Guylhem Rom: First Qtopia 1.5 Release Options

[guylhem]

Hello

The first "end user ready" release is being uploaded. It features a nice GUI and should work out of the box (no command line special knowledge should be necessary)

Get it on: http://externe.net/zaurus/guylhem-rom/

The only bugs I could find (and honnestly, they are not serious drawbacks) are:
- some remaining keyboard remapping (power/record are used like a jogdial, but should also be able to start applications - they can't yet)
- the network application refuses to add new interfaces. So I replaced the usual netsetup by a different one I compiled and I created a "Get online" icon, which can be used to create a new connection, before using the network application (that's the only if you really want to use the old one called netsetup.old). I have no idea why it doesn't work :-( Trolltech version works fine, Sharp doesn't. Any help would be welcome

If you feel like giving a try, your feedback would be very welcome. What you get :
- a polished qtopia 1.5 rom loaded with applications
- a cleaned filesystem (no symlinks everywhere)
- 24 Mb free to add your own applications (I doubt you'll need them - it's *loaded* with applications, basically every app I use is there, PIM, Hancom, Opera, etc etc.)

What's new since last version :
- added qtopia 1.5 interface
- made sure it worked well
- fixed the zoom/systemtime bugs reported in the standalone qtopia packages.

What's missing :
- special modules used by special card. If you have such a card, please tell me or adf so we can compile your missing module for you

To install it, simply restore the nandbackup. That's all. On reboot, you may see jffs2 errors - that's normal. It's just very verbose. You are presented with a login: if you log in, qtopia won't start. Press home twice to open another console. Press userkey/light to move between consoles. You must log out of every shell so Qtopia may start 30 seconds later. However the keyboard may not be usable if you didn't return to the first console. So if you want to use qtopia, simply don't log in.

Anyway, let's start the beta test ! I'm also preparing a dedicated feed for the ROM. If you have a .ipk that works fine and you think should be interesting to other people, please send me a URL where I can download it and add it to the feed.

If you think some application should be included by default, please tell me too. I'd like to create a "different" rom, very user oriented. Everything should be simple and work out of the box - the apps. I did choose tend to do that.

Guylhem

[guylhem]

Hello

rip- it tooks a long long time. A grand total may be ~ 2 to3 weeks, but selfishly I though I had to do it because every rom sucked. I wanted the tool for the job, so I created it myself.

I just hope everybody will like it. vt100? qkonsole should be fine - I tweaked it to use userdef button as a "alt tab". bluetooth shouldn't be a problem either. All my scripts are in /usr/local/bin BTW - adapt them to your needs. It's shipped with bluez 2.16 - the latest version available, and obexftp for cell phone operation (sync, pics...)

I just didn't compile every kernel module possible. Feel free to ask adf, he'll compile them for you (if you know which module your card needs)

adf - regading fstab - oops. I use ext2 on my SD. I will fix that. devimage is not working yet - I've got to fix its paths, etc. It should take a while. Regarding ipkg - oops again. To minimise flash wear, I put /tmp and /var in a ramdisk. It's only 1 Mb that's why it's exhauting. I'll fix that. Meanwhile simply replace /tmp link by a real /tmp when you do an install.

[rip]

adf - regading fstab - oops. I use ext2 on my SD. I will fix that. devimage is not working yet - I've got to fix its paths, etc. It should take a while. Regarding ipkg - oops again. To minimise flash wear, I put /tmp and /var in a ramdisk. It's only 1 Mb that's why it's exhauting. I'll fix that. Meanwhile simply replace /tmp link by a real /tmp when you do an install.

hum hum, i don(t know what file to edit/change to change the /tmp path, could you help?

many thanks

[adf]

adf - regading fstab - oops. I use ext2 on my SD. I will fix that. devimage is not working yet - I've got to fix its paths, etc. It should take a while. Regarding ipkg - oops again. To minimise flash wear, I put /tmp and /var in a ramdisk. It's only 1 Mb that's why it's exhauting. I'll fix that. Meanwhile simply replace /tmp link by a real /tmp when you do an install.

hum hum, i don(t know what file to edit/change to change the /tmp path, could you help?

many thanks

it's simple, really. just su
and do mkdir /mnt/card/tmp (or mnt/cf/tmp if you prefer it on cf) and then do
ln -sf /mnt/card/tmp /tmp

and you are all set.
maybe the same should be done w/ var.

[rip]

it's simple, really. just su
and do mkdir /mnt/card/tmp (or mnt/cf/tmp if you prefer it on cf) and then do
ln -sf /mnt/card/tmp /tmp

and you are all set.
maybe the same should be done w/ var.

