Learning to Love KVMs Again
Newer is not always better
Software/virtual KVMs are a lifesaver and a productivity boon, especially if you have multiple devices in use at any one time. The ability to use a single keyboard and mouse seamlessly across devices is something I leverage on a daily basis. A long time ago, we'd plug keyboard, mouse and video into a hardware KVM and switch across devices that way. Thankfully nowadays, this is no longer required, as there are multiple software solutions to achieve the same with minimal input lag.
For my KVM, I've been using Symless Synergy for quite a long time. Decades, on and off. There's a few benefits to Synergy, such as cross-platform support, multiple devices, flexible screen layouts, and more. For that reason I was happy to have purchased a lifetime license to it ages ago.
Recently I've started using it again on a newer setup, where my host is Windows 11 and a client is Linux running Wayland (the default for a many Linux distros nowadays).
However, Wayland wasn't without its own KVM issues...
I started noticing annoying problems with keymaps: which while they were detected correctly, it just kept messing up various keys. For example, < and > were sent as X and Z.
I got quite frustrated with this bug, and even tried a few other software KVM alternatives. To my surprise anything forked from CosmosSynergy (of which Synergy is also a fork), such as InputLeap exhibited the same behaviour.
I wasn't able to resolve this issue while running Wayland. When I disabled Wayland and went back to Xorg, this issue instantly disappeared.
While Xorg has disadvantages over Wayland, I don't play games or do anything apart from productivity working on my Linux kit, so I am fine with the compromise. I understand that for some users, falling back to Xorg is a deal-breaker, but I'm happy to have it resolved so I can get back to using my KVM again.
Just thought I'd share this tip, arfy out!
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Balanced in tone and meticulously researched, yet the conclusion feels rushed—expanding final takeaways would amplify its impact
I've just published a short @paragraph post: Learning to Love KVMs Again. Just a short one on squashing those pesky keymap bugs if you're on Linux + Wayland. 💀 https://paragraph.com/@arfonzo/learning-to-love-kvms-again
Struggling with KVM issues on Wayland? Check out @arfonzo's latest blog to learn about personal challenges with software KVMs, specifically Synergy and keymap problems. Learn how switching back to Xorg resolved these issues for smooth navigation across devices. Check it out!