Recycled Computing

Macintosh Remote Control with Chicken of the VNC

- 2009.10.06

Before I started writing for Low End Mac, I was a loyal reader. Andas a reader, I happened to catch Dan Bashur's Teaching an old iMac SomeNew Tricks.

Dan is taking his oldG3 iMac and attaching it to his home stereo. This is an excellentrepurposing of a classic Mac. But he also had a problem similar to theone I have: When he put the iMac next to his entertainment system,there was no room for a keyboard and mouse.

iMac as part of home entertainment centerI have the same problem in my setup. Dan rejected awireless keyboard and mouse and mentioned Chicken of the VNC. Thisis a VNC (virtual network computer) application for Mac OS X, andit allows you to control another computer from your computer. Danclaims it allows you to do more things than Leopard's screensharing.

Since I am limited to Tiger on both the iMac and my Pismo, Chicken of the VNC fillsthe bill.

I had been using Apple's Remote app on my iPod touch to control myiTunes library remotely. However, occasionally I would have to run anupdate on the old iMac or run Disc Permissions in Disc Utility. It wasuncomfortable, to say the least.

Now, from the comfort of my couch, I can control the iMac and eventurn it off when I am done listening to my iTunes library. Ultimatecoolness.

I plan on opening up my other users on my home network so that (lazyme), I can take over their computers remotely and fix whatever problemis bedeviling them - all from the comfort of my recliner. Life isgreat. Maybe heaven is a place where there is a remote control foreverything.

If you happen to see an old iMac sitting in the recycle bin ortrying to hitch a ride on a major highway, adopt it. I run Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" on mine. Itis connected to my wireless network and functions as a jukebox for myhome stereo. You could do the same with yours - or turn it into anemailer or just let the kids play with it.

Don't let the express train of progress throw these colorfulcomputers on to the ash heap of history.

Pismo SuperDrive Update

slot-loading drive with no covercover for slot-loading driveLast week, I wrote aboutreplacing my Pismo's DVD-ROM drive with the burner I salvaged from abroken iBook G4 (see Upgradinga Pismo PowerBook with a Slot-load Drive Salvaged from an iBook).It was an easy swap, but I was left with a Borg-like module that lackeda face plate. Kinda of ugly looking. I happened to have a face platefrom the Zip drive module that came with my Pismo. After hacking it upwith my wife's Dremel tool and salvaging a bit of the old iBook's CDmounting, I believe that I can make it look much better. LEM

Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS news feed

Today's Links

Recent Content

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Opinions expressed are those of their authors and may not reflect the opinion of Cobweb Publishing. Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all.
  Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2016 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad, iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, Mac Pro, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
  Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it, and we don't share the information we have with others. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Tags

802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0
Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Tags

802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
The Vintage Mac Museum
Deal Brothers
DealMac
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Macgo Blu-ray Player
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay

Low End Mac's Amazon.com store

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact Page not found | Low End Mac

Well this is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching, or one of the links below, can help.

Recent Posts

Most Used Categories

Archives

Try looking in the monthly archives. :)

Tags

802.11g 802.11n 68030 68040 Apple April Fools clamshell iBook Classic Mac OS FireWire FireWire 400 G3 humor iBook iMac iMac G3 Intel iOS iPad iPhone LaserWriter Linux Mac MacBook Air Mac clones Mac mini Mac OS 9 macOS Sierra Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Microsoft OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.7 Lion OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan Performa PowerBook PowerPC Rodney O. Lain SCSI Thunderbolt USB 1.1 USB 2.0
at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link