RPA on Cloud Computer #2

I started using Cloud Computer, a local but NTT-affiliated service in Japan, with 2 CPUs and 2 gigabytes of memory for a reasonable (I think) maximum of 700 yen/month. The Dynabook N40 at home has taken on a second life (lol) as a Thin Client.
There is one thing I would like to confirm before using RPA with Cloud Computer this time. What is the resolution of the screen when not connected to Cloud Computer via VNC? ** I don't know what you are talking about. I know you don't know what I'm talking about, but I don't know much either (lol)... When I was still an active engineer about 20 years ago, most of my work and geeky activities were done on the command line. Of course, I used X-Window and Windows, but I used them only as it is, with no customization. So I am not good at this area at all. By the way, command line is what is called CUI or shell, and it is the world of computers without using a mouse. For some person, it is more understandable, let's say , it is just like MS-DOS.
RPA is a part of the mouse-using culture. In a world without a mouse, there are only commands, so there is no need to bring in the concept of RPA, and all you have to do is to write a list of commands and execute them in order from the top (with some logic, of course). Before the advent of RPA, I remember that even when surfing the Internet, I had to acquire information from scripts and programs via http and then analyze the tags. However, with the development of CSS and other technologies in addition to images and videos, information processing by tag analysis is complicated and difficult, so it has become simpler and quicker to automate the world as it is, which is what RPA is. I think this is what RPA is all about.
In RPA, of course, if the resolution changes, the images of buttons and input fields may not match the images prepared in advance, so it is necessary to know the resolution. Therefore, it is necessary to know the resolution of the screen. However, while RPA is being executed on a cloud Computer, it is left unconnected from the home PC, so the screen is not physically output anywhere during that time. However, the RPA is working by properly understanding the location and contents of the Window of the application, which is not visible to humans. What is the screen resolution at that time? is my question.
At the result , I understand that, when the RPA is running on a Cloud Computer, the monitor is connected even if the screen is not physically output anywhere. When I ran it with no VNC connection and only an ssh connection, I got the following message

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 32 x 32, current 1920 x 1200, maximum 32768 x 32768
VNC-0 connected primary 1920x1200+0+0 0mm x 0mm

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 32 x 32, current 1920 x 1200, maximum 32768 x 32768
VNC-0 connected primary 1920x1200+0+0 0mm x 0mm

On the Cloud Computer side, the VNC application (vncserver) is launched, so it is the monitor. In other words, when the vncserver was started, the monitor was already connected from the OS point of view, and whether or not the VNC app was viewing it from the home computer was not important to either the OS or the RPA. So if you want to run RPA from your home PC on a Cloud Computer, you don't necessarily need to connect via VNC, just an ssh connection.

$ xrandr --output VNC-0 mode=1920x1080
java sikulix ...

$ xrandr --output VNC-0 mode=1920x1080
java sikulix ...

I found no problem if I specify the resolution first and then run the program. To be honest, it was getting a little hard to start up an application for mouse (so-called desktop) on my Dynabook N40, which is my home thin client, but now that I know I can run RPA from just the command line, I'll let it work a little longer (lol).

Thin Client

I was initially using AWS Workspaces as my Cloud Computer, but for some reason the RPA tool, Sikulix I got stuck (;-o). So I used an NTT-affiliated service called WebARENA Indigo as a second Cloud Cloud, with an OS of [Dynabook N40 from Home PC](https://batasanblog.hateblo.jp/entry/2022/06/ 08/093429) and basically the same configuration. dynabook N40 runs crisply after installing Linux, but [sometimes freezes](https://batasanblog.hateblo.jp/entry/2022/ 06/27/180000), a fatal phenomenon that has not yet been resolved. However, with this configuration, even if the home PC freezes, the Cloud Computer keeps the work status as it is, and if RPA is running.
If you feel it means Thin Client? You've got good sense, I think (:-). Yes, that's right. It has already been a common IT concept in this industry for 15 years, meaning a thin computer. In this case thin means not refer to a phisically thin computer like a Mac Book, but rather to a computer a with few functions. In other words, in this case, it means that the home computer side only displays the screen of the Cloud Computer and performs a few functions. Therefore, a relatively old and slow computer is considered sufficient, and the fact that my dynabook N40 has settled into this position is a natural consequence of the natural flow of things (:-).

RPA on Cloud Computer

I’ve been playing around with Linux with dynabook N40 that my kids used to use. That in itself is also a hobby (:-), but I want to try RPA with a purpose. I think that many who think of RPA personally are for stock or investment purposes, but I don’t do such things at all, but I still regularly gather online information and so on. I have been playing with Sikulix on my dynabook N40, and now I try it on my Cloud Computer, so called ( only by me ) AWS Workspaces.
Sikulix is distributed in java, so there is no need to install it, and AWS Workspaces comes with java as standard, so all you have to do is download and run the jar file.

$ java -jar sikulixide-2.0.5.jar

The integrated editor was started without any problems. However, when I run a simple sample, I get an unfamiliar error.

Hmmm, something about a glib version mismatch? I’m honestly not very good at this (lol), and AWS Workspaces is a somewhat complete package system, so I don’t feel like recompiling the glib system, and I think it should be used as it is. I am now investigating and considering other workarounds. AWS Workspaces , of course, are regularly updated with security measures and version upgrades. I wonder if it will work after a while without doing anything? I am just hoping it (:-o).

