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Used it to control my HTPC from my iPad. I think their pricing is just a wee bit too high, though. If it were, say, $25 a year (rather than $50), I'd probably say that it was worth it to avoid having to find an alternative. As it is, I'll find something else.

If cost is your major concern, you should check out Splashtop. They have servers for Windows, Mac and Linux (all x86 based) and clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and probably a few more. The service is free over LAN, and remote access is only $1.99/month or $16.99/year. And the service is fast! I'm able to do rough edits on Final Cut Pro over my LAN and sometimes over the internet, depending on my connection, and remote gaming is one of their advertised selling points. If you're clever with VPN setups, you can use it remotely as if you were on the LAN.

I wasn't trying to sell it to you, just answering the question in the headline. I have seen a streamer fast enough that I often use it to play unsupported video on an iPad (I'd rather do things like that locally than use one of the many "cloud browsers" that used to get articles here when iOS's lack of Flash was still worth talking about) , and have played a little Fallout 3 on it when the TV was in use. It's also worth noting that the streamer does run on Linux: http://www.splashtop.com/linux

Benefits aside, I've come to hate a Splashtop as a company, and they manage to make the software progressively worse with each update. If there were a FOSS alternative, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

They do have an Ubuntu package for the streamer, at least, or they used to. But not a client? I don't know. I've only ever needed to connect to Lonux, never from.

http://www.splashtop.com/linux

As for trust, yeah, no. My understanding is that the first version did, in fact, stream your screen completely unencrypted over the internet for remote sessions. And they charge a subscription for remote connections. Ridiculous. Which is why I use a VPN when I stream, and never log into their awful account system.

Have you tried Splashtop before? They recently released their streamer for Linux (there is a video showing a tablet accessing an Ubuntu DT browsing /. ) and have said they will soon be releasing a client for Linux as well. I use their client on my PlayBook to access both my work and home PCs.

Have you tried Splashtop before? They recently released their streamer for Linux (there is a video showing a tablet accessing an Ubuntu DT browsing /. ) and have said they will soon be releasing a client for Linux as well. I use their client on my PlayBook to access both my work and home PCs.

I'm 2,500 miles and two time zones away, so I can't exactly troubleshoot things from here

Assuming the problem that needs to be troubleshot isn't network related

In no particular order of preference
TeamViewer
LogMeIn
Techinline Remote Desktop
CrossLoop (I hadn't heard of this one before searching just now but it looks interesting)
Radmin
RemotePC
There are a lot of remote support options. Some good ones are even free.

My personal suggestion is Splashtop. It isn't a remote support tool but it has client's for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and BB 10/PlayBook OS2 so you could log into your mother's PC from your tablet and fix what needs fixing. It's also a one time cost opposed to a subscription.

At some point your mother will need to do something the tablet cannot do. You can still get an inexpensive tablet for her.

this person is claiming that a single tool works for them... this single tool replaces a laptop.. but yet it doesnt have all the features or capabilities of a laptop..

Funny, that's not what the OP said at all. Personally I use my tablet (BlackBerry PlayBook FTW) to access my Dell Precision T7400 with Splashtop when I need to do some heavy lifting. With a BT keyboard and mouse it works just as well as a laptop. Do I keep my LT around for some things? Sure do, but the number of times I have pulled it out since I got my tablet are counted in single digits. I use my phone for as much as possible simply due to convenience but there are times a bigger screen is needed and the tablet is ready in an instant.

What I'm imagining will happen here is that the software will have the capability long before the hardware does. There was a long period of time where a mouse was an optional item for a desktop computer. Economy of scale may make the same true of the touchscreen. Only time will tell, of course.

IMO, Laptops should already come with touchscreens at this point... not really sure why they don't. Paraphrasing the intro to The Six Million Dollar Man, we have the technology...

If you've got an iPad, try Splashtop's Windowns 8 remote access app. It hooks into Windows 8 through a HID driver, and gives an excellent idea of what the interface is supposed to be like.

I don't, but I will readily admit how useful that would be... to the handful of people developing Metro Apps, anyway. Oh, and MS salespeople (although giving a Win8 usage demo on an Android/Apple tablet might not be the best way to go...)

