[Discuss] Laptop as a remote access device?

[lconrad at laymusic.org (Laura Conrad)]

>>>>> "Dale" == Dale R Worley <worley at alum.mit.edu> writes:

    Dale> I'm looking into buying a laptop that's solely a remote access device,
    Dale> that is, a portable way to use ssh/X windows server to connect to a
    Dale> workstation that's at home.  Does anyone have advice?  It seems to me
    Dale> the requirements are:

    Dale> - compute and disk capacity aren't very important
    Dale> - physical size and durability are important
    Dale> - must support ssh/X (assuming it's either a Windows or MacOS system,
    Dale>   what are the good packages for this?)
    Dale> - must allow attachment of external keyboard, mouse, and video

I bought a Dell something pretty old with Linux Mint installed for about
$100 off eBay from a place called "Free Geek".  It's working fine, with
the exception of when I start Firefox from Emacs, which works, but you
have to go make coffee or something the first time you start it.  It's
getting better -- when I first started doing it, sshd used 100% of the
workstation CPU for 10 or 15 minutes, but now it uses 50% for less than
5 minutes.

It has as many ports as I would ever use (both HDMI and Displayport;
lots of USB; several audio jacks; ethernet...)

I did this because getting a docking station working with my cute little
laptop with hardly any ports was much harder than I would have
expected.  But I may try again with a different dock.

-- 
Laura   (mailto:lconrad at laymusic.org)
(617) 661-8097	233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139   
<http://www.laymusic.org/> <http://www.serpentpublications.org>

A zen teacher once taught his students, "When drinking tea, just drink
tea."  Later one of them found him drinking tea and reading the
newspaper.  When confronted, the teacher replied, "When drinking tea
and reading the newspaper, just drink tea and read the newspaper."

Quoted by Michelle Poirot in the New York Times, October 11, 2009