Ok, Really New To This... Options

[Timebom]

New sl-c3000 owner and after a few weeks I have some questions that I havent found in FAQ's or their solutions are not working for me. I am posting this in this section as I am running Cracko and my questions are generaly about this OS.
Here is what I have
Sl-3000
SLC3Kb1 Cracko Linux
now according to the version tab:
Qtopia 1.5.4
Linux Kernel 2.4.20
ROM 1.11 JP
CF 802.11b card Adtec brand, works nice, kills battery quick. lol

short history. Own a ZR-3000 for many years and its still going strong. Just wanted a better more useable machine. so bought the 3000. slight passing knowlage with linux. No command line experance with it though.

Day 1. with all stock english ROM, crashed the To Do and Calender. did a factory reset, oops. lost Console so couldnt enter the command to translate.
Day 2. Showed everyone I know my cool new microcomputer, no one can read it as its in japanese still.
Day 3. found a backup image on a great German Zaurus site, lost that addy by the way. Restored to english sharp Rom. Installed Cracko SLC3Kb1 and ordered a CF wireless card.

Have been using it in this form sence then and enjoying it very much with a few exceptions, I think mostly Cracko related, maybe.

1. I can not umpack *.tar.gz files either with the command line gunzip -t fireox-1.tar.gz for example, now this is command line so I may be way off on that. I do know that when I try in the GUI I get a "No application is defined for this document. Type is application/x-gzip" I have looked on the internet for this x-gzip file and so far it says it should be included. I know I am missing something simple here and just feel kinda dumb. I build computers and am well versed in command line dos and Windows products, and I know linux is not that complicated in reguards to unpacking a gz file... Is there a plugin for the GUI I could get so I can open packages that way? I would really like to get firefox to run on this as I use it on all my home machines and prefer it.

2. Anyone know the proper format for video so that the vidoe player will work with the file? I have converted to many different file types, sizes ect.. and nothing seems to work.

3. Just for fun. Any Games this thing will play without having to type a hours worth of code to get to work? I have checked the Zaurus software sites and so far they dont work.

I am sure these questions may have been answered and Links to other threads would be great if they contain the answers in a simple format.
I use this mostly as a PDA and while the Cracko seems pretty basic in this area, but is has been stable, like linux is supposed to be, and I need that more. Any suggestions as how to get more from this fun little machine without messing with stability would be great. I do read alot of the FAQ's and info, but when entering at this stage its very easy to get overwhelmed and go play bf2 or something. hehe.
Thank You
T.B

[Cresho]

look under my zaurusvideo for tutorial.

for games do this
http://www.iaccarino.de/silvio/zaurusstuff.htm

then download mypackages from
http://webpages.charter.net/cresho/

download the turbo snes nes zip and install only the zports packages and even the zports from the zip within the zip file.

these libraries are needed for lgames.

also....well give me a ring if you have problems with the lgames.

[Timebom]

Ok, Tried the games on the first link. Says it relys on files that are missing. lol so no dice with any of the games. Still not able to unpack anything. Thanks for video info too, will try it when I get some more time. Kismit work with the C3xxx series?
Thanks for the info.

[Meanie]

Ok, Tried the games on the first link. Says it relys on files that are missing. lol so no dice with any of the games. Still not able to unpack anything. Thanks for video info too, will try it when I get some more time. Kismit work with the C3xxx series?
Thanks for the info.

to uncompress the .tar.gz files do the following:

CODE

zcat file.tar.gz | tar xvf -

for the rest of your questions, look at my website.

[Cresho]

the site has ipk files. you don't need to mess with tar.

[Timebom]

I dl the ipk game files. they do not work. needs some other file to run it says. The .tar files are like firefox-1 and couple others I am trying to get to work. Much more flusterating than DOS at this time. But thanks for the help guys, I will keep messing with it till something works.

[uth]

When I got my C1000 a month or two back, I was initially frustrated as well because things I tried installing just wouldn't work. And I had been using Linux for over 10 years, I wasn't expecting that.

I think the problem is finding good information is tough. Yes, there are the forums, and the wiki, and several users have excellent guides on their own websites. Problem is, the information is distributed, and it's hard to find the answers if you aren't quite sure how to phrase the question.

So when I learn something, or figure something out, I try to update the wikis here so hopefully others don't have the same struggle. I've also been reorganizing existing wiki pages so they are easier to follow. I encourage other new owners (and old owners) to do the same. Hopefully it can become the handbook our Z's didn't ship with!

[Jon_J]

When using the GUI installer to install an IPK and you get error messages, such as:
"This package cannot install" or "This package has dependencies that are not installed"
Try using the commandline to install the troublesome package.
This will give you the name of any dependencies that are missing.
It may also give you other error messages.
I'm only going to try to explain the "missing dependencies error"
I'm not that "versed" at Linux
Here is the command for installing a package in the commandline:
This assumes the IPK package is on a SD, CF, or /hdd3 /Documents/Install_Files

CODE

ipkg install <file.ipk>

You may need to insert the path to the package.

Use ELSI, it will show dependencies, most of the time.
http://www.elsix.org/

On a slightly different approach, this is how I find out what dependencies a program needs before I install it.
I go to the Feeds and download the "Packages" file, and open it in notepad on my Windows desktop.
I have saved about 16 Feed - Packages files. I've enclosed them in a *.zip file below.
I use search in notepad, and search for the program, that I'm interested in.
The description will give the dependencies.
The urls to these feeds are included.
BTW, Some of the packages in my text files may not be on the feed, or may have a newer version.
Just use the text files as a guide, and if you don't see the program your'e looking for, download the latest "Packages" file from that feed and read it.
In windowz, just copy/paste the text into wordpad, that will convert it to a readable format.
I don't have my 'Z' connected to the net, so I don't use the download-install-on-demand system that most people here use with the Feeds.
Jon

Attached File(s)

 feed_packages.zip ( 505.42K ) Number of downloads: 12

 

[Timebom]

Cool, thank you for these great replys, I got Kismet to install, but it wont work with the card or I am missing something, no worries tho, I kinda like these problems and figuring them out. Almost as much fun as doing custom computers. lol I will give the suggestions you made a shot. Thanks alot

[PaulBx1]

One other thing, maybe others can explain it better, but some of the Windows download programs (Firefox is the one I was using) add stuff to the ipk or otherwise modify it in a way that the Zaurus software does not like. I installed "flashget" to take over my downloading chores, I think others have used "wget" if I'm not mistaken, and there might be others. Anyway that cleared up many issues I was having trouble with.

[Jon_J]

One other thing, maybe others can explain it better, but some of the Windows download programs (Firefox is the one I was using) add stuff to the ipk or otherwise modify it in a way that the Zaurus software does not like. I installed "flashget" to take over my downloading chores, I think others have used "wget" if I'm not mistaken, and there might be others. Anyway that cleared up many issues I was having trouble with.

I can confirm that. Firefox on Windoze sometimes trys to open *.IPK files when I download from a post here on this forum. The actual filesize changes, I've verified that in another post here, somewhere.
I always use Flashget to download from these forums when someone posts an IPK.
I don't have that problem in feeds, killefiz, or ELSI. I just use my browser there, unless the file is large, then I use Flashget because it resumes.