Fixes For R198/r197, SP7 Options

[grog]

[...snip...] and also sudo. you can now create new users and run everything as that user instead of root.

I notice that you implemented that by specifying the allowable programs. I just use NOPASSWD:ALL. Other than security (not a big issue on the Z, especially since most of us run as root anyway), do you see a need to be specific?

Is there plan to have sudo specified in the exec line of the desktop files, so this would be seamless in the gui, or is there some other method you had in mind?

[donquixote]

any comment about r197 stability/usability after this patch?

Sure. First of all I have a 760. There are some neat additions to this I recommend upgrading if you already have r197 installed.

However, the debilitating issues are still present:

- shutting off randomly for no reason
- apm issues
- screen not refreshing after exiting X
- audio doesn't shut off when headphones are plugged-in
- screen fading doesn't work with Fn+3 and 4 keys

There are more, these are just off the top of my head.

All I ask for is stability (the first issue). I can live with the rest of the issues.

dq

[grog]

any comment about r197 stability/usability after this patch?

IMHO these sp's are baby steps towards the next 'official' release (right Meanie?). Now whether that release will be labelled as stable, I can't say.

But to answer the question direclty, no, I still wouldn't consider this release + sp6 is stable, I have a few issues that I haven't reported, mainly 'cause I haven't had the time to really troubleshoot them myself yet. The ext2 partition on my sd card seems to need a frequent fsck'ing (which I've automated on reboot) & my hostap drivers seem to go south once in a while requiring a reboot. It would be nice to have it more dependable so I can store my contacts & calendar on it & have it automatically wake up for alarms & such, but that hasn't been a high enough priority for me (yet) to drive me away . Oh, and the loss of the NAND flash & restore is a loss that also prevents me from depepnding on my Z. It's too hard to get it back to my working state.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy . But for me my Z is a luxury not a requirement.

[grog]

- shutting off randomly for no reason
- apm issues

I haven't experienced these on my 860.

- screen not refreshing after exiting X

Ah, right. I'm used to suspending & resuming right after exiting X. A pain though, I agree.

- audio doesn't shut off when headphones are plugged-in

True. It's a another pain having to run alsamixer all the time. Then again, at least for me, it's not a biggy 'cause I don't use the speaker very often.

- screen fading doesn't work with Fn+3 and 4 keys

It's been so long I had forgotten about that. And the Fn+1 & Fn+2 to shrink & enlarge the terminal fonts was a kewl thing I remember from Cacko too .

[Meanie]

These SPs are fixes to make live a bit easier until the next major release (which is still being worked on) and hopefully, I will be able to merge all of these fixes into the next release as well.

I am still using pdaXii13 as my stable system, but have sacrificed one of my Zauri for testing and as I find bugs, I create fixes for them in the SPs. Bugs that are in the kernel will not be fixed by me and have to wait until the next release of the kernel. however, i may make a workaround for the bugs if possible like in the cards applet.

well, sudo is implemented in such a way as to not compromise security too much. Of course, NOPASSWD:ALL could be used instead which you are free to do yourself if you so desire, but I am reluctant to do it as the default for a general distro (although this is what I do in pdaXii13)

adding sudo to the exec line in all desktop files would not really be required, but only for the system tools which will probably will be replaced in the future (see pdaXcfg)...

also, note that I do not have a 7x0 or 8x0 so all the fixes are primarily for C3x00/C1000 models because when I find bugs on them, I can fix and test them, but for 7x0/8x0, I cannot so I just package the same bug fixes for r197. The only main difference for the r197 sp package is that the xpdf binary is compiled without specific optimisations and the ipkg.conf file has a different feed entry. although, i try to adjust the xmodmap file for 7x0/8x0, i cannot test whether my fixes actually work.
please report problems/bugs for 7x0/8x0 with as much details as possible (and solutions as well if you have any) and i will try to incorporate them into the SPs. however, there is no guarantee that the fixes will work until you test and verify them...


- shutting off randomly for no reason

this is actually a power saving feature. just change the timeout to be longer.

- apm issues

more details please....

- screen not refreshing after exiting X

not a problem for c3x00/c1000 but this can be fixed

- audio doesn't shut off when headphones are plugged-in

need to see and check, but probably won't be fixed until the next kernel release...

