Apparently my complaints about repositories being down were unfounded. It now appears to me that the problems with updating have to do with the kernel upgrade.

I have just been in contact with Nokia support. The level 2 tech I spoke to indicated there have been a number of complaints about inability to access a number of repositories, primarily repository.maemo.org and repository.maemo.org/extras, folllowing a kernel upgrade to 2.1.

Not reassuringly, I was told Nokia's computer system is down and may not be back up until tomorrow (1/3/7). If I get any more information I will post it here.

I was also experiencing these problems
1) dependency hell - some packages wanted libgdbm3, which I couldn't find anywhere
2) reports of bad CRCs in GPG signatures of the official repositories
3) random crashing
4) Gizmo stopped working immediately after the first upgrade

In frustration, after reflashing 2.1 three times with no joy, I downgraded to 2.0. Everything works - Gizmo works again, the maemo.org repositories respond, and I was able to update.

But of course the system doesn't recognize my 2GB Kingston card . . .

Update, 1/3/7

After a half hour delay I am connected to Nokia support, level 2. After carefully explaining my problems with Mistral and Scirocco, I am told:
"We don't know anything here about the difference between those two version. All we can help you with is installing or upgrading the software".

They were unfamiliar with the version numbers of their own software, and frankly appear to know less than zero about any kind of Linux, much less that installed on the device they sell.

In otherwords, CYA and backpedal.

They promised to connect me to someone who could answer my questions, but I was disconnected.

More later.

Update 1/3/7:

Reflashed Scirocco for the fourth time. This time everything works: repositories, Gizmo, Maemochron, python-related packages, everything.

Whew!

Regards,
burque

It's not a broad "they" thing, burque. It's people unused to supporting this type of device. Yes, the company needs to improve that, but for crying out loud, don't impugn the abilities or knowledge of the tech support people. They are not to blame for the situation, and they're doing their best under the circumstances.

Well, Texrat, easy for you to say. You may have some inside information on their support policies and practices giving you some reason to say they're doing their best, but I don't . They neither knew nor seemed to care ANYTHING about the tablet.

If i put a lot of chimps or monkeys in a call-center, they are also doing "their best"! Is this enough? Are the monkeys to blame for not knowing anything about Nokia or telephones?

The people who answer the tech hotline for my company sit right next door here in my office building. Where did you get this insider information from? How did you know about the monkeys?

(In fact, I guess it's the same everywhere: They take a bunch of students and housewives with no qualification whatsoever, give them online acces to FAQs and that's about it. As soon as you ask something that was not thought of by the author of the FAQs, they're lost because they've never seen the product they "support", let alone worked with it. The problem is: Would they pay for people who know what they're doing, the N800 would cost $600...)

You guys are leaping to invalid conclusions. I sympathize with your plight, but directing your ire at the poor schlubs who aren't provided proper training is disingenuous at best.

You can't possibly expect front-line call center people to be Linux experts. That's completely unrealistic. You need to escalate the issue.

Going forward, I am led to believe the problem is being addressed. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 770/N800 get a dedicated support path.

You want to see truly bad support? Try dealing with Dell. No coincidence that it rhymes with Hell.

When I was a fresh grad, I spent 8 months on the phones for a company which provided an outsourced helpdesk solution to about 60 clients. Of those 60, I was supporting 8 at once. Our motto (among the grunts) was:

We're always the last to know.

We'd get calls from about 10 people saying the network was down, or such and such a system wasn't available so we'd follow procedure and escalate it to a severity 1 incident... only to get berated by the company's management and I.T. staff because it was a planned outtage. Nobody told us.

My point, having been in those same foul smelling trenches, is that management is to blame. The same management that you'll never get to speak to no matter how much you try to escalate your call.

If they deviate from their orders too much they'll get fired... and I'm siding with them, your hardware isn't worth their job. If it makes one feel better screaming and yelling at the buffer that management placed between them and the product, go for it... but one probably likes kicking puppies too.

Good points Hedgie. I had failed to also consider them.

Ironically, it's the same internal to companies. I provide reporting solutions and have the hardest time getting IT to give up the info and permissions I need to do my job. I spend more efforts trying to gain server admin rights and database schemas than I do actually doing my job. So I can sympathize with front-line support folks hung out to dry by an indifferent management...