Full Circle Magazine FR

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Ask the New Guy! If you have a simple question, and you think Ubuntu Bug #1 is some kind of flying roach, contact me at copil.yanez@gmail.com. Today’s question is: Q: How do I connect to my Ubuntu desktop using my Android phone? A: Right this way, Mr. Bond! Q Branch has been working on some new toys for you. How about this? It’s a combination martini shaker-slash-Taser. No? Well, then, perhaps this combination cufflink-slash-Taser. Or this, it’s a combination Taser-slash-Taser. Not very imaginative, I know. Sorry, sir, we’re a little underfunded right now. Nothing says “I want to be Daniel Craig or Jennifer Garner” like accessing your Ubuntu desktop from your mobile phone. What’s funny is that if Hollywood were doing it, there would be multiple cascading menus and screens along with some kind of eye-tracking digital Heads Up Display and virtual keys you’d have to press in the air like a methed-out orchestra composer.

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Si vous avez une question simple et si vous pensez qu'Ubuntu Bug n° 1 est une sorte de cafard voulant [Ndt : bug = insecte], contactez-moi à copil.yanez@gmail.com.

La question du jour est :

Q Comment me connecter au bureau de mon ordinateur sous Ubuntu avec mon téléphone Android ?

R Par ici, monsieur Bond ! La Branch Q travaille sur de nouveaux jouets pour vous. Pourquoi pas celui-ci ? C'est un shaker à martini et/ou Taser. Non ? Bien, alors peut-être ce bouton de manchette/Taser. Ou peut-être ceci : c'est un Taser/Taser. Pas très imaginatif, je sais. Désolé, m'sieur, nous sommes un peu sous-financés ces jours-ci.

Rien ne signifie « Je veux être Daniel Craig ou Jennifer Garner » comme accéder à votre bureau Ubuntu à partir de votre mobile. Ce qui est bizarre, c'est que si c'était Hollywood qui le faisait, il y aurait des menus et des écrans en cascades avec un affichage Heads-Up (HUD) coordonné avec le mouvement de vos yeux et des touches virtuelles sur lesquelles il faudrait taper en plein air comme un chef d'orchestre sur amphétamines.

Quick detour: why is it that every tinseltown movie shows people working with virtual GUIs suspended in front of them? I get exhausted just lifting my hand to turn off the monitor. Forget about hacking an enemy server, can you imagine typing an email on one of those? Are there NO ergonomics experts in Hollywood? End detour. As usual, Ubuntu’s way is easy and sexy. Not sexy as in actually sexy. Accessing your desktop remotely isn’t likely to get you a date with Halle Berry or Javier Bardem. But it might impress Miss Linux Kernel 2013 and keep stray Luddites from wandering onto your lawn. To access your Ubuntu desktop from your Android phone, you’ll need the following: 1. An Ubuntu PC (I’m on 13.04) - make sure it’s connected to your home network 2. An Android Phone (I used an HTC Droid Incredible II running Gingerbread) 3. Someone to shout “Hallelujah!” when you’re finished (this is key, people, don’t skimp)

Okeedokee, got everything ready? Good. Go to your PC and click on the Ubuntu symbol to open the Unity search field. Type DESKTOP and you’ll see a Desktop Sharing application. Click on that to open it. Here is how I configured my preferences in order to give external access to my Ubuntu desktop: The Desktop Sharing window asks for a password that must be entered in order for someone to connect from the outside. Use something you can easily remember, like the name of the gaffer on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Romolo Aquistapace, as if you didn’t know). You’ll notice I left blank the “You must confirm each access to this machine” option. You might want to keep this box checked. It’s never a good idea to leave your machine accessible to the outside world, even if you’re requiring a password. I have it toggled OFF for ease of use, but, honestly, do as I say, not as I do. And, as a general rule, you should never take security advice from someone who revels in his ignorance.

Oh, if you currently have your app bar along the left side of your screen set to auto-hide, change that to the default so that it’s always visible. If the app bar auto-hides, it’s more difficult to access it from your phone. Also, if you have your computer set to sleep after a certain amount of time, you might want to change this setting so that your PC doesn’t go to sleep, and thus disconnect you, in the middle of a connection. You’ll also need your desktop PC’s IP address. Ubuntu makes this dead simple. Just right-click the network icon and click on Connection Information. Note the IP address listed there, you’ll need it in just a second. Okay, now it’s time to get your phone ready. Fire up your Android phone and head over to the Google Play Store. You’re going to need a VNC client. That’s the software that will connect your phone to your PC. I’m not sure what VNC stands for, probably just the initials of the white-haired wizard who captured this sorcery and gave it away on the Internet. I should probably take a moment to explain what a VNC client does. But I’m not gonna. Life’s too short, you know?

The VNC client I used is called android-vnc-viewer, and it’s free. Once you’ve downloaded the software, press the icon to run it. You’ll see a window with empty fields. Let’s fill those in and solidify your status as Alpha Nerd/Nerdette among your peers (which, if they mainly consist of villains named Hans with world domination f*tish*s, you should consider ditching). In the Nickname field, type something catchy, like Space Wolf or Super Tramp. You’re being totally badass right now, your nickname should reflect this. Next, type in the password you set up on the Desktop Sharing application. Finally, type in the desktop PC’s IP address. Your screen should look something like that shown on the following page. Ready? Time to see if your Hallelujah shouter is up to the task. Also, if there are any annoying neighbors who keep trying to explain fantasy football to you, invite them over. Payback time!

Click Connect. Hallelujah! Feel free to lift your arms up Moses style and scream “Behold!” In a few moments, your smartphone screen will fill with a lower resolution version of whatever is on your desktop screen. Your phone’s screen will now act like a laptop trackpad. Wherever you move your finger, your cursor follows. Tap the screen on an Ubuntu app icon and watch it open. Pretty cool, right? What can you do with this? The options are endless! You could access your PC and email yourself a file you forgot to put into the cloud. Or click on your webcam and do a quick security check of your home office. Or make people believe you’ve just hacked into a bad guy’s world domination system and are shutting down his nuclear weapons lab with a few keystrokes. Ladies, you’ll be all the rage at the next LAN party! Go ahead, indulge your inner Sydney Bristow or James Bond. Good luck and Happy Ubuntuing!