MagicTwin continued
Licensing Issues
Many software licenses stipulate that you can only use one copy of it at any given time. You might be able to install it on more than one machine (say you own computers at two separate locations and can never physically use both at once) provided you don't use them at the same time. More often than not even that's a restriction.From the excellent Office EULA (end user license agreement) FAQ at Pearson Software:
I bought a Retail Copy of Office and installed it on my PC. Can I install it on my laptop, too?See?
Yes. You can install Office on your laptop as long as you are the exclusive user of the laptop. This means that you can install it on your laptop, but not your wife's laptop. It is important to understand that the EULA allows you to install the second copy of Office on a portable device like a laptop, not just some any other PC. In summary, you can install a retail copy on your desktop PC and your laptop. It does not mean that you can install it on two desktop PCs. You don't have the right to install it on two PCs. You have the right to install it on one desktop PC and one of your own laptops. Any other combination is not allowed.
I have an OEM Copy of Office and installed it on my PC. Can I install it on my laptop, too?
No. The EULA is different for OEM copies of Office, and you cannot install an OEM Copy on your laptop, only if you are the only user of the laptop. The OEM copy of Office can exist only on the original PC on which it was installed. No laptops, no anything else. OEM copies are strictly one machine only licenses.
Why is an OEM Copy of Office considered different than a Retail Copy of Office?
Because Microsoft provides copies of Office to computer manufacturers and vendors at a reduced price, and the vendor is supposed to pass those savings to you. Most likely, the copy of Office that came with your computer cost you less than had you went to the store and purchased Office on your own. Because you paid less, you have more limited rights.
Under the Office EULA, I can't install my legit copy on a MagicTwin setup and have both logged on users use apps from it at once. I'd need another copy.
So software licensing comes to the forefront when you're using a MagicTwin board, adding further potential cost distractions to using one. Of course those issues don't disappear with two discrete PCs, but it's not immediately obvious that it's a problem with MagicTwin since there's only one physical PC being used.
Hardware Issues
If you've used a recently built computer with a modern 3D graphics card and more than one connected display, you'll know that you can run into issues with getting hardware acceleration on anything but the primary display. Recent NVIDIA cards that you'll be using with MagicTwin boards can do hardware acceleration, including 3D, hardware overlays and other such finery on all connected displays, provided you run recent drivers and a recent model of GPU.It's not a huge deal, but something to look out for if you're planning on pairing a MagicTwin with certain vintages of cards.
Magic Twin Overall
I was sceptical at first, but it works well. The software is light and unobtrusive. You install it, set it up and that's it. It requires absolutely no maintenance once correctly configured.I don't even have issues with the performance hit since there effectively isn't one. The issues with MagicTwin lie in software licensing and hardware compatibility, both things you can work around with planning and research. The actual implementation of the technology seems fairly robust, working great throughout testing.
It doesn't extend Windows XP's ability to log someone in locally and also have that same user login remotely via Remote Desktop. You can't even log the same user in twice, locally. That's an OS limit and something for it to solve by other means, Magic Twin can't patch that up for you.
