VNC Viewer for maemo now available [Archive] - maemo.org

AaronL

12-29-2005, 04:21 AM

I'm pleased to announce the first version of a VNC Viewer maemo port. Some other developers have announced ports of VNC in the past, but these were strictly builds of the RealVNC vncviewer client and were not GTK/maemo software applications. As such, they lacked certain GTK/maemo amenities, the biggest being no text input methods.

This new port is a true GTK/maemo port that basically provides most of the support that one might expect from a maemo-ized VNC viewer. I'm still working on adding some features, and there certainly is room for optimizations, but I'm pretty happy with the way it has turned out so far.

It's available at http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.3_arm.deb.

Here's some brief documentation:
-- Press the Select/Confirm button to turn on and off the text input method window (just like in xterm).
-- Use the Zoom out (-) button for middle mouse button clicks.
-- Use the Zoom in (+) button for right mouse button clicks.
-- Use the Cancel/Close button to send an Esc key.
-- The other hardware buttons operate similar to how they operate in xterm.
-- Turn on/off the toolbar from the View menu.
-- It is possible to double-click, but it might require a little practice/multiple attempts.

Note: this original post refers the 0.1 release of the software. Since then, I released versions 0.1.1, 0.2, and 0.3, and more information about these versions can be found in later posts to this thread. I updated the link in this post to point to the latest package.

Aaron Levinson

Hybride

12-29-2005, 05:36 AM

I am the first to thank you for this. This is why i bought my 770.

Aaron, is it possible to add the following 2 functions:

1. remember last login ip
2. scaling/zoom function

fpp

12-29-2005, 05:41 AM

You are a hero. Thanks !
(I just had to tap this on the 770 for once :)

Bill

12-29-2005, 07:06 AM

Well done!

You were even able to implement the online keyboard functionality.

EduardoSimon

12-29-2005, 07:24 AM

Thank you VERY much AaronL
Yet another reason to buy a 770 guys!!!
Anybody else is releasing anything before the end of the year? ;)
Happy New Year!

henry

12-29-2005, 08:38 AM

Great work, AaronL!

Do you plan to release the source code? I want to port rdesktop, maybe I can learn a few tricks from you :)

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 09:38 AM

Trying to use the VNC between my 770 and a PC running Widows XP Pro.
Have installed VNC on the 770.
Have installed VNC from RealVNC UK, on one of my PC.

But I can’t get the 770 and the PC to connect.

No problem when I connect my 770 to my IIS server.

VNC and IIS running on different PC.

Any suggestions?

henry

12-29-2005, 09:57 AM

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 10:01 AM

Thanks, but even with the Firewall off, no result.

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 10:06 AM

Have just to start reading all the documentation of the VNC more carefully.

TTP

blorg

12-29-2005, 10:38 AM

ttpcomp- have you tried connecting to the PC using VNC on another PC? That would be my first diagnostic if you can connect through http from the Nokia. Maybe also try disabling authentication in VNC server? Works fine on mine, thanks Aaron. (rdesktop would be nice tho!)

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 11:20 AM

Thanks Blorg, tryed that, but got a messages:
VNC VIEWER : Error
unable to connect to host: connection refused (10061)

All fierwalls off.

VNC server on one PC
VNC viewer on an other PC

Well I will keep at it.

TTP

henry

12-29-2005, 11:22 AM

Do you get any error messages when trying to connect to XP Pro?

Btw, I've tested VNC from the 770 to a XP Pro machine with TightVNC 1.3dev7 and it works very well.

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 11:36 AM

I think I have fond the source of the problem; it's probably the Router.
Have to look at that.
Firewalls, in the OS, in Routers or in Firewalls program, often give you more problems and the help you expect.

TTP

eskin

12-29-2005, 11:39 AM

Works beautifully for me, however, I am seeing somewhat random crashes where the app just exits on its own back to the Nokia desktop. No clear pattern on the conditions that cause the crash. Any suggestions for tests I can do to give more information?

Nickster

12-29-2005, 12:31 PM

Tweak

12-29-2005, 12:40 PM

:) Got it running on my 770 to access several intranet servers. I second having a history of the last 5 or so connections as typing in IP addresses can get tedious after a few disconnects.

I am the first to thank you for this. This is why i bought my 770.

Aaron, is it possible to add the following 2 functions:

1. remember last login ip
2. scaling/zoom function

RogerS

12-29-2005, 01:33 PM

In the time between the second person posting here, I have gotten it working with my XP and am ready to post to the blog. And, what, 12 people have already jumped in!?!

Fantastic! Congratulations!

And thanks!

Roger

RogerS

12-29-2005, 01:40 PM

Aaron Levinson has announced a working port of a VNC viewer to the Nokia 770. And with this one the virtual keyboard works.Here's what my Windows XP desktop looks like in the VNC viewer, with the keyboard:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/blog/images/nokia770_w_vnc_viewer_and_keybda.jpg
Read the full blog entry. (http://www.internettablettalk.com/blog/?p=218)

augur

12-29-2005, 01:47 PM

-- It is possible to double-click, but it might require a little practice/multiple attempts.

Aaron Levinson

double-clicking on a folder etc is much easier if you click on the icon rather than the text.
i second(or is it fifth by now?:)) a desire for a zoom function and last few access list.

joq100

12-29-2005, 01:57 PM

AaronL

12-29-2005, 01:58 PM

Aaron, is it possible to add the following 2 functions:
1. remember last login ip
2. scaling/zoom function
1. Definitely, and it will remember more than just the last server.
2. We'll see....

