Question About The Firmware Image...

[Gilrad]

How jam-packed is it getting, space-wise? Perhaps I am wrong, but I am under the impression that the firmware is going to be the bare basic system stuff on 512mb with some common libraries, and most other programs are going to be distributed in .pnd files, right?

My main concern about this involves adding system stuff that (seemingly) can't be put into a pnd file, such as nonstandard foreign language support. If something like ANTHY is not available on the default image, will there be enough space for me to add it?

I would really prefer to run off the NAND if it is possible, and not have to boot from SD cards (assuming it has not already been determined that fitting a fully functioning desktop-style OS on 512 is near impossible).

 

[kingoddball]

NAND is full or Core software.
Use SD.

 

[atomicthumbs]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnionFS

 

[Gilrad]

So, you're saying that I can combine the NAND and an SD card into one file system? Wouldn't that break the OS if I eject the SD?

I really don't understand what your (frustratingly brief) posts are trying to tell me.

 

[PhillipJ]

The best solution (imo) to the problem of the "small" NAND is to boot from SD. Keep your NAND image standard and put modified/extended images on one SD card or a partition on one SD card. Then use the second SD slot for stuff. That's a large part of the appeal of this device for me.

 

[WizardStan]

So, you're saying that I can combine the NAND and an SD card into one file system? Wouldn't that break the OS if I eject the SD?

Yes, you can combine the two. Yes, it would break the OS only in so far as the files it is looking for wouldn't be found. Pop the SD back in and suddenly it starts working again (usually).
The Pandora has 2 SD slots. If there are a set of things you absolutely must have, put it on a single card and just leave it there. Use the second slot to swap out your videos, mp3s, and game data files.

 

[EvilDragon]

Yep, you have multiple possibilities.
You could add the SD Card to the OS. Or you could create a bootable SD Card: That way you can try out new stuff or fiddle around without breaking anything.
You still have a second slot where you can put your music, videos, games, etc. on.

 

[Grench]

If we want to try something stupid - say, booting Angstrom from SDHC slot 1 and then wipe the 512MB onboard flash and re-purpose it as /swap

Will there be an easily bootable/installable image that I can use to fix the thing after I'm done mucking it up?

 

[elwing]

If we want to try something stupid - say, booting Angstrom from SDHC slot 1 and then wipe the 512MB onboard flash and re-purpose it as /swap

Will there be an easily bootable/installable image that I can use to fix the thing after I'm done mucking it up?

I remember having readed that the bootloader can boot directly from SD, so if you wipe the nand you can still boot on the SD (that's the unbrickable claim I think...)

 

[Pleng]

If we want to try something stupid - say, booting Angstrom from SDHC slot 1 and then wipe the 512MB onboard flash and re-purpose it as /swap

Will there be an easily bootable/installable image that I can use to fix the thing after I'm done mucking it up?

Yes

 

[EvilDragon]

If we want to try something stupid - say, booting Angstrom from SDHC slot 1 and then wipe the 512MB onboard flash and re-purpose it as /swap

Will there be an easily bootable/installable image that I can use to fix the thing after I'm done mucking it up?

Sure, after all, we too have to get an image on an empty NAND before we deliver
I wouldn't use the NAND as swap though... might wear it out quickly...

If we want to try something stupid - say, booting Angstrom from SDHC slot 1 and then wipe the 512MB onboard flash and re-purpose it as /swap
Will there be an easily bootable/installable image that I can use to fix the thing after I'm done mucking it up?

I remember having readed that the bootloader can boot directly from SD, so if you wipe the nand you can still boot on the SD (that's the unbrickable claim I think...)

Yes, there is a minimal loader that can't be bricked. That one can always boot off SD, too.
It's what we're doing at the moment: We got SD Cards with two partitions.
One partition does feature all the bootup-stuff (MLO, kernel, U-Boot) and partition 2 has the rootfs on it.

When we try a new clean image, we wipe partition 2 and extract the new rootfs there.
And change the kernel, if there had been changes, too.

That's what everyone can do. Need more space for internal packages? Install your OS on a 32GB image. Can be Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, our own image... whatever you want.

 

[Gilrad]

How much work will be involved in such a setup? I am concerned because every time I have ever tried to do anything remotely advanced with Linux, things. just. don't. work. I really want to be able to have Japanese language support on this thing, but if getting it to work involves a week worth of troubleshooting, crawling around config files, reformatting, reformatting, and finally giving up because things never work in linux, then I question whether its worth it.

 

[VRAndy]

Uhm. ... So, what was the answer to his question? How jam packed is the NAND?

If I wanted to cram some small, light PDA software on there, would I have room for that?

Or do I have to have a NEVER-TAKE-THIS-CARD-OUT sd card to use Pandora as a PDA?


Not a huge deal either way. (That's why it's got two slots, I suppose) But since we're on the subject ...?

 

[WizardStan]

Or do I have to have a NEVER-TAKE-THIS-CARD-OUT sd card to use Pandora as a PDA?

It doesn't have to be a NEVER-TAKE-THIS-CARD-OUT card. It could be a MUST-PUT-THIS-CARD-IN-FIRST card