Don't have one, and I'm sure as hell not going out and buying one just to try out some lame OS I have no intention of ever actually using. Not to mention, what a bullshit sales strategy - "Oh, our new system won't run on what you already own? Then just buy new stuff!"

Well, no, of course you won't.

What I'm imagining will happen here is that the software will have the capability long before the hardware does. There was a long period of time where a mouse was an optional item for a desktop computer. Economy of scale may make the same true of the touchscreen. Only time will tell, of course.

If you've got an iPad, try Splashtop's Windowns 8 remote access app. It hooks into Windows 8 through a HID driver, and gives an excellent idea of what the interface is supposed to be like.

This might have something to do with the fact that Splashtop OS (a lightweight os based off of chrome os) is comming preinstalled on new Dell and IBM laptops and by default it uses bing search http://www.splashtop.com/os . It is a boot option on these laptops and can be used to get quick internet related tasks done without having to wait for windows to boot.

As a followup, how long until we see a netmainframe?

This particular one would probably evolve into a "netcluster". See: 1 instant-on Linux/ARM, 1 Linux/ARM in the network controller, 1 Linux/GPU in the videocard, and 1 Linux inside the BIOS.

Oh, and I forgot the dual-core Atom running Windows.

(but google might be force changes

This does not sounds not evil...

If say Chome introduced javascript++ it would only run in Chrome.

This sounds like stuff won't work on top of other browsers (you have to either install Chrome or use Chrome OS, i.e. limit yourself to browser only). Now, in this case Chrome is going to be literally a VM for JavaScript and a canvas for its rendering. That's what Java and Swing is doing for years already. So why not to use already done Java and Swing that has standards, is reliable and rock solid? And Android runs it just fine. Why do we need Chrome OS then?..

More classical languages rely on a ton of libraries

Sorry, what? What you mean by that? "for" or "while" loop in C++ relies on "a ton of libraries"? Or you mean implementation of foobar functionality? As long as you will be able to do things in JavaScript as you can do in plan Java, you will have as same amount of libraries...

Javascript is the language for working in a browser. All others, JAVA, Flash, SilverLight have tried to replace it but have failed to really replace it.

OK, Java Web Start is not within your browser, it is from your browser. So what? But I compare GUI that I've done in Swing and equivalent complexity UI, like e.g. Zimbra. Then I see which one takes more memory, performs faster/slower, loads/reloads better etc. And plain Java so far wins big time, although Zimbra is just that amazing. Besides, JavaScript language does not really works: it requires lots of quirks and hacks to work similar everywhere.

Really, use some javascript not written by some guy who knows a classical language and thinks he can do javascript without learning it.

Can you show any example, please? So far, SmartClient and/or ExtJS are slower and more bulkier than Java Swing over Java Web Start while using. E.g. Firefox will turn to a gray rectangle, while you resize it, once you have lots of controls like this. And the reason is that HTML does not has a paradigm that is regular to desktop GUI. For exact control position, you need to calculate its width in pixels and position it hard. Lots of interesting things must happen, when you resize your browser. To fix this: change the way browsers works, change paradigm and support standards. That's exactly what Java is doing and what .NET is trying to do...

I also don't see any practical use of Chrome OS: if I buy a netbook, I want have something more advanced that just to be able to boot into browser. Besides, there is already something similar: http://www.splashtop.com/ and what everybody goes is just accesses BIOS, turns that thing off (SplashTop Linux usually shipped on a built-in flash memory on a board) and installs XP or whatever else on a real hard drive...

You're just way too willing to believe that the other guy is an idiot and wrong to even consider the possibility that you might be wrong and should check the facts. Jeez, man, it's right in the summary:

I assumed that the OS was on a ROM chip on the motherboard. To my great annoyance, when I tried to boot to this OS, a message said that it was not installed. It turns out that motherboard comes with an install disk for this GNU/Linux OS - that you can only run from Windows, to install Splashtop on the hard drive.

Duh, don't you get it? The loader is built into the BIOS already. That's why there was already an option to boot Splashtop, which responded with a message saying it was not installed. That loader is there to load and boot a Linux kernel more quickly and efficiently, but Splashtop is stored on another device. Early motherboards had it preinstalled on an integrated SSD. But this guy's motherboard didn't have an SSD built-in, so Splashtop has to be installed on the hard drive.

