Notices

thanks qole!

I sent you a PM earlier today...

I would prefer to answer questions publicly so others can benefit from the answers.

I also want to add that you should install Personal Menu in order to run Debian programs without the command line. Once you have installed Inkscape, add a menu item to Personal Menu with "debbie inkscape" as the command.

woops! I just somehow erased my last response by using refresh... anyway;

@qole What is all the talk from users here on this forum about the NIT coming to the end of it's lifecycle? I see these things as fantastic tools for productivity in the real world. I'm not expecting it to edit video but now that I found your Easy Debian, that's amazing.

But, then again, coming from the Palm OS world these NITs really are a viable mini personal computer (especially with all the new web 2.0 apps out there).

As far as Easy Debian goes, I glossed over the thread you started on it very briefly as it looks to be faily technical. I have a few questions on these concepts:

1 Is Flashing the tablet the equivelant of reinstalling windows in the PC world?

2 Does installing Easy Debian (to an external card) require Flashing the tablet? Do you have to go back and reinstall all your apps even if you backup the device?

3 What exactly is the difference between these OS's: Diablo, Mer, Debian, and why should an end-user care?

thanks

1: Flashing the tablet is like reformatting your C: drive and reinstalling Windows, except that the tablet's backup functionality is quite good, and you can regain much of your settings and documents by restoring your backup. If you haven't flashed your tablet since you bought it, it is probably running an old version of the OS and you'll want to get it updated (to Diablo 43-7).

2: You don't need to flash your tablet to use Easy Debian. That's why it is "Easy". It lets you use Debian apps inside Maemo.

3: Diablo is the latest version of Maemo (OS 2008). It is officially "dead," in that Nokia will no longer offer updates of this software. Deblet is a bootable version of Debian, and Mer is the community-run replacement for Diablo that incorporates features of the new OS (Fremantle), which won't run on our tablets. Read the Alternatives sticky and the wiki page, too.

ok, that is a little more clear...

My n810 is up to date with the most recent version as I flashed it when I first got it...

I read this http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...411#post302411. It scared me as I have done nothing in the xterm ( I assume the equivalent of MSDOS ) and that whole thing just freaks me out...

FYI, please take a look at this thread as I don't want to create any new problems until old ones are solved: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=30091.

Also, if I have a 4GB sdcard, is that enough to have other things on it as well as Easy Debian? I have no intention of using Open Office as I am happy with Abiword and other online alternatives. That said, if I primarily want to try graphics related apps such as Gimp and Inkscape, is there enough processing power to do so?

Sorry for the barrage of Q&A!

The terminal can be a bit intimidating at first, but if you don't mind a bit of a learning curve, it can be very useful. (It's one of those things where it's often easier *if* you know what you're doing, but *looks* scary if you don't). I'll try to find a link or two to a intro tutorial, just so you can get around in it, anyhow. A few basic notes:
-Root is like the windows Administrator user - it can do anything, so make sure you know what you're doing if you are using the root account.
-If you're following a tutorial, copy everything *verbatim* it matters! (case-sensitive and all the rest)
-If you're unsure about what something does, type in the command, and --help after it. That will usually give you instructions.
-If in doubt, Google, then ask.

As for Easy Debian, I don't recall it being terribly difficult to install - if you follow the instructions to the letter, you should be fine (although understanding what you're doing would be better in the long run)

Update: Here's a tutorial - there are plenty more, but this one should suit. Note that in some cases, Maemo comes with a subset of certain tools, or slimmed-down versions, so not everything on desktop Linux will be exactly the same as on the tablet.

hey thanks...downloaded the pdf of that to read offline...

anyway, yeah it's just the newbie curve that I have to get over and asking questions is the way I do it...

that tutorial will get me on my way!

Works OK; reasonably responsive; doesn't seem to have tap-and-hold right-click like other GTK apps...

Some times ago I compiled for Bora "Inkscape Lite" from the puppy linux distro. This could be useful now for our friend if compiled for Diablo. I'm without a building environment (and on holidays - but it rains!) so can't help.
The source is in http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/...-0.36.2.tar.gz