[AuckLUG] Remote desktop on linux

[Nevyn]

On 8/23/07, Michal Ludvig <michal at logix.cz> wrote:
> Karl. wrote:
> > On Sun, Aug 19, 2007 at 01:31:54PM +1200, Daniel Mason wrote:
> >> Is there a similar thing on Linux as windows. like remote desktop??
> > [...]
> > Another option, which is potentially a lot more work, is to use FreeNX
> > http://freenx.berlios.de/
> > https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeNX
> >
> > from the first website listed: "NX is an exciting new technology for
> > remote display.  It provides near local speed application responsiveness
> > over high latency, low bandwidth links. The core libraries for NX are
> > provided by NoMachine under the GPL. FreeNX is a GPL implementation of
> > the NX Server."
>
> It's fair to mention the "real" NX server from NoMachine.com in this
> context. It's free as in $0 and the core libraries are also free as in
> Libre (GPL), so you get:
> 1) a commercial grade product for free
> 2) they supply RPMs and DEBs - anyone can choose their preferred format
> 3) installation works much more smoothly from my experience (although I
> admit I haven't tried FreeNX for at least half a year now, because the
> the server from NoMachine works just fine).
> 4) same protocol, compression and caching as in FreeNX (actually vice
> versa - FreeNX has the same protocol as NoMachine NX, to be correct).
>
> There's also a Windows, Mac OS-X and Solaris client for NX and a server
> for Solaris as well. Unfortunately no Windows server as yet.
>
> Works great also over slow ADSL as well as on fast LAN, give it a try:
> http://www.nomachine.com
>
> Michal

I've been using FreeNX for the last couple of months myself. Great if
you want to display a whole desktop. The pitfall of it is that it
seems just a tad less responsive than X11 forwarding over ssh although
this is over a lan (the three machines in my bedroom plus one or two
more around the house).

X11 forwarding is brilliant if you want to display a specific
application. I use Open office, the gimp, a couple of Windows
applications running under wine and a couple of other things in this
fashion (makes my Windows desktop disposable - I can reinstall Windows
when it invariably crashes and all the important applications are
still in place).

The other nice bit about FreeNX is that it handles sound for you as
well rather than mucking around with esound (which to my great
annoyance leaves an open dos prompt window while running).

I suppose I should just be thankful that most of the important apps I
use don't really need sound (which gives me more time to listen to
counting crows :p)