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DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

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Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#21
post #13

> Ever tried to move that YT video slider to a specific position but your mouse moves too jumpy and suddenly you are moving your hand super-carefully like you're 5 and playing "Operation" all over again? On YouTube specifically, you can scrub through a video frame-by-frame using the , (comma) and . (period) keys, no custom hardware required. :-)

Wow, did not know that. TIL. Thank you!

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#22
post #5

Synergy works well for this purely in software. Unfortunately it's not free or open source, but it's relatively inexpensive. https://symless.com/synergy

Prior to Synergy going to closed source, it was forked into Barrier[0], which then was forked into input-leap[1]. Both open source. [0] https://github.com/debauchee/barrier [1] https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap

Unfortunately there is no simple way of makeing this work on a Chromebook

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#23

Seriously, if any VC is reading this, get this man some funding to make it a real project. Even at double or triple what it costs, it's still cheaper than any other commercial competitor.

If it gets really popular here on hacker news won't be long before chinese devices based on it start appearing. Or if someone is willing to invest $10-20k they could have devices ready to sell in less than 2-3 weeks.

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#24
post #13

> Ever tried to move that YT video slider to a specific position but your mouse moves too jumpy and suddenly you are moving your hand super-carefully like you're 5 and playing "Operation" all over again? On YouTube specifically, you can scrub through a video frame-by-frame using the , (comma) and . (period) keys, no custom hardware required. :-)

That's nice. Btw, I'm curious, what kinda mouse do you guys use that makes you hold your breath while you scroll? I believe mice these days are super precise and works pretty well.

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#25
post #13

> Ever tried to move that YT video slider to a specific position but your mouse moves too jumpy and suddenly you are moving your hand super-carefully like you're 5 and playing "Operation" all over again? On YouTube specifically, you can scrub through a video frame-by-frame using the , (comma) and . (period) keys, no custom hardware required. :-)

Anything between 30 seconds and 1 frame is impossible.

The J and L keys will skip back and forth 10 seconds.

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#26
post #8
post #6

I bought 4 USB hubs just to switch the keyboard and mouse, it's just so annoying how most devices are so terrible. Randomly you have to physically detach the hub several times a day. If you plug webcams and/or USB mics, it only gets even worse. I'm using Synergy software and it works well, but I still want a proper KVM that can allow for webcams, mics, audio, etc. Features like moving only a group of plugged devices…

> KVM users are underserved for sure. 100% I want to share keyboard, mouse and monitor between a PC and a MacBook. A KVM with DP+USB on one side and Thunderbolt on the other doesn’t seem to exist.. I feel like this has to be a common use case :( I know I could break out on a dock first, but I have a particularly high-res monitor which most of the docks baulk at, or only support at 30Hz

I'm in the same boat as you. After trying and returning a few KVMs, I found a decent USB-only KVM switch [0] that works with 4K HDR + PD devices (I think it just electronically connects and disconnects cables), it works amazingly with switching between Macs, but my PC GPU doesn't have USB output, just DP. I have bought a Thunderbolt PCI-E card (ASUS ThunderboltEX 4), it worked, but only turned on once Windows has fully booted, so I returned it too. I'm considering buying an USB-C signal muxer [1] but they are a bit too expensive for my liking. I guess there isn't enough market to produce them and sell them at reasonable price - most people, including myself, just accept having to switch video input separately from USB KVM.

[0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BN5D2NXX

[1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0732W9DG8

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#27
post #5

Synergy works well for this purely in software. Unfortunately it's not free or open source, but it's relatively inexpensive. https://symless.com/synergy

Prior to Synergy going to closed source, it was forked into Barrier[0], which then was forked into input-leap[1]. Both open source. [0] https://github.com/debauchee/barrier [1] https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap

Input leap was forked two years ago and the Readme still says "we hope to have a release ready very soon", which doesn't sound very hopeful. Too bad, Synergy was always a very useful project.

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#28
post #8
post #6

I bought 4 USB hubs just to switch the keyboard and mouse, it's just so annoying how most devices are so terrible. Randomly you have to physically detach the hub several times a day. If you plug webcams and/or USB mics, it only gets even worse. I'm using Synergy software and it works well, but I still want a proper KVM that can allow for webcams, mics, audio, etc. Features like moving only a group of plugged devices…

> KVM users are underserved for sure. 100% I want to share keyboard, mouse and monitor between a PC and a MacBook. A KVM with DP+USB on one side and Thunderbolt on the other doesn’t seem to exist.. I feel like this has to be a common use case :( I know I could break out on a dock first, but I have a particularly high-res monitor which most of the docks baulk at, or only support at 30Hz

how about these?

Anker 553 USB-C Docking Station (KVM Switch): - https://www.anker.com/products/83k2?variant=42726922125462 - https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Docking-Station-Desktop-Display...

iDock C10 KVM Switch Docking Station - https://www.avaccess.com/products/idock-c10/

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#29
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> KVM users are underserved for sure. 100% I want to share keyboard, mouse and monitor between a PC and a MacBook. A KVM with DP+USB on one side and Thunderbolt on the other doesn’t seem to exist.. I feel like this has to be a common use case :( I know I could break out on a dock first, but I have a particularly high-res monitor which most of the docks baulk at, or only support at 30Hz

Closest I’ve found is manually switching the machine plugged into a TB 4/USB 4 dock (CalDigit TS4), with the cables for each computer being managed when unplugged by a magnetic cable pad[0]. It’s a bit clunky but not too bad once you have a feel for swapping cables and is less flaky than the more affordable KVMs I’ve tried. Gets me a nicer port loadout to share between machines too, and can be expanded to support as…

I even got TB4 signal through one of those USB-C "magnetic" adapters [0], I figured that this would shift wear from repeated plugging from the expensive device to a cheap adapter.

Super annoying when you accidentally disconnect and then the entire device tree has to reboot, but on the hub side, accidental disconnect might be much less of a problem (I use it at the laptop side, to dock with different screen setups)

[0] like this, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV7BPVCL/ but ordered from the Chinese site

Re: DeskHop – Fast Desktop Switching

#30
post #13

> Ever tried to move that YT video slider to a specific position but your mouse moves too jumpy and suddenly you are moving your hand super-carefully like you're 5 and playing "Operation" all over again? On YouTube specifically, you can scrub through a video frame-by-frame using the , (comma) and . (period) keys, no custom hardware required. :-)

That's nice. Btw, I'm curious, what kinda mouse do you guys use that makes you hold your breath while you scroll? I believe mice these days are super precise and works pretty well.

Because it's not necessarily the mouse, but us :P
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