dongle, can work quite well in terms of a cheap sharing setup.
posted by limeonaire at 8:24 PM on January 3, 2012

Response by poster: These are all fantastic answers, thanks so much. Looks like a near-unanimous vote for Dropbox, so I'll get that set up ASAP. I agree that switching as many of my tasks to the Mac as possible is probably the best solution. I'll probably I'll end up relegating the PC to life as a media player and backup computer for the few things the Air can't do.
posted by embrangled at 5:43 PM on January 4, 2012