A system for operating multiple independent terminals of grouped, locally connected input and output devices through a single graphical user interface layer running on a computer comprising an event queue module for receiving each input command from each input device; an event handler module for receiving the input commands from the event queue module and directing input commands from specific input devices via corresponding socket/listeners of the single graphical user interface layer to corresponding ones of multiple pointers, focuses and client applications based on predetermined associations between grouped devices and respective ones of the socket/listeners; and an output module for directing output commands from each socket/listener to respective ones of the output devices based on the predetermined associations. A system for creating multiple independent terminals of grouped input and output devices connected to and for operation by a single computer comprising a configuration module for simultaneously providing unique output commands to ungrouped output devices to cause the output devices to respectively provide a unique input directive to a user; the configuration module also for receiving unique input commands from individual ungrouped input devices, each unique input command corresponding to a respective one of the unique output directives; and an association module for, in response to the receiving, commonly associating with a unique group identifier each of corresponding input and output devices and respective ones of multiple pointers and focuses.