Debian Questions

[Capn_Fish]

I'm sorely tempted to give Debian another spin, but want to know what does/doesn't work. In general, what's broken? Can I configure keys to right/middle click easily, like in pdaXrom? Can I keep my pdaX rootfs intact, flash a new kernel, and install Debian on the microdrive, then flash the pdaX kernel back if I don't like Debian and still have a working pdaX setup?

Thanks, and I'd be happy to RTFM if there is one and if somebody would point me to it (assuming it's a RTFM situation).

EDIT: And which is faster/lighter: OABI or EABI, and where can I find it?

Gosh I feel like a newbie asking all of these questions.

[jpmatrix]

so far, the wiki is there :

https://www.oesf.org/index.php?title=Debian...eries_models%29

The latest install procedure from Zdevil is here:
https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=25029

but Zdevil should (will?) release a new rootfs soon (perhaps this weekend) . so perhaps you should wait for it. anyway, you can always download this one and after (successful) install do your first apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

about your questions:

-eabi is definitely faster than oabi
-In general, what's broken?          so far, the only packages which i cannot run is firefox and mozilla based browsers (iceweasel, etc....)
-Can I configure keys to right/middle click easily : yes it is in zdevil rootfs

about pdaxrom questions i'll let other people answer as i never installed it on my c3000    except pdaxii13  

besides and latest terrible news : once debian installed (even just the kernel), you'll be able to run Google Android under your Zaurus    

hope to see you soon under debian

[Capn_Fish]

Thanks. I think I'll give it another shot.

[scottlfa]

Its pretty cool, been using it for awhile now

[Capn_Fish]

I tried it once, after restraining myself for all of some three hours, but had a somewhat negative opinion of it. We'll see how this goes (and how well my hacked EvilWM works).

[Capn_Fish]

How do I adjust the backlight?

[laan]

How do I adjust the backlight?

from console bl <numeric value> (i think it's from 0 to 164 but unsure atm)

[Capn_Fish]

Thanks. I was looking for "setbl" or "fbset" or whatever it is in pdaX.

EDIT: I don't have "bl." Where do I get it?

EDIT2: And my USB mouse is off (I push right, the cursor goes up?!?)

EDIT3: And is it always this slow?

EDIT4: Found the backlight solution. Any good ones for the mouse? It appears I have to press one of the quick-launch buttons to change which button is being pressed. Is there no way to do a "hold and tap" instead of a "toggle, tap, toggle back?"

I really hope these issues are just stupid user errors...

[dlj0]

Thanks. I was looking for "setbl" or "fbset" or whatever it is in pdaX.

EDIT: I don't have "bl." Where do I get it?

It's a script.  I think it's on Zdevil's collection of useful things.  

EDIT2: And my USB mouse is off (I push right, the cursor goes up?!?)

I've had this problem for a while.  Unfortunately, the Xfbdev server doesn't allow you to rotate the mouse pointer.  Hold the mouse itself 90-degrees counterclockwise from normal, and it will work.  Not a real solution, but I haven't been able to do better.  I had the same problem with Titchy as with eabi, and probably would have with Angstrom, too, but I never had working usb until titchy (which I then dumped in favor of eabi debian).

EDIT3: And is it always this slow?

Huh?  Compared to what?  My sense is that it is definitely faster with eabi than oabi, so Angstrom and debian are both faster than titchy or pdaXrom.

[axeTail]

Thanks. I was looking for "setbl" or "fbset" or whatever it is in pdaX.

EDIT: I don't have "bl." Where do I get it?

It's a script.  I think it's on Zdevil's collection of useful things.  

EDIT2: And my USB mouse is off (I push right, the cursor goes up?!?)

I've had this problem for a while.  Unfortunately, the Xfbdev server doesn't allow you to rotate the mouse pointer.  Hold the mouse itself 90-degrees counterclockwise from normal, and it will work.  Not a real solution, but I haven't been able to do better.  I had the same problem with Titchy as with eabi, and probably would have with Angstrom, too, but I never had working usb until titchy (which I then dumped in favor of eabi debian).

EDIT3: And is it always this slow?