Aaron

AaronL

12-29-2005, 02:05 PM

Thanks, I was able to get it to work with windows in a moment, but I can't make it work with ubuntu.
At first the real desktop popped a window, asking for permission, when given, vnc just disappeared, so at least it tries to connect. So I turned off the ''ask for permission'' option, and vnc simply dies when the connection is attempted.
My experience with linux is very limited, so I don't know whose fault it is, or even if it is supposed to work with gnome/ubuntu at all.
Anyway great work,

Regarding the problem with ununtu and problems that others have been having, it looks like this vncviewer doesn't work with vino, which I think is what is being used by default on GNOME. Here's an e-mail I submitted to the maemo-developers list, which may be helpful:

1. I only tested with RealVNC's vncserver (on both Windows and Linux). Until I address the issues, I suggest using this server. It may already be installed on your Linux system (as vncserver).
2. The port is based on a very old (from 2002) port of VNC for GNOME named gnome-vnc. It only advanced to the 0.1 stage. According to an announcement from the author, the port did not support hextile encoding, so this is also true of the port I did. The encoding type can generally be configured in the settings for the particular VNC server flavor.
3. I took a look at some of the source from TightVNC, which has been updated more recently, and it looks like it might be a good fit for the underlying VNC protocol code in my port, which should address various issues that have come up.
Also, I only tested when a password is set, so I suggest that you continue to use a password.

Aaron

AaronL

12-29-2005, 02:12 PM

Great work, AaronL!

Do you plan to release the source code? I want to port rdesktop, maybe I can learn a few tricks from you :)
Yes, I plan on releasing the source code, as I indicated in my original e-mail to the maemo-developers list. I'd like to clean it up a bit first.

Regarding the port to rdesktop, I examined the source code for rdesktop last weekend, and it looks like the port should be relatively straightforward. In rdesktop, the user interface is implemented separately from the underlying protocol, so it's just a matter of adding a new user interface implementation. I was thinking about working on this port myself. If I were to port rdesktop, I would start with the Qt UI implementation and convert it to GTK/maemo.

Aaron

ttpcomp

12-29-2005, 02:47 PM

At last I have got the VNC to work between two PC, bat still no t between my 770 and the VNC server on the PC.
But the problem is just around this blocking the OS and the Firewall are setting up.

I will keep unblocking, soon I will be there.

TTP

Mike Cane

12-29-2005, 03:29 PM

Aaron, is it possible to add the following 2 functions:

1. remember last login ip
2. scaling/zoom function

2 -- the scaling/zoom button on the top of the 770 doesn't work?

AaronL

12-29-2005, 03:35 PM

2 -- the scaling/zoom button on the top of the 770 doesn't work?
Those are mapped to middle and right mouse button clicks currently (refer back to my original post). The viewer does not currently support scaling.

Aaron

geoff

12-29-2005, 03:46 PM

I can confirm that it works with tightvncserver and x11vnc running on Ubuntu, but connecting to vino causes it to die immediately. Kind of a bummer, but it's also not the first problem I've had with vino.

Scaling would be cool. Another (much easier) thing I'd like, though, is the option to automatically remove the scrollbars if they're not needed. It would be cool to use tightvncserver to set up a remote X display that's 800x640 so it fits exactly on the 770's screen.

But check this out: x11vnc reports an effective bandwidth of 92KB/s, which is kind of bogus for an 802.11g connection within two feet of the antenna. I wonder where the bottleneck is...the 770's CPU seems to be maxed during intense VNC refreshes, so maybe it's that and not a network throughput thing.

Joohan

12-29-2005, 05:03 PM

Wonderful step forward but lacks one mayor thing. When writing through vnc onsdagen my windows xp, it won't accept æøå. It seems not to register the characters at all.

//Johan

fuslit

12-29-2005, 06:39 PM

I was able successfully connect to my work computer running XP and then remote desktop into my windows 2003 server. using the onscreen keyboard. The refresh isn't specacular, but the very fact it works is awesome! Now I need to start looking into what option's I have for a VPN connection and I can keep track of issues that may come up.

Thanks for the hard work you've put in this!

-Todd

watchdoc

12-29-2005, 09:26 PM

Robette

12-29-2005, 10:50 PM

What is VNC (haha?)?

edit (after a trip to google): oh, thats pretty cool

edit edit: OMG this is awesome.

orbitalcomp

12-29-2005, 11:47 PM

Good afternoon, list. I'm not able to connect with my OSX VNC servers. I suspect an auth problem. In the connection screen I enter the IP of the server and the display, and get a message telling me that the 770 cannot connect to the server. The format I use is xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:display. I'm able to connect to the server with my powerbook, so I know the server is working.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

Are you using the built-in remote desktop/VNC in Tiger? I haven't tried that one, but I am using OSXvnc, and am able to connect with the 770 perfectly. I have been able to access this server software from pretty much any of my machines, even my Treo 650, without any problems...all I did was load the app, click "start server", and I am up and running on the 770

http://www.redstonesoftware.com/vnc.html

The only thing I had to do originally was enable forwarding for port 5900 on my Linksys router...did you try enabling that port on your router?

bradb

12-30-2005, 01:36 AM

I wish I could add more, but wow... I've used VNC before at work - usually in distain - but this is something else. I was able to connect to my XP SP2 desktop with 2 minutes of setup.

(sorry, I don't mean to trash VNC. It's just when I use it, it's usually because my customer is a useless idiot who needs to be guided through every prompt)

Even my girlfriend was impressed seeing my TabletPC's desktop controlled by the 770.

Excellent work! Now once I have a decent IMAP client I can do most of my work at the bar ;-)

Brad.

AaronL

12-30-2005, 03:54 AM

Wonderful step forward but lacks one mayor thing. When writing through vnc onsdagen my windows xp, it won't accept æøå. It seems not to register the characters at all.

Thanks for the bug report. I was able to reproduce the problem and fix it, and the fix will be available in the next release.

Aaron

Manu

12-30-2005, 04:51 AM

AaronL you are my God :) This is exactly why I bought the 770. I just took control of iTune on my Powerbook and send some music via airport express to my living room hi-fi. I previously was using Browser tunes through the 770 navigator but man what a difference VNC make !
Thank you, thank you.

PS : is the rendering a bit slow because of the 770 technical limitation or can this be fix by a software upgrade ?

Manu

watchdoc

12-30-2005, 06:36 AM

Tweak

12-30-2005, 06:49 AM

Anyone know how to emulate ctrl-alt-del using the keyboard? I found once I connect to a locked windows machine I can't login cause I need that sequence to bring up the login/password box.

