Build Date: Thu May 1 02:20:38 2025 UTC
As a writer, I kick your flabby ass to China and back. Your articles are rolling over and BEGGING my articles not to tear through their soft underbellies and slurp up their intestines like so much spaghetti. Your articles call my articles "sir." Your articles pull their dripping assholes WIDE for my articles' slightest pleasure.
-- Siduri
Coolio VNC! It's the MAN
1999-08-10 19:55:52
All right, I know that remote-access software is not only insecure and bloatacious, but it's also REALLY OLD and BORING technology. But I don't CARE! I love VNC!
VNC is the Virtual Network Computer. It's a protocol and a set of software components (clients and servers on various platforms) for remote access to a computer. That means that a user on one computer can use a completely OTHER computer as if it were the SAME computer.
Like, move the mouse on this computer, the OTHER computer thinks you moved the mouse there. Type here, the words come out THERE, and you can see it on your monitor HERE. Does that make sense? Of COURSE IT DOES.
VNC was originally developed at Olivetti for some project or another, but they quickly realized that it was too cool to leave mouldering as part of some grandiose graphic computer vision, so they released it under the GNU Public License. When Olivetti's labs got bought by AT&T, or something like that, the AT&T kept VNC out in the public, and has continued work on it. Huzzah for them!
Now, sure, there's a ton of remote access options out there, ranging from freako expensive stuff like pcAnywhere, to "system administration" tools like Microsoft's SMS Server and, uh, Back Orifice 2000, to general-purpose remote desktop stuff like X-windows. But I like VNC!
There's a lot of reasons why. A) It's free. I mean, Free, like Free Software free, under GPL. B) It's Open Source, so I'm not as worried about security hassles as with proprietary, closed systems. C) It's real easy to set up and use.
D) Unlike X-windows, there's Free (note caps) clients available on a lot of platforms. I've fucked around with "X servers" (which would be the "client" for any decent and logical architecture) for Windows too many times. I'm sick of it. Fuck it. I'll stick with VNC. Finally, E) There's a ton of VNC SERVERS available for different platforms. That means I can manage my NT boxen from my Linux boxen and vice versa. Cool!
They even have a Javur applet all BUILT IN and shit, which means that you can manage a VNC-serving machine just by connecting to it with a Javur-enabled browser. A whole computer in your Javur applet! Beaujolais to that!
Now, sure, there's a lot of security hassles with having a server that allows your computer to be hijacked from other computers. Fucking DUH. But there are ways to alleviate that risk. I use a firewall for the main VNC port, then use SSH to tunnel through. It's encrypted, fairly secure, and it's extra super fun. I only keep the VNC server going while I'm working, so it's fairly (knock-on- wood) OK.
I recommend this product or service! Go check out VNC today!
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
During a magnificent sunny day in a fast receding autumn, the Spock Science Monitor reporters once again blew the playa dust off of their computers and covered the 2002 Burning Man Decompression – held every year just east of Portola Hill in beautiful San Francisco. Both an afternoon and evening issues were released to the unsuspecting crowd of freaks attempting to in some small way experience the euphoria of the playa – if but for a brief afternoon far from the desolation of Northern Nevada. (More...)
The quest for knowledge never ends at the super top secret Spock Mountain Laboratory, although it is frequently interrupted by beverage breaks. Recently, a team of crack ethnomixologists returned from a dangerous expedition to the frozen expanse of Canada with the much sought recipe for a Spocktail that is destined to replace blunt force head trauma as the major cause of brain damage in the civilized world. (More...)
Absinthia: The Pigdog Interview
Absinthe is making a come back for the Millennium. Even English people are slurping it down in pubs, eschewing their normal, healthy stouts and ales. And why not? Hell, if the planet is going to explode anyway, why not ride the DEATH WAVE in, and celebrate Y2K with the most entertaining and vicious elixir you can find? Come! Explore the "Absinthe Underground" with El Snatcher, Mr. Bad, and Splicer, as they interview the notorious absinthe bootlegger, Absinthia. (More...)
Our team of crack journalists went insane, and made the drive from Concord, California to Concord, New Hasmpshire on Interstate 80. Read the insightful observations of our intrepid travelers made on their journey into the heartland. (More...)
Pigdog dispatched special correspondent Ratsnatcher for a holiday reconnaissance of America's frozen hell. After ten days of silence, our shortwave radio cackled with Ratsnatcher's static-filled transmission. (More...)
Report from Spiritual Machines
Arkuat gives you the inside scoop on the "Spiritual Machines" panel and conclave. Wacky excitement ensues! (More...)
