It's great to use vncviewer on my desktop computer and
the vnc server on the tablet. In most ways it is just like
using the tablet.

But I have some questions.

first, is there any way to open the hildon menu over
vnc?

second, the keyboard does not work properly - no 'bar'
symbol for example. I suppose the table is using the
limited keyboard configuration appropriate to the n810's
limited hardware keyboard.

But I don't have a function key on my desktop's keyboard,
so is there any way to get full functionality?

Menu should be F4.
All the hardware buttons map to F keys.