kivy : fedora 20 netbook graphics update required

Installing Kivy for some python development/fun with Android and my old netbook;


remember, the netbook is an old
Acer Aspire one D257 , with 1 gig ram and Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N570

I think the netbook is less powerful than most high end Android phones these days!


I found there is a repo that is slightly newer than the online doc (which lists Fedora_18)


Kivy Launcher works great on android, but the netbook, recently updated to Fedora 20 gave the error:

Fatal Python error: (pygame parachute) Segmentation Fault

oh no!

but this is not uncommon, since is listed early in the FAQ for kivy.

but then no details on how to update Fedora!

that took a bit of looking around;  I am running the non standard LXDE spin; so did not have all tools installed;

finally found the link to the Intel graphics driver site:

https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads

installed the drivers using the graphical installer for 1.0.6 for 32bit,  rebooted, and now am running.

now can type on netbook and use editors and then send the result to the android device to test!

p.s.
my other machine, running Fedora 20 64 bit 8 gig ram, AMD graphics, did not require any updates, it runs fine out of box.

linux/Raspberry pi SD card compatibility

annoying fact:

Linux on my old netbook only works with some SD cards.

much to my surprise, it seems that some SD cards are not compatible.

for the longest time I assumed it was the kernel and drivers I was using, but then I switched to another brand, and it worked perfectly....

so general advice;  have a variety of different vendor SD cards available when you are trying out the linux support.

a different SD card may work perfectly, on the same setup.

(using Fedora on Acer aspire one D257)

found the same true with the raspberry pi board, could not get it to boot with some SD cards, and others work fine.

Joining the Android ecosystem: good or bad?

Recently acquired yet another android device, the Asus/Google Nexus 7.

There are reports of a new, better, cheaper faster version due to arrive in a month or two.
So the Nexus 7 is often on sale at some "big box" computer stores locally.

Picked one up for less than the Google web site's price, before shipping...

got the "blue" cover for it.

Setting up a new environment seems like a lot of work;
Currently have *not* rooted the device.

Now that we have the tablet, what do I actually use it for?
Do find the Nexus 7 a little heavy for me to sit and read, like a paperback;
usually need to prop it up on something if sitting for an extended period.
Viewing angles are fine; speed seems ok;

it is running 4.2, so have tried the multi-user setup.
That seemed to slow it down; switching users is not instant.
one annoyance (at least so far) is I cannot share/install apps on the second "guest" user.
investigating:
scenario I want:
my guest user (kids) do not have a Google account (nor should they)
I would like to put some apps onto the guest accounts.
Default setup does not make this obvious...
may be the item that causes me to root the device...


below is a list of apps with comments installed;

any reader comments/suggestions welcome...

video chat: skype
I would really like to install an open source alternative, but skype is available on pc, linux, windows, ipad, iphone...
so is the only one that works with all those other humans I want to talk to ...

Browser: Firefox
+ browser plugin: adblock plus!
surfing without adblock is a very different experience, on my Linux desktop, use adblock with both chrome and Firefox   found chrome unstable, but it does have adblock;  adblock not easily found on the android version; so using Firefox more.

browser privacy: orbot
works with Firefox on a non rooted machine.

ebooks: tbd;
overdrive is used at my local library;
also have FBReader ...
do like the default google books, but does not currently seem to support the epubs.

video player: VLC
plays more formats than the original player

voice/sound recorder: tbd:
trying out a few, will update.

camera app: tbd:
Nexus 7 does not have a camera on the back;

games: Minecraft, World of Goo
words with friends
do try out many free ones, only pay for a few.

email: gmail
so far;
looking at replacements, alternatives

sharing: tbd
dropbox, microsoft sky drive, google, evernote, or the new bittorrent?

photo organizer: default google/tbd
flickr? google?

writing/notes?: tbd
have not used it for that, too many other machines with keyboards around the house easily accessible  and usually on.

ftp/scp/filemanagement: tbd
this one a current "hot" item.  trying out various versions.

