I-Appliance BBS The Official Source for Internet Appliance Upgrades and Mods Click Here! BBS Main List | Sign In | Sign Up | Search | Help | Linux-Hacker.net Reply to Thread | Printer |

Home / Other I-Appliances / Virgin Webplayer Use a Webplayer with original software and USB Ethernet/hub/cable modem?

Use a Webplayer with original software and USB Ethernet/hub/cable modem? (modified 0 times) mrorange Profile I'm afraid I am not the most technically inclined individual , so let me apologize in advance if this seems a little rambling. I have a webplayer in route that I bought from U-bid, and was wondering: 1. Can I use it with my current desktop's cable modem setup? (I got the webplayer with the modem and not the ethernet card) 2. From what I have been able to glean from excessive use of the search function, the mini PCI ethernet cards for the Webplayer are somewhat difficult to find as a seperate item. Can you use an external USB ethernet adaptor with a non hacked webplayer, with it's original software? Will the Webplayer automatically recognize it, or does that only work with hacked Webplayers that are running Windows? If it needs drivers installed, how would you get them on to the webplayer? I thought about transferring the drivers to a smartmedia card and plugging my USB smartmedia reader in to the webplayer, though again, would it even see it? 3. For now, I only want to use this for a web browser, though I would like to install a HD. As such, is the thing even remotely useable as it comes out of the box, or do I need to break down and install a HD and a different operating system? 4. I could be wrong, but I believe the ad from Ubid states these are loaded with Linux? Were they originally loaded with this? If it's Linux, what do I need to do to get it working with my cable modem? 5. In closing, is it possible to use a webplayer with a USB external ethernet and a hub, connected to my cable modem? If so, what do I need to do to get it to work? Thanks in advance for any assistance. 01-23-2002 21:48:48

RE:Use a Webplayer with original software and USB Ethernet/hub/cable modem? (modified 0 times) MichaelB Profile 1. Yes. USB ethernet connector should allow direct connection to your cable modem. I'm assuming you already have one PC connected to your cable modem, so you'll need a second ethernet card in that PC to provide an ethernet connection either directly to your Webplayer or to an ethernet hub (if you want to provide a connection to other PCs in addition to the Webplayer.) For the multiple machine connections you'll need an operating system that supports network address translation. In the Windows world, this is referred to as "internet connection sharing" and is supported in Win98SE and later versions of Windows. For other operating systems, you'll want to do a bit of research on network address translation (NAT) support for your OS of choice. I use NAT on a PC running OpenBSD for connection to my cable modem. If my assumption about you having one machine already connected to the cable modem is correct, you may also want to look into a PNA connection solution if you want to take advantage of your existing phone lines rather than stringing Cat5 cable. I've connected a Webplayer using a 10MB PNA USB adapter and it runs fine. If you go this route, you'll also need a PNA network card for your PC. If you decide to go with PNA, check e-Bay for hardware. There are good deals available on both the PCI network cards and the USB adapters. All of this assumes that the operating system on your Webplayer supports these hardware solutions. That brings us to your second question. 2. If you have a "non-hacked" Webplayer, you'll have to do a bit of your own hacking to get connected. This assumes that the machine you're getting from U-Bid still has the original Virgin operating system loaded. Read through the various threads in this discussion group. There's a wealth of information on options from using the Webplayer with just the original DOC to adding a notebook hard disk drive. This includes information on how / where you can get your DOC loaded with an operating OS or the steps for using a notebook hard drive. I opted for the latter and would recommend this approach if you have any anticipation of needing more storage space than can be supported on a compressed 48 Mbyte DOC. You will not be able to connect using the original system that came with the Virgin Webplayer through USB ports (The modem, however, will work if you only desire dial-up Web access.) Regarding the use of a USB Smartmedia card reader, this will work if you have drivers for loaded to your hacked Webplayer operating system. I used this method until I got the PNA network connection running. 3. If your only ambition is Web browsing, even the "non-hacked" original Virgin system can be used for establishing a dial up connection to most ISPs. This original Virgin software works quite well for rendering most web displays. Again, check out the previous posts for more information on reconfiguring that software for dial-up access. If you want a connection that's faster than the supplied 56K modem, than you'll have to do your own "hacking." 4. The original Virgin software appears to have run a version of Linux compiled specifically for support of the services offered by Virgin. While at one time Virgin indicated that it planned to provide support of USB devices, this support was not included in the shipping OS. So, if the device you get from U-Bid is "non-hacked" you won't have USB support "out of the box." By the way, if you do go with the PNA solution, your choice of operating systems for the Webplayer will be limited to Microsoft products. At the moment, there doesn't appear to be driver support for PNA in other operating systems you can run from the Webplayer. 5. 1 - 4 should cover this last question. Just wanted to end with a word of encouragement. Hacking the player, including adding a note book hard drive, doesn't take a tremendous amount of effort. Just a bit of patience and some reading. The resources available in this discussion group are of tremendous help. Take advantage of them by going through the whole list. This will effort will pay off and save you a good deal of time and headaches. Enjoy the Webplayer and enjoy the effort in getting it running to meet your needs. 01-24-2002 21:20:29

Reply to Thread | Printer | All times are PST Powered by UltraBoard v1.62

I-Appliance BBS General - NEWS, Breaking NEWS - linux-hacker.net BBS on CD Questions - User Groups in Your Town - E-Bay, Yahoo Auction LINKS ONLY (MODERATED) - Jokes & Humor - usdtv box I-Opener Areas - I-Opener General Posts - I-Opener Technical Stuff - I-Opener Technical Info Reference (MODERATED) WebSurfer Areas - WebSurfer General Posts - WebSurfer Technical Stuff - WebSurfer Technical Info Reference (MODERATED) Other I-Appliances - Virgin Webplayer - WebPal - MailStation - 3Com Audrey - ThinkNIC / Oracle NIC - Gateway/AOL Connected Touch Pad - Philips/AOL-TV - ACER NT-150 STB - MSN Companion - Compaq IA - Emachines IA - IBM NetVista IA - Intel dot.station - MSNTV2 Network Computers - Fujitsu-Siemens Scovery Linux Net Computers - GallantWeb Server Consoles - Dreamcast - xbox hacking Web Pads - Epods One General Post - Panasonic CF-01 - Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 - Cybiko Thin Clients - Thin Clients DigitalVideoRecorders - DTV Recorders, Replay, TiVo, Etc... - Tivo Hacks Linux - Midori Linux General Board - ITX MotherBoards Single Board Computers - Earth Computers mARMalade Elite Member Area MISC Areas - The Swap Meet WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY TRANSACTION HERE AND NO COMMERCIAL POST PERIOD !!! - Wireless Net - Cameras - Robotics - Routers/Gateways - Mattel JuiceBox