Open2x Questions


danboid

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Joined
Jan 21, 2006
Messages
252
I'm waiting for the first public release of Open2X before installing it on my 2X, but I've been wondering

1- How does Open2X handle TV-out? Preferably it would auto-detect and hopefully it doesn't work in a similiar way to the GPH fw i.e go into settings -> TV out -> PAL/NTSC -> exit menu, which is way too much messing around. If auto-detection is not possible then it would be much better if we were asked something like

Enable TV-out?

A- Yes B - No

on boot

2 (x5 :) - Is X11 still going to be included as standard? Is it working at DVD-res for those with TV-out? Is it going to use GPE 2.8, rox or another DE/WM? What apps will be included by default, if any? Will we have access to the full 64MB RAM under X11?

3- When can we expect to see the first public/ stable release of Open2X?

Thanks for your response!
 
danboid said:
I'm waiting for the first public release of Open2X before installing it on my 2X, but I've been wondering

1- How does Open2X handle TV-out? Preferably it would auto-detect and hopefully it doesn't work in a similiar way to the GPH fw i.e go into settings -> TV out -> PAL/NTSC -> exit menu, which is way too much messing around. If auto-detection is not possible then it would be much better if we were asked something like

Enable TV-out?

A- Yes B - No

on boot

2 (x5 :) - Is X11 still going to be included as standard? Is it working at DVD-res for those with TV-out? Is it going to use GPE 2.8, rox or another DE/WM? What apps will be included by default, if any? Will we have access to the full 64MB RAM under X11?

3- When can we expect to see the first public/ stable release of Open2X?

Thanks for your response!
I'm sure it will not activate tv-out on boot time but there will be probably a tool from menu or a key stroke inside applications to enable/disable tvout.

X11 will be included on default. Access to the full 64mb is very unlikely as most linux programs use the common glibc funktions (e.g. malloc) which only can use the first 32mb. However... if you need the memory in a single program you can patch high memory acccess into (which breaks general compatibility but will work on gp2x).

Please comment what you would like to see as WM / App system included. Keep in mind that space restrictions are harsh so a kde/gnome system is next to impossible. Remember that GPE is very slow currently.

Release> it will be announced.
 
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danboid said:
I'm waiting for the first public release of Open2X before installing it on my 2X, but I've been wondering

1- How does Open2X handle TV-out? Preferably it would auto-detect and hopefully it doesn't work in a similiar way to the GPH fw i.e go into settings -> TV out -> PAL/NTSC -> exit menu, which is way too much messing around. If auto-detection is not possible then it would be much better if we were asked something like

Enable TV-out?

A- Yes B - No

on boot

2 (x5 :) - Is X11 still going to be included as standard? Is it working at DVD-res for those with TV-out? Is it going to use GPE 2.8, rox or another DE/WM? What apps will be included by default, if any? Will we have access to the full 64MB RAM under X11?

3- When can we expect to see the first public/ stable release of Open2X?

Thanks for your response!
1- for me you cant detect video norm by SVHS or composite wire, it's only an output. Generaly this choice is preselected (and stored) in the device for one country. If I by a device in france, it's supposed to be used in france so the pal mode is preselected in the device, of course you can always switch in other mode. It's like a TVout on computer video card, you select a country in driver and the TVout switch in the correct mode.

2- I dont know :)

3- When it will be ready I suppose :)
 
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StarG

Only 32MB? Shame. What about DVD res output for X11, is that working?

I realise KDE, GNOME and even XFCE are too much for 32MB RAM, but I reckon rox would still be usable in that much RAM. My xbox and Zaurus both run 2.4 kernels and only have 64MB RAM each but rox runs lightning fast on them and allows me to have desktop shortcuts and graphical (un)mounting of removable discs.
 
How about EEM (Enlightenment for Embeded) there are already patches available to make it work on GP2X, so it could very well be another feasible alternative...

