Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Tony Sceats]

Maybe you could cut down on the requirements by only running a console and
writing the jpg to the framebuffer?

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

not sure how'd you go from there, but this sort of thing should get rid of
the X overhead, pretty sure you'd be able to get some utilities to write the
jpg for you

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 12:37 PM, Marghanita da Cruz <
marghan...@ramin.com.au> wrote:

> elliott-brennan wrote:
>
>> Hi Marghanita,
>>
>> The only problem you may have is that the screen
>> resolution on the laptop may be too poor for a
>> decent image resolution. I'd be curious as to how
>> yo go though.
>>
>>
> After quite a bit of experimentation, the good news is I now have an
> operational
> Digital Frame.
>
> The bad news is it isn't linux or open source. I would welcome any
> suggestions for an open source/linux solution.
>
> I've documented the project here:
> 
>
> I plan to use the frame in next January's Eco-Annandale Exhibition
>  
>
> Marghanita
>
>  Regards,
>>
>> Patrick
>>
>>
>> Marghanita da Cruz wrote:
>>
>>  Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:09:47 +1100
>>>
>>> I am experimenting, to see whether I can convert either or both NEC
>>> Versa (2200C
>>> & 4230 circa 1996/7)  laptops into Multimedia Digital Frames...the
>>> challenge is
>>> as much about hardware as software. Even the floppy disk drive, I am
>>> using on my
>>> current laptop, makes the FD appear as a USB device and the low level
>>> Formatting
>>> instructions don't work.
>>>
>>> Marghanita
>>>
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Marghanita da Cruz
> http://www.ramin.com.au
> Phone: (+61)0414 869202
>
>
>
>
> --
> SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>
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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Marghanita da Cruz]

elliott-brennan wrote:

Hi Marghanita,

The only problem you may have is that the screen
resolution on the laptop may be too poor for a
decent image resolution. I'd be curious as to how
yo go though.



After quite a bit of experimentation, the good news is I now have an operational
Digital Frame.

The bad news is it isn't linux or open source. I would welcome any suggestions 
for an open source/linux solution.


I've documented the project here:


I plan to use the frame in next January's Eco-Annandale Exhibition
 

Marghanita


Regards,

Patrick


Marghanita da Cruz wrote:


Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:09:47 +1100

I am experimenting, to see whether I can convert either or both NEC
Versa (2200C
& 4230 circa 1996/7)  laptops into Multimedia Digital Frames...the
challenge is
as much about hardware as software. Even the floppy disk drive, I am
using on my
current laptop, makes the FD appear as a USB device and the low level
Formatting
instructions don't work.

Marghanita






--
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202




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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Peter Chubb]

> "Nigel" == Nigel Allen  writes:

Nigel> Peter Chubb wrote:
>> Stupid question --- but are you using static or DHCP-assigned
>> addresses?
>> 
Nigel> No such thing as a stupid question :)

Nigel> Unfortunately we are all static IP addresses throughout our
Nigel> networks. I don't even believe we have a dhcp server anywhere.

Then here's what I'm *guessing* is happening.  

You do the ifconfig up and assign addresses and routes.  Fine.
Then at a later stage, the card loses association with the access
point (for whatever reason -- interference, temporary loss of signal,
or whatever).

(iwconfig will show you this).

Ater a bit the driver times out and brings down the interface.

Because it's a static address, nothing notices to bring it back up
again.

If this *is* the problem, then what you need is a daemon to reassociate
and reestablish the interface for you.


I'm not sure of the best way to do that in Puppy; maybe install
wpa-supplicant? Dunno.
--
Dr Peter Chubb  http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au  peterc AT gelato.unsw.edu.au
http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au   ERTOS within National ICT Australia
A university is a non-profit organisation only in the sense that it
spends everything it gets  ... Luca Turin.
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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Nigel Allen]

Peter Chubb wrote:

Stupid question --- but are you using static or DHCP-assigned
addresses?
  

No such thing as a stupid question :)

Unfortunately we are all static IP addresses throughout our networks. I 
don't even believe we have a dhcp server anywhere.


This only happens with this machine and it's a daily (often far more 
frequently) occurrence.


Appreciate the thought/input though.

N/


It could be dhcpd is handing out duff data or something.

