So, now that we’ve got to the the bottom of the Eo power problems, we can let Tablet Kiosk and Amtek work on that one and move on to the next project.
The problem is, we still dont have any UMPC’s available here in Germany and i’ve got lots of ideas. Frustrated.
So I need some volunteers to test out my next theory.
Is anyone with an Eo or Q1 prepared to do a bit of Linux boot testing? I’ve seen details of previous failures and have been discussing it with friends. The problem before was that everyone tried standard live-cd’s from the USB CD-ROM. Most (in fact probably all of them that have been tried.) don’t boot from USB-CDROM.
So, what someone needs to do is take one of the links below and see if it works.
In fact, the best place to start is probably pendrivelinux
If I had a ultra mobile PC in front of me now id try Damn Small Linux It has boot-from-USB-stick capability and also an install from windows option. How-to here. This is probably the most developed of the boot-from-stick distributions.
You could also try Puppy Linux which is a small one that should boot from a USB CD-ROM.
These two distros are reduced versions that have most programs you need on them but are probably best only used for the proof of concept we’re doing here.
If they work (and hardware is recognised) you could move on to try Knoppix. There’s an FAQ available on how to change it to boot from USB-CDROM. You’ll need another Linux box and some Linux skill to create the new ISO but if it works you’ll have pretty much a full Linux instalation.
I’m not aware that any of the main distributions have boot-from-USB-CDROM capability but i’d be tempted to try Suse 10.1 which has just been released.
Lets see if we can enhance the market for these UMPC’s. If the linux crowd get on board, we could see the market grow which will benefit everyone.
Any takers?
If so, Origamiportal.com have started a new Linux topic area where i’ve created a new thread.
Regards.
Steve / Chippy.
I think, it’s more resonable to start with a real distribution and make the stylus work. I’m prety sure that X won’t be a problem. Core hardware won’t be a problem ever (Samsum Q1 have mostly (CPU, GPU) the same hardware as my Acer travelmate C300), the only tricky thing will be the touch-screen. if it’s like a tablet PC wacom will be our friend and with a bit of testing the device will be fully fonctional.
Maybe a dedicated distrib will be desirable. I mean one able to boot from a stick and provide a desktop configured for that kind of screen.
jtokash, here.
After making usb keys #1 in my eo’s boot order (bios), dsl (mentioned in your post) boots from my usb thumb drive approximately 1/3rd of the time.
For some reason, the eo boot process does not always ‘see’ the drive.
After booting, the dpad works. USB mouse, touch point, touch screen, and the other buttons do not work. I do not have a USb keyboard on hand to test.
The screen shows a window and some other GUI elements, but they are not readable. The OS is running at a higher resolution than 800 X 480 and is not doing a great job scaling down.
John.
Well done. It looks like you’re the first UMPC customer ever to boot linux! (At least the first ‘recorded’ success!)
Shame you couldn’t drop to the console (usually CTRL-ALT F1) and do some digging around on the command line (would love to see the ‘dmesg’ output which shouw the boot sequence and the hardware discovery messages.
I’m going to let the Epios, Knoppix and MythTV communities know and i’m sure that before next Friday, we will see a full linux GUI running. Touch screen support might take a little longer.
i’ve found some good links that i’ll port on the Origamiportal linux forum.
Steve.