[/quote]
uhhhh , made the changes on tmp and the brick reboots itself and stuck on splashscreen for 30 minutes, ...
reset = same thing, had to reflash again, hihi

[adf]

[quote=rip,May 10 2005, 07:01 PM]
it's simple, really. just su
and do mkdir /mnt/card/tmp (or mnt/cf/tmp if you prefer it on cf) and then do
ln -sf /mnt/card/tmp /tmp

do it from a console in qtopia? This is exactly how I fixed the install issue.

you could remove /tmp first.
or do ln -s instead of ln -sf (though i expect you'll get an error)

[hbo]

0
.0
it's simple, really. just su
and do mkdir /mnt/card/tmp  (or mnt/cf/tmp if you prefer it on cf) and then do
ln -sf  /mnt/card/tmp /tmp

do it from a console in qtopia?  This is exactly how I fixed the install issue.

That doesn't work when the new tmp is on cf. At least it doesn't when the cf is formatted with ext2. I got the "splash screen never goes away" symptom after making hhe change on my tosa. I was able to recover by using the "press / repeatedly after init starts" trick. When I got in to the text console, I saw that /mnt/cf wasn't mounted. Having /tmp pointing to nonexistent path makes some programs cranky, for some reason.

you could remove /tmp first.
or do ln -s instead of ln -sf (though i expect you'll get an error)

That won't give you an error. It will just symlink /tmp/tmp -> wherever you said.

[adf]

0
.0
it's simple, really. just su
and do mkdir /mnt/card/tmp  (or mnt/cf/tmp if you prefer it on cf) and then do
ln -sf  /mnt/card/tmp /tmp

do it from a console in qtopia?  This is exactly how I fixed the install issue.

That doesn't work when the new tmp is on cf. At least it doesn't when the cf is formatted with ext2. I got the "splash screen never goes away" symptom after making hhe change on my tosa. I was able to recover by using the "press / repeatedly after init starts" trick. When I got in to the text console, I saw that /mnt/cf wasn't mounted. Having /tmp pointing to nonexistent path makes some programs cranky, for some reason.

you could remove /tmp first.
or do ln -s instead of ln -sf (though i expect you'll get an error)

That won't give you an error. It will just symlink /tmp/tmp -> wherever you said.

1). hence the parentheical /mnt/cf, and the other discussion about fstab and cf mounts
2). i wasn't sure if you did ln -s when something of that name existed where you were intending to put the link would not give you a "file of that name already exists" type of error.

woudn't it make more sense to use sd for tmp and var and that sort of system stuff, though... given that cf has both larger storage options (wads data and media) and is use as a kind of bus for other devices (lan modem camera bluetooth) and so is likley to be more susceptible to being swapped in and out? sd on the 6k is pretty much limited to 1 gig and under data storage.

[hbo]

you could remove /tmp first.
or do ln -s instead of ln -sf (though i expect you'll get an error)

That won't give you an error. It will just symlink /tmp/tmp -> wherever you said.

1). hence the parentheical /mnt/cf, and the other discussion about fstab and cf mounts
2). i wasn't sure if you did ln -s when something of that name existed where you were intending to put the link would not give you a "file of that name already exists" type of error.

1) I missed that. Sounds like it might be a useful read. 8)
2) If the something is a directory, or a symlink to same, ln -s will just assume you meant to create the link inside the directory. It would be an error on a plain file. (That one still trips me up from time to time, after 20 years of Unix. )

woudn't it make more sense to use sd for tmp and var and that sort of system stuff, though... given that cf has both larger storage options (wads data and media) and is use as a kind of bus for other devices (lan modem camera bluetooth) and so is likley to be more susceptible to being swapped in and out? sd on the 6k is pretty much limited to 1 gig and under data storage.

Given the difficulty with cf, absolutely. 8). But my cf is a microdrive, which is a better place than solid state to put lots of ephemeral files. Also, that sucker is thick compared wih the average cf card, so it's a real pain to take out once it's in the socket. My goal is to find an OS that meets all my requirements and stick with it, so I never have to take the (ext2/3 formatted) thing out in order to put in my flash media. 8) So far, the Sharp ROM is closest, with the guylhem ROM close behind. Neither have some features on my wish list, however, like ext3 in the kernel and the ability to run nxclient. (That last is a stretch, but it might be possible with a writable root a la guylhem.) I have two beefs with this ROM. The first is the inevitable rough spots that a system in development is bound to have. And guylhem is nowhere near as bad as OE in that regard. Second, I don't like the choice of apps. This is also inevitable, I think. On a system that offers so much choice, people are bound to make a lot of different ones. The writable root does lessen the impact of that, however.

I'm a Linux systems engineer/architect/admin by trade. I know enough about various incarnations of the kernel to understand the bugs I run into, but I've never written kernel code of my own. I could contemplate integrating a system of my own, however, which is probably the only way I'm going to get close to everything I want. But finding the time is tough. That means I do appreciate all the time folks are putting in to this project and others. This particular project is interesting because it's the only advanced effort besides OZ for the Tosa, and it may be a good springboard for my own efforts. Given my time constraints though, for now I'll just be leeching along with all the other users. 8(.

[adf]

hmmm.... ok
If you want an os on the microdrive, and ext3 maybe we can sort this out.

