Stardock’s newest application allows you to control multiple computers from one workstation. While it has some of the features of Win2VNC and Synergy2, the Pro version allows you to connect to an unlimited number of computers and “copy and paste” files between them. Review here.
Stardock’s Multiplicity
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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how does it compare to maxivista ?
http://www.maxivista.com/
It’s not the same thing at all. MaxiVista will extend the desktop from one computer onto anothers screen. So the second computer is effectively just a monitor, you are not running programs or accessing files stored on that machine.
Synergy2 and this Multiplicity allow you to control several computers at once, so when you move your mouse off the edge of one desktop it appears on the other desktop. You can be running different programs on different computers, but access them as though they were all part of a single desktop.
In this case you cannot drag a window from one screen to another since they are seperate machines running seperate operating systems.
It looks cool. The functionality is very similar to Synergy, but the GUI is a lot better, plus copy and paste files is a feature not found on Synergy. They say they have an OSX client in development so I’d be able to use it with my Powerbook on my desk.
Why buy a pro app to get functionality you can get for free in older, more mature multi-platform apps like VNC?
Again its not trying to do the same thing as VNC.
VNC is about bringing the contents of one computers desktop onto another remote machine.
With Synergy and Multiplicity each machine is connected to its own screen, and you place the screens side by side. It just makes it easier to use both machines at once, its like a replacement for a KVM switch, except for the Video part.
If you had one computer with two monitors and you used the second monitor purely to show a VNC window of a second computer you would get the same effect, but why deal with the latency involved in VNC when you can use a screen directly connected to the second computer?
I’ve tried using VNC to control my powerbook from my Windows desktop. Its too slow to render all the window effects properly.
The article gives a few examples where this software can be used, and amoing other things:
“Have you upgraded your main PC at home but the other one isn’t quite ready to collect dust in the corner of your office?”
Great idea.
But……………..
Most PCs that fit in the “not ready to collect dust” run Win95/98/Me….
Unfortunately………..
Multiplicity requires XP.
So……..Multiplicity is a good idea in therory, but not pratical in some of the examples given.
You can almost do it with VNC…
1 Attach an extra monitor to your main PC.
2 Run VNC on the extra monitor (fulling the whole screen).
3 Remove extra monitor but force windows to think it’s still there.
4 Move the monitor from the PC your VNC’ing to next to your main PC’s monitor.
thks edward
You can almost do it with VNC…
1 Attach an extra monitor to your main PC.
2 Run VNC on the extra monitor (fulling the whole screen).
3 Remove extra monitor but force windows to think it’s still there.
4 Move the monitor from the PC your VNC’ing to next to your main PC’s monitor.
It’s called ‘using the right tool for the job’
if say synergy added a function that allowed the transfer of data from one clipboard to another on a diffrent computer then it would basicly do the exact same thing? should not be that hard
Here’s a link to a review: http://www.geekinformed.com/content/view/42/34/
I’ve two SunRay’s and my laptop “connected” using X2X.
Three screens controlled by one mouse+keyboard and even
copy&paste works.
There is also a version to connect Vnc to X as well.
http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html
Stardock keeps coming out with new and clever things. I’m definitely resubscribing to http://www.stardock.net.
Reminds me of a nice freeware utility for Mac OS X called Teleport, which does practically the same thing. It has been out since the beginning of 2004 now.
http://abyssoft.com/software/teleport/
Would I be correct in saying this is a software based KVM switch? Something along the lines of pressing ctl-ctl-1 and ctl-ctl-2 to switch between the two screens?
I think that pretty much sums it up. Transfering files between computers with copy/paste would be different. This also lets you use all of your computers at once, not really switching between machines…kind of like extending the desktop.
Sounds a lot like OSX2X for the Mac to me.
http://www.opendarwin.org/projects/osx2x/
When they bring out the OSX client I’ll have to take a look.
hobgoblin:
Synergy2 does support clipboard sync, but only of text. Based on the wording of your comment, you may have already know this, but I wanted to clarify. Text copy/paste does work between Synergy2 systems, but data (unless it has been added recently) does not.
TaterSalad:
Multiplicity is not a software KVM. Check out the site for more info, but basically it allows you to have two (or more) winXP/2k systems on your desk… each with their own monitor, and a single keyboard and mouse to control all the systems. when you move your mouse off the edge of the first screen, it moves to the second screen (which is a different computer)
XP only is not very useful for me would be nice to be able to switch between different OS’s namely Solaris or Linux.
multiplicty is a rip-off
1. You do not get it if you are a subscriber to the stardock.net, you must subscribe to an additional service (or pay for it independantly from the stardock subscription).
2. The pro version can only handle 6 machines max, the file copy/paste is extreamly buggy and rarely works.
3. It must be activated over the internet.
4. If you turn off the file copy/paste is does the exact same thing as synergy2 – Synergy2 supports X, OSX and Windows (only windows has a gui).
http://www.radmin.com/?lang_ui=en
The BEST commercial remote desktop administrating software
for Windows(tm) I’ve even saw. Works fine on Liunx with wine
http://www.radmin.com/?lang_ui=en
The BEST commercial remote desktop administrating software
for Windows(tm) I’ve even saw. Works fine on Liunx with wine
I was going to say the same thing, but only based on what others who’ve used it have told me. I’ve never tried it myself, but plan to do so in the next couple of weeks, as I need to be able to log onto my parents machine (who live 200 miles away) and perform updates for them.
Like all of Stardock’s products, it cost too much and dosn’t support Mac..
Like all of Stardock’s products, it cost too much and dosn’t support Mac..
there have been VNC offshoots like this for well over 5 years win2vnc x2vnc x2x xorfbserver, etc
all without spending a DIME.
While I do seem to like Stardock, and their apps, I feel this is nothing new.
Thanks, that helped clear it up for me to get a better idea of how the software works/is used.
Not very useful for me. I use Synergy2 an have seamless control over both Win boxes and Linux boxes at the same time.