Multiple Monitor Madness

For some reason, this is the first time I have tried using two screens from one computer. I've plugged my 19" crt into my laptop, and I must say, I can see why people like this. Having an extra 1600x1200 means that I can have two textpad windows maximised to compare files, or PSP on one and textpad on the other. Of course now I'm wishing I had yet another screen so I could have smartftp on that...

This definitely confirms in my mind that I want a multiple monitor setup for my main desktop back in Cornwall. But I'm still not sure how I want it to work - I not only want to have multiple monitors for one machine, but I also want to be able to use other machines through the extra monitors. For an example, I will resort to ASCII art:


Monitor    Monitor    Monitor
   |__________|__________|
              |
          Windows PC

I want that. That's easy. But as I say, I want to be running more than one computer from the one keyboard and mouse. It is also easy to use Synergy or VNC to share a single keyboard and mouse between several computers plugged into their own monitors:


Monitor    Monitor    Monitor
   |          |          |
Linux PC  Windows PC   Apple
   |__________|__________|
              |
          Synergy/VNC

But do any of you have any idea how I can combine these two approaches? I want to be able to run windows on all monitors, but switch the side ones to different machines. I could use the video ports on a couple of KVMs to let me swap the side monitors between Windows PC and the other machines, but then how would a Synergy/VNC setup cope with that? I am aware you can configure them to skip out a screen if the machine is turned off, and arrange the Synergy screens as 'Windows, Linux, Windows, Apple, Windows'; perhaps that is the answer. But that would suck when I have the linux and apple machines turned on, and I have switched all the monitors to Windows.

Perhaps I could run a VNC server on the linux and apple machines, and open clients on the windows pc side monitors - but surely that would make performance suck? Does anyone have any knowledge and experience of this?

I know some of you have used Synergy, and perhaps others have used VNC - does anyone have any ideas?

Perhaps I should just buy more monitors.

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