I recompiled the last version of this kernel w/ ext3 built -in.. so that should be no biggie (onvce I figure out some of the stuff on this new version)

keep in mind that there is no real need to even have qtopia in the guylhem rom... or it can be scaled down, or more 6k friendly versions of some oe stuff might well appear..as might some stuff from pdaX.
this is all very new.

I suggest, though, that you stick w/ the guylhem rom and put pocketworkstation on your microdrive (make it ext2 for now..we can sort out new kernel builds in a little while).

Pocketworkstation can be talked to with:
--its native, and very fast fbvnc. I have been having keymap issues with this method though.. maybe you can help sort those out?

--xqt. very popular. kinda fat though, and has a few weaknesses. Try it out..it might suit you, like I said this method is popular

--opie-keypebble 1.0 from within Qtopia a nice compromise, imho. works pretty well so far.

Probable and likely methods:

--the vncviewer in Qtopia 2.1 Vnc is vnc, right?

---opie-keypebble in real opie

---X via gpe or pdaxrom

--x via a simple x server.

Doing the pocketworkstation/keypebble bit, I get the best of the optimised qtopia stuff, and pim functionality (that I really don't use) screen rotation on the fly and a virtual screen bigger than my vga if I like--plus scaling, though opie-keypebble nedds to be disconnecte/reconnected to do that. Keypebble runs right in a qtopia window, so you are in both systems pretty efeectively. it also means I have the option to pop in and out of the heavier debian stuff while taking advantage of extremely well optimised apps like opera

The "native" fbvnc, if we could sort out the keymaps, gives on the fly scaling and rotation. stop/starts only necessary to change the size of your virtual X desktop. and better speed than keypebble. need to kill Qtopia to run it, though

there is a very long thread and several websites on xqt. It really is worth checking out


this (G-Rom, Pocketworkstation) method also allows changeing gui parts of guylhem rom without either killing your debian setup or messing with the underpinnings. In your case you could put different zaurus gui setups (qtopia 1.5, 2.1 and opie --as they get working) on different sd cards and have readily accessable z guis at the swap of an sd, while keeping the "guts" of your rom on internal mem and your debian system on your microdrive. (man, I think I'LL do this --it sounds fun!)
I have pocket workstation on a very removeable (though it doesn't happen much) 1 gig sd.

sound more suitable? I bet the apps you need are in debian arm and as for the rest, opera and kino2 and stuff like that make the most of your z in areasd that need speed, and guylhems basic rom gives excellent hardware support--and if you don't fill up the 56 megs with guis-- a lot of room for modules and libs and scripts ).

EDIT: you might have to edit both mtab and fstab to get your cf working right. I only editied fstab and have to mount manually after reboot.

[adf]

I heard back for Klauss W. on the keymap thing. he also says use loadkeys. the thing is when i do loadkeys tosa.map (or was it tosa.keymap.... it is an html file, though, right?)
I get nothing. I'll try again, but I strongly suspect I have the wrong file, or the file in the wrong format or am incorectly using loadkeys.

suggestions....?

[adf]

I heard back for Klauss W. on the keymap thing. he also says use loadkeys. the thing is when i do loadkeys tosa.map (or was it tosa.keymap....  it is an html file, though, right?)
I get nothing.  I'll try again, but I strongly suspect I have the wrong file, or the file in the wrong format or am incorectly using loadkeys.

suggestions....?

btw so far ican get nxclient to say cannot find start stop daemon. Is this good? can we get past this? or is it a kiss of death kind of error?

[hbo]

[btw so far ican get nxclient to say cannot find start stop daemon. Is this good? can we get past this? or is it a kiss of death kind of error?

Well, maybe a hearty handshake of death.

start-daemon is an OZ or Opieism, NXclient is a closed source tool that was compiled to work with OZ 3.2.something, and libopie 0.9.x. So it's possible we could fake it out into thinking it was still living in that environment, but it probably wouldn't be easy, and there's no guarantee we wouldn't run into a show-stopper.

Now of course there is KNX in KDE 3.4. So there is open source code for an NX client on a QT base. This might be the right way to go as an alternative to putting bandaids on nxclient.

[adf]

except....
Qtopia 2.1 is based on what I think is the right version of OZ....
So.... either we can try to set up 2.1 in g-rom (which I think guylhem plans)
OR we can try to kidnap the right libs.

hmm I have an old libopie.. .8 something, I think.. the "libopie1" package. it is installed, though and deosn't seem to help.

If lpotter will post a link to dl his build root the lib could be gotten that way too.

I think that grom w/2.1 is ultimately the way to go, though.. it is built on the old "stable" oz.

I also think I know someone with an old OZ feed...... hmmmmmmmm

[hbo]

It should be doable. I wonder what start/stop daemon do, exactly? (It's generally obvious, but the devil's in the details.)

[adf]

lmao.... I was wondering that too.

I guess we try to rip the libopie? maybe I could patch it in where my exiting libopie1 currently lives?

or give it a shot in 2.1?