Tech Travel Tips: Mouse Without Borders

For the serious tech traveller – one who take 2 or more notebook computers on the road – this tip is for you. Having said that, this tip truly applies to anyone who works with multiple PCs at a time.

Recently, my boss showcased (via video conference) his multi-computer setup in his home office. When he demonstrated how all the computers could be managed by any of the computers in the setup, I am thinking it must be a KVM switch. NOT!  In fact, his setup was all linked together via Mouse Without Borders – a software solution for allowing seamless mouse & keyboard control to any computer in the setup by any computer in the setup (see picture below).

After I installed Mouse Without Borders, I did run into a technical difficulty.  Every time I tried to connect a certain PC, it “timed out”.  After going down multiple rabbit holes, I came across an unrelated post dealing with network issues setting up HomeGroup.  In that post, there was a suggestion that having a dash in the computer name could cause an issue.  It just happened to be that the name of the PC having the issue was mpalermo-s9.  I renamed the PC, restarted, and Mouse Without Borders worked like a charm!

The main advantage of this tech travel tip is the need to only pack one mouse while you are on the road.  Even if you don’t use it for travel, Mouse Without Borders can allow you to use your favorite mouse (and keyboard) across multiple computers at your home or office!