OMAP Ubuntu

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: See Ubuntu ARM and especially Ubuntu ARM/OMAP for up-to-date information and binaries. Information below is outdated.

=Ubuntu on OMAP= The goal of this project is to enable Ubuntu on OMAP. We’ll start with Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic on Zoom2 and in future can add support for newer versions of Ubuntu or the next generation of OMAP platforms.

=Getting Started=

Bootloader and Kernel
For details and instructions on the bootloader and kernel needed to run on Zoom2, please follow the instructions at http://omappedia.org/wiki/Maemo_Getting_Started#Zoom2

Ubuntu Build Env Setup - Rootstock
Tool to build an ubuntu root filesystem for a target device from scratch The RootStock project aims to create a commandline and graphical set of tools to create a fully configured tarball or VM image of an ubuntu rootfs from scratch so that you can extract it to a root device on e.g. armel systems. (this project was formerly known as build-arm-rootfs and could be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/RootfsFromScratch)

Requirements: Jaunty (9.04) and Debian: sudo apt-get install qemu wget http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/d/debootstrap/debootstrap_1.0.20~jaunty1_all.deb sudo dpkg -i debootstrap_1.0.20~jaunty1_all.deb wget http://launchpad.net/project-rootstock/trunk/0.1/+download/rootstock-0.1.3.tar.gz tar xf rootstock-0.1.3.tar.gz cd rootstock-0.1.3

Karmic (9.10) sudo apt-get install rootstock

Proxy Info:

If you are behind a corporate firewall, an extra configuration is needed since the http_proxy variable is not passed to qemu during the final stage of the image creation. There is a quick workaround for this problem: simply add this in the rootstock script when it generates the 'installer' script:

... cat > $BUILDDIR/installer < --serial  --kernel-image

Zoom 34x-II Vs Zoom 36x
The same Ubuntu file system can be used on Zoom2 as well as Zoom 36x. The main variation is in the kernel and the proper kernel for the device needs to be built.

Please refer to Linux OMAP kernel for details.

Xubuntu
Xubuntu is an official derivative of Ubuntu using the Xfce desktop environment. It is intended for users with less-powerful computers, or those that require a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems. Xubuntu features primarily GNOME applications. Xubuntu Vs Ubuntu, it won't make a huge difference, but you may see things performing slightly better under xubuntu due to the smaller resources XFCE should use compared to Gnome/KDE.

GUI's xfce4: xfce4,gdm,xubuntu-gdm-theme,xubuntu-artwork

Command to build the basic Karmic (9.10) xfce4 image for OMAPZoom2: sudo ./rootstock --fqdn OMAPZoom --login ubuntu --password pwd --imagesize 2G --dist karmic \ --serial ttyS3 --seed xfce4,gdm,xubuntu-gdm-theme,xubuntu-artwork

Upon Completion, it creates the Root file System - armel-rootfs- .tgz

Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR)
Ubuntu Netbook Remix is optimized to run on a new category of affordable Internet-centric devices called netbooks. It includes a new consumer-friendly interface that allows users to quickly and easily get on-line and use their favorite applications. A remix is a 'respun' version of Ubuntu built for a specific purpose.

To use Ubuntu-netbook-remix, you can change the seed name in the rootstock command line to ubuntu-netbook-remix.

'''The command to build UNR Karmic is:

sudo ./rootstock --fqdn OMAPZoom --login ubuntu --password pwd --imagesize 3G --dist karmic --serial ttyS3 --seed ubuntu-netbook-remix,ubuntu-netbook-remix-default-setting

Note: Keep the login user name as "ubuntu" as it is the system user with root privileges

=Status and Next Steps= * Xubuntu as well as UNR Karmic image built loads on Zoom2 and Zoom 36x. Keypad is active. * Touchscreen is active. But system seems to be responding slower for clicks * USB Keyboard and mouse support have been added and help navigate the Ubuntu system faster giving the feel of Netbook on Zoom 3xx MDP

=References= Build ARM RootFS from Scratch

BeagleBoard Ubuntu

=Communication Process= IRC channel - #linux-omap

Contacts:
 * GeethaT
 * Ndechesne

Please add your contributions and contacts to engage with this community