Lui-G

12-30-2005, 07:54 AM

Good afternoon, list. I'm not able to connect with my OSX VNC servers. I suspect an auth problem. In the connection screen I enter the IP of the server and the display, and get a message telling me that the 770 cannot connect to the server. The format I use is xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:display. I'm able to connect to the server with my powerbook, so I know the server is working.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

hi,
i tried this yesterday on my osx 10.4.3 g5 and it worked fine. make sure you've got remote access enabled on the 'sharing' system preference, and that you click advanced and enable vnc access.

(Edit: i used the built-in vnc server, entered the ip address onto the vnc client on the 770, and it only asked me for a password - no username required.)

good luck..

fuslit

12-30-2005, 09:30 AM

I got this running on my Ubuntu machine last night following the steps in this link.

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=45565

But, While it let me connect and log in, I think I have some settings off. I could log in under a new logon screen but not take over the user's session that was logged in.

Not a huge deal, it did work :) but it was late and I was tired so I went to bed.

Rendering is a tad slow as people have said.

-Todd

Kiryu

12-30-2005, 10:10 AM

Yes VNC does work with the server integrated in OSX. Don't forget to allow VNC users to connect and to enter a VNC password.

http://aberco.free.fr/imagesdivers/vnconnokia.jpg

Also the OSX server works very well with Remote Desktop, but others VNC clients are very slow. The sceen seems to be updated as a whole image whereas when using UltraVNC on a PC the image is updated by chunks as elements are changing on the remote computer.

Anyway this is totally awesome, I was waiting for this app too :)

ttpcomp

12-30-2005, 11:15 AM

Kiryu

12-30-2005, 11:26 AM

The VNC viewer does not ask for the internet connection. You must do it manually by clicking on the globe (the small one in the status bar) and select connecting. The tablet is connected when a "W" is marked on that globe. By doing this you are not obliged to open tne browser every time.

Maxxy

12-30-2005, 11:54 AM

This *IS* what I've been waiting for!
Thanks for doing a great job on this, its one of the main things I want to use on my 770.

I'm managing to connect to my w2k server and using vnc authentication. Both working a treat.

Except... Im obviously missing something really simple but how do you send the Ctrl-Alt-Del combination I need to unlock/login to the server?

I can see a "Doh!" moment coming on when someone tells me how to do this :)

Cheers
Maxxy

Manu

12-30-2005, 12:30 PM

Just a simple question. Is it possible to wake my powerbook up from sleep from the 770 ? The lid was open but the powerbook went to sleep after 2 hours of inactivity. The 770 said that it could not connect to the server. Just waking the powerbook up solved it but it would be easier to be able to do that directly from the 770. The temp solution would be to set the computer sleep to NEVER.

Kiryu

12-30-2005, 12:42 PM

It was possible to do it with the 1st version of RemoteDesktop, but since the 2nd release Apple disabled this function for security reasons. You may be able to wake up the PowerBook by enabling the "wake up on administrator request over LAN" in energy savings (systeme preferences). Other than that setting the computer not to sleep is the only solution.

orbitalcomp

12-30-2005, 12:56 PM

Orbitalcomp - thanks for the reply. I've tried both OSXvnc and the built-in Tiger server, with the same result. Since I've been able to connect to the server with my powerbook, I doubt that the problem resides in the router.

Could you tell me how you got connected? For example, did you use the gui that is built-in to the vnc app, and if so, what did you enter into the "Connection Details" box? Or, did you use the command line in xterm?

Thanks again.

watchdoc -

I used the gui in the 770's VNC app to connect...I wouldn't even know how to do it from the command line in xterm...hehehe...

I just noticed a few messages above that Kiryu mentioned you have to remember to connect manually to your wireless network by clicking on the globe at the top and waiting until you have a steady "W" icon...the vnc app doesn't automatically connect like the browser does...

I just clicked the "connect" icon, and when it asks for the address, I put in the address that OSXvnc shows when you start the server. Of course, this only works when you on your local network...if you are trying to access it across the Internet, you would need to find the true IP for the computer running OSXvnc...

I use Nicecast to get the true IP, not to mention it's a cool program to set up Shoutcast streams to access from the 770. In fact, one cool use of the setup is I can access and stream my XM Online to the 770 as a Shoutcast stream from my mac...using vnc, i can change the channels, too...you normally need windows media player to access XM...

AaronL

12-30-2005, 01:26 PM

Some additional info:

1. Ctrl-Alt-Del is not currently supported. I'll provide a way to send this key sequence in the next release or the one following it.
2. There are no inputs supported from the command-line. The only way to specify a VNC server is to use the GUI.
3. You'll need to use one of the various ways to connect to a network before using vncviewer. I'll address this in the next release or the one following it.

Aaron

Maxxy

12-30-2005, 01:31 PM

Some additional info:

1. Ctrl-Alt-Del is not currently supported. I'll provide a way to send this key sequence in the next release or the one following it.

Thats great to hear Aaron, keep up the good work!

Cheers
Maxxy

Kiryu

12-30-2005, 01:40 PM

Yes thanks for this port! it was a must have for the 770.
An improvement would be to be able to set up the viewer configuration, such as the number of color and the compression. This would probably add more speed and free up some CPU.
Keep up the good work!

ttpcomp

12-30-2005, 02:17 PM

Now I have connection between my 770 and the VNC server via a WAN IP, not bad at all.

Just now I’m running both the VNC server and the IIS server over the IIS server I run a web cam, checking our Car-parking, very neat to see all this in the 770.a

TTP

mwiktowy

12-30-2005, 04:24 PM

Thanks for the great app!

I am having one weird problem with it that is preventing me from testing it though.
After installing it, I could start the GUI but I didn't try to connect to anything since I didn't have a VNCserver set up. So I went onto do something else. I was streaming some audio and suddenly my wireless connection died. When I tried to reconnect the 770 gave me a connection error. It wouldn't connect to my AP (that uses WPA-PSK) but had no problem connecting to my neighbour's unsecured AP. No amount of reboots or the 770 or my AP allowed it to connect. I also started to have problems accessing some other built in apps like the Control Panel. They would look like they were starting up but wouldn't. I figured that I would reverse the last thing that I did with my 770 (which was installing your vncclient) and as soon as I uninstalled it, my wireless connection and other apps worked.
I can't really understand what is happening here. I will try to do some poking and prodding to see if I can recreate this problem reliably when I have some time.
Does your VNC app require the updated OS firmware or should it run on the stock OS that comes shipped with the N770?
Is anyone else seeing this on a WPA connection?

