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Hardware KVM vs. software switches? Your opinion?
Hi there,
as currently my hardware "portfolio" here is growing, I now see that I need a kind switch, because I don't want to use several mice and keyboards. What I now found out, that those are called "KVM switches" and are often hardware. Yet there is also software.
I need one for 1. my desktop workstation 2. my nettop "server" and from time to time 3. for my laptop and 4. maybe for my NAS.
So I looked up the cost for this: 70 € the least. Plus cables => ~100 €
Now there is the alternative of using free software (I didn't try it yet) like Synergy(2) and InputDirector.
Now, is this software worth the effort? Or what are its disadvantages e.g. compared to this switch?
What are the advantages of such hardware that justify the 100 € extra-cost over Open-Source software? Potentially saved energy consumption, because I don't need a server running (for the software) all the time? I doubt it. Esp. as I may run my nettop-server a 100% of the time, as my NAS already is running 80% of a day.
Thanks for your help in advance!
Kind regards