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15-inch T60's or Frankies in a slave array
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 4:46 pm
by Mindfulness Quebec
I'm toying with alternatives like MaxiVista, ZoneScreen, SpaceDesk to create a system in which the server can be anything at all - either an ATX box with a keyboard on a drawer under the desk, or a small, powerful laptop on the drawer - permitting you to use two or three 15-inch T60's or Frankies as screens while freeing you completely from their horsepower limitations. With a laptop on the drawer, you would pull out the drawer to boot up the system or when necessary to view the screen on the server, then transfer all the work to the array of T60's or Frankies (even T42's) on the desktop. This would completely free you from worries about the obsolescence of the 15-inch TP's you were using as slaves. Has anyone else devoted any thought/experimentation to an array like this?
Re: 15-inch T60's or Frankies in a slave array
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:09 am
by Pokrzept
Original post:
Hey,
I have no info about LED retrofitting but I do share same interest in single environment sharing over multiple machines (T601F plus 3xA31p in my case). I haven't much time to tinker lately so my best shot so far was an TeamViewer server running on FrankenPad and a client session running on A31p. I did forced windows graphic driver to simulate additional UXGA display over VGA and forced remote client to connect to that virtual working space.
If you want to use more than two displays and do not need to use Windows OS and you can try to port your host machine to Linux and use VNC server. Proper VNC server like an RealVNC support virtual mode which may solve your problem.
There's also KVM software like Synergy project, but it does share your mouse and keyboard over multiple machines instead of sharing working environment over multiple machines.
And refering to your answer @ the original topic - if you're stuck in windows os environment you may try another solution: please consider use of an Virtual Machine software on your Host PC. Once you install Windows on it you may reconfigure your virtual computer to act as multi-display station. In last step you'd need to install one of the remote desktop tools you mentioned and connect each of your array machines as an separate display.
Re: 15-inch T60's or Frankies in a slave array
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:28 am
by Mindfulness Quebec
You mean running Windows in a virtual machine? And my MaxiVista on top of that? Sure, why not! The beauty of this arrangement is that even the slowest T60's would work, or you could underclock a 60p to have no thermal worries. And no need to build Frankenpads. Of course, if you wanted the remote control option rather than multiple desktops, you would need to consider the computing power of the T60 slaves.... but if your host machine is really powerful you have little need for remote control; everything could be multitasked on the one CPU.
Re: 15-inch T60's or Frankies in a slave array
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 9:14 pm
by PowerPC
With VGA converters, USB adapters, ThinkPad USB keyboards, a Dremel, and a lot of patience, you might make some real terminals. I'm considering this for the middle term, when a T61 planar with NVS 140M no longer has acceptable performance.
Re: 15-inch T60's or Frankies in a slave array
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 11:00 pm
by Mindfulness Quebec
My requirements for video aren't that high; I'm running a T61 planar with Intel graphics in my Frankenpad. I also have a 14" standard T61, Hydis SXGA+, nVidia 140m, that I use, believe it or not, as my portable.