If his board had flash memory dedicated to it, Splashtop would have been pre-installed. And if for some reason it wasn't, installing Splashtop from Linux would have been as safe as writing to a USB flash drive. It would not involve flashing the BIOS. But even that's not the situation here because there was no integrated SSD in this board and the installer just puts Splashtop on the hard drive.

In short, the fundamental basis of your post is flat out wrong. I repeat, the fundamental basis of your post is flat out wrong. I repeat because you seem to think repetition is convincing. You're totally wrong, and this install process wasn't something that had to be done from Windows.

byw, I have read on Ubuntu forums that Express Gate source is available on ASUS' website, but as yet have been unable to find it.

That's 'cause these folks make Splashtop, not ASUS. You can find the sourcecode at their page here...

byw, I have read on Ubuntu forums that Express Gate source is available on ASUS' website, but as yet have been unable to find it.

That's 'cause these folks make Splashtop, not ASUS. You can find the sourcecode at their page here...

Get an Asus netbook or something (if funds allow) with Splashtop on the motherboard. Otherwise an Asus m/b for a desktop with splashtop. Otherwise set up Kubuntu (the version of Ubuntu/Kubuntu coming out in April is supposed to cut boot times) with a Firefox icon on the Desktop and put anything else she uses in favourites in the menu. KDE4 is pretty easy to use.

I'm glad we have Microsoft to come up with these innovative ideas, because Linux developers could never come up with something like this on our own! Thanks Microsoft!

Well the articles site has been slashdotted. I'm unable to get the google cache to work. The ASUS website has no N10 information so I can't verify anything. But it doesn't look like this will have Splashtop http://splashtop.com/. Which would have made for a really cool (and very useful) netbook.

For such fast boots to a workable enviroment, Splashtop would seem ideal

http://www.splashtop.com/

Several of the Asus motherboards come with it. I'm sure it must be possible to modify it, but I haven't tried it let ... I'd like them to release one with integrated onboard Intel graphics.

Or, as ASUS call it "Express Gate"
Comes with all their new motherboards, and on the EEEBox, too.
5 seconds to a screen.
Editor in about 2 -3 more seconds.
Just coming out on their notebooks too..

http://www.splashtop.com/

http://splashtop.com/ 5 second to boot. by default, its on the hard drive, but i saw a guy boot it from usb flash. it is worth a look.

http://www.splashtop.com/open_source.php

not sure if this will work for more than one download:
http://www.splashtop.com/download3.php?token=65eb5d4d45596da51f6a92f44811e0a2

http://www.splashtop.com/open_source.php

not sure if this will work for more than one download:
http://www.splashtop.com/download3.php?token=65eb5d4d45596da51f6a92f44811e0a2

Since he literally HAS TO buy new hardware (...) to get Splashtop

Look at their developer page. While they probably won't release everything, it gives some hints about building a similar system.

http://www.splashtop.com/

There you go.

What part of the questioner's desire to re-purpose old, existing, hardware did you not understand?

http://www.splashtop.com/

There you go.

How about putting a dedicated gaming console OS at the BIOS level, kinda like the Splashtop software. You could boot into standard PC mode or console gaming mode. One downside (there would probably be many) would be that user X's quad graphics card rig would perform the same as user Y's mid-range card. Heck, take it one step further and emulate Xbox and/or Playstation consoles there.

(Haven't checked it so not quite certain what it is :-/ ).

Andy

Sign up as a developer, download the source, and find out: http://www.splashtop.com/developer.php

Direct link to Splashtop.

Apparently it's (well hidden) there http://www.splashtop.com/developer.php. You need to give your email address so I haven't tried but you probably can :-)

if its based on Linux/FOSS then the source should be available, yet i cant find it anywhere on the official site http://www.splashtop.com/

Use the source Luke!

if its based on Linux/FOSS then the source should be available, yet i cant find it anywhere on the official site http://www.splashtop.com/

Use the source Luke!

if its based on Linux/FOSS then the source should be available, yet i cant find it anywhere on the official site
http://www.splashtop.com/

perhaps someone from FSF would like to remind them of the OSS obligations
seems too many companies thesedays are taking FOSS without giving anything back
treating it as fre money, thousands do the work and they just take it and sell it