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SSH or VNC From Your Cell Phone?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the yes-have-some dept.

fintler writes "Andreas Karlsson has a working release of a simple ssh client for the Ericsson P800 and is looking for a way to imput control charactors in the interface. Here is Screenshot 1 and Screenshot 2. There's also a VNC client for the Ericsson P800 (Auf Deutsch!) written by Gino Micacchi with some more screenshots here and here."

34 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. or also maybe from the MPAA... by sweeney37 · · Score: 5, Funny

    oh sweet, as demonstrated via the pictures, using VNC from my mobile would allow me to check the status of my KaZaA downloads or check my email for my latest RIAA subpoena!

    Mike

    1. Re:or also maybe from the MPAA... by diersing · · Score: 4, Interesting
      And seriously, that's about all. I've tried remote administration via my phone (Sprint A500 has a VNC client as well), Crackberry, and PDA. SSH is the best (IMHO), VNC screen rendering is impractical on such a small device (so are the other alternatives like RDesktop and TermServ). I also tried SonicAdmin without much fan fare from me.

      With VPN and so many computers available at cafes, libraries, etc... I think real remote admining via portable devices is just for the 'way I'm cool' factor.

    2. Re:or also maybe from the MPAA... by Phil+Gregory · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Though I haven't tried it (my Palm Pilots have never been network-connected), GEORDI looks like it's a pretty decent interface for administering Unix (and Unix-alike) systems remotely from a PDA. Barring that, I'd probably go for ssh, but I found text-based things (text adventures, mostly) to be very annoying on the Palm.


      --Phil (Now I just need to stop dropping the things...)
      --
      355/113 -- Not the famous irrational number PI, but an incredible simulation!
  2. Screen too small for VNC by Psiren · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can see the ssh client being semi-useful, but the screen is just too small to do anything much with VNC. This is one of the advantages of *nix imho, anything you can do in the gui, you're likely to be able to do on the command line. More often than not faster too.

    1. Re:Screen too small for VNC by Morgahastu · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes I am sure it's much faster to use the command line on a freaking cell phone.

    2. Re:Screen too small for VNC by Troed · · Score: 5, Informative

      You can do that natively with Opera on the P800. Their small-screen rendering is _that_ good.

      --
      it's in my head
    3. Re:Screen too small for VNC by vasqzr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A tiny screen is better than no screen when you're trying to fix something.

  3. Wow! by James+A.+A.+Joyce · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There's so many uses for this; if you've got SSH on a mobile, the possibilites are endless. If you can remotely log into any of your other networked machines then you can do all kinds of things from a sufficiently sophisticated mobile. Just imagine what you could do as a journalist or undercover Amnesty International worker!

    --

    Bash script for FP whores

  4. Seems to me... by jkrise · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A cellphone is less useful than a dumb VT100 terminal. Granted, you can't carry the terminal around, but if people would build a simple 80x25 screen with a tiny keyboard,that gets a login prompt from the service provider, that could be the most useful innovation since sliced bread.

    Building intelligence into the client, but making data-input difficult, and not using standard protocols - seems a huge waste of money and bandwidth.

    -

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
  5. "It does everything but make telephone calls." by Prince_Ali · · Score: 5, Funny
    "It doesn't make telephone calls?"
    "We didn't have room for a phone."

    You can now shoot me for making a Spy Kids reference.

    --
    Slashdotter are stupid and biased.
    1. Re:"It does everything but make telephone calls." by BiggerIsBetter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why? It's not like anyone else will get it.

      --
      Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
  6. SSH from Nokia 3650 / 6800 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting


    The company I work for, Idokorro Mobile, has a working client (in beta) for the Nokia 3650 & 6800. Cool stuff.

  7. Can't imagine how slow VNC would be on a cell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think I'd break my phone out of frustration long before I got logged in.

  8. gprs lag. by gl4ss · · Score: 3, Informative

    is something that makes cheap use of these remote use programs quite a pain for anything except emergency(that and the small screen too). much more convinient to have programs that have the interface on the phone..

    irc and others are nice to have on phone though, gprs pricing usually ends up being cheaper than calling or sending sms messages too(if you can arrange the other person to be on irc as well).

    -

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  9. Nokia 3650? by PhoenixK7 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anyone know of clients of similar sorts that will run on a Series 60 Symbian phone? I've been looking around but the VNC clients that I located refused to run on the phone after installing the package.

    1. Re:Nokia 3650? by d99-sbr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, the p800 uses UIQ instead of Series 60. They are both based on Symbian 7, but while Series 60 is mostly a cell phone UI adapted for PDA use, UIQ feels more like a PDA with a cell phone extension.

  10. um? by xNullx · · Score: 4, Informative

    My Samsung phone has had a Java VNC client for quite some time already, odd that this would make news. Though that phone looks nicer than mine

  11. Re:Neat hack. by chrisbtoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought it was illegal to encrypt over wireless connections

    That'd go a fair way to explaining WEP.

    --
    Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
  12. Karma Whore - Mirrored Screenshots here.... by linuxrunner · · Score: 5, Informative


    Screen Shot 1 - SSH Client

    Screen Shot 2 - SSH Client

    VNC Viewer

    --
    www.slightlycrewed.com - Because aren't we all?
  13. Screenshots by spieters · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparantly the P800 also runs apache, the screenshots are being served from there aswell...