Audacity on Cloud Computer

I have a hobby, apart from computers, of extracting sound from various Video objects and listening to it, but I have not heard of other people doing this (:-o), so it might be a minor hobby. However, it seems that our brains process images and sounds at the same time, but actually they are biased toward visual information (I just heard a brain scientist told this), so if you listen to even familiar images with only the sound extracted, you will feel sounds you never noticed before, and you will “see” a different world. (I hope, probably).
I am playing with AWS Workspaces, which I have named Cloud Personal Computer for personal cloud use, and I will try using Audacity there. Audacity is so wonderful audio editing application that can be used on both Linux and Windows, so it can easily be installed on AWS Workspaces . In addition, I’ll install pavucontrol, which works well with Audacity, and since it’s RedHat-based, it looks something like this

$ sudo yum install audacity pavucontrol

With Audacity running and recording started (or paused), simply start pavucontrol and change Audacity’s input in the Recording tab to fit your environment. Of course, for those who want to listen with higher accuracy and sound quality, this may be a little insufficient, but for my hobby level, it is so good. Since it picks up all the sounds of the computer, even operating system error sound are recorded, but since it is a Cloud Computer, it will continue to record even if the physical computer application is closed and left alone (:-).
Also, one of the biggest advantages of the Cloud Computer is that the Cloud Computer is physically located in a data center somewhere, and the network distance from the sound source you want to record is often closer than at home, so the quality is often better. Although the quality of home networks has improved recently, there are still times on weekends when I get what is called “Circling…” and have to pause while watching videos, but I have not yet experienced this with the Cloud Computer. I have the impression that the quality is quite good (of course, it depends on the situation and environment). However, as I wrote a bit about this before , this method can also be used to record various video and music services that are popular nowadays if you try to, so you need to pay attention carefully to the laws and copyrights of each country.

AWS Workpaces Desktop

I purchased AWS Workspaces as my home Cloud computer (although it is free for a while) and started using it. The OS I chose this time is called AWS Linux, but if you usually use Windows OS and choose Windows for Workspaces, you can use it as a normal computer without much discomfort. AWS Linux seems to be based on RedHat, and the desktop is GNOME2-based MATE. However, it seems to be almost complete, and for the original purpose of using Workspaces, it would be best to use it as it is.
The only major applications installed from the start are the open source LiberOffice and Firefox, but of course necessary applications can be easily added with yum. However, there seems to be some AWS etiquette in yum.
When I tried to play youtube on Firefox, the picture quality was very good rather tham my expectation, with just a little bit of choppiness if you don’t set it to full screen. And the sound played without any problems without any additional settings. This was a surprise to me, a Linux geek until about 10 years ago. I remember that back then, it was normal to not be able to play sound when connecting by VNC, and even if you forced playback of video, it was useless in terms of computer resource and network quality. The combination of the AWS Workspaces server and the client application must have been perfected.
However, this time I only confirmed that I could play Youtube and other videos on Cloud PC, and I will not use it because the FireTV connected to my TV is for everyday use, as it is still better quality in terms of picture and sound (:-).

AWS Workspaces

I would like to purchase Cloud PC as my second computer because it is inconvenient to use only the Dynabook N40. I decided to try so called AWS Workspaces, which I found on Preliminary Research.
I went to the AWS website and registered as a member. First, I entered my personal information such as name, address, and credit card information, but I still feel a little uncomfortable entering my credit card information online. However, there is no fee for membership registration, so you don’t have to worry about it (I believe :-). If you think of it as the same as the recent video services such as Netfilix and U-NEXT that require credit card information just to watch a trial video, you may feel less resistance. Incidentally, I have also tried a whole major video subscriptions for free, but I am not using any of them now (:-o).
After completing the membership registration in the same manner as video services, the next step is to apply for the service. From this point on, you need to pay attention to the fees that may be incurred depending on the contents of your application. However, it is unlikely to be a large amount of money, so there is no need to worry more than necessary (I hope :-).
When searching for services, there are many that even I, as a system engineer, cannot even imagine, and when I try to read the explanation, I suddenly jump to an another language page, so I feel that the hurdle is still high for those who are not in the IT field. I wish AWS would try harder in this area (l:-o).
Still, I managed to find Workspaces, and selected CPU, memory, storage size, and OS. First of all, it is OK for me the minimum amount of Linux, but I found that 1 CPU, 2G memory, and 50G of user volume were “free” , so I chose this. I heard that it would be free for at least 3 months, but the original fee is $34 for a fixed monthly fee or $10 + $0.25 for an hourly fee, so it is a fairly high fee for a subscription. Also, it seems that the price and free slots vary a lot depending on the region (where the cloud computer is located) and the time of year.
I’d like to get a laptop with a good performance for about $1000 as a home computer, and I’d like to get it to arround $30 per month for a subscription, so it seems a bit out of my price range. Well, it’s the first time and it looks like it’s free, at least for a while, so I’ll have a little fun with it for a moment.

AWS

I was considering purchasing a mini-computer such as Beelink or Minisforum after a series of unfortunate freezes with the dynabook N40 and Linux. But suddenly I realized that the second computer would be a

• Cloud PC

The industry calls them many different names, including VDI, DaaS, AVD…etc, but I think it is important to define the term in a way that is a little easier to visualize for those who have not used such things before.
　Ten years ago, when I was still an active computer geek (:-), this type of service was still in its infancy, slow, expensive, and impractical. In the past 10 years, technology and services have advanced dramatically, and among them, AWS becomes the Cloud giant that is trying to stand apart from the rest in this highly competitive world, where major companies are investing nearly $10b every year. The services are so variety and many that even as a systems engineer may lose their way. But at last I found for my “Home Cloud computer” in personal use, so called AWS Workspaces service seems to fit the purpose, so I will try it so immediately.