AaronL

12-30-2005, 05:03 PM

I am having one weird problem with it that is preventing me from testing it though.
After installing it, I could start the GUI but I didn't try to connect to anything since I didn't have a VNCserver set up. So I went onto do something else. I was streaming some audio and suddenly my wireless connection died. When I tried to reconnect the 770 gave me a connection error. It wouldn't connect to my AP (that uses WPA-PSK) but had no problem connecting to my neighbour's unsecured AP. No amount of reboots or the 770 or my AP allowed it to connect. I also started to have problems accessing some other built in apps like the Control Panel. They would look like they were starting up but wouldn't. I figured that I would reverse the last thing that I did with my 770 (which was installing your vncclient) and as soon as I uninstalled it, my wireless connection and other apps worked.
I can't really understand what is happening here. I will try to do some poking and prodding to see if I can recreate this problem reliably when I have some time.
Does your VNC app require the updated OS firmware or should it run on the stock OS that comes shipped with the N770?
Is anyone else seeing this on a WPA connection?
Sounds pretty odd. I seriously doubt that installing VNC is the problem here, since all the install does is add some new files. It doesn't touch any existing settings.

Aaron

alump

12-30-2005, 05:40 PM

This is a killer application, thanks!

A wish: "Hide/disable scrollbars" feature would be great (now 800x480 sessions still show the scrollbars in full screen mode)

paden45

12-30-2005, 06:26 PM

Well, at last I have got my connection between the 770 and my server PC, both running VNC.

I started by disconnecting Internet, then I opened up all roadblocks in windows XP’s Fierwall and in my Router.

But, one thing I noticed, I had to start up a Browser for the 770 to register on my Router, if I didn’t do that first, nothing happen when I started VNC in the 770.

From that I worked my way back, putting in roadblocks after roadblocks in Firewalls and Router.

I am running connection with VNC Password Authentication.

So far so good.

TTP
ttpcomp,

I am trying to connect to a VNC server on an XP box. The connection is successful from my Ubuntu box. What are you typing into the VNC server: field under "VNC Viewer:Connection Details on the 770?

I have been typing in just the server IP address and it fails to connect.

ttpcomp

12-30-2005, 06:35 PM

Just the local IP-number (192.168.0.xxx)´, of the PC I'm running the VNC server on.
And as I run Password authentication, i type in the PW.

ttpcomp

12-30-2005, 06:41 PM

Switch of the Fierwall in the XP and other blocking, but unhook the Internet first, no need to invite disaster.

I you get a connection just start to put blocking back and last the Internet-connection.

Check what other firewalls you have, Roter, program etc.

TTP

watchdoc

12-30-2005, 07:28 PM

Thanks a million to everyone who replied to my post. Thanks to you, I was able to make this work. It looks like I was making it harder than necessary by adding the screen variable to the connection details dialog input. When I simply entered the ip address, it worked like a charm.

I hope I'll be able to return the favor in the future.

AaronL

12-30-2005, 07:41 PM

A new release is available. Based on some initial tests on the device itself (as opposed to the scratchbox emulation environment), it seems to work better than the last one overall. Here's the changelog:

* Fixed bug that prevented characters with accents (and other multi-byte characters) from being sent to the VNC server properly
* Fixed bug that kept scrollbars around even when they weren't needed
* New feature: hardware movement keys now scroll the display if held down
* Code cleanup--changed to use gtk_scrolled_window_add_with_viewport. May possibly result in better performance and behavior.

I have to say that scrolling using the hardware movement keys is quite nice :-) . Also, the second changelog entry means that if you setup a VNC server with a geometry of 800x480 or less, you will be able to view it without scrollbars at full screen without the toolbar.

In case some of you are wondering why XYZ feature isn't in this release, I mostly intended it as a bug fix release, but I managed to sneak the hardware movement keys in.

The new package can be found at http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.1.1_arm.deb. Uninstall the previous package first (actually, it won't let you install without uninstalling the previous package).

Aaron

delgross

12-30-2005, 08:49 PM

This is great. I have managed to connect to my XP box which I set up with a desktop dimension of 800x400. Does anyone know of a way to scale down the desktop and applications to a size so that they display better on the 770.

ED

paden45

12-30-2005, 09:03 PM

anson

12-31-2005, 02:56 AM

Hey, 0.1.1 is working great with my XP box! I'm entering this via Firefox via VNC :-) Many thanks for the good work.

fpp

12-31-2005, 05:52 AM

Thanks again ! Keep 'em coming -- especially the history ;-)

Rezzo

12-31-2005, 09:04 AM

Hi, great work here!

I've just a question: is it possible to include an auto-resizing option in the viewer?

I don't like to resize my desktop to 800x600 or less just to see the entire screen on my 770.

Or is possible to force a smaller geometry directly via the VNC server? I haven't got found that option (using RealVNC).

kepler

12-31-2005, 11:24 AM

I woluld like to force my display adapter in PC to work in 800x480 mode and just use 770 with VNC as remote display (without any monitor in PC). But ATI Radeon doesn't support that resolution.

Does anybody know a hack to make this happen?

kepler

Bill

12-31-2005, 11:33 AM

Kepler,

try Powerstrip, http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm, it should allow you to setup
non standard modes.

neiljerram

01-01-2006, 06:22 AM

I'm seeing a crash similar to what others have described when running against the Gnome VNC server (vino), but in my case I am using the Debian vncserver server.

I'll try tightvncserver instead, to see if that works better.

AaronL

01-01-2006, 01:11 PM

I'm seeing a crash similar to what others have described when running against the Gnome VNC server (vino), but in my case I am using the Debian vncserver server.
You can possibly get a bit more information by invoking vncviewer from xterm instead of launching it from the GUI. In order to do this, you'll need xterm. After starting xterm, invoke vncviewer with the following: run-standalone.sh /var/lib/install/usr/bin/vncviewer . Then, do what you would normally do in the VNC Viewer GUI. When VNC viewer crashes, go back to xterm and see if there is any useful output.

