New Gp32linux Version

[ravuya]

Even before we get there, Linux will be very very useful

Can you say Lynx? We've yet to have an HTML, text or otherwise, viewer for the GP. Linux allows Lynx to fill that niche, probably very effectively... I'd have thought, at least...

Screw lynx, I think the Dillo project would fall all over themselves to have this. It's a fast, clean browser and it's a joy to use (despite some glitchiness).

All we have to get working is basic X, which, if we have a framebuffer might not be too hard.

 

[ingeras]

well, well
there is the links browser thaht have a patch for directfb
http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~clock/twi...s/features.html

directfb can run gtk applications and Dillo's is gtk based ....
http://www.directfb.org/gtk.xml

there are other projects
like a jpg viewer/movie player : http://www.directfb.org/dfbsee.xml
and other stuff http://www.directfb.org/other_projects.xml

 

[AlexW]

This sounds very good!
Linux X-Windows 640*480 in a scrollable screen would be totally OK as for a PDA type thing... about 400KB for a 8bit screen in 640*480... with buffer 800 KB...

Why not use the SMC and format a virtual mem partition and use it as extra memory??? ARM9 has a MMU...

USB in host mode is that possible? Is not that is more or less powerless thats the problem???

Anyway... really cool... so many cool ports could be done...

 

[Vimacs]

again a new version, but only thiung changed is the readme

This is the propaganda package, to give you some fun with gp32linux.

Put zImage and initrd into your /gpmm/linux directory. Then launch bootloader and wait few seconds before playing.
You need a serial adapter to type data on the gp32 screen.
The CHA-01 chatboard will be supported soon.

Version 1.0:
- all smc cards can be mounted as read-only
- a shell is started with output on gp32 screen and input with serial adapter

Toholl

Will linux on the gp32 support a serial port or is that built in already

allready in

(it might be a litle bit limited 'cuaz the GP32 is lacking a Clock)

it isnt, gp have a rtc its only not battery saved so you have to re set it on evry power up

 

[Tobriand]

Hmm... I wonder if the guy who runs Cobbleware would consider doing an RTC mod that'd let the clock run on a battery permanently. Could be very very nice. And after the RAM mod, I don't imagine it'd be ludicrously hard. It's certainly the sort of thing I wouldn't mind having some pics of so as to be able to perform it potentially myself...


Once I'm earning I really need to buy a GP32 to piss about with and hopefully not break on trying all the mods.

 

[sebastian_insua]

Hmm... I wonder if the guy who runs Cobbleware would consider doing an RTC mod that'd let the clock run on a battery permanently. Could be very very nice. And after the RAM mod, I don't imagine it'd be ludicrously hard. It's certainly the sort of thing I wouldn't mind having some pics of so as to be able to perform it potentially myself...

Wouldn't that drain the battery loads though...

sounds cool how developed is gp32 linux and will it be very slow or not....

 

[washo]

Wouldn't that drain the battery loads though...

true because to have a real time clock you will need to keep the CPU on....so you will have to change battery more than twice per day...

sounds cool how developed is gp32 linux and will it be very slow or not....

I hope it will run smooth....but we will have to wait till someone put X (or tiny X....) on it...

see you :lol:

 

[GPJosh]

The guide to do the real time clock is here with pics. and a txt guide. If Mash or Cobbleware did this it would be great.

 

[ingeras]

you can see some [poor] screenshots here :
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fangeles/gp32/

question :

how to switch the view
so instead of

-------------
| °°°°°°°°°|
| |
| |
| |
| #shell |
|°°°°°°°°°|
-------------

we get

----------------------------
|°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°|
| |
| |
| #shell |
|°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°|
|---------------------------

????

 

[washo]

you cant switch it now...maybe with some future release....

see you :lol:

 

[EdCa22]

The command line you see is a bash shell. Its to linux as dos is to windows. (well not really but thats the best laymans description I can give) Except in this instance, with linux, you can run any 'GUI' you choose. You are not stuck with any specific GUI (window manager) like you are with other, lesser operating systems. There are many to choose from. X is the layer that most GUI's sit on. Such as TWM, KDE, Gnome, and many many more. Now you wont get KDE or Gnome on the GP32 because of resource limits. But there are many other "GUI's" that are designed for lower resource hardware. X itself can even be a GUI of sorts.

