$7 computer

[gerald_clark]

Yes, the X server writes to the frame buffer on the headless server.  The VNC viewer just mirrors the servers frame buffer on its display.

Another option is to run X on your display machine and connect to the headless server with "ssh -X".
Then you run the X applications on the headless machine, and they display on your display machine.
This does not require VNC, but it does require that the display machine run X.  There are X servers for Windows as well as Linux/Unix.

Remember, the X server is the display.  The X client is the program sending its output to the X server.
This terminology is somewhat backwards from what you might think.

[cast-fish]

Right Gerald.

The reason i ask is that there are some spare Router boxes here with
300mhz dual core cpu and 64 meg ram and 2 meg SSD and a USB slot.

There is a version of a particular Distro which i am sure you know about
as the industry standard embedded distro. There is a version specific to the chip
inside these routers and it is the correct firmare.

I intend to flash the chip with this embedded distro firmware so the router then runs
Linux for me.


The reason for this is to just get usage out of the routers....one project i want
to do is a WI FI internet radio. This is real easy and uses the USB port on the
router for a USB soundcard. It makes a lovely WI FI internet radio system. (see below)


The embedded Linux in question does not have many GUI apps in the repo
but there are 3.5k of apps in there....mainly command line apps ....but there
are things like music daemons....music deamon clients.....web browsers like
"elinks" and many many more terminal apps "sceen" for example.

The cpu is a MIPS archicteture and i have already found many other apps compiled for
this Linux distro under MIPS , included "mplayer" and "Links" browser and many
more.

I realize i can compile ANY gui app for this Distro but i never tried it....such as
say "Abiword" or "Leadpad".

But as far as i see it, with your desctiption about VNC then i should "see" movie
playback on my client machine coming from the work done by Mplayer on
the router machine's CPU.  since "mplayer" will be run in framebuffer and
also "Links" browser.

To me, that's reason enough to stop cobwebs on a router and actually use it.
There are infact 4 routers here that have the Distro available for thier chip
and they have good specs with a USB port.

The routers are "Bt home hub 3" and "Orange Livebox 92be" and a Huwai router
and also a "Brightbox".

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bp26xFBwrJs

i listen to a lot of internet radio and using a router means no power wasted
driving a laptop...so

ye

V

[gerald_clark]

No.
VNC require that you run X on the remote system.
ssh -X with a local X server allows you to display the remote GUI app locally.

Those MIPS routers really are memory and CPU deficient.
I would not try running X apps on them.
Even my ASUS running Tomato has trouble running  slimserver with reasonable response time.

[cast-fish]

right..

so how come the NanoNote is able to run stuff compitently then?

it's half the cpu power and half the ram. Running the same distro.

It can run mplayer...HD movies....and a whole lot more.

There are youtube videos showing this.  It's only difference is it has a Video
core.

http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Applications


Vince.

[cast-fish]

Yes

Here is NanoNote emulated in Qemu.

It's a 336mhz single core MIPS CPU and 32 megs of ram running OpenWRT.
(That's half the power of my router here.)

As you see here the machine runs everything including HD movies off mplayer.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OYl6eNHBBe  (the machine playing doom etc....)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=q6BxbAtJ7F4 (emulated apps shown)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MAH4sV_p-TU (the machine)




You can emulate it yourself since the NanoNote website has the OpenWRT  iso with apps for download.

[cast-fish]

Gerald....before this thread becomes a silly blog

i just wanted to say that i don't think it's screen size that is any horsepower
issue but could it be that because that tiny handheld is running "DirectFB"
which is an X11 styled compatable emulation using much less resources.....

is that how the tiny handheld manages to deal with such apps as you have seen?

i was led to believe that with ssh-X from a client, the server running X styled apps
does not actually need any X11 type stuff installed or the "X server".

In that case i can't see how these routers
won't have more than enough horsepower to even outperform that handheld thing
over ssh-X  (since mplayer is a framebuffer build and also Links browser is)

V

V

[cast-fish]

sorry i just was reading your notes again Gerald...

i had it backwards thinking...as you stated....

so the client is the one "sending" screen  info to the "server".

weird.


V

[gerald_clark]

Correct. The X server serves the screen for the client. Nowadays, they are usually the same machine.

[cast-fish]

Yes Gerald..

i was a littel confused at first but realixe that all the APPS for the small laptop
are indeed console or framebuffer apps. (Still, mplayer is fully working from
dinasour hardware and is hardware accelerated).

LIke you say, running X on the router is too much although it could work
with 64 ram and dual core 300mhz cpu. Its in the OpenWRT repo
"X-server-common".

Those framebuffer apps for the small netbook are compiled for MIPS 300 mhz cpu
and may already work on my router here.

Otherwise....... i just have my routers build of OpenWRT with it's repo....it has
lots of console apps and "Screen" for using multiple consoles and
you could operate the router nicely as a headless computer with
that in mind.

Also these routers will do nicely with music and internet radio
and mp3 from a default OpenWRT install....since the repo has daemons
for music and such.

You see Gerald, "directFB" as used on that netbook also has a feature
called "XdirectFB" which indeed does emulate full "X" enviro and allows
X apps to be run on dinasour hardware...but the OpenWRT repo does not
include "XdirectFB"....(XdirectFB said to not work too well on that netbook...it\
needs a little more horsepower but that is infact exactly what the router DOES have).....
(double the horsepower)

i think you *can* run X apps on these dual core routers if you use that "XdirectFB"
mask.....and i think it will work if you know how to compile it for the cpu in question.
But then you would also need to compile actual GUI "x" apps like "abiword" etc
so it would be a lot of work.

I will be trying some of those framebuffer apps on my OpenWRT build in the hope
that they work so i can use the entire list of netbook apps....about 50 apps including mplayer
and links graphical browser.

TO my mind that is a nice working computer from an old router...

V

[roborob]

Hi,

Does anyone know where to find these at the $7 price currently?  I spent a fair amount of time on Google (etc.) and was not able to locate one.

Thanks,
Rob

[vinceASPECT]

Hi

been seeing those quad core SBC computers again at $15 dollar plus
shipping new

[ Deleted commercial link ] Please read forum rules before posting.
.......O___0......


V

[hiro]

Still only 100Mbit and Mali400 is normally a problem.

I've been playing more with my tp-link 703n lately. I wish it had more RAM, then tc would be an option
It's hard to find devices that have a power consumption as low as the 703n even while wifi is running.

One day I might buy a cheap phone with LTE and hdmi out just to run tinycore on it