    The first mobile phone casualty of slashdotting, *sigh*

    --
    Instant Karma's gonna get you Gonna look you right in the face -- John Lennon
    1. Re:Screenshots by wagemonkey · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Err, it's not Apache, but I do have a webserver on my P800 :-) It's called Prosit - if you want to know why I have a webserver on a cellphone ... um, er, ah well, I know - just because I can!

      I also have myBuddies (ICQ) PuTTY and VNCviewer. And 2 browsers - a built in one for WAP and Opera for GPRS (It really is good too). It plays video (avi) and will sent photos from the built in camera by email. There are some utilies (sman and control panel), games, Java note util (standard one has proprietary format) and some crypto. I also use Mobipocket to browse offline and read books.

      Downside is it 'only' has 12Mb onboard and 16Mb Memory Stick Duo and I really need to get rid of some stuff or buy a 64Mb card. Screen is quite good too for 4096 colour. If it had some sort of spreadsheet/DB util I wouldn't bother with a 'normal' PDA, I still might get one eventually. But I downloaded the SDK to see if I can whip up something in Java.
      I get strange looks as my ring tone is a good quality .wav of an old-fashioned phone ringing (bells).

  14. Re:Neat hack. by Bushcat · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I'm at a loss as to how you'd actually type using the twelve digit keypad

    Maybe with this or this (the text is Japanese but the pictures are English).

  15. Danger/T-Mobile Hiptop/Sidekick by gseidman · · Score: 3, Informative

    I am just about to order the T-Mobile Sidekick (a.k.a. the Danger Hiptop). It has an actual keyboard, and an ssh client is promised (a beta is available with the SDK, which is available through the developers program).

  16. We have one for Nokia 7650/3650 and many others by drazvan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ActiveViewer is the first VNC client for J2ME-enabled handsets. It works on pretty much anything, from Siemens handsets to Blackberry pagers and color-screen Nokia 7650/3650. Razvan

  17. Can't beat a cell phone for this by Baki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One month ago I was hiking in the mountains (on Corsica) and it was quite useful to be able to login on my server at home while staying in a mountain refuge at 3000m altitude. Every gram counts on such travels, and I would never be able to take a 80x25 screen with me.

    Also what do you mean "not using standard protocol"? SSH is as standard as it gets when you want to have a secure login on a UNIX server.

    1. Re:Can't beat a cell phone for this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Your definition of 'refuge' is different than mine.

  18. Re:Cute... by mccalli · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ...but how do you hack scripts in Vi with a funky cell-phone kepad?

    You don't. You use a bluetooth keyboard instead.

    No experience using a bluetooth keyboard with this SSHe client. However, plenty of experience using bluetooth to send text between OS X and a phone. It's certainly possible, just don't know if it's been done yet.

    Anyone else know if a bluetooth keyboard compatible with phones yet exists?

    Cheers,
    Ian

  19. I can see the sessions now by abulafia · · Score: 4, Funny
    www2# r u OK
    r: not found
    www2# cn u srv www
    cn: not found
    www2# y r u so btchy
    www2# talk 2 me




    -------------[press any key to exit]---------



    ^Cwww2# $! $?
    127: not found

    [Smashes phone]

    --
    I forget what 8 was for.
  20. These have been available... by psmears · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... on the Nokia 9210 (or 9290 for those in the US) for some time... both VNC and SSH ports have been available for (as far as I remember) over a year... ssh.com used to do a client too, but I can't see it on their site any more... I've found the ssh client very useful, e.g. it means I can set a task (e.g. a long compile) going, leave, then check up on it later from wherever I happen to be...

    --
    Need to type accents and special characters in Windows? Use FrKeys
  21. Oh great now I have to dodge geeks too! by nlinecomputers · · Score: 4, Funny

    It is bad enough driving with everyone and his ass talking on cell phones and not paying proper attention to the road. Now some geek will run my ass over while he is trying to hack my server.

    --
    Slashdot, home of supporters of free software, free music, and free speech.Except for Moderators that disagree with you.
  22. Re:Neat hack. by gearheadsmp · · Score: 4, Informative

    You don't need a smartphone - just a cell phone that supports Java 2 Micro Edition. As for typing, well, you can use one of those clip on thumboards.

  23. the wow factor is nothing new by mydigitalself · · Score: 3, Insightful

    i was doing this 5 years ago with a palm pilot, IR and an ericsson modem phone...very useful.

  24. THE worst thing EVER for Unix admins! by AwesomeJT · · Score: 3, Funny

    Gosh, you can't even go on vacation without your server calling you! What?! You want me to fix sendmail from Bora-Bora? I can see my cell phone skipping across the water now. :)

    --
    SPAM solution made easy: 1 spammer, 5 cords of rope, 5 hourses, and fireworks. Be creative.
  25. Danger Hiptop has that and a KEYBOARD by britrock · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ok, so right now its only for the developer builds, but it will be released by the end of the summer. I run the developer OS builds on my hiptop every day. The ssh client is AWSOME! It is even easy to use because of the qwerty keyboard. If some one has some space on a server I can send some screen shots.