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Hacked IA-1 collecting dust

New MessageHacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) basementjax
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I have a hacked IA-1 sitting on my desk collecting dust. About the only thing I've been able to do is be proud of the fact that a novice like me hacked it and installed midori (which certainly looks cool). I've had trouble understanding the full functionality of it though. My hope was to have a small gadget I could surf with and run word and excel type programs on. Can anyone give me some direction on how I can accomplish any of these? I can follow directions well and I'm not afraid to screw with this thing. Thanks!
11-09-2004 23:52:40

New MessageRE:Hacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) tundrwd
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Midori is Linux. You'll need to understand basic Linux/Unix commands, and realize that most of the commands are "hosted" by busybox, which doesn't give you the full functionality of the "native" commands.

You can't run Word and Excel on Linux. You can run OpenOffice, but since it's such a huge program (around 100MB footprint), and needs memory to run - forget it. You might run some of the simpler (WordPad-like), Linux derivatives, but that's about it.

The only other choice is to use your IA-1/Midori more as a terminal using the VNC Client to attach to your PC (or to your Linux box), and running Word/Excel through that.

11-10-2004 07:38:40

New MessageRE:Hacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) basementjax
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Thanks for the info. I've heard of open office but I figured it was way big. I have had trouble getting opera to log into my isp. I think it's because of my isp though. On my desktop pc (running win98se) it uses a dialer program that I had to install first. I can get a local provide that will use a standard dialer. From what I've read, that should solve that problem. It seems like nobody likes opera though. If all I can get this thing to do is surf, I'll probably just use it for a web terminal for my kids. Is there an alternative to opera that's easy to install or replace with? Thanks again!
-Gabe
11-10-2004 19:52:34

New MessageRE:Hacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) radarman
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Gabe,
If you have ANOTHER linux system, you can simply run $LARGE_APP from there, and window it back to your IA-1. I did this successfully with mine (in fact, I created a special load of FreeBSD that turned my IA-1 into a dedicated X-terminal). The performance over a 10Mb/s link isn't that great at high-color, but if you tone it down a bit - or limit how many apps are windows to the machine, it can be quite servicable in this role.

BTW - although my IA-1 actually runs as a "true" X-server, I don't generally recommend it. Having a local window manager running definitely improves speed - though at the cost of RAM.

11-12-2004 08:28:06

New MessageRE:Hacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) tundrwd
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radarman - I'd really suggest using the VNC Client. There's tremendous overhead in X11, when you have inadequate hardware and memory.
11-13-2004 20:11:42

New MessageRE:Hacked IA-1 collecting dust (modified 0 times) basementjax
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I don't have another linux system. This is my first exposure to linux. It seems neat but I really don't have the time or patience to learn / do alot of actual programming. Is there an easy way to set the IA-1 up as strictly an internet terminal (basically it's original purpose) but without having to screw w/ msn? I don't mind messing w/ linux but I have a little difficulty wrapping my brain around Opera. Thanks again for all the help!
11-27-2004 23:32:12

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