how to use 1 Monitor/Keyboard with two 2014 Mac Minis running different operating systems

[vidalb]

How to use 1 Monitor/Keyboard with two 2014 Mac Minis running different operating systems?​

I am trying to hold on to Yosemite and CS6 Adobe Design programs (Non Subscription.) But want Big Sur+ browser compatibility for web and email on the other.​

Several Lines of questioning here.

If I daisy chain the 2014 Mac minis together. One with Yosemite and the other with Big Sur Can I use them as independent machines - with 1 monitor and keyboard/mouse?

​

mystery hill wrote on another thread:​

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/using-two-different-mac-minis-with-one-display-monitor.2290482/#:~:text=You%20can%20use%20two%20different,on%20this%20between%20both%20minis.

??? BT-keyboard+mouse which can pair multi computers

Dell KM7120W Keyboard & Mouse - Wireless Wireless Mouse

MULTI-DEVICE WL KEYBOARD AND MOUSE COMBO KM7120W

www.amazon.com

Can they be daisy chained or how do you get both to idependently show up on the monitor.

DOES THIS WORK FOR MACS?
The Dell monitor I linked to above has a built-in KVM switch so you can share a keyboard and mouse. You can use a wireless keyboard and mouse by plugging the wireless receiver into the USB port of the KVM switch or monitor.

other suggestions:​

DOES THIS WORK FOR MACS?
You can use two different entries on the monitor to connect each mini and then simply switch the input on the monitor. Or, depending on how you connect the monitor, you get a splitter and switch on this between both minis.
What sort of monitor would i need for this.

DOES THIS WORK FOR MACS?
Multitask efficiently: Picture-In-Picture (PIP) and Picture-By-Picture (PBP) features make it easy for you to view content from two different computer sources simultaneously.



DOES THIS WORK FOR MACS? Simple manageability: Switch between applications from two PCs on your screen and work on the content using only one keyboard and mouse with the convenient Keyboard, Video and Mouse (KVM) feature.

You need either:

- wired keyboard+mouse going through a switchbox

- an app which can share keyboard+mouse over network (https://alternativeto.net/software/sharemouse/?platform=mac)

first two solutions require manual switch an honestly I think two keyboard + two mouse is faster.
Last option still leaves you vulnerable to crashes, so you might as well run both apps on the same machine.

 

[Juicy Box]

I am not sure if this would fit with what you are trying to do, but I manage many Macs, all with different MacOS versions, via just one Mac with the built-in Screen Sharing app.

Some Macs are headless, and some are not. They are all over my home, some connected with a wired connection, and others via my wireless network. I use many 6th Gen AirPort Extremes for my home network, but it doesn't have to be AirPort.

Where my main Mac is currently, I have two Mac connected to the same monitor, and if I want to use my other Mac next to it, I often just screen share to it and change the input on the monitor to the other Mac. This mitigates almost all latency-related issues. Honestly, it is just like connecting the mouse and keyboard to it directly.

Anyways, before investing into HW that you may not need, try the Screen Sharing app, and the method I listed above by having two Macs connected to one monitor, then just screen share form your main Mac to your secondary Mac and switch the input on the monitor to the other Mac.