Glacier’s E4000 tablet is durable enough for your warehouse, portable enough for your fleet

Everest's E4000 tablet is durable enough for your warehouse, portable enough for your fleet

A hard day’s work often means dirty hands, and dirty hands and keyboards have a long history of not getting along together. Rugged tablets tend to be a somewhat better (or at least easier to clean) solution, the latest entry being Glacier Computer’s Everest E4000, a fully integrated device available in 10-, 12-, and 15-inch sizes running your choice of XP Pro, XP Embedded, or Linux. No details are available on what hardware is lurking inside that purposeful looking case, which isn’t the most attractive thing we’ve ever seen, but certainly seems a lot more durable than some of its competition — like you could back an 18-wheeler over it and then cozy up with for a nice game of touchscreen ‘Solitare’ while waiting for your invoices to print. Not that you’d ever play games while on the clock, of course.

Update: We got some further details about this brute to pass along. It maxes out at a 1.4GHz Pentium M with 1GB of memory and a 16GB SSD, which may not sound like much, but since it’s entirely sealed cooling anything faster would be something of a challenge. The 15-inch screen is 1024 x 768, 802.11a/b/g is supported, and you can get one to mount on your forklift for between $2,500 and $4,500 — forklift not included.

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Glacier’s E4000 tablet is durable enough for your warehouse, portable enough for your fleet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon, others plan LiMo handset launches in 2009

That other massive international collaboration for a standardized Linux-based mobile platform, the LiMo Foundation, is still toiling away at building its global empire — but the good news is that Release 2 is now ready to rumble, albeit a few weeks behind schedule. The new version — a collaboration among a slew of Foundation members — adds enhancements for location-based services, improved security, high-end multimedia, and other miscellany that hope to make LiMo competitive with the best that Android and others have to offer in 2009. Speaking of 2009, LiMo now says that six “major” carriers have committed to launching handsets running the latest version of the platform this year — NTT DoCoMo, Telefonica, Orange, SK Telecom, Verizon, and Vodafone — which is a pretty powerful testament to the pull that LiMo has at the moment. Delivering on those commitments, of course, is another matter altogether.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Verizon, others plan LiMo handset launches in 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP makes MIE installation and recovery files available for download, fun times

We’ve known this was coming, but plenty of you will no doubt be excited to hear it’s finally here. That’s right, HP’s just made MIE installation files available for the Mini 1000 — great news if you’ve wanted to get in on all that MI action. As you can see above, they’ve unleashed one version to install the recovery tool from an XP machine onto a USB flash drive, and one to install the image from Linux machine to a USB flash drive. There is absolutely no guarantee these images will work with anything other than the Mini 1000, of course, so… watch out!

[Via GottaBeMobile]

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HP makes MIE installation and recovery files available for download, fun times originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP UK spurns Linux in its new netbook offerings

Looks like anyone in the U.K. hoping to buy a new HP netbook with Linux is going to be sorely disappointed. For reasons unspecified, the company’s decided not to offer the Mini 1000 or the Mini 2140 with a pre-install of Linux — standard options for the U.S. versions of both. Current U.K. HP Linux offerings include the 2133, but it’s an older model, so the lack of it for the newer models may signal a trend moving forward. HP will apparently offer its Ubuntu-based Mobile Internet Experience as a download, however, so all hope’s not dead. Well, you can’t always get what you want, can you?

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HP UK spurns Linux in its new netbook offerings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP to publicly release Mi Edition Ubuntu installer

We’re actually pretty high on HP’s Mini 1000 Mi Edition, which trades in XP for a custom Ubuntu build with a slick, polished interface, and it looks like early Mini 1000 owners can now get in on the action as well — a Mi Edition installer will soon available for download. If you’re currently running Mi Edition or know someone who is, you can actually build an installer flash drive right now, but we’d wait for the official Windows-based utility to appear in the next few days. No guarantees that HP’s Mi Edition installers work with any non-Mini 1000 machines out there, but given the proliferation of drivers and tools for hacking OS X onto various netbooks, we’re definitely hoping the community takes to hacking the much more open Mi Edition the same way.

