RE: Re: Re: Familiar on Zaurus 5600

M,

Thank you for the detailed reply.

For the NIC connection: I am using a 10BaseT CF NIC and a direct connection
to the net.  
If I open a console, the ipkg update does work. I'll try your suggestions.

For the installation: I have been using the package manager.  I have tried
also to use dependencies I believe.  I have been trying to get this to work
for a while and all the step I have taken are a bit hazy.  I can try that
again.

For the rights issue: Yes, I should be root and as far as I know I am, but
using the file browser to copy anything results in a permission error.  

I agree that Angstrom with OPIE looks incredibly attractive, but support is
the last thing I have seen from the site or the mailing list.  If just a few
of the programs listed were to install and function, it would fit all my
need perfectly.   

I have emailed the Angstrom mailing list for users.  My questions never post
and I have received not one reply.  I have used this email address as well
as another.  Same results with both.  On top of that, the wiki is out of
date in many areas and of no help for the problems I have seen.  

I have found a support forum that appears to be driven by users and will try
there, but the support from the official channels seem to have simply failed
for me.  

Once again, thank you for your time and efforts.  I will try your
suggestions and see how it goes.  





-----Original Message-----
From: Morten Hulden [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:56 PM
To: Carl Thomas
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Familiar] Re: Re: Familiar on Zaurus 5600

Carl Thomas wrote:

> I'm familiar with the procedures for the IPKG update and upgrade and 
> have run them both as per the WIKI instructions, but after that, nothing 
> will install. 
>  
> Half the time, trying to reach the Angstrom site for the package fails 
> when trying to download the packed from the PDA directly. 

I have not been active with PDAs for a while but since I seem to be the 
last subscriber left on the list I'll try to respond.

- sometimes I had problems bringing the network up on the PDA failed 
until the usb0 interface was taken down first: "ifdown usb0" or 
"ifconfig usb0 down" then plug in network card. But I guess this was not 
your problem.

- sometimes the name server was not working properly, preventing contact 
to the feed-servers. I tried to enter the line 192.168.1.1 (my router) 
into /etc/resolv.conf, and if that did not help, I entered the ip of the 
feed-server into /etc/hosts. The last trick sometimes helped me so I 
could at least make an "ipkg update" and install some more programs and 
modules over the net.

> Even after the package is available via download or on a SD or CF card, 
> the installation itself fails.  This happens with any OPIE program I 
> have tried so far.   

No experience of that. But ff you are low on flash space you can use the 
ipkg option to install to the SD card instead of main memory.

> I have even used an earlier package of Angstrom and have manually 
> installed the libraries needed for a specific program and then the 
> program itself. 

So asking ipkg or package manager to install dependencies too at the 
same time did not work?

> Even though everything appears to install properly, the program itself 
> is not added to the application page and manually adding anything to the 
> application page is denied due to some right issues, even though I 
> supposedly have full rights. 

Full rights means you are root, right? If you are, then there should be 
no permission issues.

But with Opie the choice of programs is rather limited. Or was, it may 
be better now, I don't know. I mostly stayed with X11-based systems. 
Mixing the two is not easily accomplished. You did not try to install an 
X11 program on Opie I hope.

> Like I stated before, Angstrom just seems to have too many problems and 
> absolutely no support. 

I haven't noticed that. It's changing fast, yes, but you don't have to 
pick the bleeding edge. But I think those guys are incredibly active, 
judging from what they have accomplished and describe on their web 
portal. I have Angstrom running on an Akita, and Opie and GPE on some 
Ipaqs. I definitely see Angstrom as a better choice right now. Familiar 
was fine but nothing is happening on that front anymore it seems.

> If Familiar has moved onto more modern PDAs like the HPs, then I guess I 
> will have to as well. 

Zauruses should still be fine tho everything old has its limitations. 
Actually Angstrom is better adapted to the Zauri, with kernels compiled 
to handle the software math for these machines.

And some HP Ipaqs are even older but still run nicely.


M.

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