Hello wonderful comminuty,
The long and the veiny of it is, I want to upgrade the (full) ubuntu I have running and I can't. I realize that this would most likely break things like aiw, and the top notification bar. I don't care about the top bar, but would want to keep aiw for obvious reasons. I've gotten much better at working with linux over the last few months, but I'm still quite nib, so please don't hate on me for dreaming if this is impossible. I've looked all over the place and haven't seen anyone talking about it, so maybe it's just too much. Here's my questions anyway:
1) Would upgrading ubuntu make anything better, or even be worth the effort it will take?
2) Is there any possible way to upgrade the ubuntu version used on the dock? (Automatic update obviously doesn't work. I've read a lot about manually upgrading with CD's and such and can't find a place to stick a CD in my phone. Also, couldn't seem to find a way to mount an image like a disk, or a way that worked rather.)
Thanks in advance for anyone who can help, even with the differences in versions of ubuntu and what upgrading would change.
I haven't tried it myself but i've run over the links a few times. If you're on 4.1.52/26 then heres the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1000316
If thats too complicated, here's the EASY guide to it with a video showing it off: http://androlinux.com/android-ubuntu-development/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-android/
Thanks for the reply and the information, but not quite what I was looking for. I've already used Sogarth's webtop2sd and have full ubuntu running. I guess I should have been clearer. What I meant was that after gaining full access to ubuntu, and fixing apt-get, and installing a bunch of programs, I sit here thinking, hmmm what's next. So since this version of ubuntu is like 9.04 or something, we're using old repos and outdated software. I want to turn it into like ubuntu 10.04+
Anyone can help with that?
You'll need a lot of time/energy, but...
should be possible to do it. I was thinking of doing this myself, but am not sure I can make the time (18+ hr work days ) Motorola recently open sourced the web top code. Take a look at http://sourceforge.net/projects/motorola-webtop.motorola/files/WT-1.2.0-X/WT-1.2.0-110+WT-1.2.0-135/
The instructions are already outdated at the site - the rootstock command in the readme no longer builds rootfs since the jaunty repository is no longer available. I tried to build the natty rootfs but that has a couple of problems (which can be resolved - I ran out of time this weekend )
I will keep at it as time permits (might take ages, since time is tight right now). Let me know if you want to take the plunge and successfully build this (or if you need help).
Cheers
It is not easy to do because Moto has a bunch of hacked up stuff in /osh
You could try the approach here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1093790
What this does is bring up the standard webtop, but then runs applications in a chrooted environment with a standard dist. I am not ceratain how "clean" it is because you have a bit of both environments running.
The ideal solution is to port the Moto changes (those that one cares about) into the newer distro, but that is more work.
EDIT: missed acerbix's post. I agree
Thanks for the information guys.
I did stray from the path today, and thought "hey, why not just run the debian chroot stuff INSIDE my full ubuntu, and then I'd basically have a window with an upgradeable distro..." Well, needless to say, I did get it to work, the only problem being that I couldn't run a GUI since my display was in use already by the first instance of xserver. I'm sure there's a way around that as well, and I'll surely keep looking into it.
That's not what I REALLY wanted though anyway... I'm going to look through those source code files and see if I can figure this all out. Since we can move the whole webtop environment to the sdcard now (thanks Sogarth), my idea of a perfect end result would be a completely independant distro with just aiw functional. That top bar is pretty useless and wastes my screen space...
Any help is always appreciated, I'll let you guys know if I come up with something.
Hi to everyone.
I just found out this forum and searched a lot my problem. My roblem is this: I need to install android on Toradex calibri T20 (toradex.com/Products/Colibri/Modules/Colibri-T20) of course this just a module but I will add other peripheriel devices such as touchscreen, radio, GPS etc. This module comes with WinCE 6 and company provides linux driver also.
I have a background about linux driver development and I wonder if porting android is possible? Can I use linux drivers which provided by company and what other difficulties will I face?
If you can help I will be really happy, thanks.
I am also interested in hearing how this works out. I was looking at building a tablet based on the T20, but was apprehensive to do so until there was a port of Android. I contacted Toradex about a port and they said that it could be done with the drivers, but that they weren't going to do it until ICS at the earliest, and only if the legal situation with Android were a bit more clear. They did confirm Win8 support, however.
Related work (sort of)
Well, I haven't had a lot of time to look at it, but perhaps you could see how the BeagleBoard people went about integrating the BeagleBoard Linux drivers to build Android for their devices? One of the more promising projects is Android Row Boat (can't post a link as I'm new to posting, although I've been lurking for years). Perhaps some of their work would get you pointed in the right direction as they had a somewhat similar situation. The T20 does have Linux drivers, so there should be a way to integrate them into Android unless I'm totally off-base here.