- screen fading doesn't work with Fn+3 and 4 keys

this has been fixed in sp7 (at least it works for C3x00/C1000)


The halt script needs some work to unmount everything cleanly (I had to do a lot of work with it on pdaXii13 which I have not done yet in pdaXrom)

The next release of pdaXrom will have a GUI installer with system backup and restore feature to replace the nand backup/restore feature. I may also implement zbackup on pdaXrom (if time permits) so you can create system snapshots that you can use to flash back your system.

[Meanie]

sp7 contains some fixes to the keymapping (c3x00/c1000 only) to make the super key working. also fn+1/2 and fn+3/4 also work now to change the screen between vga/svga and also change the brightness. this will effectively disable sticky keys. super+1/2, super+3/4 also works. to enable sticky keys, remove -kb from /usr/X11R6/bin/startx
the fbpanel menu popups now won't go off the screen anymore.
hostap driver is now default (removed orinoco and hermes which were conflicting)

Attached File(s)

 pdaXrom_fixes_r197_sp7_armv5tel.ipk ( 2.76MB ) Number of downloads: 59
 pdaXrom_fixes_r198_sp7_armv5tel.ipk ( 2.86MB ) Number of downloads: 124

 

[donquixote]

- shutting off randomly for no reason

this is actually a power saving feature. just change the timeout to be longer.

This is not the screen shutting off but rather the whole unit shutting off. Maybe there's another timeout you're referring to, but the problem seems to go deeper than the "Light & Power Settings".

- apm issues

more details please....

Actually, I think this is related to the previous problem. It has been mentioned before that's why I didn't elaborate. Basically, after it shuts off by itself and quite unexpectedly, it takes great effort (and a little prayer) to get it turned back on. When I check the power level it has dropped to 5% when just a few minutes before the power level was good. I've given-up trusting apm and the power level indicator.

Also, I should mention, another problem. It may be related to these other two points, but sometimes (and it seems quite random) when powering up, X freezes-up, only showing a blinking cursor in the top right. I can ssh in and kill X or take out the battery and reboot the unit, but in the course of doing this the data that was in any of the programs that were running becomes corrupted.

dq

[T3_slider]

This is not the screen shutting off but rather the whole unit shutting off. Maybe there's another timeout you're referring to, but the problem seems to go deeper than the "Light & Power Settings".

Isn't there a Suspend timeout feature in r197/8? (I use beta 3, so I am taking a blind shot in the dark here). In beta 3 it is accessible from the Light and Power app, but I'm not sure if that app is broken in the 2.6 kernels or not (maybe Meanie's new configure app has a Suspend timeout as well?)

[grog]

The next release of pdaXrom will have a GUI installer with system backup and restore feature to replace the nand backup/restore feature. I may also implement zbackup on pdaXrom (if time permits) so you can create system snapshots that you can use to flash back your system.

Exciting additions. The flash-restore is slated to work for all models? That would be really good news.

[kkazakov13]

You alone are producing Service packs faster than the whole MS department

[Meanie]

- screen not refreshing after exiting X

Ah, right. I'm used to suspending & resuming right after exiting X. A pain though, I agree.


does running

CODE

clear

or

CODE

reset

fix it?

[grog]

- screen not refreshing after exiting X

Ah, right. I'm used to suspending & resuming right after exiting X. A pain though, I agree.

does running

CODE

clear

or

CODE

reset

fix it?

Not for me.

[donquixote]

Oh yeah, and sometimes the unit doesn't shut off (suspend)-- I have to reboot it to make it work again.

dq

[vilefridge]

I've applied SP7 to 197 on a SL-C750 but the audio isn't working. I'm not hearing _anything_ from the internal speaker or external headphones. Tried both mplayer and xmms. I mainly use my Zaurus for playing music, so it would be nice to have this fixed... Any ideas? =)

The sound works in Cacko and also if I do a sound test in the Fn+D+M panel, so it's not a hardware issue.

(Thanks for all your hard work Meanie!!)

[grog]

I've applied SP7 to 197 on a SL-C750 but the audio isn't working.  I'm not hearing _anything_ from the internal speaker or external headphones.  Tried both mplayer and xmms.  I mainly use my Zaurus for playing music, so it would be nice to have this fixed...  Any ideas? =)

The sound works in Cacko and also if I do a sound test in the Fn+D+M panel, so it's not a hardware issue. 

(Thanks for all your hard work Meanie!!)

Have you tried turning the speaker and/or headphones on using alsamixer?