SuperZaxxon v1.60 RC released (please test!)

[EvilDragon]

And we've got another update for you: SuperZaxxon v1.60 RC!

Why 1.60? Because there's a bunch of new stuff, not just bugfixed.

Why RC? Because the new stuff SHOULDN'T cause any issues - but there might be some bugs left.

In case no one finds any bugs, the normal 1.60 release will be the same as 1.60 RC.

To install it, you can either use the "Upgrade OS"-Function of SuperZaxxon, or you can get a full flash image.

Here's what has been updated:

• NEW: added c64_tools from bsp, see http://boards.openpa...loader-and-ipc/ (use "sudo /usr/pandora/scripts/op_dsp_c64.sh" to init, DSP can then be accessed by programs through libc64 API)
• NEW: Preliminary support for DSP overclocking
• NEW / FIX: Holding pandora button during fullscreen might kill it now (if you're lucky)
• UPDATE: Kernel updated to 3.2.52
• NEW: Kernel: reserved CMA memory for c64_tools (this memory is still available to applications when c64_tools are not used)
• NEW: SDL: TV-out now automatically switches to scaler layer
• NEW: A few common firmwares added to /lib/firmware for wifi sticks
• FIX: /etc/op-version should now be updated with online OS updates
• FIX: Hopefully fixed some time drift issues. After installing this update and rebooting, you may need to set your time once more to switch to correct timezone, after that it should stay consistent
• UPDATE: Added a lot more timezones
• NEW: Clock can now automatically be synced on successful network connection (enable / disable it in the Date/Time-Settings)
• NEW: Fn-l toggles TV Out-Layer
• NEW: TV Out can now be automatically enabled on boot-up (remember: TV Out needs power!)
• UPDATE: TV out script now looks at last used TV profile
• FIX: Switched to bsp's XFCE-Menu script. XFCE-Menu now toggles regardless where the Menu-Button is.
• ... and some more minor tweaks and fixes
  
  

DOWNLOAD AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Upgrading from a previous SuperZaxxon version (1.5x):

Use the "Upgrade Pandora OS"-Version.

Please note:

User-Modified configs will not not be overwritten with the new version (i.e. the new TV Out config file)

Be sure to backup any important data you might have in your NAND for the above reasons.

It is recommended to do a full flash in case you are encountering any issues.

Upgrade instructions using the Full-Flash-Image:

Download SuperZaxxon Final v1.60 RC

Download SuperZaxxon Final v1.60 RC without internal Wifi drivers

Please note: Flashing the new firmware will put your unit back into a default state. All your settings and users will be lost. Of course, this does not apply to PNDs which save their stuff on the SD-Card.

To install it, simply extract the archive onto the root of your SD Card.

Insert the SD Card into the left slot. Keep R (shoulder) pressed while switching on your Pandora and select "Boot from SD1"

It will then flash the firmware onto the NAND. After it's finished, reboot your Pandora and patiently wait until the First Boot Wizard appears on the screen.

If "Boot from SD1" doesn't appear, try to reformat the SD Card using Panasonic SD Formatter, recopy the files and retry.

Please let us know any issues you encounter.

 

[ekianjo]

Excellent news

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Thanks Ed and notaz for your hard work

 

[ekianjo]

Thanks Ed and notaz for your hard work

Don't forget bsp for the DSP tools.

 

[ShleeDragon]

Because I'm an idiot.. what is c64_tools from bsp tools and why should I care?

I'm going to assume it's a co-processor that could be used for video/audio decoding and stuff?

 

[DAP]

Hung in the "collected errors:" section of the upgrade, right after "Configuring task-pandora-xfce."

I guess I abort the current install and retry before rebooting.

 

[DAP]

upgrade finished on the second attempt.

Results of testing:

One must still run "sudo refcomm connect 0" once after booting before "ConBTGPS" will work (and it will work until the next reboot).

bluetooth will not work after suspend to RAM until it has been disabled and then re-enabled.

The procedure is so complicated, and takes so much time, to enable the bluetooth GPS, I am tempted to get a USB GPS, but then that is a USB "full speed" device, so I will need a special cable that is hard to get... or a USB hub which is inconvenient to haul around... Sigh.

 

[ekianjo]

Because I'm an idiot.. what is c64_tools from bsp tools and why should I care?

I'm going to assume it's a co-processor that could be used for video/audio decoding and stuff?

Have you been sleeping through the winter ?

It's the DSP tools that were provided by bsp a couple of weeks ago.

If any application wants to use them, they need to be included in the firmware, naturally

So far there is no application using them. But maybe for the Alive and Kicking Competition we may see some news...

 

[kirkanoss]

will try and get this flashed and test it out soon if i get some time, and thanks everyone that has worked on this

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Cool !

Why no 3.2.53 ? :^p

 

[Stainy]

Upgrade complete..no issues

Good work to all involved!

 

[bsp]

@EvilDragon: Could you please postpone the final 1.60 release ? I have recently added some new features to c64_tools which should be included in the firmware. I'll post the update by the end of the week (it will probably be the last release for some time).

 

[leathco]

Updating now.  Really excited about the new TV-Out features, these look like they will come in handy, especially the shortcut to switch the tv-out layer.

 

[lordbobjones]

Updated via OS Updater and all worked well.

Have not had much time to play games but the OS so far has been stable, smooth and even at points a touch more perkier.  Might be might imagination but the restart just seemed a bit quicker.

Thanks for your hard work!!!

 

[notaz]

Why no 3.2.53 ? :^p

It's actually 3.2.53, ED just used older changelog while posting.

 

[ekianjo]

Question: does this SZ release still comes with Python 2.6 ? If yes, is there any reason why we don't get Python 2.7.3 by default ? 

 

[notaz]

In general it's all about "ain't broken - don't fix it" philosophy. What benefit will the upgrade give, except of bringing potential possibility to break any .pnd that uses python and possibly relies on older version somehow?

And what's the reason to update to 2.7.3 specifically, when latest 2.x series release is 2.7.6?

 

[Trip]

I agree with Notaz.

The problem isn't so much with having an older version installed, but more to do with not being able to easily install added libraries like tkinter etc.

It probably wouldn't be worth all the effort unless you upgrade to 3.whatever.

Thanks for this guys, nice job

 

[ekianjo]

In general it's all about "ain't broken - don't fix it" philosophy. What benefit will the upgrade give, except of bringing potential possibility to break any .pnd that uses python and possibly relies on older version somehow?

And what's the reason to update to 2.7.3 specifically, when latest 2.x series release is 2.7.6?

The benefit is clear :

Python 2.7 is compatible with 2.6 (I'm not asking for Python 3), so nothing is expected to break there, and on top of that all Python 2 programs nowadays rely on 2.7 features, missing from 2.6. It's just not reasonable to keep pushing back on this, unless you want to stop people from using slightly more modern Python on the Pandora. 

There are known bugs in the standard library from 2.6 that have been corrected in 2.7, too. If only for that, it would be worth it. 

Note that many Python modules rely and expect 2.7 too, and do not support 2.6 anymore. It's impossible to include these modules because we are stuck on 2.6 (unless you want us to pack the whole Python distribution per each Python-based PND, which would be a stupid idea).

Since you are doing a RC, why not include Python 2.7 and see if things break or not ?  It's the right time to do testing. I can volunteer to test as much Python-based PNDs from the repo as I can and provide feedback in case something does not work, but I have confidence nothing would break.

 

[Link]

Thank you for the update everyone!