Update!
I was just talking to Toradex, and they let me know they have an Android image available now. If you are still looking for the solution this is the link: developer.toradex.com/files/toradex-dev/uploads/media/Colibri/Linux/Images. Sorry for the lack of hyperlink, but I'm still a forum newb.
Hi,
I know lilsteve is working for an Ubuntu port for the Transformer Prime and I may be a bit rude by saying this, but I am getting soooo impatient checking everyday for at least more than a half year; if there was any progress but sadly none what I have found out anyways except that there is major problems with the ASUS kernel and thus the progress will be delayed for maybe another 6 months.
Okay so the ASUS has a problem with its kernel... Isn't it possible to switch to whatever kernel, I think most people here are not interested in dual booting from Android to Ubuntu. I think we are more settled to say bye-bye to Android and stay permanently on Ubuntu.
Isn't it possible now that I have nvflash to,
Install any kernel on my device?
Especially a kernel that supports tegra3 drivers for graphics acceleration? and then install Ubuntu or whatever linux distro that you favour?
Maybe I have gotten this wrong, but it seems lilsteve is trying to adjust Ubuntu to the ASUS kernel (which seem to suck anyhow)...
What I am asking here basically is that I only want Ubuntu or preferably Archlinux on my device with tegra3 drivers without a care in the world for Android.
would also love to read an answer to this post.
And one more question, how far ist listevie with the development of ubuntu? I´m a noob so i dont really understand all of the talk in the developer forum. Just one more thing to say, ubuntu on the prime would be awesome! Thanks to the people who are working on it
My Atrix got it's case cracked and the touch-screen display died, and given I already got a replacement phone I feel a bit adventurous. I wanted to see if I could build my own computer with what remains, so I wanted to run Linux natively (no Android). Given that there's a Linux 4 Tegra from Nvidia:
Is there a chance that I could build my own distro based on that?
Should I use another kernel (like the one currently used in gingerbread or CM7)?
Please note that I'm not trying to do webtop.
I thought of building my own handheld with the Atrix, or what remains of it. So any tips on how to get started would be great.
Cheers!
wrong section
ovitz said:
wrong section
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Umm... what section would you suggest other than Q&A?
It was moved. Sorry 'bout that. I was under the impression that development questions were on the other forum...
"Android development" is in the description. I think they keep that forum just for Android-specific things, even though Android is just a flavor of linux.
tonglebeak said:
"Android development" is in the description. I think they keep that forum just for Android-specific things, even though Android is just a flavor of linux.
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You're being way too literal. It's been used for all sorts of non-Android dev multiple times. Right now, Boot2Gecko is right there. The fact of the matter is that when it pertains to dev questions, this post would most likely be answered there. I'm pretty sure it'll die here on this forum with barely any useful answer, if at all.
The development section is mostly for things that are "in progress", ie. with "something to show". Questions, discussions and ideas go elsewhere.
As for your question, I believe I've seen a thread about this already, and quite recently too.
ravilov said:
The development section is mostly for things that are "in progress", ie. with "something to show". Questions, discussions and ideas go elsewhere.
As for your question, I believe I've seen a thread about this already, and quite recently too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've checked a few that I've found on the forum, but most had no answer and were about other devices. With regards to the Atrix or the Tegra, I've only found threads about webtop.
Not to argue too much about this too much, but I've seen threads that started with nothing in the dev section. Like the Kernel porting project that started as a mere placeholder for the project. Point is, I've done my research and found no pointers to the questions I have. I made it in case another dev had an idea about it. I may have missed something, but that's why I asked in the first place. If I believed I had covered all grounds by myself, I wouldn't have asked in the first place.
Lugaidster said:
I've checked a few that I've found on the forum, but most had no answer and were about other devices. With regards to the Atrix or the Tegra, I've only found threads about webtop.
Not to argue too much about this too much, but I've seen threads that started with nothing in the dev section. Like the Kernel porting project that started as a mere placeholder for the project. Point is, I've done my research and found no pointers to the questions I have. I made it in case another dev had an idea about it. I may have missed something, but that's why I asked in the first place. If I believed I had covered all grounds by myself, I wouldn't have asked in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you're looking to do seems similar to this question: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2110161
The difference between the webtop and a stand alone installation of Linux won't be that different, mainly it would just be where on the device the OS is installed and how video is handled. That said, I'm not sure about the kernel, specifically the video drivers, since they're intended for Android and may not be compatible with X. AFAIK, Wayland is closer to Android than X is, but Wayland isn't quite ready.
