8

I want to use my android tablet as a secondary display for my Xubuntu laptop, not to mirror the laptop but as an additional desktop -- I do not need to drag windows from one to the other, and it is okay to run the android session as a separate login.

Ideally I would like to use the keyboard/mouse of the desktop for the android session, but I can live without. If possible I would like the connection be made via usb instead of wifi (to help save battery).

On the askubuntu archive I found a post with almost the same title & question

How do you use an android tablet as a second display?

The answer is to (1) install vnc4server on the laptop, (2) get a vnc client on android, (3) connect the two, and (4) share keyboard and mouse using synergy. I have done (1) and (2), and following

https://superuser.com/questions/182261/how-to-change-virtual-screen-resolution-on-ubuntu-connecting-via-vnc-without-re/187274#187274

I started the vnc server using

vncserver :12 -name "My-Server" -geometry 1024x600

Unforunately I'm not sure how to proceed with (3) and (4). I tried to initiate the vnc session on the android by firing up "androidvnc viewer", but I don't know what to enter for port (default seems to be 5900?) and address. Also, what should I use for "color format" -- 24bit or 16bit?

Speaking of address: As I said if possible I would like to connect the tablet and the laptop via usb. What should I use for address? Alternatively, what address should I use if I need to connect the two via wifi? In case that matters, I could be working in setups where neither devices have internet connection to the outside world (!).

Last but not least, upon reading old posts about vnc I found discussions about tunnelling vnc over ssh

How do I start the VNC server?

The post above uses x11vnc; is there a similar option for vnc4server, and how would I proceed on the android side? I also found

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/tunneling-vnc-connections-over-ssh-howto.html

But I'm not sure how to incorporate that into steps (1)-(4).

There is also the question of using synergy, but that's probably for another post :-)

THANK YOU for you help and patience.

1
  • Color format is the amount of space used for colours. 16-bit can contain one million colors. 24-bit contains all the colors the ordinary human eye can see. Aug 5, 2012 at 9:56

1 Answer 1

1

You need a VNC viewer for Android. There's a bunch of free ones in the Android store.

You shouldn't need to setup SSH tunneling.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.