Aaron

Joohan

01-01-2006, 02:07 PM

bigboote

01-01-2006, 02:18 PM

Aaron,

Does your GUI VNC version support any command line options? Vidar's Xwin port allowed you to enter server address and password in the command line, which was helpful.

Or, do GUI apps not allow command line options?

(Edit)

From prev post, answer = NO
Would be nice, though.

AaronL

01-01-2006, 03:30 PM

Does your GUI VNC version support any command line options? Vidar's Xwin port allowed you to enter server address and password in the command line, which was helpful.

Or, do GUI apps not allow command line options?

Vidar's X windows port was no more than a simple build of the Real VNC viewer client with an additional option implement to pass in the password.

My port is intended to be used without needing xterm. I may support command-line options in a future release, but any options that could be passed in via the command-line would first need to be supported via the GUI first. GUI applications can support command-line options, but doing so certainly isn't a requirement for Maemo GUI applications.

Aaron

AaronL

01-01-2006, 04:09 PM

Aaron, you really made most characters work in this new release. I use characters for both swedish and danish on a daily basis and I have found out that you support all characters I need EXCEPT ø. Isn't that strange? Even the swedish ö is supported but not the danish one. Can you remedy that in your next release?
Hi Johan,

I tested this character, and it worked fine on my end. I also went through and tested every accented character, and all of them work on my end. I tested against the terminal application that comes with KDE (konsole). With konsole active in the VNC window, I went through and pressed each of the accented keys on the virtual keyboard, and all of them went through successfully.

The only character I could find that didn't work was one of the symbols, the "No" symbol, and this came through as a box, probably because the character isn't supported by konsole or because it's not supported in the terminfo or something like that.

So, to sum up, I cannot reproduce this bug report.

Aaron

neiljerram

01-01-2006, 07:44 PM

You can possibly get a bit more information by invoking vncviewer from xterm instead of launching it from the GUI. In order to do this, you'll need xterm. After starting xterm, invoke vncviewer with the following: run-standalone.sh /var/lib/install/usr/bin/vncviewer . Then, do what you would normally do in the VNC Viewer GUI. When VNC viewer crashes, go back to xterm and see if there is any useful output.

Aaron

Thanks. I will certainly try this in the next few days, but for now I have also installed tightvncserver on my target Debian box, and with that as the server your VNC viewer is working beautifully.

It really is amazing; I wouldn't have thought it practical to use VNC viewer on so small a device as the 770, but the 770's screen is so good that it really is practical and effective. Many thanks Aaron for your work on this port.

And finally a question: does anyone know how I can type control characters? (For Emacs.)

Regards,
Neil

AaronL

01-01-2006, 11:50 PM

A new version of the VNC viewer port is now available, 0.2. 0.2 provides a number of new features. The changelog is as follows:

* New feature: Added options dialog--provides ability to specify bit depth and shared connections
* New feature: Replaced host text entry and text combo box--allows user to choose previous hosts.
* New feature: Now saving and restoring following settings: hosts list, shared setting, default depth setting, and toolbar settings
* New feature: keeping track of most recent setting with respect to host, depth, and shared
* New feature: Added button to toolbar to show context window if provided by current input manager context
* Misc code cleanup

What does this mean? This means that it now remembers old host names, supports different bit depths, shared connections, and the ability to activate the virtual keyboard using a toolbar button. It remembers some other settings as well between sessions. This release provides some of the most requested features.

Grab it at http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.2_arm.deb.

Aaron

Maxxy

01-02-2006, 12:41 AM

Just installed the new version and the new features seem to work a treat. Great job Aaron!

Will a "ctrl-alt-del" feature be in the next release? Not being able to send that combination to unlock my winders servers is the only thing stopping me from using the app fully.

Otherwise you've done a great job so far. Thanks!

AaronL

01-02-2006, 01:03 AM

Will a "ctrl-alt-del" feature be in the next release? Not being able to send that combination to unlock my winders servers is the only thing stopping me from using the app fully.
I plan to support Ctrl-Alt-Del and possibly some other keypress combos in the next major release (0.3). I'm taking a break from development, however, so 0.3 won't be available for at least a week.

One option for sending Ctrl, Alt, and other keys would be to use a bluetooth keyboard with the bluetooth input method. I don't have a BT keyboard, so I can't test it, but I know that someone posted early on mentioning that the VNC viewer worked with with the BT IM.

Aaron

RogerS

01-02-2006, 11:05 AM

A new version of the VNC viewer port is now available, 0.2.I found that the application installer showed that I had installed version 0.1.1 installed, so I uninstalled it and installed the newer version.

Thanks for that,btw.

I'm was wondering if it made sense to have an "About" or "Info" dialog that would identify the version and include a link to the page where the latest version would be located.

Actually, as I think about it, the thanks isn't so btw. It's much more direct: Thanks!

RogerS

01-02-2006, 11:15 AM

I've got a longish question that I thought I should better ask in a different thread, in case it really isn't a VNC issue.

But basically what I want to know is if audio can be sent from the desktop to the "viewer" as well as the display. (Does that make it a "viewer/receiver"?)

The thread where I explain what I'm after (not music, btw) is
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5899#post5899

And in a word it's TTS.

RogerS

01-02-2006, 11:42 AM

As it happens, one application I'd like to run remotely will only display in a window that is proportionally shaped AND portrait style.

FBReader, for one, and Frozen Bubbles, for another (IIRC), are apps that provide a portrait mode for viewing the app.

Probably not so many people would find this as useful as I, but would it be possible for VNC viewer to do the same?

(Btw, the app is Microsoft Reader.)

sjachelachebacha

01-02-2006, 12:24 PM

How can I enter a user name when connecting to a vnc server? It only allows me to select the password box.

RogerS

01-02-2006, 01:34 PM

I'm pleased to announce the first version of a VNC Viewer maemo port. ...

It's available at ...

Aaron LevinsonAaron,

May I suggest that you edit your original post to note that a later version is available? That way new visitors to the site won't download an older version of your software.

