[Nottingham] VNC box in place of port replicator

[Martin]

Surprised no replies to this...


On 14/02/14 11:21, Duncan wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm in the market for a laptop[1], all well and good.
> Usage will be mostly as a _quiet_ desktop replacement
> with occasional mobility so I've been discovering that
> current (USB3, displaylink based) laptop port replicators
> don't work with linux.
> 
> I was thinking, given the £100 a port replicator can cost,
> can I instead by a diddy little raspberry Pi-like box
> with networking, display and a few usb ports and
> set it up as a VNC client for all of the boxes
> (laptop, desktop, local server etc) I have
> (yes, I'm re-creating the old x-term days :).
> 
> Does anyone have any experience of doing this sort of
> thing, and does it work well enough ?

I've had a brief play: And yes, on a local network vnc or even vnc via
html5 seems to work well enough. However, X11 forwarded over ssh onto a
local X11 display still gives a more responsive cursor for doing things.

Depends on how twitchy or rushed your user/usage might be...


> Also, doing graphics over the network, I'm keen to make
> the networking gigabit. Raspberry Pi's, beagleboards etc
> all come with 10/100 network sockets.  Does anyone know
> of an equivalent that has at least 1 gigabit port,
> fullHD display output and a few usb ports ?
> 
> [1] Eg. https://www.system76.com/

By the power of convergent evolution and... ;-)

I've been looking to do something similar for the sake of a silent (or
at least vastly quieter) work/play area...

Is the following evolving list of any help?

RaspberryPi and multiple SBCs Desert! (ARM)
http://nottingham.lug.org.uk/2014/02/raspberrypi-and-multiple-sbcs-desert-arm/4575


Alternatively, are there any silent (fanless) x86 systems available with
a similar physical format and circa £100?

(Or is the x86 CISC too old and encumbered and clunky to be silently
useful?)


Cheers,
Martin



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