I'm not using the Samsung Q1 with the Celeron processor as a primary computer any more. In fact, I almost sold it. All this talk of the EEE PC, the HP Mini Note, and MIDS got me to wondering about the feasibility of using Linux in a small companion device. I haven't had any experience with Linux before, so not that tax season is over, I figure it's time to do some experimentation with the Samsung Q1.
I started with some great instructions:
Annelyle.com
and
Have a Peek
and some words of encouragement from Kevin Tofel and Thoughtfix
Installation of Ubuntu 7.10 went well. I chose to wipe out the entire XP installation and go all Linux on this box for now. I connected the Samsung USB Keyboard/Mouse for the install and afterwards WIFI and the 800x480 screen resolution worked right out of the box. Not working? Touchscreen! I didn't really plan on inking or handwriting on the Q1 with Linux, but I hope to be able to use touch to enter onscreen keyboard input or make menu selections. According to the links above, it can be done. I just haven't figured out how!
This all brings up the point about why Linux hasn't caught on more (IMHO). When I first started working with PC's back in 1984, everything was entered at the command line, but Windows and OSX have spoiled me and it's been a long time since I had to type commands at a prompt to do something on a computer. Lately, I've been learning a bit of UNIX command stuff to use in Terminal on the Mac, so that was a good start. But, LINUX is going to remain a niche product if consumers have to type commands at a prompt in 2008. At least that's my opinion.
Well, I'll report more later on this experiment of taking a fully functional Windows XP tablet computer and turning into a quasi-functional Linux MID. Who said things have to make sense!
16 comments:
Looks like this could be great. Did you intend to make the links the same? (The second link goes to the AnneLyle.com post from the first link.)
Oops! I don't think I meant to make the links the same. I'll have to get my quality control team onto fixing that :)
The link to "Have a Peek" is working now. I found this link helpful even though that site refers to installing Linux on a Q1 Ultra and I have the original Q1. Interestingly, the Q1 has the same processor as the EEE PC (900 mhz Celeron) and the same graphics adapter (Intel 915).
i've used the same links to put ubuntu on my (old)q1 - i tried very hard, but i couldnt get any life out of the touchscreen. have pretty much given up.
so i yesterday i put mandriva linux spring 2008 on it. touchscreen is responding,but still not working.
i havent had a chance to tinker with the config on this disrto yet.
i thought i might whirl through the main distro and see if any can get the job done painlessly ;-)
ubuntu - not working for me
mandriva - untested yet
suse -
ubuntu hardy heron -
fedora 9 -
any thoughts?
Hi John,
All I can suggest is to try it more than once. It didn't work for me the first time either (or the second). For one, I thought at first that the callibrator program actually modified the xorg.conf file. It doesn't, it just gives you the values to input. You have to manually insert them in the file. Second, I read the instructions to say add that last section to the config file when in fact it was already there and I just needed to modify a couple lines of code. It didn't work with the duplicate entries. Stuff like that is probably what's keeping it from working for you with 7.10
Hi John,
All I can suggest is to try it more than once. It didn't work for me the first time either (or the second). For one, I thought at first that the callibrator program actually modified the xorg.conf file. It doesn't, it just gives you the values to input. You have to manually insert them in the file. Second, I read the instructions to say add that last section to the config file when in fact it was already there and I just needed to modify a couple lines of code. It didn't work with the duplicate entries. Stuff like that is probably what's keeping it from working for you with 7.10
thanks, i might give that a repeat try.
...would you be able to post your working xorg.conf file please? :-)
then maybe i can cut and paste the relevant bits (carefully) and i might get mine to work.
will that get it working?
many thanks
==It's not the command line==
I started using computers in about the same time as you. When Windows came I was immediately attracted. I forgot all about the command prompt (and mind you I knew a lot). For many years I was thinking like:
graphic interface : good
command line : bad
then I grew frustrated with how windows was letting me down in many ways and some years before I switched to Linux. Now I realize that the command line -if implemented properly- is quite often much better from ANY graphic interface (hint the command line of windows is TERRIBLE).
What's surprising is that some times it's not just better for advanced users but for newbies also (just as long as somebody had shown them just for 1 minute that working with the CLI is just 2 steps: enter a command / get a response). Take for example the case when you are following instructions found in a web page in order to do something. The GUI way is almost always much more difficult to follow than the CLI way (the opposite is most of the times true if somebody is showing you the way live). There is a magical and powerful simplicity in text. I'm 100% sure that if you keep playing with Linux you'll soon know exactly what I'm talking about.
John, I copied the sections from my xorg.conf file to another post. I hope that helps.
Bill
nick demou,
You make a really good point about following instructions in text. It is fairly straightforward to even copy and paste commands into terminal. I need to learn some of the editing shortcuts that probably exist. Remember in DOS how you could push a command key (F3?) and it would repeat the previous command? Is there a way to do that in Linux?
To repeat commands in the terminal, you can use the up/down arrows to go through your command "history". It even saves from previous sessions. Also, Shift+Insert will paste text from the clipboard (like commands copied from a web page.) Another neat CLi trick - highlight a previous line and press the scroll wheel (or middle button) and it will paste the highlighted section, without having to copy it first! ;-)
many thanks for the xorg.conf file.
i hope i can get my q1 touchscreen working with the help of that. i will try over the weekend.
btw: kde looks nice on the q1. the style suits it.
...anyway first things first :-)
cheers
Nice try.
But - you might want to check out Ubuntu Mobile (due out soon).
Ubuntu and Intel have worked together on Ubuntu Mobile.
It is part of the Moblin group's direction (basically headed by Intel). AND the Moblin stuff is supposed to be compatible with the stuff from Maemo (think Nokia N810 compatibility).
see:
http://www.moblin.org/
http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MobileAndEmbedded
"We are targeting our first release slightly after Ubuntu 8.04, following similar release milestones".
[WWW] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyReleaseSchedule
Also see:
http://maemo.org/
Better sell your Microsoft Stock!
Microsoft is betting huge on Silverlight deployment on major web video outlets to prevent Ubuntu expansion (there is no Silverlight for Ubuntu). My guess, is that Silverlight is a Monopoly move by Microsoft (as they could use flash or the freely available Gnash, and/or the soon to be released freely usable Cygnal Media Server (that you can find on the Gnash related dev pages).
http://www.gnashdev.org/
Groklaw Reader:
I very much want to try Ubuntu mobile. I'd love to put that OS2008 or MID UI on my Q1. Is there any way to do that now?
I happened upon your blog while researching OS's to put on a Samsung Q1. I'm an IT professional, and after I read your post I thought hey thats cool. When I read that you are a CPA, and you did this I thought THIS GUY ROCKS!. I wish users in my network were only as talented as you. I play bass, lets Jam!
Thanks
R Clipper
New Orleans
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