If nothing else, I just hope that Rlyeh's "nicer" tv-out is what gets used in Open2X... Although higher resolution for tv-out would be impressive ;)
 
Please, nothing that requires mouse usage. I hate controlling a mouse with a joystick. Moving through buttons like on the default menu or gmenu2x are much easier on a handheld that doesn't have a mouse by default.
 
Megatog615 said:
Please, nothing that requires mouse usage. I hate controlling a mouse with a joystick. Moving through buttons like on the default menu or gmenu2x are much easier on a handheld that doesn't have a mouse by default.
I second that-- It's not as if the stick is analogue either so it's tantamount to using GEOS on the C64 :p
 
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Not really a notice for many people here, but hopefully this will be noticed:
Anybody who has been beta testing Open2x, please contact me via IRC (details in the previous installer zip) to receive the latest version.
http://www.open2x.org/
 
mdinire said:
Maybe a button combination could be pressed on start up to enable TV OUT..
I'd prefer this to a question that halts the machine until you respond. For the people that never use tv out such as myself, asking a question like "Enable TV Out?" after every reboot would be VERY annoying (although slightly less annoying than the iPod's which ask you after every media clip...)
 
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Megatog615 said:
Please, nothing that requires mouse usage. I hate controlling a mouse with a joystick. Moving through buttons like on the default menu or gmenu2x are much easier on a handheld that doesn't have a mouse by default.
I'm sorry, but you may as well forget about X11 then if you don't have a BoB, 3 button USB mouse and keyboard or you are not prepared to use the stick and keys as a mouse replacement. All X apps expect you have a 3 button mouse and 99% of these apps were not programmed with embedded users is mind- they all expect a standard workstation /desktop hardware setup. Maybe the X enviro will be setup so that 2X users will be easilty able to launch apps with the joystick but the chances are that the 'ease of input with the stick' ride will end there. Hence X11 will likely only be of any real use to BoB owners.

Enlightenment for Embedded? Sure, e17 looks better than anything else we could run on the 2X but the fact is its still buggy as hell.

pdaXii13 is the best X11 based OS available on the Zaurus and that uses a combination of:

icewm - win95 window manager which, unlike most wms, has a number of GUI config tools such as icecc

rox - file and desktop manager. I really don't think there is a comparable alternative to rox.

matchbox tools are used to monitor and manage the pda stuff like battery, wifi and memory cards

I'm disappointed to discover the the 'Cool ideas and other stuff' board only goes back as far as July 07 / 2 pagesas I'd wrotre a list of apps that work really well on low-memory X11 devices.

I see the point about the TV-out enable question being annoying for those who don't use it so yes it would be better if a message was flashed up during boot

'Hold x down to enable TV-out'

Maybe it could be SELECT+L to load gmenu2x w/ TV-out and SELECT+R to load X11 with TV-out?

EDIT

pcmanfm is the only app I know of that comes close to being able to replace rox as a lightweight desktop and file manager but it had a few big bugs last time I tried it a few months back. Fundamental stuff was broke like 'Delete' not working properly, windows not getting refreshed and you were unable to set MIME types.
 
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danboid said:
I'm disappointed to discover the the 'Cool ideas and other stuff' board only goes back as far as July 07 / 2 pagesas I'd wrotre a list of apps that work really well on low-memory X11 devices.
Go to the bottom of the page, change the drop down that says 30 days to Show all, then you'll get all 67 pages :).
 
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norm said:
orkie: how long do you think it will be till theres a public release?
I have no idea, sorry. However, after DR3, the core system will be stable and the rest of the work is just to make a few configuration and assemble the built in applications. DR1 was just to get something out there, DR2 was to get compatibility as close to perfect as possible, DR3 will be to finalise the base system. By the time we get to DR4 or 5, we should be getting close to a final, public release :).

Another mini-announcement, the Open2x homepage has a patch for DR2. If you receive DR2 after this patch was released, you don't need it (it's built into the installer now) - it's only for people who installed list night. Don't bother installing this on a GPH firmware - it won't break anything, but it won't have any effect anyway ;).
 
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