Lifecode

I’m currently using my father’s laptop, and using my desktop computer at the same time. Wait, does that make sense to you? Actually I installed a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) server on my desktop computer, I went to my parents’ room and borrowed my father’s laptop, downloaded a VNC viewer and accessed my computer. Pretty simple.

Why am I Doing This?

Personally I like to work on something comfortable, though the interaction between the VNC viewer and the server is not that smooth, compared to a remote desktop connection. My desktop computer is in the living room, and without VNC, I’m sitting there all day working on my stuff. Actually I’m thinking of just buying a long VGA cable and plug it in our HDTV, then all I need is wireless mouse and keyboard.

Well actually, I’m currently testing VNC because of our school group project on friday night. I’m planning to have one PC plugged in to the HDTV and all of us will be connecting to that PC via VNC and work out the Data Flow Diagram of our project together. And since we’re on a local area network, the speed is not much of a problem.

Downsides

In my current VNC connection, I’ve been having display issues. My desktop resolution is 1280×1024 and the laptop’s resolution is 1280×800. It’s pain scrolling up and down to get a full page. This is fixed by changing my desktop’s resolution to 1280×800, which I considered as a downside as well. Why? I don’t really want to change the server’s resolution, as it may affect other users connecting to it. As for our collaborative project, I’m hoping this will not be a big issue. Otherwise, we’ll be voting for the best resolution.

My desktop in 1280x800

Overall, I love this method. And I prefer this over Teamviewer. If you have reactions or comments, feel free to type them below.

Sometimes, we want our desktop to be clean. No icons, no shortcuts, no documents, nothing but the taskbar and the wallpaper. But wait, there’s this Recycle Bin icon, and I cannot remove it. Well, I got good news for you, I’ll show you how to remove that unwanted (that depends) icon from your clean desktop.

First, press Window Key + R, to bring up the Run Dialog Box. Then type in gpedit.msc. Group Policy Editor will pop up, and just head to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Desktop. On the right panel box, look for Remove Recycle Bin icon from desktop, just like in the picture below.

Remove Recycle Bin icon from desktop

Simply Double Click it, and choose Enabled. Click on Ok/Apply, and you’re good to go. This might require a reboot, and patiently restart your computer. After that, the icon will be gone from your desktop.