Tinycore: the Asus eeeNote thread

[P5music]

Hi,
recently I bought one Asus eeeNote (EA800).
It is a linux based ebook reader that features a wacom pen which allows the user to write by hand into graphical notes or add remarks and notes to pdf's or books.
It has some bugs but works. It can browse the internet in wifi (no flash), play music, record, shot photos, and so on.
At this link:
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/asus-eee-line/37789-asus-eee-note-peek-within.html
you will find a very long thread that focuses on hacking the device to solve some problems or add features. I do not know if other threads exist on similar subject but I think this is a fresh new world.

I am curious if someone on this forums has the knowledge to understand if Tinycore can run on it.
The device was dissected by someone and it showed very strong openness: for example its system is on a sd-card that is found inside. If I understood the thread's posts it is an ARM machine.
It stays in stand-by for long time so boot process is not an issue anymore (future devices will drain few energy in sleep mode so they have not to be rebooted often).
The eeeNote compiled Tinycore should have to feature a  graphical keyboard and perform  sleep mode easily.
I think a device of this sort with Tinycore on it could be used in several ways.
I wait for your opinion.

[Juanito]

if it's an arm machine tinycore will not run on it

[curaga]

I recall some keynotes on making X run on e-ink screens (avoid unnecessary updates, since the refresh takes many seconds), but don't know if that was made part of Xorg.

We have a couple on-screen kbd extensions in the repo.


Other than that, ARM

[P5music]

What's wrong with ARM?

[Juanito]

Nothing's wrong with arm, it's just that tinycore is compiled for the intel (or equivalent from amd, etc) instruction set and so will not run on an arm processor

[P5music]

So, a reduced experimental version of Tinycore/Microcore could be recompiled for ARM, in principle, along with necessary base libraries? That is: has it to be decided to make something? If so, well, it was implied.

[Juanito]

..and all the extensions would need to be recompiled as well

[curaga]

Yes, but as has been posted many times, ARM is a huge mess right now. No one kernel or one bootloader, only binary gpu drivers, and the cpus vary enough to cause trouble too.

[P5music]

Maybe some stuff found in the sd-card the Asus eeeNote starts from can be taken as those missing pieces, or studied, at least, and then merged.

[MikeLockmoore]

P5music:  If you have not cross-compiled Linux (or any other major software system) for another CPU and hardware platform before, I think you will find it very challenging and time-consuming.  On the other hand, you will probably learn a whole lot more about Linux, Tinycore, and your hardware if you work your way through it.  If your goal is to just open up/unlock your device to load some alternative stuff on it, I bet there are easier ways.   

[P5music]

Guys on that thread seem not to be afraid,
and do a lot of things as you can see, for example, at:

http://freeenote.org/pages/devkit_howto.html
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/228854-post293.html
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/230772-post319.html
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/asus-eee-line/37789-asus-eee-note-peek-within-35.html

[MikeLockmoore]

@P5music: That first link recommends installing Ubuntu or Xubuntu as a base system to cross-compile stuff for the eeeNote.  Right there is a significant point of impedance if you are asking the TinyCore community for help. 

It's great that you think highly of TinyCore and want to see it on other platforms such as the eeeNote.  I do too, but IMO its not ready for such a move right now. While it does not hurt to ask if there is someone hanging out here who has the time, skills, and interest to help you with a port to eeeNote, don't be surprised if no one offers to do it for you. 

"Guys on that thread seem not to be afraid"... I wouldn't say it's fear that makes interest here tepid.  More of a matter of value obtained per time invested.  I'm not sure you really appreciate how big an effort it is likely to be.  My 20+ years of programming (including many years cross-compiling) leads me to estimate it could easily take a few hundred hours to port TinyCore to ARM and this eeeNote platform, assuming the person is already reasonably competent and knowledgable.  Still interested?  I'm guessing that the number of people other than yourself in the the TinyCore Forums who have this much available time AND have an eeeNote to work on is awfully close to zero... but who knows, you might get lucky.  Perhaps it is easier to get people on the other forums catering to the eeeNote to use some ideas from TinyCore to make their Linux stuff smaller and faster.
 
My advice for a more realistic approach: take what those other guys are doing and install it on your eeeNote.  Study it closely and try to find out how to make it more efficient by removing things you don't need or substituting in smaller & faster alternatives.  Maybe you can try to substitute a few things found in TinyCore after you learn to recompile them for ARM.  Or get those other guys to recompile a few apps from TinyCore for you that allow you to slim down that system.  With this approach, you will be learning how to tinker with  your eeeNote.  If you get to the point of easily porting various apps to it, you can then try to port all of TinyCore.  I'm sure you will get help if you ask, as long as you are doing a lot of the work yourself.

[P5music]

from "Distrowatch - Tiny Core for old computers" thread:

Old, New, Embedded, all are targets of Tiny Core.

I have no enough knowledge to agree or disagree with you @MikeLockmoore,
but I cannot accept that porting to a device such the eeeNote isn't a natural outcome for a 10Mb Linux.
In this thread it was said that kernel and bootloader were an issue so I posted those links where they talk about them.

However, my nearest goal now is managing to be able to compile the eeeNote annotation software and improve it.
Porting Tinycore to eeeNote is up to you...

[gerald_clark]

You don't appear to understand.
Everyone here is a volunteer, and does as he/she wishes.
It is NOT up to MikeLockmoore or anyone else to make an ARM version of TC.
If you want it, then it is up to you.

[P5music]

Sorry, english is not my language so I checked. From Oxford dictionary I read:
"be up to somebody"
to be somebody's duty or responsibility; to be for somebody to decide
It's not up to you to tell me how to do my job.
Shall we eat out or stay in? It's up to you.

However, if it's so, if it's up to me, well, I am not able and I am not interested at present time.