I suggest after you get an address and gateway, you write them down,
and then reconfigure the interface to use a static IP, gateway and
nameserver address ... then see if the problem still exits.  If it
doesn't then your issue is not with the laptop, but with the server
handing out data.
--
Dr Peter Chubb  http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au  peterc AT gelato.unsw.edu.au
http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au   ERTOS within National ICT Australia
A university is a non-profit organisation only in the sense that it
spends everything it gets  ... Luca Turin.
  

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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Peter Chubb]

Stupid question --- but are you using static or DHCP-assigned
addresses?

It could be dhcpd is handing out duff data or something.

I suggest after you get an address and gateway, you write them down,
and then reconfigure the interface to use a static IP, gateway and
nameserver address ... then see if the problem still exits.  If it
doesn't then your issue is not with the laptop, but with the server
handing out data.
--
Dr Peter Chubb  http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au  peterc AT gelato.unsw.edu.au
http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au   ERTOS within National ICT Australia
A university is a non-profit organisation only in the sense that it
spends everything it gets  ... Luca Turin.
-- 
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Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html

Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Nigel Allen]

Thanks for the tip

Puppy installed flawlessly - sound, X, the lot.

Only problem is the same one I got with Ubuntu. After a while the 
network stops.


If I run the network setup wizard again the IP address and gateway has 
been set to all zeros. If I set them again the network starts again.


I'm not sure if it's the card that's playing up. Any suggestions to test?

N/


Blindraven wrote:
Whenever I get the opportunity to use Puppy Linux I'm always overjoyed 
at how fast, powerful and feature rich the little OS is.
It's of course built for the purpose you've stated, and looking over 
the specs you should have a green light for that card.


http://www.puppylinux.org/

See what you think.



On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Nigel Allen > wrote:



Hi All

Can anyone suggest a lightweight distro suitable for a Toshiba
1730 that will support a Netgear WG511 Wireless card out of the box?

I am aware that there are different versions of this card. This
one is marked "Made in Taiwan" but according to this page:
http://daemonizer.de/prism54/wg511/ It is the V3 (assuming that
the only visible difference between the V2 and V3 is that the
label is inverted - or am I missing something?)

I used to run FC6 on this but after a few problems I tried to
switch to Ubuntu and found that while everything works well, the
network would sporadically stop. Sometimes after 10 seconds and
sometimes after hours and hours. If I run /init.d/networking
restart it all goes fine again. Again, Ubuntu runs like a dog
performance-wise.

I'd like to dump Ubuntu and run something lean and mean - the
notebook is just used around the house and does nothing at all
that requires grunt - but I need the wireless card to work.

TIA

Nigel.

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Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html




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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Kevin Shackleton]

Curiously enough there is an article in this months "Silicon Chip" on
installing Puppy Linux on older machines.

The magazine publishes many articles on microcontrollers and PC-driven
electronics, so to pop in an article that might be more expected in a PC
magazine does not seem too off-topic to the publishers and no doubt is a
cheaper article to put together than an electronic project.

Kevin.

On Thu, 2009-02-26 at 10:15 +1100, Nigel Allen wrote:
> Hi All
> 
> Can anyone suggest a lightweight distro suitable for a Toshiba 1730 that 
> will support a Netgear WG511 Wireless card out of the box?


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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[elliott-brennan]

Hi Marghanita,

The only problem you may have is that the screen
resolution on the laptop may be too poor for a
decent image resolution. I'd be curious as to how
yo go though.

Regards,

Patrick


Marghanita da Cruz wrote:

> Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:09:47 +1100
> 
> I am experimenting, to see whether I can convert either or both NEC
> Versa (2200C
> & 4230 circa 1996/7)  laptops into Multimedia Digital Frames...the
> challenge is
> as much about hardware as software. Even the floppy disk drive, I am
> using on my
> current laptop, makes the FD appear as a USB device and the low level
> Formatting
> instructions don't work.
> 
> Marghanita
> 

-- 
Registered GNU/Linux User 368634
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[SLUG] Lightweight Distro for Aging Laptop?

