Fwd: Re: [Gate-users] Remote Visualization Problem

[Kris Thielemans]

Hi all

> It is true that if you vnc to a 
> windows machine, or to your cell phone, or PDA, you actually 
> get a representation of what the native screen shows. With 
> most Redhat-like Linux installations, this is not the case. 
> It is set up so that vnc starts a fresh X server that is 
> subject to all the window manager startup procedures it 
> normally takes. Since you mention the grey window, I assume 
> you get the vanilla, what is it, fvwm window manager, or just 
> an xterm. And that vnc-specific X server is not likely to 
> have all the OpenGL attributes you need.
> 

I'm not so sure if OpenGL support is a property of the window manager. I
believe it is  the X server, see also http://principe.homelinux.net/. As VNC
on linux uses its own X-server, that one should have OpenGL support
built-in. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualGL.

Other notes:
You can change the window manager used by VNC by editing ~/.vnc/xstartup. 
On more recent ssh, you might have to do "ssh -Y" as opposed to -X. This has
to do with giving up some extra security, but most programs (including
xemacs) need it.

Kris