Thread: Linux help needed - make fun of the N00b

I put in an order for one of these guys too. Mine isn't supposed to arrive until early july though. I'm pretty familiar with linux and programming and once I go down that road, I should be able to help you out.

If I were you, I would definitely stick with Ubuntu on it. The Sheeva plug does not have an x86 processor in it. It has an ARM-based processor. Therefore, if anything you put on it needs to be compiled for ARM. There are several operating systems out there designed to run on the sheeva plug. I like FreeBSD much more than linux, so I MIGHT use it instead of Ubuntu. The sheeva is powerful, but I would hate to compile an entire linux distribution on it. It might take days. So ICE as far as I know, is not compiled for the sheeva plug, not even ARM for that matter which leaves it out of the question. Theres a list somewhere with the operating systems that will run on it.

Woah missed those two posts there. VNC on it is a cool idea, but it seems pointless. What I think would be cool would be to hook up a cheap USB graphics card to that thing and use a screen with it. Sub 200 dollar computer right there with a screen!

Originally Posted by PaulF

It has an ARM-based processor.

wow I completely ignored that factor.

bugbyte: you talked about this Idea at the Rochester meet, and mentioned using a router in your car to handle the wireless network. Once you've gotten it all working the way you'd like you might consider adding a usb wireless NIC to the sheevaplug and configure the sheevaplug to be the access point, it's not too difficult to do and can eliminate the need for one more device! assuming all your devices work in linux the possibilities are endless. [i'm a bit excited about this project if you can't tell by my large amounts of posts today on this thread]

It comes as a devel kit and includes a gcc for the ARM. Not that I know how to USE it, *but* I think you can compile stuff for the ARM if you need to.

Thanks for the pointers, I'll try some of that stuff out and see how it goes!

I was able to access the Sheeva plug from a terminal app running on the iPhone.

Easy as pie -after I located and downloaded open ssh for the iPhone on Cydia.

red: Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the sheeva too. I can't wait to hack it up to run on 12 volts. I'm planning to use mine as a router/dhcp server as well. I may even hook it into a verizon usb modem. I have to get the damn thing in my hands first.

Bugbyte: It *SHOULD* be easy to compile most programs on the sheeva plug. The way you compile in linux/unix is really easy.

Through SSH, you can browse to the directory containing the source files for the piece of software (using the 'cd' and 'ls' commands). Once in the directory you run a script called configure... to do so you type "./configure" The ./ tell it to look in the current directory and configure is the name of the script. Nearly every program's source comes with a configure script which allows you to configure how it will compile. Once the configure script is done, you run a command called "make" which compiles the program. Once make is done, you run a command called "make install" which installs the compiled program. Simple as that. But... when compiling on an architecture a program wasn't originally designed for, all sorts of errors could occur. Cross your fingers while running these commands. Any program that deals heavily with the operating system will cause trouble.

The nice thing about freeBSD is the ports system. Every application in the ports system is designed to compile on any architecture freeBSD is designed to run on. To me, freeBSD is the best free server operating system out there.

Originally Posted by red_parchel

bugbyte: you talked about this Idea at the Rochester meet, and mentioned using a router in your car to handle the wireless network. Once you've gotten it all working the way you'd like you might consider adding a usb wireless NIC to the sheevaplug and configure the sheevaplug to be the access point, it's not too difficult to do and can eliminate the need for one more device! assuming all your devices work in linux the possibilities are endless. [i'm a bit excited about this project if you can't tell by my large amounts of posts today on this thread]

I hadn't thought of that. I was just going to figure out how to power an old router I had. This way I could power it from the Sheeva, eh?

The instructions also explain how the innards of the Sheeva look (it's an open source design). Connecting it to 12v should be pretty simple.

Oh sick. Good find on the pictures. The schematic I found for it made it look a little more difficult. That AC-DC module goes from 120 v AC to 5 volt DC by the way. Clip those wires and put in a 12 volt to 5 volt dc-dc power supply and you're good. That AC-DC module outputs 3 amps at 5 volts, but power consumption shouldn't exceed 2 amps at 5 volts. Simple it is.

The router should be pretty simple to power too if it has an external power supply.

Originally Posted by PaulF

The nice thing about freeBSD is the ports system. Every application in the ports system is designed to compile on any architecture freeBSD is designed to run on. To me, freeBSD is the best free server operating system out there.

Being a Mac guy, I'm a little partial to BSD myself!