Anyway, assuming you did succeed, what you would end up with would be less like a true desktop (as you'd be pretty much locked into a specific kernel, and therefor any packages limited by it, but it doesn't invalidate the effort), and more like a persistent live CD, since the OS would be installed to an area mounted as read-only (to prevent flash wear), with access to an area that has read/write access, like in Android where you store apps and user files. Overall, it could be fun if you enjoy a challenge and aren't intimidated by soldering and using the JTAG connector.
lehjr said:
What you're looking to do seems similar to this question: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2110161
The difference between the webtop and a stand alone installation of Linux won't be that different, mainly it would just be where on the device the OS is installed and how video is handled. That said, I'm not sure about the kernel, specifically the video drivers, since they're intended for Android and may not be compatible with X. AFAIK, Wayland is closer to Android than X is, but Wayland isn't quite ready.
Anyway, assuming you did succeed, what you would end up with would be less like a true desktop (as you'd be pretty much locked into a specific kernel, and therefor any packages limited by it, but it doesn't invalidate the effort), and more like a persistent live CD, since the OS would be installed to an area mounted as read-only (to prevent flash wear), with access to an area that has read/write access, like in Android where you store apps and user files. Overall, it could be fun if you enjoy a challenge and aren't intimidated by soldering and using the JTAG connector.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I might have to do soldering anyway. I'm not really intimidated by it and don't really care all that much for phone functionality and such. I'm not even interested all that much in X as my project is more towards transforming it into a handheld gaming (more like emu) device. I don't mind compiling software specifically for the system. The question is pretty low-level in that regard for me. I want to know if I have to do anything with regards to the kernel since it's specific to Android. Given that most emus I know that would run acceptably in a tegra 2 don't really need the GPU, I don't mind just using framebuffer so HW doesn't really interest me.
Lugaidster said:
Actually, I might have to do soldering anyway. I'm not really intimidated by it and don't really care all that much for phone functionality and such. I'm not even interested all that much in X as my project is more towards transforming it into a handheld gaming (more like emu) device. I don't mind compiling software specifically for the system. The question is pretty low-level in that regard for me. I want to know if I have to do anything with regards to the kernel since it's specific to Android. Given that most emus I know that would run acceptably in a tegra 2 don't really need the GPU, I don't mind just using framebuffer so HW doesn't really interest me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, it's going to be one of those areas where you'll have to make an educated guess, since as far as we know, no one has successfully pulled off a straight Linux implementation on the device.
That said, nVidia does have both Android and Linux images for the Ventana dev kit, so it should be possible. In my case, I would compare the source code for their Linux kernel vs the stock Linux kernel vs their closest Android kernel vs the stock Android kernel. The biggest thing is how the the device specific files translate from one kernel to another, because you'll likely need to translate the device specific files for the Atrix in the same manner. The changes may be subtle or they may be drastic. The main thing is to just be able to set the pins properly so you don't release any "magic smoke". Unfortunately, I see no source code for any of nVidia's kernels.
Anyway, that's how I would do it, but I do suspect that someone with more knowledge could find a much simpler approach and hopefully they'll chime in, but this part of the forums isn't the thriving hub of activity it used to be, so I don't know if that will happen any time soon or at all.
lehjr said:
nVidia does have both Android and Linux images for the Ventana dev kit
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Atrix is a Whistler, not a Ventana.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33289027#post33289027
ravilov said:
Atrix is a Whistler, not a Ventana.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33289027#post33289027
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Thanks for the heads up and the link! :highfive:
I'm looking into building a custom android device to be embedded in a project I'm working on. I won't need GSM/cell service, so this would be more of a 'tablet' with wifi that's the size of a phone. The first version of this project used some lower level embedded controllers, but for a better user experience (capacitive touch screen, full featured app, etc), I'm looking into using an embedded android device and having a friend (who told me to post here about this) write an app to run on it for me. This project is starting to scale, so buying a cheap tablet and tearing it apart isn't really a good option; I'll need to build something from the ground up. My problem is that I'm more of a microprocessors guy, so I don't really know where to start with this kind of hardware.
I found this thread which was a good start, but the info is like 3 years old now.
Has anyone tried to do something like this? Should I be trying to find a manufacturer who already does this type of thing to work with? If so, how do I find someone like that? If I am going to do the design myself, what kind of processors can run an Android OS? Where's a good place for learning that type of info? Are there any reference designs out there I can use to get started? Is running Android on RaspberryPi a good starting spot, or is that simply not scalable?
Thanks for the help, I hope I'm in the right spot. Apologies if not!