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True peripheral sharing/workspace decluttering (webcam)


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Despite some quirks here and there, Synergy has been an absolute godsend in this novel WFH environment. My triple monitor setup with my work macOS laptop and home Windows 10 PC seamlessly sharing input from my mouse and keyboard just plain makes me happy. Thankfully the dark ages of cumbersome USB switches or duplicate peripherals are long behind us. Or are they?

What about that ubiquitous piece of kit that every micromanager and overachieving coworker guilts us into using during our online meetings? Surely Synergy, the savior of the mixed used desktop, has a solution for users like me who want to use one webcam on two computers? What's that? They don't??? ??

tl;dr - Add the ability to share a webcam between two computers with Synergy just as we can share a mouse and keyboard today. This is a particularly important use case in this WFH environment where we've had to incorporate our work computer(s) into our home computing desks and video use in web meetings is becoming increasingly common.

Look, I get it. It's much easier to do a virtual keyboard or mouse where most users are fine with the nearly imperceptible latency issues. Video with sync'd audio is a whole 'nother ball of wax. But other companies have solved this problem, but I won't share the names here out of respect for the fine folks at Synergy that have been a life saver for my sanity. A quick internet search will produce the names of these companies. With the talented developers on staff at Synergy I'm sure an acceptable solution could be found to share one HD 1080p webcam over a local network connection. Perhaps resolution and/or framerate would need to be capped based upon the speed and bandwidth of the available network connection between the host computer with the webcam and the client. But this would be an absolute ace in the hole for Synergy for WFH warriors like myself. This feature might just get more managers to spring for the cost for their employees, thereby increasing sales!

As a work from home (WFH) employee I want a reliable and easy way to share my main IO peripherals (mouse, keyboard, and webcam) between my home and work computers over a network connection to minimize clutter on my desk.

My work laptop does have a built-in webcam, but to save desk space (a key value proposition for Synergy's products) I operate my laptop in a clamshell configuration (lid closed) and in a vertical stand. I have an external USB camera for my home PC hanging on the top edge of one of my monitors, but at present I have to physically disconnect the webcam from one computer and attach it to the other whenever I need to swap where I'm doing the web conferencing. What a PITA! What a perfect application for Synergy!!! Please don't force me to give my money to another company just so that I can share my webcam in addition to my mouse and keyboard...

Edited by Brian2
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