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terminal display utility

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Use an old tablet as an extra monitor

Shown by alex028502 on Oct 6, 2023. Click the card to turn it over.

281points

135comments

#167of 3,109 in 2023

Top 6%of 2023 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

6 positive, 17 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 7 critical, out of 32 comments about the project. Thread score +0.02.

Execution: 1 for, 5 againstIdea: 4 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

Cool idea for repurposing old tablets
From 2 comments
- Thats a cool idea, I have a Fire tablet (and a Kindle) that I still don't know why I bought it.
  boredemployee on HN
- Nice. I just dusted off wife's kindle in an attempt to repurpose it into a weird 'i m in a meeting' sign and I may end up looking at your project more closely now. Much obliged! <3
  A4ET8a8uTh0 on HN
Hack that shows how limited wireless external monitors are
From 1 comment
- Love this sort of hackery, but also -- it just kind of shows how very goofy all the limitations we have on this are. If you go with the idea that a computer should be a general…
  jrm4 on HN

Setting it up with third-party software is frustrating
From 1 comment
- Tried doing this for years, only got more and more frustrated with whatever wacky software I had to install to make this work.
  FrustratedPers on HN
Only useful for terminal apps, not general GUI
From 1 comment
- -HTOP/Nethogs for system in question -Same for any intervening boxes -logs for middle boxes -web browser for reference lookups -window for manpages script noodling -window for…
  salawat on HN

Run a full X11 server on the tablet
From 1 comment
- I would really be interested for a X11 server on that tablet. So I can do a simple DISPLAY=tablet:0 to send the window to and enjoy output
  thesnide on HN
Rebuild it as a browser tool
From 1 comment
- I love the suggestion to rebuild it for the browser. A tool like that could be generally useful. Anyone know of one?
  jchanimal on HN
Copy terminal content into a text editor on the main screen
From 1 comment
- This is cool. Maybe for copying you could spawn a text editor in your main screen with the content of the terminal in it?
  omneity on HN

Does it work with an ancient iPad?
From 1 comment
- Any options for an ancient iPad?
  fudged71 on HN

Weylus
From 1 comment
- I've used Weylus [0]. It works over LAN, lets you control the mouse from your tablet. Sometimes it's laggy, but you can configure the resolution so it's not using too much…
  trevcanhuman on HN
SpaceDesk
From 1 comment
- If you are on Windows and have extra laptops of devices hanging around SpaceDesk https://www.spacedesk.net/ to a great free app (not open source). I use it with on my Windows Dev…
  gourneau on HN
Duet Display
From 1 comment
- I've used Duet for this in the past. Works great by allowing me to extend my laptop screen with my ipad screen. https://www.duetdisplay.com/
  citiguy on HN
SuperDisplay
From 1 comment
- For Windows, the paid program SuperDisplay will also allow you to use an Android device as a second screen, works wireless or over USB. My Galaxy Tab S7+ is great as a second…
  seizethegdgap on HN
macOS Sidecar
From 1 comment
- Macos has the built in with sidecar. Just attach an ipad and select it as the external display
  cramjabsyn on HN