[Via Download Squad]

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HP to publicly release Mi Edition Ubuntu installer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How-To: Install Ubuntu On Your PS3 For Vintage Gaming Emulation

It’s easy to forget that the PS3 is a fully-equipped PC in your living room attached to your house’s best monitor. Installing Ubuntu can help you remember, and play SNES games in the process.

It still kind of surprises me (in a good way) that Sony was, from the start, very OK with PS3 owners tinkering with Linux on their PS3s. A modified release of Yellow Dog Linux was available from the very beginning, and some very handy hard drive partitioning and dual-boot utilities are baked right into the PS3’s XMB; Ubuntu gets installed on an entirely separate partition of your PS3’s hard disk, so your default system doesn’t get touched and switching between Ubuntu and the XMB is a piece of cake.

There is a flipside to this coin, however. Since the PS3’s Cell Processor is PowerPC based, you won’t be able to use any Linux software that’s compiled for x86, which is, unfortunately, most of it. However, Ubuntu has always had a PPC distro, and most of the basic stuff will work just fine. You can even load up a PPC-compiled Super Nintendo Emulator, SNES9X, and play some classic games pretty easily on your Sixaxis controller paired via Bluetooth. Also, doing web browsing and other basic computing is a lot more natural and elegant on Ubuntu running on your TV than in the PS3’s somewhat gimped browser.

Another downside is performance—the PS3 obviously has a lot of hardware muscle, but there are no Linux drivers to take full advantage of the Cell processor’s multi-core architecture, or the PS3’s hardware graphics acceleration. Plus, Ubuntu can only see and use 221.7 MB of the PS3’s 512MB of RAM for some reason. So it won’t be a speed demon (and you won’t be able to play HD videos or anything), but it’s definitely functional for the basics.

And, even over two years into the PS3’s life, doing all of this still requires a fair amount of Linux geek forum sifting, which I have humbly take upon myself to do so you don’t have to. And believe me, you don’t. So let’s get started!

What You’ll Need:
Ubuntu 8.10 PS3 Install Disc Image
• Blank CD
• USB hard drive formated to FAT32 to backup your PS3 data
• USB keyboard and mouse (wireless if possible)

Install Ubuntu 8.10
1. Installing an alternate OS requires you to wipe the hard disk completely, so you’ll want to back up your PS3 data—this includes game saves, downloaded games and the hard drive installs many games require. For this, you’ll need a FAT32-formatted USB disc (Mac HFS+ volumes won’t work). This won’t save your trophies, so if losing them will be a tragedy for you, go to Game -> Trophy Collection, press triangle and choose “Sync with Server.”

2. Plug in your disc and go to Settings -> System Settings -> Backup Utility in your XMB. Choose Back Up and select your USB disk. The data will be saved at /PS3/EXPORT/BACKUP. It took about 25 minutes for me. When you’re done installing Ubuntu, the first time you switch back to the XMB you’ll want to use the Backup Utility to restore your backup.

3. Now you’re ready to install Ubuntu. This Ubuntu help page can assist, but like it says at the top, it was written for Ubuntu 7.10, so some things may change. Our guide here is using 8.10. I would use the alternate install disc, because some folks say the graphical Live CD install can give them some problems. The alternate install disc is the exact same thing, only with old-school DOS-y graphics. Grab that (I recommend the torrent, which will blaze down as fast as your connection will let it) and burn the ISO file to a CD.

4. Drop that CD into your PS3, and go to Settings -> System Settings -> Install Other OS. This will install the dual-boot loader kboot in a matter of seconds, and ask you if you want to restart into the the Other OS’s install disc. Make sure your PS3 is connected to the web via ethernet (wi-fi could possibly work, but it might confuse the Ubuntu instllaer), plug in your USB keyboard, which you’ll need, and say yes.

5. With the keyboard, follow the fugly text-only instructions for the Ubuntu 8.10 installer to install the system. Everything is self explanatory, and at almost every turn, you should be able to select the default option. The installer will look like it’s hung up at several points, but it’s not, so let it do its thing. Install will take about 45 minutes, and when it’s done, remove the install disc, and you’ll boot into a good ol’ Ubuntu desktop.

Pair Your Sixaxis or Dual Shock via Bluetooth
One advantage of using Ubuntu over, say, the PS3-specific Yellow Dog distro is that it’s easier to wirelessly pair your PS3 controller with a little downloadable utility. For these steps, you should switch to your PS3 running Ubuntu.