Development environment: trying QPython/Kivy
default android sdk seems a bit heavy for my needs, do like the mit app inventor, currently trying out QPython.  Initial impressions are good, but the code seems to be the default android java wrapped in python...
Kivy seems to be better documented;  found creating a few quick samples easy;  now need to port some pygame samples across...

Firefox Beta on old LG P500h

Working with Firefox Beta on an old phone:

LG-P500h

running android 2.3.3 (carrier's latest for this phone)

unsure if it even meets the new low end firefox OS hardware requirements...

Notes:

using this phone in a "voice only" mode, just for calls; on a prepaid service.
for data use wifi only.  Have turned off the cell data .

phone has limited memory; do occasionally get an out of memory error when trying https+search on google

like addons
** Adblock Plus working !!

not so sure about apps yet;
installed a game, and wikipedia;  seem slow to start, wikipedia not much different than just the mobile site;  Game's UI a bit slow and unresponsive on this old phone.

tabs:
work well, do keep only a few open, not trying to stress out with dozens open...

red Wii mini review

our old "classic" Wii seems to have a lot of trouble reading disks;  Thought it was just scratches

Finally a brand new game disk failed to read (a holiday gift)

so went out and picked up the "only in Canada" red Wii mini.

Comments:

• reads old "bad disks" just fine.  Mostly the Lego {x} series were problematic on our older "regular" Wii
• do miss the SD card for looking at pictures ;
• do not mind the missing WiFi ;  Could try a usb network port, but have not yet.
• we never used the wireless connection to our DSi
• odd red colour does make it look a bit out of place, sitting next to the TV
• electronic store's 30 day return policy made it low risk

theory:

the older Wii 's DVD drive mechanism appears to be failing:

guesses:

• spinning speed
• led power
• head alignment
• phase of the moon?

Could have tried to break open the case and manually replace, but the red mini was inexpensive enough to spend the time playing the games, rather than soldering ;)

now that we have a second Wii... looking at the homebrew channel for the older one...

Adafruit's WebIDE on latest Raspbian

trying out Adafruit's web ide

initial notes, quick in no particular order...

1) for me did not install via script;
there were some failed dependencies;
(my network may not be the fastest, so likely some time outs)

so the system was not installed.  reran the install script a few times, and it failed at different points.

finally just ran the partially installed startup script as if I had installed manually from git and noted which packages failed to load/install, and installed them manually via sudo npm .

2) version I installed is hardcoded for user pi;  initially tried with a different userid, and system scripts were coded for pi;
-could fix this, but for initial tests, have switched over to pi user.

3) success;
first project running "hello world" and loops!  Very cool.

4) npm is new for me:
lots of "magic" of nodejs ... I'm new to npm and node.js .  IDE does not use python, to teach python?  I was expecting something like idle (icon is on raspbian default desktop)

5) may try c for next set of tests.

6) interesting, IDE is setup for bitbucket, not github?
(I see the ide itself on github)
-could fix this in the code, but leaving with defaults for now.
(I have a github account, created a new account for bitbucket)

Fedora 17 + acer aspire one SD Card reader fix

my netbook : Acer Aspire One D257-1814

did not recognize the SD card reader with the default Fedora 17 build. Googled and found that a missing "staging" module was required:

having previously installed rpmfusion:

yum install kmod-staging
modprobe keucr

(did reboot)

now inserting my SD card brings up the file dialog!

necessary to rebuild raspberry pi images.

Update: 2014
Fedora 20 "just works"
out of box.
no new mods required.

US keyboard, case and WiFi on Raspberry PI

There is our 1.0 case. The chef's hat seemed to fit the theme: The SD Card is like a cookie tray, says my son.
logged into the raspbian image, using a US keyboard. Originally accepted all defaults settings, including the UK keyboard; My daughter trying to type some python scripts noticed the discrepancy...
ran the command

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

to reset keyboard.

WiFi
using the Debian instructions for command line have connected an ASUSTek Computer, Inc. USB-N10 802.11n Network Adapter [Realtek RTL8188SU] Update
The Chef is from the lego city hotdog cart
I picked the ASUS WiFi dongle, since it has "Linux Support" printed right on the packaging!