Huh?  Compared to what?  My sense is that it is definitely faster with eabi than oabi, so Angstrom and debian are both faster than titchy or pdaXrom.

I thought titchy was Debian?

[Capn_Fish]

I mean it's slow, like it overall feels like it takes longer to open programs, register mouse clicks, etc. It feels better this morning than it did last night, but still not up to pdaX. Would running it off of SD be faster?

[ZDevil]

I mean it's slow, like it overall feels like it takes longer to open programs, register mouse clicks, etc. It feels better this morning than it did last night, but still not up to pdaX. Would running it off of SD be faster?

I don't find Debian EABI slower than pdaX, as far as I can tell from my own timing record of launching several common programs (abiword, gnumeric, gimp, etc) (it's somewhere in this forum but I've lost track of it ...). Lightweight apps like the terminals and dillo show up in a blush.

Mouse button mapping: The default setting is managed by xbindkeys. You can always change the behavior by running xbindkeys-config. An alternative is to use xmonobut. There is an interesting way to map any key to something like pressing [Fn] to do right click in pdaX. Just search for it in this subforum. I've packaged it in jpmatrix's custom feed. I may also experiment with it to see if it is perferred over xbindkeys.

Backlight: the default is set to [Fn]+3/4.

Again, these keymappings, together with many many other functionalities, are prepared by 2or0.  I just roll up the rootfs for more painless experience (like you have a lazy ready-to-eat hotdog and don't have to add ketchup and mustard and relish on your own).    

There is nothing special about the upcoming rootfs. It will only contain a few minor fixes.  Any experienced user will do without (and even better than) it.  
I will write down all the changes i make to the current rootfs so that the current users can apply the changes themselves and need not worry about installing the whole thing again.

After all, the biggest advantages of using Debian is you can upgrade and install things like all other standard Linux distros, and I can assure you that the toolchain is complete and extremely useful. With apt-get build-dep and dpkg-buildpackage I no longer need to track dependencies and do manual patching. Everything is kept uptodate constantly .

[dlj0]

(from me)... My sense is that it is definitely faster with eabi than oabi, so Angstrom and debian are both faster than titchy or pdaXrom.

I thought titchy was Debian?

You're right, titchy is debian, with an added collection of Zaurus-specific utilities.  I was trying to distinguish between titchy and the more recent debian installations that people on this forum cooked up.  Some are oabi, others eabi --- several different kernels.

[dlj0]

I mean it's slow, like it overall feels like it takes longer to open programs, register mouse clicks, etc. It feels better this morning than it did last night, but still not up to pdaX. Would running it off of SD be faster?

Well, it depends on the program.  galeon and other gnome-ish browsers take a long time to show up, and iceweasel never makes it at all.  But many other programs are much faster than on pdaXrom.  But it has been a while for me; I lost pdaXrom when I tried to upgrade from -beta1, and could not get the upgrade to install.  

Mouse clicks:  If you are not using your usb mouse, then rmmod mousedev.  It makes the touchscreen pointer very jittery, which then makes clicks harder to register.  

As I have tweaked my eabi system, I am finding it more and more capable.  I never could, before, actually be reading an e-mail message, click on a link, and have a browser open while the e-mail program is still cooking.  It also feels much more like a computer, less like a PDA, with better navigation between tasks.  Of course, that is due to the window-manager, but there also seems to be more free ram more of the time.  A lot of rendering of pictures and text is faster than with pdaXrom, or with titchy (which is oabi).

The biggest advantage of debian in general is the huge number of programs available.  With any of the specialized roms, what is available is what the developers have interest in, so things like TeX and LyX that I depend upon were not there or were half-broken, or old.  Unstable versions of many programs were the only option.  At the moment, oabi debian has an edge on eabi, with working iceweasel and icedove, maxima, etc., but there are alternatives for eabi (well, browsers are still a problem, and maxima has yet to be ported, but the browsers are getting better and sylpheed is very stable), and eabi (AKA armel) does have a speed edge, particularly with floating-point calculations.  And this community has enabled more Zaurus-specific features and capabilities than any other.  My usb works flawlessly now, and never did before, my wi-fi is far more reliable than with any other distribution, the backlight adjustment works fine, etc., etc.