ubuntu

In more recent versions of Ubuntu the developers have decided that libgtk1.2/libglib1.2 is obsolete and therefore has been removed. Unfortunately for me this causes a problem as I like to use Xdialog (which relies on libgtk1.2) for guified shell scripts. Most people would just go ahead and use Zenity which has it's uses, but lacks many features that Xdialog has. Xdialog hasn't been part of Ubuntu since Hardy so it needs to be compiled from source, but without the proper dev libraries either, we are out of luck. Or are we? Knut Auvor Grythe was gracious enough to host all the required library sources which we can compile and then use to compile Xdialog.

Add the repositories to your /etc/apt/sources.list (Karmic repos work for Lucid and Maverick):

In a previous comment there was a question if I had to modify the LXLauncher source code to enable keyboard support for the z2buntu userland. I did have to edit the source code and have finally packaged it up for release.

lxlauncher_+keysupport_src.tar.bz2

There were only three minor modifications required to lxlauncher.c which are commented. You can download the original source code from here and my modified version here.

The z2buntu rootfs contains working compiling tools, but the Zipit doesn't really have the processing power to compile programs in a reasonable amount of time. This is a good use for QEMU. QEMU can run the z2buntu rootfs as a virtual machine faster than the Zipit can run natively. I run Ubuntu Linux on my home desktop so this guide needs to be tweaked for whatever OS you run.

First you need a rootfs. you can download my z2buntu rootfs or create your own using this guide (make sure to use the jaunty distro). If you use the z2buntu rootfs, I would recommend increasing the size of the partition so that you have enough room to install the required packages and source codes you'll be compiling. To do this, write the image to an SD card (change the img filename and the device to suit your needs):

Here's a video of what I've been working on. This zipit is ubooted running the 2.6.35-rc1 kernel, has been hardware modded for USB host, and is running a tweaked version of z2buntu. The new menu program I'm using is lxlauncher with keyboard support enabled and works extremely well.

How to install the cmus music player for z2buntu.

wget http://launchpadlibrarian.net/24483773/cmus_2.2.0-4ubuntu1_armel.deb
sudo dpkg -i cmus_2.2.0-4ubuntu1_armel.deb

At this point dpkg should error out complaining about dependencies. The following should fix it and finish the install.

sudo apt-get -f install

It's been a few weeks since I got X running on z2buntu. These are the steps I went thru to get it to a usable state. You can install any window manager/desktop you want, but I went with matchbox and lxpanel (not full lxde). I hope I haven't forgotten anything.

Run the following commands:

sudo su
apt-get install xserver-xorg lxpanel matchbox-window-manager matchbox-common op rxvt
cd /usr/local/sbin
wget http://www.mozzwald.com/zipit/z2mouse-option
chmod +x z2mouse-option


edit (or create) with sudo /etc/X11/xorg.conf and add

Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
Option "Rotate" "CCW"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
SubSection "Display"
Modes "240x320"
EndSubSection
EndSection

delete (or backup) then edit with sudo /etc/op/op.conf

PRIVILEGED=(user)

shell /bin/su -;
users=PRIVILEGED

UPDATE: Marshall at retroactive.be was kind enough to lend me some bandwidth for the z2buntu image. There some pretty cool stuff on his site. My personal fave is the Multari handheld Atari system.

I run Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my Asus Eee PC 1000H but had a small issue with the Arduino IDE after install. The launcher I created would run but was only a white screen which confused me so I tried running it from terminal and had the same problem. Right clicking on the titlebar and choosing unmaximize would resize the window and make visible the proper arduino ide. After unmaximizing I could re-maximize and see the ide fine. To get around the auto maximize feature, try this: press ALT-F2, type "gconf-editor", browse to Apps >> maximus, enable "no-maximize".

This may effect other programs, but I haven't had any problems yet. Happy Programming!