OLPC where to go development advice.

Carol Farlow Lerche cafl at msbit.com
Fri Jan 30 20:31:37 EST 2009


Here is a good current Ubuntu (Intrepid 8.10) to try with installation
instructions, together with a page that collects the answers to a lot of
questions that others have come up with:

http://www.olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=40

To install it, you will have to buy an SD card (I just put an 8GB Transcend
SD in each of my 5 XOs so they would dual boot this and they all work
beautifully).

In particular, there is an explanation for how to bind all the keys to
something rational in the regular Ubuntu Linux desktop.

Many people have used USB keyboards successfully with the XO, though I have
not personally tried this.  I routinely use my USB mouse with my XOs.

Regards,

Carol Lerche



2009/1/30 david <david at lang.hm>

> Paul, for your purposes you may be better off using one of the 'normal'
> linux distros on the XO laptop.
>
> then programming would be just the same as on any other linux box, and the
> buttons map to keystrokes.
>
> you can either use them as-is (default mappings), or alter the mappings to
> change them to what you would like them to be.
>
>
> David Lang
>
> On Fri, 30 Jan 2009, Paul Breed wrote:
>
> > Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:42:13 -0800
> > From: Paul Breed <Paul at Rasdoc.com>
> > To: devel at lists.laptop.org
> > Subject: OLPC where to go development advice.
> >
> > I subscribed to the dev list for some development advice for the OLPC.
> >
> > My reason for using the OLPC is not to help in the developing world,
> > it because I'm working on a long term project in the Mojave Desert and
> > unit is robust and the display can be read in the noon day mojave sun.
> >
> > The project is a Rocket. My 22yr old son and I are  working on it
> together.
> >
> > See:
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dacpVhUnEXw&feature=channel_page
> >
> >
> > I'm a very skilled embedded C/C++ programmer. (Full bare metal
> > custom, not linux/uclinux see www.netburner.com)
> >
> > I also used to make my living doing professional custom UI's in mfc
> > /windows 98/xp/nt etc...
> >
> > I love working on the command line, but am weak in the linux
> > configuration area.
> >
> > My son does webserver python stuff buy has ZERO gui experience, I
> > have lots of GUI experience but exactly 2 days of python experience.
> >
> >
> > I basically want the OLPC to be a front panel for the headless
> > embedded computers that
> > run the rocket.
> >
> > My telemetry system and the main computer on the rocket are all
> > communicating with UDP
> > packets. Where needed the acknowledgement occurs at the application
> > layer, not the network layer ala tcp.
> > I do this for better control of the real time latency where it matters.
> >
> > The operational communications is all advisory and tuning, we have
> > separate hardware radio abort systems.
> > The setup and configuration operations are not real time, but we
> > still use the UDP
> > system so we don't have two different comm prototcols.
> >
> > So I need to setup to send/receive UDP packets based on some buttons,
> > combo boxes and spin controls.
> > Draw a few simple graphs/2d plots etc....
> > I've already written the apps I need in windows/mfc and total time
> > invested on the PC side is about 2 weeks.
> > So I want to recreate them here.
> > I've been playing with the pygtk both on a windows PC and the OLPC
> > and it seems like I can write
> > what I need to.
> >
> > My questions are going to be a mix of both pyGTK /Python and linux on
> > OLPC questions.
> > So I'm looking for the right venue to ask.
> >
> > I have several specific questions right now:
> >
> > I can't use the WiFi as 2.4Ghz is already used and I don't want
> interference.
> > I've ordered a Ethernet USB dongle that is supposed to be OLPC
> compatible.
> >
> > If I just plug that in will the OLPC  recognize it and use it?
> >
> >
> > How do I configure that network port with a static IP configuration?
> >
> >
> > How do I tell pygtk on the PC to open with a window the same size
> > (pixel wise) as it will be on the OLPC?
> >
> >
> > Can I plug in something that looks like an external USB keyboard and
> > have it recognized?
> >
> > How hard is it to modify the pygtk keyboard focus navigation stuff so
> > I could use the OLPC in tablet mode
> > rather than laptop mode?
> >
> > Is there any simple way to reclaim the OLPC key that changes display
> > orientation so I could have
> > one more ui button in tablet mode?
> >
> >
> > I need three different apps, Configruation, PRelaunch
> > checklist/countdown and Fligth status.
> >
> > I need to be able to quickly switch between all three
> > One Big app with notebook/tab style pages?
> > Or three apps, if so how do I switch quickly on the OLPC?
> >
> >
> > Do I want to leave the stock OLPC software in place or would I find a
> > more traditional linux installation more friendly.
> > (Or at least less wierd)
> >
> > Where could I go and get a linux image that will just run on the OLPC.
> >
> > If I went to a traditional Linux distro could I do GTK UI's in C/C++
> > on this machine?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for any help on what is really an off topic post....
> >
> >
> > Paul
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Devel mailing list
> > Devel at lists.laptop.org
> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Devel mailing list
> Devel at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
>



-- 
"Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our
future depends on it."  -- Barack Obama
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/attachments/20090130/631d3307/attachment.html>


More information about the Devel mailing list