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mail_e36 is offline mail_e36
2010-03-08 , 14:39
Posts: 393 | Thanked: 67 times | Joined on Feb 2010
#1
I'm fairly new to Linux and I would like to understand if it will be possible to upgrade the Linux kernel version at some point, while retaining the Maemo N900-specific functionality (such as camera support, proprietary drivers, etc).

The current version for the N900 seems to be 2.6.28-omap1 (you can get this by running "cat /proc/version" at the command line).

Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
Matan is offline Matan
2010-03-08 , 14:43
Posts: 1,224 | Thanked: 1,763 times | Joined on Jul 2007
#2
There are no proprietary kernel drivers in the N900. This means that it is possible to upgrade the kernel, if someone will have enough motivation and time for porting some things that are missing from mainline kernel.
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acvetkov is offline acvetkov
2010-03-08 , 14:45
Posts: 161 | Thanked: 70 times | Joined on Feb 2010
#3
http://kernel.org/
have fun

Edit: Why do you want to upgrade the kernel? Missing some function
 
TA-t3 is offline TA-t3
2010-03-08 , 15:45
Posts: 3,841 | Thanked: 1,079 times | Joined on Nov 2006
#4
No, you can't use a kernel from kernel.org and expect it to work properly on the N900. Instead, look for that other thread where kernel upgrades / additions are discussed. (In short, there are omap-specific kernel repositiories out there, and nokia-spedific versions in addition to that. Those versions are not (yet) merged to upstream kernel.org.)
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Z0l is offline Z0l
2010-03-08 , 16:35
Posts: 36 | Thanked: 28 times | Joined on Nov 2009 @ Hungary
#5
Most likely it's not the kernel version and modules that will be your biggest problems, but the firmware. The camera, the wifi, the gsm module (and perhaps there are other parts) all use a proprietary firmware to function. You might find some dead ends if you deviate from the kernel they have been developed for.
 

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mail_e36 is offline mail_e36
2010-03-08 , 16:43
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#6
The last poster brings up a good point.

What are the changes Nokia will update the kernel along with a firmware upgrade? Or are these two completely different concepts, and we cannot expect nokia to update the kernel?
 

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craftyguy is offline craftyguy
2010-03-08 , 16:55
Posts: 455 | Thanked: 278 times | Joined on Dec 2009 @ Oregon, USA
#7
Originally Posted by mail_e36 View Post
The last poster brings up a good point.

What are the changes Nokia will update the kernel along with a firmware upgrade? Or are these two completely different concepts, and we cannot expect nokia to update the kernel?
My guess is that they will probably not update the kernel unless:
1) it fixes a serious bug
2) it adds some major feature

Upgrading the kernel would take a lot of resources on their end to update all the device firmware and insure that it is working properly with the new kernel (a lot of work they already did for the current kernel when they were developing the device before launch)
 
mail_e36 is offline mail_e36
2010-03-08 , 18:10
Posts: 393 | Thanked: 67 times | Joined on Feb 2010
#8
so it's probably safe to say that the N900 will only have the 2.6.28-omap1 kernel for life. I guess most of us could live with that. I'm sure some homebrewers will update the kernel on their devices, but possibly end up loosing functionlity. Kind of like the Windows Mobile devices which run Android by dual-booting.
 
craftyguy is offline craftyguy
2010-03-08 , 18:18
Posts: 455 | Thanked: 278 times | Joined on Dec 2009 @ Oregon, USA
#9
Originally Posted by mail_e36 View Post
so it's probably safe to say that the N900 will only have the 2.6.28-omap1 kernel for life. I guess most of us could live with that. I'm sure some homebrewers will update the kernel on their devices, but possibly end up loosing functionlity. Kind of like the Windows Mobile devices which run Android by dual-booting.
Why couldn't you live with that? There's a great thread in these forums already with several developers compiling modules for the existing kernel. Is there some feature you require that is not implemented until a later kernel release??
 

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Flandry is offline Flandry
2010-03-08 , 18:18
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#10
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=43420
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