Roger

NokNok770

01-03-2006, 12:21 PM

VNC is so awesome on the 770. I wish there was an option to reduce resolution on server side when connected. Because when you manually select 800x600 you almost only have to scroll up and down. On the full screen mode maybe disable the scroll bar and the side scroll is eliminated.

NokNok770

01-03-2006, 12:35 PM

Thanks, but even with the Firewall off, no result.
Are you on the same IP segment...maybe some routing issue? I've had this problem before...with not being able to connect unless on same ip segment.

AaronL

01-03-2006, 06:06 PM

Ctrl and other state characters: not currently supported. I plan to support this in the 0.3 release, although I might release a 0.2.1 release with some basics, such as Ctrl-Alt-Del. You can probably do this using the xim input method with a BT keyboard.

Password caching: I won't be adding this feature. Instead, users can use a tool like Password Safe (recently announced in the App forum), copy the password of interest from the Password Safe dialog, and paste it into the password field of the authentication dialog. I haven't tried this myself, but I think paste is possible by holding the pointer down on the password field, which should bring up a context menu with an option to paste.

About dialog: good idea. I'll look into putting a link on it that will take the user to a page with the latest version.

Audio being sent from the server to the viewer: The VNC protocol doesn't provide support for audio (except for a simple beep), so I don't see it happening any time soon. In contrast, the RDC protocol provides support for audio, and it is my understanding that someone is currently working on an rdesktop port (he goes by incarnis at ItT).

Portrait mode: I'll put it on my list of potential features to implement. It's possible to provide a portrait mode in vncviewer.

Inputting user name: The VNC viewer doesn't currently support the input of a user name, if the VNC server is such that it requires a user name. It's likely that your VNC server doesn't require a user name and you can ignore this field, which is disabled.

Editing the original post: good idea, change made.

Providing option to eliminate the scroll bars: good idea. This is now a reasonable feature to provide since the hardware movement buttons can be used to scroll the window, which was not true in the 0.1 release.

Aaron

evcilcrabmonkey

01-07-2006, 07:44 AM

Here's what I get when I run the vnc client while trying to access my ubuntu box. This happens whether I use vino or real based vncserver that I got from the ubuntu breezy repository.

vncviewer[700]: GLIB WARNING ** GLib-GObject - invalid uninstantiatable type `(null)' in cast to `GtkWindow'
vncviewer[700]: GLIB CRITICAL ** Gtk - gtk_window_set_transient_for: assertion `parent == NULL || GTK_IS_WINDOW (parent)' failed
vncviewer[700]: GLIB MESSAGE default - Desk name='ubu's X desktop (ubu:1)'
vncviewer[700]: GLIB MESSAGE default - Desk size=800x480, Default depth=16
vncviewer[700]: GLIB MESSAGE default - Sending request for full update
vncviewer[700]: GLIB ERROR ** default - file rfb.c: line 679 (getNextRectangle): should not be reached
aborting...
Aborted

Hope that helps...

AaronL

01-08-2006, 10:29 PM

Hi all,

A new version of my VNC viewer port is now available, version 0.3. This release provides a number of new features and includes some bug fixes. In addition, the source code is finally available. I've included relevant parts of the changelog below:

* New feature: added toolbar toggle button (it has the keyboard icon) that displays a menu that allows the user to perform various keyboard activities. These include sending Ctrl-Alt-Del, holding down or releasing the Ctrl, Alt, or Shift keys, sending the function keys (F1-F12), and sending the Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Insert, Delete, or Escape keys.
* New feature: automatically displaying connect dialog when vncviewer is started
* New feature: host combo box automatically populated with most recent entry the first time the connect dialog is displayed
* New feature: added persisted setting that allows user to turn on/off scrollbars
* New feature: persisted fullscreen setting
* New feature: added about dialog
* Bug fix: addressed issue that prevented some settings from being persisted
* Bug fix: fixed inappropriate parent window specified for name/password dialog
* Bug fix: Prevented assertion from occurring when an unrecognized encoding type is returned by the server for a rectangle. If this situation occurs, the connection is now forced to die, but at least it doesn't crash as occurred in previous versions. Also added a console message that prints out the encoding type.

What does this mean? It means that this version of the VNC viewer has most of the features that users have requested. This includes the ability to send various keys that are unavailable from the virtual keyboard and the ability to turn on and off the scroll bars. In addition, the bug that resulted in VNC viewer crashing for some users has been addressed. The crash will no longer occur, but VNC viewer is still not functional for VNC servers that are configured such that previous versions of VNC viewer would crash. The problem is that these VNC servers are reporting an encoding type that is not supported by VNC viewer. Users should either change the server to use a different encoding type or switch to a different VNC server implementation.

The package can be downloaded at http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.3_arm.deb. If an older version is installed, uninstall it before installing the new version. The source code can be found at http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.3.tar.gz.

Enjoy!

Aaron

NokNok770

01-08-2006, 11:43 PM

This is is a real nice app. Thanks for updating it, looks really nice without the scrollbar and also being able to send control-alt-delete is awesome.

At work I use it to access my desktop. And I tell people that I'm running windows xp on the nokia 770...they don't beleive me until I show them the screen. hahaha.

At home I use it to play music to my receiver. I have a JVC RXD702, which came with a usb card that you install on the computer. Then you can stream music wirelessly to the receiver. The only bad thing is you have to do it at the computer instead of the living room. Now I can just vnc from my nokia 770 to the computer and pick out the music I want to play on the reciever. This might change if I decide to get a media player...but in the mean time it works!

Maxxy

01-09-2006, 07:54 AM

Excellent! Thanks for this Aaron, for me this is the killer app I've been waiting to use.

And as it happens, its my birthday today! Thanks! Far better than the socks and dressing gown thats likely waiting for me at home :)

Congrats on a great job.

Cheers
Brian

fpp

01-09-2006, 08:34 AM

Fantastic ! A true killer app for the 770, and in a timely fashion too. Thanks again !

fermunky

01-11-2006, 12:49 AM

Well, it seems I have it working... or not. I am using RealVNC, and when I connect from the 770, it first is realllllly slow, but I get my Windows logon screen. Then, if I log into a user on the computer, the screen never changes. I suspect this is because it appears that when I log back into the computer using the vnc client, it drops the connection. Am I doing something wrong?