A wireless USB keyboard and mouse here are essential, but stick with wireless USB over Bluetooth. Logitech’s MX1100 mouse worked immediately with Ubuntu without any futzing, but the Logitech DiNovo Edge BT keyboard I had was a different story—Ubuntu’s Bluetooth utility found it and paired with it, but I couldn’t get it to actually type. I’m sure there’s a way, but that’s some forum sifting you’ll have to do on your own. Instead I used an old Apple keyboard I had laying around with the USB extension cord.

1. This thread spells out most of the process, and it’s the source of the software you’ll need to download. Grab Sixaxis Bluetooth Package.tar.gz and unzip it on your Ubuntu desktop.

2. Double click to install the packages inside, first the “bluez-sixaxis-bin_powerpc.deb” package and then the one named “bluez-sixaxis_rc1.1_all.deb.”

3. Now, with your controller turned off, go to Applications -> Accessories -> Sixaxis-gui in Ubuntu and start the app. Choose “Setup Menu” and then “Setup first connection” and follow the instructions. Don’t press the PS button until it tells you to. The lights will keep blinking even after it’s connected.

4. After that’s done, you can connect this or any of your other controllers by simply going to “Connect Sixaxis to PC” under “Task menu.” But to use it with the SNES emulator you’re about to install, you have to do one more thing:

5. Under “Task menu” choose “Enable Keyboard and Mouse” and then pick “Fake Joystick.” This will pair your controller as a Linux joystick. After that, you’ll have to disconnect (with “Turn Off Sixaxis”) and re-connect your controller.

Install SNES9X Emulator
SNES9X works fairly well on the PS3, with a few minor caveats, which we’ll get to below.

1. Open up a terminal window in Ubuntu and type the following command:

sudo apt-get install snes9express snes9x-x

This will install the emulator.

2. When it’s done, “snes9express” will appear under Games in Ubuntu’s application launcher. Fire that up.

3. To configure it properly, do the following: under the ROM tab, select the folder that houses all your SNES ROMs (for games you already owned as a kid, of course!); under Sound, make sure “Thread Sound” is selected, or else everything will sound horribly garbled; under Video, check “Scale,” “Hi-Res” and “Full Screen.”

4. Getting SNES9X to recognize your Sixaxis takes a little bit more juju, but even then, there is still some weirdness. To config, go to the Controllers tab and press “Devices.” Change the entries of “Pad 1” (and “Pad 2” if you’re using two) from “/dev/js0” to “/dev/input/js0” and hit close. Don’t try to Configure Button Maps… for the joysticks.

5. Go back to ROM, choose your game, and hit Power, and it should start up.

Here, though, are the aforementioned caveats: the PPC version of SNES9X on the PS3 chokes hard when you try to use an alternate button configuration for your controller (it will take the configuration, but just won’t play any games). But it’s default configuration, while wacky, is still playable. You’ll just have to find where each SNES button is mapped for each game. You’ll have trouble with something like Street Fighter 2, but simpler games like F-Zero, Pilotwings and RPGs like Earthbound (!!!) are totally playable.

And, less damaging, total full-screen does not appear to work (or at least I couldn’t get it to work) on the PS3. But you can still drag the window as big as it will get and get the same effect, just with your Ubuntu desktop visible behind.

So, all in all, this won’t be as elegant as dusting off your old SNES and plugging it in, but it’s fun to squeeze all of the potential out of your PS3 and see it play some vintage classics.

Tips
If Ubuntu locks up on you at any time, don’t trip the main power switch on the back: all you have to do is hold down the regular power button on the front for five seconds to force a shutdown.

And, theoretically, all you have to do to get back to the XMB is type “boot-game-os” at the kboot prompt. This has yet to work for me. Instead, power down the PS3 (so the power light is red), and then hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds until it beeps a few times, then let go. This will boot back into XMB by default (you may have to re-select your TV resolution, but don’t worry, all the rest of your configurations should be saved). If you’re done playing around with Linux for a while, you can simply set the PlayStation OS as the default in your XMB System settings.

