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Classic tip · Linux

Multiseat X under linux

· · Computers , Hardware , Linux , Software

Think about it: one pc, 3 monitors, 3 keyboards, 3 mice, 3 users all on the same machine at the same time doing different things. Ah yes, some of you are saying terminal clients, been there... Think …

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Avery J. Parker

IT veteran, maker educator, and author of Network Ninja, 3D Printing Mastery, and AI Workflow Mastery. Business IT: Diversified Tech Solutions.

Think about it: one pc, 3 monitors, 3 keyboards, 3 mice, 3 users all on the same machine at the same time doing different things. Ah yes, some of you are saying terminal clients, been there... Think of a standard whitebox pc powering it and a full graphical user interface and you have what's known as multiseat X. There's a mini-howto up at blog.chris.tylers.info on setting this up with XR11 v. R6.9/7.0


After setting up your favortie distro... upgrade to X.Org 6.9 and then take a look at the how-to.

I can think of a LOT of places this could be useful. (Internet cafe, home with multiple kids vying for the computer, computer labs, etc.) It's probably not for the faint of command line heart to set up, but it offers more than a few benefits. (Lower power consumption is one of the first that comes to mind, followed by lowered hardware cost.)

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