Edit: OK, TightVNC seems to work only a little better, but the viewer just, never seems to do anything... it will show part of my desktop, and then appears to freeze...

daveb70

01-11-2006, 01:32 AM

Nice job Aaron...much appreciated.

I'd held off using your previous versions as it sounded like you were keen on getting some of the requests implemented fairly quickly, and no sense in adding to your list at the time.

I will use this at home since we really only use Terminal Services on our servers in the office. Of course I run RealVNC on my 2 office desktops and laptop, if only to rub it in the faces of the rest of my team.

I connect just fine running Real VNC 4.1.1 Speed is adequate and connection is stable.

Thanks again for putting your time and energy into this port. :)

anson

01-11-2006, 01:34 PM

Fermunky, I had a similar problem but resolved it by disabling the background image and animations when a VNC client is connected. Check your RealVNC settings and see if that works for you.

vol

01-16-2006, 06:56 PM

AaronL

01-16-2006, 07:09 PM

I gotta say, I love this app. I am using it to connect to x11vnc on my debian box through a ssh tunnel. The only problem I am having is that since it is going through a tunnel, the vnc server thinks the connection is coming from localhost and defaults to raw encoding. The pretty much pegs the cpu of the 770. I was hoping there could be a way to select an encoding scheme in the options menu before connecting.
The 0.3 version of the VNC viewer supports a limited number of encoding types. It doesn't support Hextile or ZRLE, which pretty much limits you to Raw anyway. I'm hoping to support Hextile possibly in the next release.

Aaron

musicoman

03-01-2006, 05:27 PM

Hi , I try to connect to real vnc but I have each time a "could not connect to server".

Vnc server is on win xp on a desktop computer. I got a laptop too and it works well with the viewer. I try throught the net and lan ip and both works.

When I put my ip and port (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:: port) on the 770 , it doesn't work.

any idea ?

dandrewk

03-20-2006, 01:33 AM

Yippee! Google Earth on my 770!

Ok, high order graphics are a bit slow. But still...

wramos52

03-21-2006, 07:53 AM

Hi,

Where did you find Google Earth for the Nokia 770?

Thanks

Bill

dandrewk

03-21-2006, 12:47 PM

That's just it. I didn't. I used VNC to control the XP desktop and ran Google Earth on the Windows platform.

othello

06-18-2007, 04:26 PM

has anyone had a problem trying to install 0.3? i keep getting

'unable to install. package is incompatible with current software.'

my OS is 2006 version 2.2006.39-14

help! :)

pmboos

06-29-2007, 07:08 PM

has anyone had a problem trying to install 0.3? i keep getting

'unable to install. package is incompatible with current software.'

my OS is 2006 version 2.2006.39-14

help! :)

I too am having the same issue; os version is 3.2006.49-2

Anyone that has a clue on how I can resolve the problem please post here. Thanks in advance!

Paul

wassabi

07-28-2007, 11:59 AM

Hi , I try to connect to real vnc but I have each time a "could not connect to server".

Vnc server is on win xp on a desktop computer.
You have a local firewall blocking incomming connections. Most likely it is your windows firewall. Allow winvnc and port 5900

bitrate

08-07-2007, 08:19 AM

I also have prob trying to install http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.1_arm.deb

ostryjak

09-01-2007, 04:18 PM

I had the same sort of issues and what I needed to do to fix them was have my linksys router (under applications and gaming) set up the Computer running the VNC server to enable Port 5900 and THAT application on the IP address the Router thought that computer was running on. To determine the IP Address to enable I opened up a DOS window and pinged my computer name which told me which IP the router had assigned to it. To acces the ROUTER I had to determine what IP address my provider had assigned to me.

Port Range Forwarding under Applications and Gaming

http://localhost/linksys.jpg

The IP Address assigned to me by my provider ................

http://localhost/linksys2.jpg

treehuggerguy

09-12-2007, 04:14 PM

I am having an issue with getting the vnc viewer to connect. It just comes back with "unable to connect to server". I've tried both the server name and the ip (after making it stable) with no result. At first I thought this was a router issue, but I opened up the necessary ports and still nothing. I've been able to access the same vnc server from another machine connected by wireless. Any thoughts on what might be causing this?

qwik3r

09-13-2007, 08:39 PM

bunanson

09-13-2007, 09:37 PM

I too am having the same problem, I cannot connect. It is not my firewall or linksys router as I have enabled port forwarding and connecting from another computer via the web interface works fine, I think I may not be typing something in correct, it asks for the vnc server I put the IP address, do I need to put the port too? I have done that for instance 192.x.x.x:5999 and still says cannot connect

Within your own home networking, you DO NOT have to set anything with your router. Step by step from here, http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9407,

BTW, I have NOT been able to make it work outside my home, not quite sure where is the problem, I have done port forwarding and change the listening port site too, no success. Again, inside your home network, you should not have to mess with any port forwarding etc. post back if questions,:), post back to let us know how it goes even if there is NO question;)

bun

qwik3r

09-14-2007, 12:00 PM

nope, it still says "cannot connect to server".

In the thread you linked me to it says that he just put his IP and password in, well he doesn't say if he put the IP in first then was prompted for a password. I don't even see where I can specify the port here...

frasej

09-14-2007, 02:05 PM

It's IP, and if a password is required, you will be prompted for it. As for the port number, try this ip:port (ex. 192.168.1.1:3024)

morrison

04-07-2008, 02:25 PM

hi guys, is http://www.aracnet.com/~alevinsn/vncviewer_0.1_arm.deb the latest version?

Benson

04-09-2008, 10:19 AM

No, from http://vncviewer.garage.maemo.org/, version 0.6 is available.

stevecrye

06-04-2008, 01:45 AM

I was able to install v.6 and connect to several servers ;was all happy. But, after powering off the n810, now it does not work ; "connection failed". I suspect a cert prob. Tried uninstall / reinstall, no dice and the server history list is still there, so traces of the previous install remain.
Are there log files for the client?
Thanks,
Steve

stevecrye

06-04-2008, 06:59 PM

Some progress! It appears that the problem has to do with encryption and the V 4.4 of RealVNC we run on the servers. Have had some success with using "legacy 3.3" option. Still testing.

