Re:VNC / X Windows

[Adam Williams <adam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 From          : klug>klug-request
 To            : adam
 Subject       : VNC / X Windows
 Date          : 01/01/70 01:01


>OK.  I just downloaded the latest version of VNC. And it now works. At least
>you can connect now.  However it doesn't bring up KDE. It just has a terminal
>session running.  How would you go about getting it to start KDE or GNOME
>instead of the terminal session?


Yep, this is very normal.  Depending on how you start x you will get diffrent
configuartions of window manager/etc...  Normally if you have xdm a script~
in /etc/X11/xdm called Xsession get run,  if you do a startx (which is a
script itself),  it runs /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc as the startup file.  THese
startup files fire up a window manager, etc...  Becuase the window manager
or session manager are components of an X environment, and not "integrated"
into the graphics subsystem.  I don't know if you knew all that,  but some
Windows-backgrounded people don't,  so I mention it for completeness.~

When you run "vncserver" (which is a script that starts Xvnc), it looks in a
sub-dir called .vnc in your home for a file called "xstartup", which it uses
to build your prefered X environment (window/session managers, etc...).  If
you wish this to be the same as when you login to the system locally make it
a sym-link to /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc, and that should do the trick.  Or else
you can hack "vncserver" to not bother with the home directory stuff at all
and just start a certain window manager (which is what I do,  in fact, I
have it start star office with no window manager at all).~

For those of you curious I have found that Star Office running to a remote X
display eats about 15-20% of one of the CPU's even when idle and on another
virtual desktop.  If I run it in a local Xvnc and then connect over a network
with VNC, idle means idle, and it consumes no CPU resources when not in focus.
Someone explain that on too me please?  (Not that I really mind, VNC with zlib
compressesion uses alot less bandwith than X anyway).