anOS for 2.4 kernel w/sound!

[wicknix]

For those that like small embedded systems i just built a lightweight linux system. Built it with buildroot and uclib. Weighs in at a whole 123mb! No GUI, console mode only at the moment. I've included some useful stuff like irssi, centerim, links (text + GUI), mutt, ctorrent, mplayer, cplay, python2.7, perl 5.8.8, and a bunch of other stuff.

I gave up on waiting for sound in the 2.6 kernel for now, so i rebuilt anOS for use with the 2.4 kernel so i could have sound. After some initial problems i got it all sorted out. Mplayer, centerim, prboom etc all work flawlessly w/sound now. It's now available as a Recovery.img for easy installation.

Anyway, it's something i'm toying with. It probably has some bugs and quirks. Give it a spin if you're bored. I plan on building more software (all console based for now) for it as well. For instance i need a news reader, so snow news is on my list for example.

Tmux (seen below) no longer auto starts. Start it manually if you want to use it. (e.g. tmux)

The only real issue is WPA. I havent been able to get it working, but open hotspots work well. WEP not tested. It's configured to connect to any open wifi signal within range.

Log in as root (no password by default). Type "helpme" to get a help dialog with keybindings and other useful info.

tmux status bar and checking out this forum in links

Download here: http://www.hostwork.com/users/matt/alpha400/packages/Recovery_anOS-2.4-rootfs.img  

Cheers.

[T_Nut]

Hi wicknix
Great work another os to play/learn with 
How's updated etch coming along.
Many Thanks
Andrew

[T_Nut]

just a thought could be used for a base os so people make thier own os
Many Thanks
Andrew

[wicknix]

Updated the whole OS and info in my first post. Now supports 2.4 kernel w/sound!

[T_Nut]

Wicknix you not bored by any chance  are you !!
Many Thanks
Andrew

[wicknix]

Nope 

[Robin]

This is really nice and also the v.2 with 2.6kernel. 19 seconds boot up.
@wicknix, sorry I blanked you on #mipsbook - I had not used irc on this pc - I got too many windows going! 
Sorry not to have more time to test and report on anOS, but overall > 7/10.
I gave mplayer a large .mp4 file - mplayer did not stall, but reported my processor is too small! Way to go 
Cheers

[wicknix]

Thanks, and no problem. I'm slowly fixing up both versions. The next 2.4 kernel anOS release will have some extra software (snow news, calcurse, htop, etc), some bug fixes and tweaks, and some nice SDL games added (rise of the triad SDL port, lbreakout2, gnuboy, etc). My goal is to make the 2.4 kernel anOS the most usable first, then apply what i learned and tweak to work in the 2.6 kernel version. From there the sky is the limit.

Cheers.

[wicknix]

Small update to anOS.

Games/Emulators added:
fbgnuboy      - gameboy/gameboy color emulator that runs full speed
fceu              - NES emulator runs full speed (without sound)
maelstrom   - SDL port of a MAC astroids type game
rott               - Rise of the Triad (SDL port of an old DOS game)
scummvm    - includes Flight of the amazon queen (full working voice and music)

Software added:
abook            - address book
calcurse         - calendar
hnb                - notepad
htop               - process monitor
milkytracker - mod/xm/s3m/it player/editor
snownews     - news/rss reader

Stuff removed:
Anything to do with alsa as it was not needed.

Stuff fixed:
Rebuilt SDL, mplayer, madplay, mpg123 etc without alsa support. This eliminates the annoying error messages related to alsa.
Other misc things i noticed.

For those that dont know, here are some tips:
* ctrl+alt+F1-F6 gives you 6 tty's to use.
* Launch links browser in gfx mode with: links-gui
* To run tmux terminal multiplexer start it like this: tmux attach -t 0  (this will make my keybindings work properly)
   tmux is full of useful keybindings, similar to screen. Type: helpme  to open a dialog box with my help file which
   explains most of them along with other info.
* Games, emulators and mplayer work best outside of tmux. Switch to another tty to run them.
* WiFi is limited to OPEN networks only (limitation of old kernel and wifi driver with newer wpa_supplicant). Wifi is
   preconfigured to connect to any open network in range. Running wifi-config with get you connected, and dont worry  about the errors it spits out. It takes about 60 seconds to get connected.
* There isnt a sound mixer that works yet (aumix crashes) so to adjust volume open cplay and even without playing
   any music you can adjust the volume with the 1 - 9 keys. 9=loudest, 1=lowest
* Poweroff/reboot/halt is broken. To shutdown use: halt -f   then hold power button after machine reboots.

Download: http://filefactory.com/file/ca4fbfa/n/Recovery_anOS-2.4kernel-rootfs.v2.img

Cheers.

EDIT: if cplay wont play mp3... edit /etc/cplayrc and change the madplay command to "madplay %s"
as it didnt like all the other switches. I've also changed cplay so it can use mplayer to play videos. Now cplay acts like a nice file browser/media launcher.

[Robin]

I think anOS is just what my LLL needed.  

Poweroff/reboot/halt is broken. To shutdown use: halt -f

For a cleaner shutdown, try it in two stages

Code: [Select]

halt -i
halt -por

Code: [Select]

shutdown now
halt -pMore clues in /etc/inittab, maybe?

[wicknix]

It's possible /etc/inittab is at fault. However with your findings above i just made a quick script for now.
Do the following:

rm /sbin/poweroff
echo > /sbin/poweroff
chmod a+x /sbin/poweroff
nano /sbin/poweroff    (and add the following lines)

#!/bin/sh
halt -i
sleep 3
halt -p

And save. Now typing poweroff will shut the machine down.

Cheers.

[wicknix]

Another small update:

Added:
eduke32 (duke nukem 3d shareware)
antiword (ms word viewer/converter)
cmatrix   (matrix screen saver)
imgv       (SDL image viewer)
ncdu        (disk usage utility)

Fixed:
poweroff now shuts the unit off
milkytracker now fits the 800x480 screen
rott fixed to look and play better than before
snes9x rebuilt (still has odd sound bug, see help file)

Also changed cplay to act as more of a media file browser. It will not only play music, but view images, launch mplayer for videos and launch snes9x or gnuboy when you select a game rom.

Download here: http://filefactory.com/file/ca7d2da/n/Recovery_anOS-2.4kernel-rootfs.v3.img

Cheers.

[jakfish]

This is lots of fun to read about--thanks for keep the flame.  I would also like to monitor development of the 2.6 kernel.  My dream is to run 3mx Ultra3 w/ the 2.6--no random characters, sound, etc.

Could you point me to a 2.6 development thread where I can lurk and rub my hands together in anticipation?

Thanks,
Jake

[wicknix]

Here you go: http://linuxlaptopforum.ark2webdesign.co.uk/index.php/board,27.0.html   

[Robin]

I have tested anOS, 2.4 kernel, on my router set to WEP and it works well.

Code: [Select]

echo 1 > /proc/jz/iwifi
ifconfig eth1 up
iwlist eth1 scan
iwconfig eth1 essid NETWORK_ID key WIRELESS_KEY
wait a few seconds

Code: [Select]

udhcpc -i eth1 
possibly-ask-twice

Code: [Select]

udhcpc -i eth1

Re wired ethernet

I added the following lines to /etc/network/interfaces

Code: [Select]

allow-hotplug eth0
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
Then to connect

Code: [Select]

udhcpc
All running very nicely, thanks, wicknix