With 32MB or even 16MB RAM the original versions of gnome and kde would work. But who wants to use them? X and a lightweight wm (icewm is my favorite) maybe, but preferably GPE or Opie.

The version of the xfbdev xserver should work fine, if it doesnt the modified version of it for the ipaq (xipaq) seems to work out of the box for most Arm framebuffers (worked fine when we used it for the Psion port). GPE and Opie should work vertually 'out of the box' as well.

Know any GUI based apps that can be run decently at 320x240? I dont. Even a minimal text editor has window borders and a title bar that take up half the screen at that size (even with minimal border sizes for the GUI). Leaving very little for the actual app to be used. Sure you could develop apps specifically for the GP32 on linux, but wouldnt it be damn near the same thing as developing the exact same app without?

Well, most linux hadhelds run Opie or GPE, and there are thousands of apps for them (including games), and they almost all have a screen resolution of...you guessed it, 320x240. Unfortunately 32MB is going to be a necessity to do anything like games though. And it wouldnt be too difficult to port any program you want to work with a smaller screen...not to mention that changing the wm to something very small (matchbox or something) will make the window borders and title bar much smaller.

Can you say Lynx? We've yet to have an HTML, text or otherwise, viewer for the GP. Linux allows Lynx to fill that niche, probably very effectively... I'd have thought, at least...

Screw lynx, I think the Dillo project would fall all over themselves to have this. It's a fast, clean browser and it's a joy to use (despite some glitchiness).

All we have to get working is basic X, which, if we have a framebuffer might not be too hard.

Dillo is fast but unless its been updated a lot recently it doesnt support most internet content (have they even implemented frames yet)? Links is console based but very nice (preferable to lynxs) and for those with 32Mb RAM Minimo would be perfect (the pda version of Mozilla). However, if you are using a chatboard then the connection to the outside world would have to be via USB, and isnt the GP32 USB client not server? The chatboard prevents use of a standard modem, because it uses the serial port.

I'd personally rather use a PDA, but it's still cool and fun, because, as you say, we can.

Ed.

 

[Vimacs]

However, if you are using a chatboard then the connection to the outside world would have to be via USB, and isnt the GP32 USB client not server? The chatboard prevents use of a standard modem, because it uses the serial port.

the gp32 have 2 uart ports, and the usb can be set to host mode

 

[ingeras]

However, if you are using a chatboard then the connection to the outside world would have to be via USB, and isnt the GP32 USB client not server? The chatboard prevents use of a standard modem, because it uses the serial port.

the gp32 have 2 uart ports, and the usb can be set to host mode

does that mean
that we can adapt an existing wifi driver for linux
and connect a wifi device to the gp ???

i saw there : http://darkfader.net/gp32/start.html
unpowered host mode
does that mean we cant ?
and if so
what if we use a powered usb hub ???
[ non-usb powered , but external power source ]


====================
may be we could join efforts with http://armedslack.org/

 

[Ernest]

This is great news, i'll give it a go when i get a chatboard which shud be some time in the next week and when some1 gets X or tinyX running.

 

[EdCa22]

That's useful, that means that any USB device that Linux supports should work (with external power) although I would have thought the developers would have mentioned it if they had serial and USB running yet. The possibilities with USB host are endless, in not too long people will probably be browsing the web over 802.11b and connecting to their USB printers, scanners and cameras!

Ed.

 

[washo]

we will have to wait till the man have his own CHA01
Ive received a mail from him saying a new release will be available as soon as he get it

see you :lol:

PS : maybe we will be able ti use pendisk (up to 1.5GB)

 

[ingeras]

dont know if it has been used
if not , maybe can be of some help
http://armboot.sourceforge.net/