Extending my display across 2 Macs

[johnh7578]

Thanks in advance for helping out a mac rookie (and recent pc convert).
I've got a Mac desktop on my desk where I also work with my Macbook Pro and I'd like to able to use the Mac desktop as an extended display for the Macbook Pro (just like you can if you hardwire an external display). I assume I could probably do this by buying a thunderbolt cable to connect the two, but I was hoping that there might be a software approach to this with Airplay or something similar. Any ideas?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

If you have two Thunderbolt capable Macs and one of them is the 27" iMac, then a TB cable from Monoprice for 25 USD is a better solution than the 20 or so USD for AirDisplay from Avatron, though it works quite well and I used it with my 20" iMac and a 24" display hooked to a much stronger Mac via Gigabit Ethernet. But it had its bugs and playing video on the client was not fluid.

 

[johnh7578]

Thanks

What an excellent, detailed response. Thanks a ton. I'll take a look at the app route for my needs (hate the extra cables on my desk and no high def video) and consider the TB cable as a fallback.