Mac + PC sharing everything
August 31, 2020 11:14 AM Subscribe
Trying to set up my home office better - how can I share all my peripherals and Ethernet between my two computers? Have already tried a $300 dock and a $50 KVM switch.
Set-up: 1) MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt 2 port + adapter to Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, several USB ports, but no Ethernet port; 2) Thinkpad PC with a Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI, several USB ports, Ethernet; 3) peripherals: 1 monitor, 1 wireless mouse and keyboard (each with their own USB dongles), a set of powered monitor speakers, an audio interface, an external webcam that connects via USB, a USB headset.
The $300 dock should have worked, but the Ethernet connection was not available to my Mac and switching between machines was a pain because the mouse & kb dongles weren't recognized when I switched between them (had to unplug the dongles and plug them into the computer itself), and the audio interface + monitor setup wasn't working with the PC at all through the dock. The KVM switch worked well for switching the HDMI monitor connection, but not the other peripherals. Trying to daisy-chain the KVM switch with the dock also did not work. If I get an Ethernet to USB adapter for the MacBook, I'll still end up having to unplug and plug things, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Is there a magical device or set-up that will work in my situation?
Set-up: 1) MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt 2 port + adapter to Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, several USB ports, but no Ethernet port; 2) Thinkpad PC with a Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI, several USB ports, Ethernet; 3) peripherals: 1 monitor, 1 wireless mouse and keyboard (each with their own USB dongles), a set of powered monitor speakers, an audio interface, an external webcam that connects via USB, a USB headset.
The $300 dock should have worked, but the Ethernet connection was not available to my Mac and switching between machines was a pain because the mouse & kb dongles weren't recognized when I switched between them (had to unplug the dongles and plug them into the computer itself), and the audio interface + monitor setup wasn't working with the PC at all through the dock. The KVM switch worked well for switching the HDMI monitor connection, but not the other peripherals. Trying to daisy-chain the KVM switch with the dock also did not work. If I get an Ethernet to USB adapter for the MacBook, I'll still end up having to unplug and plug things, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Is there a magical device or set-up that will work in my situation?
So, I've never actually used this, but Logitech has a software called Flow that works with some of its newer mice and keyboards where you can actually control both systems without a KVM, almost like they are multi-monitor. Might be worth a look.
posted by selfnoise at 12:18 PM on August 31, 2020
posted by selfnoise at 12:18 PM on August 31, 2020
You might look into a USB server setup (example). You set up one computer as the server or host of your USB devices. The second computer connects to those USB devices through the first computer.
Not sure about latency and if that might affect the performance of the USB peripherals you want to share between computers, but you could perhaps try it out and see if the lag is minimal or not noticeable.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:36 PM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
Not sure about latency and if that might affect the performance of the USB peripherals you want to share between computers, but you could perhaps try it out and see if the lag is minimal or not noticeable.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:36 PM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
I agree with nickggully. I also use Remote Desktop—it's free, and it works really well, especially on the same network.
It's particularly great on the Mac, because Microsoft's Remote Desktop app works with the Mac's Spaces (virtual desktop) feature. If you connect in full-screen mode, you can use a four-finger swipe on your trackpad to seamlessly switch back and forth between your Mac's screen and your PC's screen. It's really convenient.
Also, Remote Desktop supports more than one display. When you set up the connection, check the "Use all monitors" option under the Display tab. Then hook up both displays to your Mac. When you connect, you'll see the PC's screen on both monitors.
You can have both your monitors show your PC, both your monitors show your Mac, or one monitor on your Mac + 1 monitor on your PC. To switch displays, all you need to do is the four-finger swipe.
posted by vitout at 12:56 PM on August 31, 2020
It's particularly great on the Mac, because Microsoft's Remote Desktop app works with the Mac's Spaces (virtual desktop) feature. If you connect in full-screen mode, you can use a four-finger swipe on your trackpad to seamlessly switch back and forth between your Mac's screen and your PC's screen. It's really convenient.
Also, Remote Desktop supports more than one display. When you set up the connection, check the "Use all monitors" option under the Display tab. Then hook up both displays to your Mac. When you connect, you'll see the PC's screen on both monitors.
