Linux Desktop Hacks

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Chapter 4, Related to X

#32 Access Your Programs Remotely

HACK

Using this feature, you can use any computer capable of running a basic X

session to access a desktop environment on a faster computer. Provided

your network bandwidth is plentiful, there isn’t a noticeable lack of speed

running a desktop in this way. In fact, because all the programs run at the

speed of the faster remote machine, your performance might be better than

it’s ever been.

Despite these impressive abilities, the remote networking personality of X is

largely ignored by most users. Few regular desktop users seem to experi-

ment with the possibilities of running remote applications over a network,

even though these features could save a lot of time in homes or offices with

multiple X-based systems. This hack explores some of these features so that

you can apply them in your own context and hopefully save some time rush-

ing between different computers.

The final production work on nearly all O’Reilly books is

done by running X applications over the network. Specifi-

cally, FrameMaker 5.5.6 is run on a Solaris server and dis-

played on various Linux, Windows, and Macintosh clients

running an X server. All the Linux computers are actually

thin clients that run their entire desktop over the network

using X.

Access X Programs Securely

Running X applications from another computer is a fairly simple process.

You just change the

$DISPLAY ...