Raspberry Pi, second impression

I deleted my post from yesterday, and all comments. Well, this is my personal blog, it is not like a public forum.

Anyway, I decided that I had got off on the wrong foot with the RP. I have sorted out the initial problems, now running Gentoo, and intend to get stuck into compiling apps so that I can build a Puppy.

Gotta run, but will post more details soon.

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Comments

Have YOU heard of TonidoPlug
Username: GCMartin
There is a very interesting LAN device that is new on the horizon. Its a ... well its almost everything...almost. And its Precise. [url=http://www.networkworld.com/community/toolshed/cloud-fever-and-tonidoplug-your-own-personal-cloud][b]See for yourself[/b] Here to help

New devices
Username: Jota
"This is a trend that will expand, there will be many more new inexpensive gadgets using little ARM soc's and running some kind of Linux. The problem here is that, unlike with x86, where you can compile everything to i386, and run on every x86 processor, with ARM it seems there are incompatibilities between ARM versions, as BK and others are finding out with the Mele. But this is a brave new world and we keep trying and testing.

RE RP take-two
Username: BarryK
"I have tried to make a second start with a more positive attitude. But, it is difficult to stay positive. For example, I configured the hardware without any hub, just a power supply, a USB mouse, USB keyboard, and TV with HDMI input. I power-on, and get "no signal". However, if I power-on the RP with the mouse and keyboard unplugged, then the monitor works. I then plug the mouse and keyboard in, and everything works. That is just one example! I will hold off further commentary, until I have done some more testing. Anyway, I have started to do some compiling. I am running Gentoo. The great thing about the Gentoo SD card image is that it has everything needed to compile apps. The download file is 2GB, and it needs an 8GB card. I think it was mentioned on the RP Forum that Class 4 SD cards don't work reliably with the RP, so I bought a Class 6 card (faster). It cost AU$19.

Verified hardware
Username: BarryK
"Here is a wiki page for good/bad hardware: http://elinux.org/RPi_VerifiedPeripherals Oh, another point about the Gentoo image, it was compiled optimised for the RP CPU, unlike all of the others. Gentoo on the Forum: http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=707&start=50 ...that page has a link to the image file, here it is direct: http://com.legato-solutions.raspberrypi.s3.amazonaws.com/Gentoo-armv6J_hardfp_X11Server%20plus%20xfce%20V1.0%2020120522%208GB.img.zip The guy, 'disneysw', will probably be uploading later images.

Compile, compile
Username: BarryK
"I might go and read a book or something, to pass the time. I am compiling packages on my RP. Due to problems with the USB ports, I have not been able to use my USB hard drive, so I am doing everything off the SD card. It will be interesting to see how long the card lasts! It is going well, most packages are compiling. I have just done cups 1.3.11. 'disneysw' has done a good job on this image, and I am thinking of writing a script that will extract all of the binary packages out of it and make PETs. It would then be a complete repo of PETs for building a pup, not based on any other distro.

Gentoo
Username: DaveDay
"In Gentoo land we would normally tackle the slow compiles via crossdev and distcc. You can set your small machines up so they farm all their compiles out to more robust machines but still are in charge of the build process. I just upgraded all networking here to 1Gbps to facilitate larger numbers of distributed compiles. Works great. I have use puppy as my rescue disk of choice and would love to have a "genpup" or a "puptoo" to play with.

Re slow compile
Username: BarryK
"Ted Dog, Yes, the Cortex-A8 is supposed to be compatible with the CPU used in the RP. Including the hardware floating point unit, although I think I read somewhere there are some caveats with that. The Gentoo compile is optimised for the RP CPU, but that should be still ok. DaveDay, Yeah, the problem is, I have moved house and have nothing setup. No ethernet router. I have only got a usb wireless broadband module plugged into my laptop. Most of my stuff is packed away. I suppose in theory I could connect a crossover ethernet cable between RP and laptop, but I would need instructions on how to set that up. Networking is not my forte.

Re "puptoo", "genpup"
Username: BarryK
"Yes, I like that!

Re moving
Username: BarryK
"smokey01, Yes, I have moved to Perth!

Moving
Username: Smokey01
"That should be the end of your slow Internet connection woes. I was in Perth recently, nice city.

Perth
Username: Raffy
"Perth is also the home of Moodle. Next, it will be genpup's. :) Binaries are expected to be forward compatible to the Mele. However, let's hope that someone handles the kernel issues from one device to the other.

'Battered' PlutoPup
Username: Rooey
"Perth at the moment is home of a 1 in 20 year storm (mainly wind in this case, about 5mm rain) Do you still have a roof? Are you getting use of your deep cycle battery? [u][b]Good luck[/b][/u] with round 2 starting tomorrow night!

ethtousb adapter
Username: scsijon
"Since your in Perth now, go visit your local 'officesone' type supplier and ask for a usb to ethernet adapter. Check it's a self configuring one and doesn't need a driver to be loaded for the usb end. It should be about $25 and with a standard ethernet cable allows you to connect without a hub or such into your laptop. I have one in my emergency kit and it has saved a lot of work and traveling, over the years since I first discovered it. Mine only requires me to set a dedicated ip on the e'net port and I can access whatever it's plugged into.

Progress, but slow...
Username: BarryK
"I am still chugging along doing all the compiling on the RP. Getting there, I might have something in a couple of days. Yeah, it sure has been windy!

clear or secure any debris from around their homes in preparation
Username: concerned bootiso leecher
" ABOUT 18,000 homes remain without power in Perth and Western Australia's south-west as the third major storm since Thursday approaches the region. ...urged people to clear or secure any debris from around their homes in preparation for the fresh storm front later.. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/battered-perth-and-south-west-western-australia-braces-for-third-storm/story-e6frg6nf-1226392791867 ...The [b]worst conditions are expected[/b] to commence late afternoon or early evening in the Augusta/Margaret River area, reaching the Perth metropolitan area later in the evening... http://www.skynews.com.au/local/article.aspx?id=760278&vId= http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/widespread-damage-across-perth-and-the-south-west-as-winds-tops-120kmh/story-e6frg13u-1226392437708

Tags: general