I now have a working GP2X with firmware 1.2.1. It actually came with 1.2.0, which didn’t recognize my 1GB SD card. I was able to safely flash it to 1.2.1 without any ill effects. I also have the GP2X development environment set up on my Mac and I’ve built my first ‘hello world’ application for the GP2X.
Linux
GP2X Problems
I still haven’t been able to get my bricked gp2x working again. The firmware was damaged badly enough by the attempted firmware upgrade that it can’t be restored by normal means. Neither Gamepark Holdings ore their US distributor has been able to resolve the problem. Gamepark & gp32z haven’t replied to any of my emails, although I’ve contacted gp32z via AIM. They need to find out from Gamepark how to fix it & they can’t replace it because the damage was caused by a firmware upgrade. From what I’ve seen on several gp2x message boards, a lot of other people are having the same problem. Needless to say, I’m NOT happy with this situation.
Bricked!
I managed to brick my Gp2x beyond repair when I tried to install the firmware upgrade. I got the ‘upgrading firmware’ screen for 15 minutes, followed by a black screen with nothing happening for 10 minutes. At that point, I reset it & got a white screen. It looks like the boot loader was damaged, since I don’t even get the initial black logo screen. I tried the unbrick most gp2x procedure with no luck.
I see that the SD card I was using was formatted FAT16 rather than FAT32 which is preferable. Maybe that’s why the flashing failed.
My new GP2X
I posted a few more pictures at Flickr.
It still has quite a few glitches, but it’s full of potential. It doesn’t seem to like USB 2.0 ports. It works perfectly with my G4 minitower, which has USB 1.1 only. I was able to get it working with my PowerBook by using a USB 1.1 hub, even an unpowered one. It also uses up the batteries very fast. It went through the non-rechargable batteries they included in less than an hour. I’m now using a set of NIMH rechargables and it’s lasting much longer.
Knoppix on Mac X86
Knoppix on Mac X86
Originally uploaded by mike3k.
As an experiment I tried to boot a Linux live CD on my Intel transition kit Mac. It works! I had to use the frame buffer mode to get X11 working & it won’t recognize the built-in Ethernet, but this isn’t the latest version of Knoppix.
Linux-based handheld that's open, powerful and cheap
I want a GP2X. Unfortunately it isn’t available in the US. It runs Linux, includes a SDK, and can play music, games, videos, and photos.
(Via Boing Boing)
One Hundred Days
[mike@blackbox: ~]$ uptime
21:57:30 up 100 days, 1:21, 7 users, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
My Linux box has been up for 100 days without rebooting so far.
Every time you use Linux, God kills a kitten
Via Planet Debian:
The details of a lawsuit mentioned by Steve earlier today are so remarkable, I cannot resist quoting some selected excerpts:
42. Much of the activities of Linux and OSS have served to create a funneling system allowing sensitive and advanced technology created by computer technology companies in the United States to be illegally exported out of the United States and into the hands of the citizens of other countries.
43. As a result of these activities, a large portion of US technology has been unwittingly placed into the hands of various groups around the world, including Al-Queda, and other groups who sponsor international terrorism.
My personal favourite is the following passage:
46. The beheading and murder of United States Citizens in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other countries have been videotaped, converted to MPEG and other images for viewing on the public Internet through the use of OSS and Linux software and computer technology developed and purloined by Linux and OSS members and illegally exported from the United States.
Hopefully, US judicial system has enough common sense left in it not to give this case any serious consideration.
Sheeeeeesh! By this logic, box cutter manufacturers are directly responsible for 9/11.
Computer woes
I got my Tiger upgrade today. My upgrade experience is detailed here, but that was the least of my trouble.
My LCD display, which I’m using with my Linux box, died. This is the first time I’ve had one die, but it is my oldest LCD display. Luckily I still have my old CRT, which flickers very badly. Before I swapped monitors I shut down the linux box. It’s been running for 77 days without a reboot until now. When I rebooted it, I found that none of my Macs could mount the nfs share. In fact none of my other machines could see it, although it could see everything else. I realized that Firestarter was enabled at startup and the settings were too restrictive, blocking all incoming connections. Once I fixed it, everything worked again.