MaxiVista just got even better

MaxiVista is a software application that lets you use another PC – your laptop, for example – as an extra screen for your main computer. Since more screen real estate is always better, this is a Good Thing. It's especially sexy with a Tablet PC, because you can rotate the keyboard out of the way, completing the illusion.

In my original review of MaxiVista, I noted their approach was fundamentally different from competing tools, which are basically “software KVMs”. Software KVMs let you use one keyboard and mouse to control two different PCs, often with support for moving the mouse cursor back and forth between the two displays, and cut-and-pasting between the two computers.

Having tried both paradigms, I liked MaxiVista better – and found out six months later that it was dangerously addictive. Now with v2.0 I can have my cake and eat it too, because they’ve added software KVM support! One keypress switches modes, from “laptop as second screen” to “software KVM” and back again. Oh, and for the exhibitionists amongst you (or teachers, maybe?) they also let you mirror one display onto many: see their price list for the different combinations. I’m running the $40 middle-of-the-road version.

Highly recommended – if you’ve got a PC and a laptop, go grab the free trial from https://www.maxivista.com/ and give it a spin. This is slick, seamless, magical stuff.

Update: Scott Hanselman loves it too - “now that I have a TabletPC, I consider MaxiVista to be a required tool”.