Steve

d2marc

06-04-2008, 09:32 PM

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone was having problems with the sound. I was using VNC on my nokia n800 and using ubuntu's remote desktop. I cannot hear the music play on the nokia n800 when it is playing on the desktop. Maybe I'm not well informed but is the sound suppose to work or is that feature not inplemented yet?
Any help would really be appreciated. Also when I connect from other internet connections other than my own, i am unable to connect to my computer. does it have to do with a router firewall? where would i look , i am having trouble finding information on this.

stevecrye

06-04-2008, 10:58 PM

AFAlK sound does not work acrosss vnc... but I would love to be proven wrong!

vnc uses port 5900, and if Port Adress Translation is used on the firewall, that might break it I either vpn in , or use a NAT that I setup for one server at work ... not a good security practice.:confused:
Steve

hyankov

09-07-2008, 11:26 PM

When I try to install 0.6 for N800 (non-Diablo) I get "Incompatible application package".

sd_proto

09-08-2008, 12:02 AM

If you're running Diablo, you need to install v. 0.6.1-diablo1 in the Maemo Extras repository.

hyankov

09-08-2008, 12:27 AM

Nah, I am running chinook and this deb worked:
https://garage.maemo.org/frs/download.php/2775/vncviewer_0.6.1-chinook1_armel.deb

Thanks!

hyankov

09-08-2008, 12:51 AM

Getting "Could not connect to server" though. The 'server' is running TightVNC listener, port 5500 (all other fail immediately), Hexitile encoding...

Edit:
Installed WinVNC and was able to connect. But then the VNCViewer disconnects ...

Edit 2:
To recap, here is what I have:
VNC Viewer (latest for non-Diablo) on the N800
UltraVNC (WinVNC) on my computer (they are in the same local network)

I go to the VNC Viewer, input IP:port and click connect. I see that the UltraVNC acknowledges the connection, but then it disconnects. Here is the log:
http://download87.mediafire.com/nmjj3dg2mpyg/m3mwzwhg3g9/WinVNC.log

Hope this will help someone.

sd_proto

09-08-2008, 09:08 PM

Ahhh, I think you may be having the same problem I had. I am running RealVNC server and had to enable (or maybe disable) 3.3 compatibility mode. I don't think the VNCviewer on the N800 supports the listening mode protocol, it uses the default port 5900. I have had it working with TightVNC, but not using the "listening" server protocol. After I discovered the 3.3 compatibility mode solution I stopped using TightVNC. You may want to verify the username the server is expecting since the viewer doesn't prompt you for one, only the password.

hyankov

09-09-2008, 03:21 PM

Actually, when I connected to another WiFi, I was able to VNC using UltraVnc server. Go figure...

TheGogmagog

01-02-2009, 03:28 AM

Ive been having trouble connecting to RealVNC for a while now. I had been successfully connecting to my work PC at work and my home PC at home (default settings). Now I get connection failed. I'm setting in front of the PC and read the IP right off the statusbar. Same both at home and work.

I might go for the Logmein solution to be able to connect more remotely than the same building. At least for my home PC, doubt it will fly at my work pc. I haven't had any luck getting remote desktop set up at home either. I haven't done a lot of research either (It's been about 2-3 months since VNC quit working for me). Oh, not only same problem on two PC's, but on two N800's. I assumed it was a 'bad VNC patch' that would be fixed soon.

I tried legacy 3.3 and added to the firewall that 5900 was explicitly open, still unable to connect.

**Update, found it. It was the windows XP firewall, it had switched(?) to not allow exeptions. I had to add either port 5900 or find the VNC exeutable to the list and select it. I saw Remote Desktop in that exception list (and unchecked), that may have been my problem trying Remote Desktop. I'll blame a windows update for changing that setting since it happened on two PC's around the same time.

Addison

11-21-2009, 04:02 AM

Sorry for stirring up an old post but I'm wondering if it's not too late to make a request for this.

An application I'm using on my computer is bigger than the tablet's screen.

Therefore I'm having to use the D-Pad to move around the screen.

This works fine but it also is sending a signal to the computer that I'm pressing on the arrow keys as well which messes up the program I'm running really bad.

Is there any way to disable this feature so that the D-Pad on the tablet simply moves around the screen without my computer thinking that I'm using the directional keys?

Thanks!

linuxeventually

11-21-2009, 05:48 AM

Addison

11-21-2009, 06:07 AM

@Addison
Remind me, do you have a N800?

Also is your host computer running Windows?

I don't suppose you would care to PM me the name of the program so I could give it a try (I want to try to see if X-11 forwarding would fix it)

Additionally I don't suppose changing the resolution of your host computer to 800x480 helps at all?

Alteration of the key bindings would be a more permanent solution.

Heya big daddy!

I'm running Windows XP. I'm actually using a 480x800 display with the slide rotate installed on my tablet.

The program I'm using is Scid.
Scid (http://scid.sourceforge.net/index.html)

Here's my current GUI set up on how it displays on my tablet.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5105/81452117.png

The FICS server (kind of like a Telnet chat thingie to find other chess players or just to talk) is to the right of that screenshot which means I go left and right from one side of the computer screen to the other.

The thing is, when pressing either left or right on the D-Pad, that also sends a message to Scid to rewind and fast forward the current game moves. :(

Off topic:

VNC is pretty awesome for gaming! I'm sure this is probably old news to most though.

X-Com UFO Defense works pretty much perfectly.
X-Com (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/x-com-ufo-defense/screenshots)

And since VNC Viewer supports right mouse clicks, it's definitely playable.

Heck, most Dosbox games runs about 3 times faster than if you have Dosbox installed on the tablet.

I'll even go one more step on this.

I actually was playing Civilization 3 on my tablet last night. *lol*
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/6453/15657268.png

Okay. I just lost my train of thought. Where was I? :)