How can I use my laptop's monitor as my PC's ONLY monitor? [duplicate]

Solution 1:

There are a number of open source software projects that create software that allows you to control multiple computers using just the keyboard and mouse of one of the computers. The best known is probably Synergy:

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

There are some others that people advocate, as well as some forks of Synergy that people prefer to Synergy itself.

Just remoting into the PC using VNC might be enough for your needs, too.

[Edit: SORRY, after thinking a moment I realize Synergy is not at all what you want. Synergy would allow you to control the PC from your laptop's keyboard (which is great) but it would generally be used in dual-monitor situation where your pc also had its own monitor. VNC is solution you want if you want to see the PC"s display on your laptop display. ]

Solution 2:

Linux is easy; just use X forwarding over an SSH connection. From your laptop:

ssh -X otherpc
kicker (this will give you the taskbar if you're running KDE)

or

ssh -X otherpc
gnome-session (this will give you the GNOME desktop if you're running GNOME)

When you run the above commands and launch applications from the window manager's taskbar/menubar, the applications will be displayed locally. In addition, any X application you launch from the ssh -X'd terminal will be displayed locally.

If you were using Windows, you could use MaxiVista's monitor cloning/desktop mirroring feature to do exactly what you want. Unfortunately, it's not free--but since you're using Linux, you don't need it ;)