Cheap Nasty ARM Netbook

[PokeParadox]

I have happened upon a Chinese cheap netbook.


Specs are thus:


No Video accel!


800x480 screen.


128MB RAM


ARM 920 CPU at 300MHz


2GB flash storage


I have already removed the abomination of an OS WinCE 6... I have battled most of my day yesterday to get Debian running to an acceptable standard!


Now... I seem to remember that the GP2X was ARM 920, so my first question is would it be possible to run GP2X software on this?


Anyone else have any good ideas about what to use this for?

 

[Kaepora Gaebora]

Link please

 

[PokeParadox]

Well there are variations of these... so it's not really easy to provide exact details.


It seems mine is a "Version 02" since this is the only way that worked getting Debian running! http://www.cheap-hack.com/home/en/computer-science/wm8505/debian-installation.html


This video is one such netbook:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nsi9_cIP2mc?feature=oembed

 

[Pickle]

Now... I seem to remember that the GP2X was ARM 920, so my first question is would it be possible to run GP2X software on this?


Anyone else have any good ideas about what to use this for?

I doubt anything from the gp2x days would run as it since most was statically linked with SDL, which used the 2d hw billter (which i dont expect your hw has)

 

[PokeParadox]

Hmmm there were some dynamically linked stuff too though...


It's more for geekiness's sake than usefulness.


Also anyone now how I would go about adapting PNDs and PND_run style way of doing things so I can compile some apps and package as PNDs since this things is pretty limited... but does have an SDHC slot.

 

[mindlord]

I came an ACE of buying one of these at an Auction just a few weeks ago.

 

[Prometheus]

Is this one of those Allfine doodads, or something similar? I've always wondered if anyone got something useful onto those, since I've often seen it said that it's not really possible to eliminate Microsoft Windows CE from them.


I'd love to know if this turns out to be a useful machine for basic stuff or not!

 

[PokeParadox]

Well I have already had it booting into LXDE, but I'm going to to go slimmer than that. Looking like fluxbox only will be the way.


Already had midori running on it.


I need a nicer way of enabling and disabling wifi too.


Basically it's possible I can turn this hunk of junk into something usable, main problem is working with the space available...


EDIT: And yeah it is an Allfine

 

[Prometheus]

Well I have already had it booting into LXDE, but I'm going to to go slimmer than that. Looking like fluxbox only will be the way.


Already had midori running on it.

Not having used LXDE before (the lightest desktop environment I've used is Xfce, to be honest), I'm curious as to how well it runs on a device like this.

I need a nicer way of enabling and disabling wifi too.

How's it done currently?

Basically it's possible I can turn this hunk of junk into something usable, main problem is working with the space available...

Call upon the lost art of optimising, young Padawan! :lol:

EDIT: And yeah it is an Allfine

Neat. I'll be watching this with great interest. I do find the repurposing of limited devices into something more useful to be an interesting field (parallel to selling devices with limations that are useful by default, of course - like the Raspberry Pi, for example ).

 

[PokeParadox]

LXDE runs well enough, but I think I'm going to have to trim any space I need at all sides in order to get more useful applications on there...


But yeah it's a good reminder that you can still do useful work in really modest hardware... or hopefully you can. It's proving to be an interesting toy for me at least... but I'm scared I'm not going to get any work done for the rebirth compo at this rate... :S


Currently wifi is enabled by su to root and then modprobe rt3070sta and then ifup ra0


I'd prefer to let wicd handle this though... having really thought of nicest way of being able to toggle wifi(say for airplane purposes), but letting wicd handle connections once wifi hardware is switched on.


Currently I've broken something and I can't actually get into X :S

 

[PokeParadox]

OK... I kinda have got somewhere and nowhere with this...


I've managed to turn it into a more useful machine by way of adding a 16GB tiny USB thumb drive and a 4GB SD for /usr


I can enable wifi and run midori as root...


Now I can't seem to run midori or qbittorrent as a normal user. I can but it acts like there is no connection...


All I am trying to do at this stage is set this up as a fanless/low power torrent box with the downloads shared via samba... any ideas?