You can have both your monitors show your PC, both your monitors show your Mac, or one monitor on your Mac + 1 monitor on your PC. To switch displays, all you need to do is the four-finger swipe.
posted by vitout at 12:56 PM on August 31, 2020
Another vote for Remote Desktop .. it's a well-rounded, solid tool which will do what you need without bringing extra problems.
posted by anadem at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2020
posted by anadem at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2020
Response by poster: Unfortunately, my workplace security policy will not let me use Remote Desktop from a personal machine...
posted by acridrabbit at 2:54 PM on August 31, 2020
posted by acridrabbit at 2:54 PM on August 31, 2020
You could go the other way, and use a VNC viewer on Windows to view everything the mac has. It will not share a webcam however.
posted by nickggully at 3:08 PM on August 31, 2020
posted by nickggully at 3:08 PM on August 31, 2020
Logitech makes a mouse and keyboard called Logitech MX. It was designed to handle multiple bluetooth connections without any need for dongles. My co-worker (who also has a Mac + windows setup) has been testing the mouse and has been very happy with the mouse, it requires hitting a button on the device to switch to the other computer.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:11 PM on August 31, 2020
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:11 PM on August 31, 2020
Best answer: The Ethernet shouldn’t be a factor in this switching, just put them both on a cheap Ethernet hub, get the Mac a Thunderbolt or USB to Ethernet adaptor, plug it directly into a Mac port.
A wired USB mouse and keyboard with no drivers would make for easier switching
Similarly, I use a current Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface (a Scarlett Solo would also work and be cheaper) because it is USB bus powered and driverless. It’s simple enough to be USB class compliant, so works cross platform and cross OS version without trouble. I have not used mine on Windows but it should work.
Plug your USB devices into a cheap powered USB Hub to consolidate, plug that into the KVM.
posted by w0mbat at 4:05 AM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
A wired USB mouse and keyboard with no drivers would make for easier switching
Similarly, I use a current Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface (a Scarlett Solo would also work and be cheaper) because it is USB bus powered and driverless. It’s simple enough to be USB class compliant, so works cross platform and cross OS version without trouble. I have not used mine on Windows but it should work.
Plug your USB devices into a cheap powered USB Hub to consolidate, plug that into the KVM.
posted by w0mbat at 4:05 AM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have used Logitech Flow (with the MX keyboard/mouse combo that theBigRedKittyPurrs mentioned) and it works pretty well for this purpose. It's free and works similarly to an old open-source project called synergy: you move your mouse to the left side of one computer's screen and transfer is controlled to the right computer.
Separately, as noted, there are explicit buttons on the kb/mouse that you can use to manually shift them between one machine and another without needing to run any software. On the keyboard, irritatingly, these are the F1, F2 and F3 keys and cannot be remapped, so if you use those keys a lot the keyboard is not awesome, although I generally like it otherwise and I like the mouse a lot.
This doesn't help you with the monitor situation, but if you have a monitor with two HDMI/etc ports on it you could manually switch the monitor between one of two interfaces, and then hit the keyboard button and the mouse button to switch over your mouse/keyboard. Kind of a fiddly, low-tech solution and it doesn't help with the ethernet or webcam, but if you can get those to work with your hub it might be work looking into.
posted by whir at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Separately, as noted, there are explicit buttons on the kb/mouse that you can use to manually shift them between one machine and another without needing to run any software. On the keyboard, irritatingly, these are the F1, F2 and F3 keys and cannot be remapped, so if you use those keys a lot the keyboard is not awesome, although I generally like it otherwise and I like the mouse a lot.
This doesn't help you with the monitor situation, but if you have a monitor with two HDMI/etc ports on it you could manually switch the monitor between one of two interfaces, and then hit the keyboard button and the mouse button to switch over your mouse/keyboard. Kind of a fiddly, low-tech solution and it doesn't help with the ethernet or webcam, but if you can get those to work with your hub it might be work looking into.
posted by whir at 7:16 AM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by nickggully at 11:38 AM on August 31, 2020 [3 favorites]