Gentoo on Nokia 770 N800 PDA ?

EOF · Guru Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 345 Location: Usingen

Has somebody tried this? Since on the devices is already running a debian based linux this should be possible more easily than putting gentoo on a windows based pda.

I really want to try this, but I dont know what is the best way to start. Can I start from the developmentenviroment
scratchbox and install from there like installing gentoo from knoppix or is the better way to install it (or the only possible?) like described here
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_setup_gentoo_on_a_pda_or_embedded_system or here
https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-518041.html

Demonstration of the linux power of the devices:

KDE running on the N800 (see pictures and a vid if you do not believe)

http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5233&page=4

Quake 2 together with bluetooth keyboard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPh2Os0D8pY

derverstand · Guru Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 511 Location: /dev/null

Personally I'd not attemp this. Gentoo is very nice for use on a desktop/laptop (->workstation). In my opinion the big advantage of gentoo is the portrage - and this will not be working on the embedded device. So you have to cross compile anyway. BTW: The system has to be slim anyway. This means you likely will compile simple apps anyway. So why not building a complete own distro? I attempted this once for the n770.
/BR

EOF · Guru Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 345 Location: Usingen

I guess you are right. A complete new distro would make more sense. It is just sad the Maemo is not completly free and Nokia already dropped official support for a device which is on the marked for 1 year.

At the moment you can buy a new Nokia 770 for 140$ and perhaps less ...

Lubomir · Apprentice Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 155

I am thinking of getting an N800 only to be able to play with gentoo when i am on the way (I cant take every time my notebook, when i go to dentist and do not know how long i must wait. When the physician call me, then i furst must close the programs ans shut down. I never have done something, and never will try that :roll:

. It would be nice to have a smal device to go online over bluetooth and my Nokia N95 (umts/hsdpa).

For the zqurus there was also gentoo available

http://gentooforzaurus.opensistemas.com/

So, is there no chance to get that running?

s_j_newbury · n00b Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 58 Location: UK

s_j_newbury · n00b Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 58 Location: UK

Biggest problem with the N800 for Gentoo is storage space. It only has limited flash space AFAIK.

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:46 pm Post subject:

I really would like to see Gentoo on the n800 ^^
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benny1967 · Apprentice Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 224

I'd love to see a way to get gentoo running on the Nokia tablets.

While it's true that it probably wouldnt make any sense to compile right on the tablet and one would have to cross-compile, gentoo with the power of USE-flags is *the* way of building small apps without any unnecessary components. - Besides, I'm used to it and it would be nice to have the same system running not only on my desktop-PCs and laptops, but also on the tablets. (And we could still go and use the resulting binaries as a base for something we call a "new distribution".)

The only real problem I see is that Nokia uses some hardware that isn't supported by free drivers. IIRC that's sound and WLAN and/or bluetooth. Not beeing able to use these components would really render the device useless

Nokia uses quite a lot of proprietary software on top of that, so when they decide to no longer support a model (as they did with the 770), there's no chance for users to get bugs fixed.

This alone would be a good point for *some* attempt to get whatever distribution running on the tablets, working around the known problems. This distribution could as well be gentoo.

Cyker · Veteran Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 1746

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject:

Cyker · Veteran Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 1746

I should hope so!!! :shock:

Play.com are selling N800s ridiculously cheaply at the moment...

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:17 am Post subject:

Cyker · Veteran Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 1746

I think it was £200 from Nokia, whereas play.com were £130... mmm.. should I get one? I was going to get an Eee but they bumped the price up and I don't think it's worth £340...

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject:

Cyker · Veteran Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 1746

Aww that sucks... it's gone back up then... Last time I looked at it, it said £130!! :shock:

£170 is not as good a deal...

Out of curiosity, you got a link to the £170 Nokia one? Just curious 'cause this one definitely says 200...! (Well, 199.99, but I'm rounding up)

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:08 pm Post subject:

Cyker · Veteran Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 1746

WAAA?!
GAH! I'm ripped off again!!!

Oh well, that's living in the UK for you.
Well, on the bright side, at least it's not Norway... :shock:

(Thanks for indulging my curiosity BTW... and also for helping me uncover this fiendish price-fixing plot! :shock:

)

Kasumi_Ninja · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject:

Well it seems that Gentoo on the N800 might run: http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=129530#post129530
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Lubomir · Apprentice Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 155

Could i also use gentoo on the newer N810? Have someone started installing gentoo?

I am thinking about getting a OQO e2 or an N810 ...

http://www.oqo.com/intl/products/modele2/specifications.html

EOF · Guru Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 345 Location: Usingen

GNUtoo · Veteran Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 1919

normaly someone would think that given that there are cross-toolchain,uclibc profiles etc...it woud be doable to install gentoo on a pda but it's not the case because the cross-toolchains in gentoo don't handle the cross-compilation well:
for instance i wanted to cross-compile weechat for arm but as the compilation depends on running tests it failled...
openembedded,and scratchbox can handle this...prefer openembedded in order to build a full distro...

but last time i tried there was no n800 profiles on open-embedded repositories,mabe that's because they have too much proprietary things...mabe you'll be able to install a custom linux distro but...you won't be able to get the same functionalities as the normal n800 tablet distro

slonopotamus · n00b Joined: 29 Aug 2009 Posts: 1

Maybe i'm a bit late, but... http://slonopotamus.org/gentoo-on-n8x0

red-wolf76 · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 5:13 pm Post subject:

Don't worry folks. The N900 is coming with a 600MHz processor, 1 Gig of RAM and 32 Gig of storage, expandable with up to 16 Gig micro-SD.

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Spidey · Apprentice Joined: 07 Sep 2006 Posts: 269

Just bought a N900. The default linux is OK, but I'd be very happy to run Gentoo. All I need is control over my packages, and a minimal setup.
I think I'll have problems setting up the phone features, but as dual boot solution, it may be viable.

Anyone had any progress yet?