[wellylug] second computer

[Arnim Littek]

On Mon, 09 May 2005 12:25:58 +1200 Rosemary McGillicuddy <mcgillra at infogen.net.nz> wrote:
> I'm the person looking at a second computer, and I'm very new to linux. 
>   Running mandriva since about february, and I struggle with the linux 
> language and concepts! :-)

The base requirement for using ssh is some level of comfort with the command line.  On the one hand, that is not for those shy of learning.  On the other, once you start climbing that curve, you start to really get into the power of Unix-like operating systems.  There is LOTS of learning material available on the Web, if you have the time and mindset.

> The suggestions earlier seem sensible to me as it means I can 'play' 
> (i.e. is try things and learn) on the second computer while leaving the 
> first intact, with all the things I like to do.

I do exactly that, via open sessions on my firewall (OpenBSD, no X), my print server (OpenBSD, no X), 3 laptops (Debian/FreeBSD/MacOS), a couple of Gentoo boxen, at least one of which is for just that kind of experimentation, and, when I need to rescue something, VNC to rescue things on a relic WinME box.

A KVM for that many would be a pain.  Using a LAN (or WLAN, for those less concerned with security) lets the headless machines (or laptops with the lids down) live anywhere, rather than within reach of a finicky SVGA cable.  

My early experience with SVGA and cables was that ghosting was common, esp. with fast displays.  Ugly.  Displays have only got faster since I tried that, so the problem would only be worse nowadays.  And low cost KVMs make for cheap cable/cheap connectors, neither of which do much for reliability.  Not for me, thank you.

Arnim.