maemo.org - Talk - Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

maemo.org - Talk (https://talk.maemo.org/index.php)

- Alternatives (https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=36)

- - Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?) (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=44967)

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by titan (Post 684917)

If you want to help, I suggest you read the posts about installing a Maemo5
copy on eMMC or SD card on the mailing list https://garage.maemo.org/pipermail/moebian-devel/ and try it with the latest PR1.2.
It would be interesting to know whether the startup-pin problem persists.

I fixed a startup-pin problem and a couple of days work with root FS on eMMC (swap in uSD). Impression is good enough. See - http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=103

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by titan (Post 534068)

For lack of a proper mailing list and project name I'm starting this new thread
to brainstorm about a new project which has at least two main goals:

* use Debian (or Ubuntu) as a upstream for MeeGo.
MeeGo itself is deliberately going to be incompatible to every other distribution.

* port Debian with MeeGo components to the N900

UPDATE: we are brainstorming on this page http://wiki.maemo.org/Maemo_on_Debian

DISCLAIMER:
This thread is not about _whether_ Debian should be upstream but _how_ we could implement it.
We're not interested what your favorite distribution is or why you don't like Debian.
For flamewars please start another thread.

think ahead , google's new os supports arm cpu

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

This project is a very welcome idea!
But why not setting up a completely Debian based OS for the phones?
I don't know exactly, what components are opened by Nokia, and which
could be rewritten. I ma afraid, that the "good times" are over, when MeeGo
arrives. No more Debian feeling. There are many bugs on Maemo5, that,
I think, will never be fixed before MeeGo. There are still many things, that
shorten freedom on the device. For example BT-Audio and AVRCP, which are
only working with the internal mediaplayer.
I will have a look at the kernel, and see, which hardware components can be
driven. I am not a pro, but a Debian lover. And I think, there are many pros and
"freaks" out there, who can help.
At all, I would prefer a completely independend OS on the device (I own a N900),
but whatever you all do in this project, I am with you!
Let's go!

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mase (Post 762855)

This project is a very welcome idea!
But why not setting up a completely Debian based OS for the phones?

This is exactly what this project is about.

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

So you don't need a SDK anymore, only crosscompiling for armel?
I think, I will get no friend of MeeGo. I am a Debian lover.
Any idea, how to get the base system to the device? I tried with
debootstrap, but I failed with the kernel. I am not a flashing guru.
If you need someone for packaging, I will help. Some programming should
be no problem, too.

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mase (Post 765097)

Any idea, how to get the base system to the device?

See: https://garage.maemo.org/pipermail/m...il/000082.html

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

I like this project better than MeeGo.

The only problems I see is that the hardware drivers are closed source; battery management, bluetooth(?), graphics system and phone functionality.

I know some of these have open-source equivalents within MeeGo so I assume most of the hardware can be accessed but others are still closed.

Does anyone know if there are workarounds or do we have to wait until MeeGo eventually releases everything (next release is October)?

MeeGo is great on Intel hardware but in typical Nokia style the n900 still seems to be grossly unstable.

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnel (Post 765114)

Does anyone know if there are workarounds or do we have to wait until MeeGo eventually releases everything (next release is October)?

We may:
- supplant required component off the NAND Maemo5 installation
- or wait for MeeGo release

The problem with both is that we do not have 'redistributable' license, so we cannot repackage these in debs and distribute.

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by titan (Post 534096)

I think we should start with a native Debian squeeze port to the N900, while legally reusing the proprietary Nokia components to avoid losing functionality (unlike Mer).
This means we would try to upgrade as much as possible free components to their Debian counterparts without breaking compatibility for the proprietary Nokia stuff. Alternatively the Nokia software could run in a minimal chroot to provide everyday functionality on the N900.

I think starting with an existing device has the advantage of testing the port in the real world scenario
and access to a larger community which may be interested in running a full Debian distribution on their device (so far they only have Easydeb).

Later we could integrate more and more MeeGo components and send the necessary modification to
Debian upstream. Building of packages would be done using the Debian infrastructure.

I'm working on a solution which makes it possible to keep the original rootfs on NAND
but which creates a chroot on eMMC and boots from there. It removes the need for optification
while taking advantage of the faster NAND for system files. System files can be selectively replaced.

That is exactly the meaning I have. We should use the Nokia
components as long as we have a replacement. Starting with
Squeeze is also a good idea. I think the desktop should be
Gnome based. The communication components are well usable
at this time. Why not start with init?

Re: Debian Mobile: MeeGo on Debian (for N900?)

Can't let this thread die.