Real World Computing

KVMs and Multiple Computers In the old days before we had computers that spanned multiple monitors, we sometimes had multiple computers on our desks. We had dedicated switching hardware to do this called KVM (Keyboard/Video/Mouse) switches. These days, apart from PC setups, which are mostly done via cloning technology these days, there's not really a reason to have multiple computers on your desk.  At least, not until COVID-19 forced everyone to work from home and some of us found a need to switch between our home and work laptops with ease.  Not really wanting to purchase special hardware and extra cables, I looked for an alternative solution and found that Microsoft already had one. It's called Mouse without Borders. In this post, I just want to talk about getting it setup.  Installing Mouse without Borders There's quite a few options around for Virtual KVMs but why would you pay for one when Microsoft provides one of the best for free? Mouse ...

I've spent the last couple of months on Microsoft's Surface Book 4 (i7) and I've had enough time to form an opinion. I generally hate laptops but I've found the Surface Book to be fast enough and easy enough to do the majority of my work on. The touchscreen is very responsive and I love being able to detach the tablet from the base - though admittedly, I rarely have a good business reason to do it. We ordered around 45 of the devices all at once. One was DOA and another had batteries in the base that worked but dysfunctional batteries in the screen.  At around 4% failure it's probably still a reasonable return rate for hardware. In terms of general use, the keyboard and trackpad are fine and the display is very clear. The processing power of the device is good and multi-touch on the trackpad and display are great too. The pen is currently a little useless and gimmicky but I've recently discovered that it works with the current version of Corel, so I may ...