[Leslie Katz]

I'm using Zenwalk v 5.2 with (I believe) that version of the NetGear 
card. The card runs with ndiswrapper. I find Zenwalk very satisfactory 
for the old laptop I have it on (Pentium III, 128MB RAM). The web site's 
here: http://www.zenwalk.org/


--
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Australian reasons for judgment, start here:
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To see photos I've taken of, among other things, Sydney, then and now, start 
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Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Blindraven wrote:

Whenever I get the opportunity to use Puppy Linux I'm always overjoyed at
how fast, powerful and feature rich the little OS is.
It's of course built for the purpose you've stated, and looking over the
specs you should have a green light for that card.

http://www.puppylinux.org/

See what you think.



This is timely, I will look at puppylinux. Any thoughts on MUlinux and FDLinux?



I am experimenting, to see whether I can convert either or both NEC Versa (2200C
& 4230 circa 1996/7)  laptops into Multimedia Digital Frames...the challenge is
as much about hardware as software. Even the floppy disk drive, I am using on my
current laptop, makes the FD appear as a USB device and the low level Formatting
instructions don't work.

Marghanita




On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Nigel Allen  wrote:


Hi All

Can anyone suggest a lightweight distro suitable for a Toshiba 1730 that
will support a Netgear WG511 Wireless card out of the box?

I am aware that there are different versions of this card. This one is
marked "Made in Taiwan" but according to this page:
http://daemonizer.de/prism54/wg511/ It is the V3 (assuming that the only
visible difference between the V2 and V3 is that the label is inverted - or
am I missing something?)

I used to run FC6 on this but after a few problems I tried to switch to
Ubuntu and found that while everything works well, the network would
sporadically stop. Sometimes after 10 seconds and sometimes after hours and
hours. If I run /init.d/networking restart it all goes fine again. Again,
Ubuntu runs like a dog performance-wise.

I'd like to dump Ubuntu and run something lean and mean - the notebook is
just used around the house and does nothing at all that requires grunt - but
I need the wireless card to work.

TIA

Nigel.

--
SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html








--
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202


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Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html

Re: [SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Blindraven]

Whenever I get the opportunity to use Puppy Linux I'm always overjoyed at
how fast, powerful and feature rich the little OS is.
It's of course built for the purpose you've stated, and looking over the
specs you should have a green light for that card.

http://www.puppylinux.org/

See what you think.



On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Nigel Allen  wrote:

>
> Hi All
>
> Can anyone suggest a lightweight distro suitable for a Toshiba 1730 that
> will support a Netgear WG511 Wireless card out of the box?
>
> I am aware that there are different versions of this card. This one is
> marked "Made in Taiwan" but according to this page:
> http://daemonizer.de/prism54/wg511/ It is the V3 (assuming that the only
> visible difference between the V2 and V3 is that the label is inverted - or
> am I missing something?)
>
> I used to run FC6 on this but after a few problems I tried to switch to
> Ubuntu and found that while everything works well, the network would
> sporadically stop. Sometimes after 10 seconds and sometimes after hours and
> hours. If I run /init.d/networking restart it all goes fine again. Again,
> Ubuntu runs like a dog performance-wise.
>
> I'd like to dump Ubuntu and run something lean and mean - the notebook is
> just used around the house and does nothing at all that requires grunt - but
> I need the wireless card to work.
>
> TIA
>
> Nigel.
>
> --
> SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>



-- 
"None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are
free."
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[SLUG] Lightweight Distro For Aging Laptop?

[Nigel Allen]

Hi All

Can anyone suggest a lightweight distro suitable for a Toshiba 1730 that 
will support a Netgear WG511 Wireless card out of the box?


I am aware that there are different versions of this card. This one is 
marked "Made in Taiwan" but according to this page: 
http://daemonizer.de/prism54/wg511/ It is the V3 (assuming that the only 
visible difference between the V2 and V3 is that the label is inverted - 
or am I missing something?)


I used to run FC6 on this but after a few problems I tried to switch to 
Ubuntu and found that while everything works well, the network would 
sporadically stop. Sometimes after 10 seconds and sometimes after hours 
and hours. If I run /init.d/networking restart it all goes fine again. 
Again, Ubuntu runs like a dog performance-wise.


I'd like to dump Ubuntu and run something lean and mean - the notebook 
is just used around the house and does nothing at all that requires 
grunt - but I need the wireless card to work.


TIA

Nigel.

--
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Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html