Barrier and input-leap are nice and all, but they're written for only modern OSes using modern library versions and language features.

If you want to share a mouse with an OS older than a decade or so you'll still have to use the original Synergy 1.x. It works on both old machines/OSes (all the way back to the 90s) and on the very newest released OSes. Given that, I don't really see a need for barrier or input leap. They're kind of niche, but it's nice someone's keeping the codebase going.

Basically the only reason to use newer forks of synergy is if you have an abnormally high DPI screen in your span.

But Synergy is now commercial, with a stupid surcharge for TLS, so would it make more sense to say "the only reason to use synergy is if you're using an old OS and don't have hi-DPI screens"?

No, you're thinking of the Synergy 2.x codebase. No one uses that and it's why Barrier exists. But Synergy 1.x is open and free as in freedom.

Gotcha, thanks. I used to use Synergy 1.x, and it was great. Recently returned to the fray and didn't have time to build-from-source (or didn't find an easy 1.x installer for new OS X) so grumble-grumbled and paid for Synergy 2. and expensed it.

I had a plan to run older period VMs or even period hardware to play older PC games, and use something like parsec to view them. Unfortunately, despite there being a number of desktop streaming solutions available I couldn't find any that supported even WindowsXP, much less 9x. Windows 7 was about the best I could do.

Not 100% sure this fits your use case but UltraVNC goes back to w95.

> if you have an abnormally high DPI screen in your span.

Like any MacBook Pro post 2015?

Synergy is not a problem on any of my highdpi systems, MacBook, 4k in Linux And windows