What can be done with a PC today, that could not be done 25 years ago?

[blackbird9]

I had free NX too. it rocked. client was netbsd and server linux. for some reason the client did not work under freebsd
later i had the client on a 'lamp' iMac g4 (which i still have)

Yeah I was running the client on a linux box at home at the time, I don't think I ever tried it on freebsd.

 

[covacat]

nx was a lot better than vnc or vanilla X. it was comparable or better than msft rdp

 

[blackbird9]

There's also dxpc https://www.freshports.org/x11/dxpc/ which is a similar idea, although I think not as sophisticated as nx.

 

[blackbird9]

nx was a lot better than vnc or vanilla X. it was comparable or better than msft rdp

Yes it was much better than vnc. It was a real x-server, not a screen-scraper. I think they implemented it as a nested x-server, from memory.. not certain now, it's a long time since I looked at it. If I do that kind of thing now I just use standard ssh X11 forwarding, and the broadband link is fast enough, it's like being on the lan. But there's probably less need to do that kind of stuff now, again, a lot of stuff that used to be standalone programs with guis got moved into webapps. That's actually another change, not so many people are writing gui's now, I think. If you need a graphical UI, you get someone to write it as a web app and embed a webserver. So the ubiquitous uptake of web technology is another thing that has changed over the last 20-25 years.

 

[covacat]

iirc the proxy ran on both ends and compressed/decompressed the protocol, graphics, events, etc

 

[blackbird9]

Yes, I remember something along those lines. The other really powerful feature (than the protocol compression) was the session management, that meant you could disconnect from an X session at one site, move to another site, reconnect and find all your X clients in the same state, so you could continue your work where you left off. In the same way as you would do in a text terminal with screen or tmux, but with a graphical desktop. Perhaps only the commercial version had the full session management capabilities. I have vague memories of trying to get it to work! It's a long time since I looked at that stuff

I do remember the first time I got it to work, and running the remote machine's entire desktop in a fullscreen window on the home machine across the 512 kbps adsl link, and thinking it was f**king awesome

 

[natterangell]

The trick with VNC has always been to use a server/client combo that only refreshed what was necessary, combined with a plain color wallpaper and no wiggly stuff on the desktop. I got perfectly reasonable performance with UltraVNC against enlightenment e16 or something like windows 2000 on a 128 kbps uplink. 20 years later, VNC is still the sort of "always works" fallback option. Hell, I even use it today with bhyve to install VMs. no other technology I'm aware of has standardized the same way cross platform. But yes, freenx back then was miles better on what was then a "modern" KDE desktop or the like

 

[DanielBowman]

I'm still waiting for full fibre to the house here, the company (openreach in the uk) is slowly working there way around installing it in my region. The mobile network routers actually look quite useful although they are obviously slower than broadband, but it gives another option apart from the cable firms and tends to be cheaper. Starlink in the phone... haven't heard of anything like that here yet but it sounds expensive! And what kind of transmitter power do you need in the phone, to talk to a satellite in low-earth orbit rather than to a local 5G mast? We have 5G masts put in all over the place anyway so it's a bit hard to see where starlink would fit in, though I guess again in country areas without 4G/5G coverage, but not many people tend to live there, so not so many customers.

StarLink in phone was more of a bluff on my part - the Customer Retention desk needs "excuse" to lower my bill. They did by 10-15Euros. Originally they wanted for me to pay more.
But we will get StarLink in phone one day, I am sure.
My morale got a little boost with Tesla FSD (not mine, I use tram) running around Prague for a week or so. It is doing very well.

I have (coax)cable to the flat but on the street it is fiber. The speeds (I have the smallest limit) are such that my old HDD was the weak link even going through old 1Gbit router.
However, despite having IPv6, they keep changing it, probably so that people still have to pay for static IP. DuckDNS might help but TailScale saved the day.

My friends living on outskirts have only WiFi. It is extremely cheap, very stable unless lightning hits it and the provider keeps improving the speeds without charging more. Even torrenting (linux ISOs) is OK while watching 4k youtube.
At least they don't have to worry about gypsies cutting the fiber while searching for copper.

 

[Phishfry]

I am charging my RC Buggy Battery with a USB3-C jack.

You could not do that 25 years ago.

 

[astyle]

And I heard horror stories about USA internet. But to be fair, the distances are a bit different there.

According to this its $350 setup or $200 for the 'mini', then $50 a month for 100 Mbps service. That's actually not too bad, it's come down a bit.

How Much Does Starlink Cost in 2026? Equipment, Plans & Installation

Complete breakdown of every Starlink cost: equipment ($349), monthly plans ($50-$120), installation fees, and hidden costs most guides skip. Updated for 2026.

starnetpros.com

Dunno, this Starlink stuff is pretty much on par with what I'm getting / paying for with XFinity / Comcast in my area. And I hear that some newer commercial airliners have Starlink (or are in the process of getting outfitted with the hardware so that you can have Internet while in the air in the middle of the Pacific. If I look hard enough, I probably will dig up some horror stories about the reliability of Starlink...