so, i got tired of sitting at the table with my macbook, or on the couch, or in my chair ... instead i wanted to sit at my desk in my REALLY comfy chair and use a keyboard and mouse ... and possibly my 17" flat panel as a second monitor. the only problem: i wouldn't be able to use my gnu/linux desktop system any more. why, you ask?
it's the computer at my desk.
alright, so i began evaluating my options; i thought of vnc first, but decided to research other applications. i found krfb, a kde remote desktop access system. i wasn't too thrilled with the fact that it only worked based on invitations and that i had to set it up physically with my monitor connected and logged in.
[at this time i already connected my flat panel as a second monitor and began using my keyboard and mouse for my macbook. the only access i had was via ssh]
i then found x11vnc, i thought i could attach a vnc session to kdm so i could log in.
negative
x11vnc kept looking for a "magic cookie" or authority file that didn't exist.
well, i guess it was time to try vnc. i hadn't had luck in the past (over a year and a half ago) when i tried it; nevertheless, i went full steam ahead.
i configured my .vncrc file, and stumbled upon an option i hadn't seen before:
$vncStartup = "/etc/X11/Xsession";
i then thought about it ... since i use kde, what if i put "/usr/bin/startkde" in there, would that work? i inserted the line and ran vncserver. i connected to the vnc session and ... BAM! yes! i had my desktop. mission accomplished. sweet.
gotta love gnu/linux.