Baslinux mailing list

[David Moberg <davidjmoberg AT gmail.com>]

I have just uploaded a new linux-usb.tar.gz file. In the 1440.img
file, I trimmed busybox and /dev, and added e3, libvga.config,
USB keyboard, and loop support (for chrooting to BL3). reboot
now behaves like BL3 (it unmounts everything properly).

I know that I promised more disk images, but there is still just
one. Perhaps I will add more images in the next release.

Instead of another disk image, I added a small initfs.gz to boot
BL3 loop. It is currently untested.

/etc/vga/libvga.config has chipset VGA as the default,
because zgv works in VGA mode and there are a large
number of VGA-compatible chipsets. You can change it if it
is too low-res for you.

Between Dec 1 and Dec 3, sindi keesan wrote:
> David, could you compile the next kernel with the option of loading usb
> modules

No need to recompile.

> (maybe via an included script) for usb mouse and keyboard, so he
> can test these in linux?

I added keyboard drivers and the relevant line in /etc/rc. You should
be able to plug a USB keyboard in and start typing. Please test, I do
not have a USB keyboard.

> Include gpm if possible, maybe on a second disk with the modules.

Why? zgv -M will allow you to test a mouse. I don't have any plans
to compile gpm. No real USB mouse support yet, I will try to make a
script for the next release.

If you want to use a PS/2 mouse with zgv, it is simple:

1) Boot 1440.img
2) cd /dev
3) ln -s psaux mouse
4) Edit /etc/vga/libvga.config and set the mouse protocol to PS2 or
IMPS2. If you do not make the above symlink, also set mdev to the
appropriate setting. You may also want to change the mouse
acceleration.
5) zgv -M

> What modules are needed to get a usb printer to at
> least print plain text

printer.o + standard USB hci and usbcore

> (do you cat filename > /dev/printer?).

First you need to mknod /dev/usblp0 or /dev/usb/lp0

> He has no internet connection there to get Windows drivers with.

I have not seen a USB printer that will print plain text. Usually you
need to get gs and set that up to actually print anything. You might
need something else too, depending on the printer model. Some
printers might print PS or PCL.

> A webcam driver would be nice, but he can also sell them 'as is'.

Maybe next release. Webcams are not very standard, and they
require a lot of software.

> usb-serial?

I included the generic module. It should work with most devices
after you mknod. If it fails to insert, you can use the vendor= and
product= options to specify the USB device ID of the device that
you are trying to use.

> Can you write scripts to insert the modules for all of these
> so a DOS-ie can manage?

Maybe in the future. For now you can try the modules which I
have included and see how well they work.

> There are also USB PDA chargers - do those need modules?

Not ordinarily. But you may need to insmod uhci or ohci to get
the hub to provide power to them.

> My partner will take along some blank disks.  Will this 1-floppy linux
> include dd so he can make newer disks?

Both versions included dd, as well as fdformat and cat. You
still need to use mkdosfs or mkfs.ext2 unless you do not need
formatting.

> It tries ext2 first because ext2 is built into the kernel.
> And vfat and fat are insmodded?  Why not build them all in?

It is more flexible this way. I don't have to recompile every
time I want to make a small change.

> > There is a swapon binary.
>
> Are we expected to use it after booting with this floppydisk?

No. I assume that you have plenty of memory. swap tools have
been removed.

> > But I cannot see much purpose in a pager when the main intent
> > of this disk is to allow you to view pictures and copy them.
>
> I just noticed it was in BL3 but not here (or in BL2).  But you left
> some other unusable programs, I think (telnet?).

They have been removed. You can use e3 as a pager if you save
stdout to a file first. Maybe in a later release I will add less. It's not
critical at this point.

> >> or to change the horiz syn and vert refresh
>
> Can you add lines to libvga.config with echo?

Yes.

echo "chipset VGA" >libvga.config
echo "mouse PS2" >>libvga.config
echo "HorizSync 40 70" >>libvga.config

etc.

> is there something even smaller then e3?

e3 is very small and has many features. It will work fine
for now.

> Does busybox have a line editor?

It has vi and ed, but neither are very newbie-friendly.

> Good color, but we are taking 1280 resolution photos and can see only part
> of the photo without scrolling.

Press 'Z' while you are viewing an image to make it the same size as your
screen. I need to add a manual for zgv...

> > Or move the binaries to sbin, which is what I will do.
>
> Are they part of busybox?

Yes.

David