Further Tinkering
A couple of things that are possible, but I have not fully tested:

Setting Ubuntu to Your Exact TV Resolution
This thread will help there—in my default installation on my Samsung 720p LCD, Ubuntu was sufficiently high-res, but with a black border an inch or two thick around the edges. If you’re experienced with Linux config files though, you can dive into the xorg.conf (which is blank by default in Ubuntu 8.10, much to my initial confusion) and calibrate it to the exact resolution of your TV.

Using the Sixaxis as a Mouse
I don’t think this works by default, but if you want to ditch the USB mouse and use the PS3 controllers analog stick, see this thread for more guided xorg.conf config file tweaking. I tried it but the buttons were oddly mapped, so I gave up. Many have gotten it to work though.

Oh, and I think you guys will enjoy this: while researching this article and diagnosing some problems with using the Sixaxis with SNES9X, I found perhaps the greatest moment in geek troubleshooting forum history. But thanks to this guy, I was able to get it working, so mad props to him and his Olive-Garden-fueled troubleshooting.

As of JAN/06/2008 @ 11:43AM EST – For some reason, SNES9EXPRESS does not like it if i turn JOYSTICK on, i have to go to JOYSTICK tab and turn it off for the Emulator to run without an error code 1. I will look further into this and see if i can make sense of it.

*(UPDATE)* Going to Olive Garden for lunch, going to let a few ideas rattle around in my brain before i take another stab at this.

And that’s about it. Enjoy Ubuntu on your PS3, and if you come up with any more fun uses for it, please let me know in the comments. And if there are any other topics you’d love to see covered by a weekend how-to, speak up! Have a good Saturday tweaking everyone.

Video: Moblin finds a home with the Samsung NC10

Now that Moblin is out in all of its alpha release glory, we’ve been preparing ourselves mentally and physically for the flood of videos we’re sure to receive as folks start installing the OS all over the place. For our inaugural Moblin Movie, the kids over at Laptop Magazine have got it happily running on a Samsung NC10 and — despite booting off a USB thumb drive — the speed of the thing is pretty impressive. WiFi and ethernet did their thing with minimal effort, the mouse and trackpad worked like a charm, and all in all things look swingin’. But don’t take our word for it — catch the video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Moblin finds a home with the Samsung NC10

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Video: Moblin finds a home with the Samsung NC10 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alpha version of Intel’s Moblin OS released for brave netbookers

Alpha version of Intel's Moblin OS released for brave netbookers

It’s been nearly a year since we were first confused about what this whole Moblin thing was going to be, but now here it is released to the wild, roaming about in alpha form and looking to find a home for itself in your netbook. If you haven’t been following along, Moblin is a custom flavor of Linux that Intel has been whipping up for installation on devices using its chips, particularly the Atom but Core 2 processors as well. It’s based on Fedora and, as of this release, is confirmed to work on Acer’s Aspire One and Dell’s Mini, though Eee peeps can check it out too — so long as they don’t mind living without WiFi. Mind you, this is still a very early version and there’s a ways to go before a final release, so feel free to sit this round out if you’re not into the whole bleeding edge thing.

[Via Ars Technica]

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Alpha version of Intel’s Moblin OS released for brave netbookers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jolicloud: the OS your netbook has been screaming for

See that? That’s what could be on your netbook later this year. Out of nowhere, one Tariq Krim has crafted the Jolicloud operating system, which is an OS designed specifically for those miniaturized laptops that rely on underpowered CPUs and less RAM than any PC should be booted up with. In essence, Jolicloud is a modified flavor of Linux that promises faster boot times than other alternatives, and judging by the shot above, it’s pretty heavily reliant on icon-based navigation. Hit the read link to keep tabs on its release date.

[Via Engadget German]

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Jolicloud: the OS your netbook has been screaming for originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jolicloud’s Beautifully Designed Netbook Linux OS

I agree with designer Tariq Krim that we’ve yet to see an OS interface perfectly implemented to a netbook’s uniquely small hardware. Hence Jolicloud, and judging from this UI shot, he’s on to something.

Yes, this is what our netbooks need: clear, big app icons (big enough to be touchable) on scrollable page a la the iPhone OS, an easy installer interface for quickly adding more, constant access to a universal search bar, all presented in a clean, clear and colorful design scheme.

Jolicloud isn’t out yet, but you can track its progress here: [Jolicloud, Jolicloud Flickr Stream via Crunch Gear and BBG]