Windows XP on the N800?!
I’ve been using an app called Rdesktop on my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, and I want to share it with you guys, as I think it’s really a phenomenal application and use, and I’d REALLY like to see Nokia work on more things like this for the upcoming tablet.
First of all, no, I didn’t really install Windows XP on my N800. That joke has already been played by my friend Thoughtfix over at his Tabletblog.com site. What I’m going to do is show YOU how to USE Windows XP on your N800 Internet Tablet.
Please note that currently this will only work with Windows machines, and apparently if you’re running Vista, you have to have a “business” version to do this. Russell Beattie points out this hack, if you’re stuck with Vista Home.
Click through for the video and walkthrough to set it up.
First off, let me tell you exactly what you’re going to be doing. You’ll be activating the Remote Desktop service on your Windows Machine. Unfortunately, Linux and Macs can’t do this. I realize you can accomplish the same goal with a VNC server on either of those, but when you watch the video you’ll be able to see why it’s not the same. You can also read Russell’s post here for a better explanation.
You’re going to need a Windows machine, an N800 Internet Tablet, and the rDesktop software available here. Go ahead and install rDesktop onto your tablet. It won’t hurt. Now what you’ll need to do is, on your Windows machine, go to Start - Control Panel - Windows Firewall. Now click on the “Exceptions” tab, and scroll through the list until you see “Remote Desktop”. Put a checkmark in the box to activate it, and hit OK. Click OK for the port that’s there.
Now, you need to get your computer’s IP Address. For this, go to Start - Run and type in CMD. Now, in the black window that opened up, type “ipconfig” (minus the quotes). Where it says “IP Address….” enter that IP address into the window on your N800. Note: You’ll also need to have User Accounts activated on your windows machine. You can do this again from the Control Panel, under “User Accounts.” Once you’ve created an account, enter the username and password on your Tablet, and enter your computer’s domain. This can be found in the Control Panel, under “System”, and on the “Computer Name” tab, it’s the “Workgroup” that your computer is assigned to.
Now that you’ve got all that entered, hit “OK.” You *should* see your N800’s screen flutter slightly and turn black with a mouse pointer. Play away.
I assume you cannot just go to Youtube and watch videos there? :)
Hmmm I can’t get this working. It freezes on the N800. Is a password required on pc in order for this to work?
You forgot to mention that the check box under the Windows Firewall “Do not allow exeptions) should be unchecked.
doesn’t work for me! Tried several times…just freezes in white screen on the 800…then says app not responding…hmmm???
Ive spent a few hours toying with all the settings on my firewall, router and network connections to find im still at square one with this.
Hopefully I’ll get it sorted soon, but this other feature on the tablet, that others seem to have got working with no problem, however im struggling…
Da22a
Guru,
Thanks for the “heads-up” on this brilliant little iteration of rDesktop! I had it up and running in 2 minutes. I like the way that Windows automatically resizes windows GUI to fit my N800; that is the one functionality that VNC does not offer the N800. With the Accessibility keyboard enabled in Windows, it bloody works perfect.
A couple of notes for new users:
You must have a password assigned to your login account.
You must be running Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise editions other wise - no workie. Home editions of XP or Vista simply won’t work. Sorry.
You have to open (port forward) TCP port 3389 if you are behind a router (LinkSys, DLink, Belkin, etc.) and you want to access your remote desktop from your local internet cafe. You also must know what your outside IP address is, so best to find out before you leave the house.
My two cents.
just to confirm what Crouching hamster said
BUT: there is a way to have the remote desktop in WinXP home (I did it) just follow instructions http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/tag/howto-change-windows-xp-home-to-windows-xp-pro-105486.php
PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS if you are not familiar with pre-install editing !
and to complete, if you don’t wanna check your IP adress each time you plan to connect from the outside (if your ISP does not use static IPs), you can get a free DNS at www.dyndns.org
I’ve been using it for 1 year now, very simple and useful
now anywhere I go I just have to use remote desktop and type mycomputer.dyndns.org as remote computer name, and that perfectly works
if you own a good modem/router, it should has an integrated dyndns update (when your IP address changes, this updates the dyndns service in order to match the new IP address). if your modem/router does not integrate this function, you can simply use a little tool that will run on your PC and update the dyndns service.
rdesktop is my most used and favourite app, VNC viewer also works quite well, adding sound would be a great improvement though.
I wish there existed a program that made it easy to configure runtime parameters and then run programs automatically after tablet startup, (like dropping a program in the windows startup menu). It would be really good if I could switch on and just go straight to my PC desktop via rdesktop or VNC Viewer. From what I’ve read it seems this is probably possible to configure manually if your a linux guru but sadly I’m not - if anyone knows how and can write a step by step guide you’d really make my day!
O great Guru -
After seeing your video, I’m intrigued about the possibility, via rDesktop and a bluetooth connection, of using the N800 in my home project recording studio as a wireless control surface, that I could use to access and manipulate SONAR (cakewalk) audio recording software from the safety and comfort of my vocal/acoustic guitar booth (a large closet, isolated from the main room where the noisy computer cooling fans and other noisy objects reside). I’ve seen a standalone device called the Frontier Designs Tranzport that is a dedicated-use device which accesses your recording computer via a proprietary 802.15 wireless connection and provides full transport (play, record, stop, rewind, etc) for track at a time recording. my thought is that there is so much more functionality available in the N800, that if it could serve as a wireless DAW transport control in my studio, it would also be available for internet access, and frankly, for playing with in and outside the studio when it’s not being used for recording purposes. The reason I’d use Bluetooth connection to the PC is because if I use my home wireless (802.11b/g) connection, the wireless connection tends to interrupt the extremely resource intensive audio recording engine, and causes “dropouts” and audible artifacts in the recording. So now, the home wireless card in the recording computer is disabled in the hardware profile I use for my recording machine. Will a Bluetooth connection have enough bandwidth to carry the Windows desktop to my N800, and allow me to control the Windows desktop from the N800 sufficient to run the audio software on my main machine from the N800?
Hopefully someone can provide some perspective on this, or tell me it just simply will not work. What I would like to do is disable my wireless card, enable the USB/Bluetooth interface, link the N800 to the Windows machine using rDesktop and a Bluetooth connection, and once the windows desktop is open, open SONAR 7, open a project, arm it to record, take the N800 into the vocal booth, and when I’m ready to record my vocal track onto the existing project, use the N800 to start the audio engine and “Record”. Feasible? Implausible? Waste of time? buy the Tranzport and forget about having any functionality other than what comes native on the Tranzport . . .
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Chris
When I saw you use the rDesktop and your N800 to open a browser on your laptop, and to play .mp3s through your laptop speakers in the video, it became clear to me that you ought to be able to manipulate any program on a windowsXP computer by using the Remote Desktop Protocol . . .
Can you provide any feedback on what problems I might expect to see using the N800 to control my DAW.