|
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
|
[PLUG] Re: A few terminals?
|
Tom,
Not as terminals without adding more hardware. Linux does have the
capability to talk to multiple terminals. You need a 'port' (my term)
for each terminal you want to run. It can be a serial port per
terminal, or a network connection for multiple connections. Then you
need either a dumb terminal device, a pc with terminal emulation
software, a Unix workstation running X-windows, or an X-terminal. I'd
bet there are other possibilities, but those are the first four that
come to mind.
With your keyboards and monitors the easiest path is to add a cheap
pc, maybe a 386/486 class, add some terminal software running on DOS or
Linux, and connect it over a serial port to your present desktop pc. If
you pick up a working 386 machine for $20 and you have extra serial
ports in your existing pc then that's a low cost option.
It's possible to by dumb terminals just for this purpose, but they
don't tend to be very cheap new. And they are usually only functional
as terminals. The DEC VT100 and relatives come to mind. You might be
able to pick some up used, but I suspect companies who still use them
are holding on to them as spares.
It's also possible to connect X-windows across a serial or network
connection. Someone else mentioned X-terminals, and I've heard they can
be attached to Linux X-servers relatively easily. But I think they are
generally much more expensive than setting up another Linux box running
X-windows. An X-terminal is kind of like a serial dumb terminal with
graphics support. It will attach to your Linux box and let you run
X-windows applications from your box on the X-terminal. They are
generally ethernet devices.
Probably more than you wanted to know...
--
Kevin Brosius
Kulicke & Soffa Industries voice: 215-784-6523
Willow Grove, PA, USA mail: kbrosius@eng.kns.com
______________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group - http://plug.nothinbut.net
Announcements - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug
|
|