Christopher Kyba 🇨🇦🇪🇺Mar 19

Dear hive mind,

I would like to buy a docking station that works perfectly with Mac, but can also easily and quickly switch between my MacBook and a desktop windows computer. If you have had good experience with a product that does that, please let me know.

Show threaditgrrl Mar 19

@skyglowberlin it depends on the details:

how many external monitors do you need to drive, at what resolution, & at what refresh rate, & what input types do they support?

how many USB devices do you typically need to have connected?

also – do you want to have the two computers connected simultaneously to the dock and be able to switch between which computer gets the monitor output & any USB devices connected (like a KVM), or a dock that can have a monitor & USB devices attached that can be quickly unplugged from one computer & plugged into the other (with a single cable)?

Show threadChristopher Kyba 🇨🇦🇪🇺Mar 19

@itgrrl I have two external monitors, which are currently being displayed at "2560x1440 (Default)". I don't actually know what their true resolution is. The refresh rate is set to 60 Hz. I'm not sure what you mean by input types, sorry?

I want to have a USB mouse and keyboard attached to the docking station.

It would be ideal if I could have them both connected simultaneously and switch somehow between which is being displayed and using the keyboard and mouse. But I could live with having it display and connect the keyboard and mouse to whichever one is both powered on and connected. I want to have two separate cables connected to the docking station. (The Windows computer is always plugged in, it's just typically only turned on a few times per month.)

Show threadLars LeichertMar 19
@skyglowberlin @itgrrl This might not be what you want, especially if you really need a hardware solution (e.g. for playing games), but did you consider using the „Windows App.app“ (I know!) from Microsoft to control your windows machine via Remote Desktop? It‘s free and works quite well.
Show threadChristopher Kyba 🇨🇦🇪🇺
@salzbrot The windows machine isn't usually on, I only ever turn it on when I need to do something windows specific.
Mar 23 at 6:50amWeb
Show threadLars LeichertMar 23
@skyglowberlin It doesn‘t have to be. I more or less have the same setup, when I need the windows machine, I just turn it on and go in via remote desktop. Although I have to admit, the windows machine has a small monitor and keyboard and mouse attached to it, but they are stored under the desk unless I am doing something graphics intensive, like gaming. It should be possible to run a windows machine completely headless, afaik.