NX Technology To Speed Remote Desktop Connections Testing GitHub as Blogging Platform

If you've ever displayed a remote X-Window application on another desktop, connected to a Windows Remote Desktop, or used VNC to connect to another computer, then you are familiar with the kind of remote access technology available today.  I've used all three methods mentioned and have been particularly impressed with Windows Remote Desktop.  Over a LAN or even a broad-band (VPN) connection it is very fast.  VNC is basically the X-Window remote protocol, with compression algorithms and packaged for cross-platform usage.  It is tolerable over slower networks, but I've always found its refresh and display quality to be poor.  Raw X-Windows remote usage is the hardest on network bandwidth.

A company called NOMACHINE has been developing open source technology that promises to greatly improve remote application access.  NX is basically new compression algorithms along with intelligent caching on both sides - client and server.  It is based on the X11 remote protocol and makes use of slightly modified VNC technology.  This article from gnome.org identifies some of the key technology:
"A Brief Look At NoMachine NX".    NOMACHINE also provides this article: "A brief introduction to NX motivation and technology"

Both the Gnome and KDE desktops are working to incorporate NX client and server technology into their free desktop environments. The day of the big servers and thin clients may be upon us again! Technology trends tend to become popular in a cyclic fashion. Here's a Wiki on KDE/FreeNX integration into KDE: NX/FreeNX integration into KDE.