X connection to ac

Having installed Exceed and figured out how to open an X session on Ricardo, here is a little bonus. From Ricardo, it is quite easy to open an X terminal onto ac. This enables you to run any X programs that may be available on ac but not on Ricardo.

To make this possible you need to create a little file in your home directory on ac, allowing you access for an X connection. This is a one-time only deal. Here are the steps:

Telnet to ac.
If you're in lynx, exit by typing q.
Now we'll use the pico editor to create a little file named .rhosts. Type pico .rhosts and hit Enter.
Into the pico window that appears, type ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu. This is saying, "Let me connect from the named machine."
Hit Ctrl-X (hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 'x' key) to exit pico.
Type y to confirm the writing of the file.
Hit the Enter key to accept the filename .rhosts.

From now on you should be able to open an x-terminal on ac (from Ricardo) by selecting the "xterm-ac" item under the "Internet" section of the pull-down program menu on Ricardo's X desktop. Or you can type xac.tp at the command prompt on Ricardo.

The window that opens up will look like a telnet session, but it offers much greater functionality: you can run graphical programs from the command prompt (you may have to exit lynx to do this). For example, try running xmaple. At the unix prompt in the window labeled "xterm@ac", type xmaple & and hit Enter. In a moment xmaple should appear. (The & after "xmaple" puts the xmaple job "in the background". That is, it "gives you back" the command prompt immediately. If you just typed "xmaple" and hit Enter the unix command prompt will not be available again until you exit xmaple.)