(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Well I think the only way puppy will be better is if anyone can PLEASE help me figure out how to install it on on my droid RAZR Maxx HD and or dual boot it with the current droid jellybean OS then make an app to help other people do it and throw it on the app market for free to increase puppy's user base!!! The more of us out here using puppy the better! : ) Puppy on my droid with network capability would make my millennia! [/img]

Sorry, Puppy on phones is a long way away. There seems to be a lot of demand, but the effort to implement such a thing is astronomical at best.

Every make/model of phone has at least slightly different hardware. Each piece of hardware needs a driver for Puppy to use it, like any other OS. Puppy is built primarily for older-but-not-yet-truly-antique computers. It doesn't have phone drivers built in.

Further, phones are kind of a closed ecosystem AFAIK, which means that drivers don't really exist outside of what's provided on the phone when you buy it, unless and until the manufacturer releases an upgrade. On top of that, those drivers are useless to Puppy because IIRC Android drivers don't work in more ordinary Linuces. (Saying "Linuxes" is somewhat grammatically incorrect, because Latin, BTW. Not that I'm being anything but a Grammar Nazi by saying that!)

Remember that Android is Linux-by-technicality. It's a Linux kernel and a Java interpreter, at its core, and absolutely everything else is built (in Java) on top of that. Yeah, it has the kernel, but that's really the only actual Linux in it. It's really a whole different creature at that point, which is why Android drivers and Linux drivers are incompatible.

*ahem*

So in order to get your phone running Puppy, someone would have to write drivers for absolutely every piece of hardware on that phone. Puppy has limited support for ARM-type CPUs (technically SoC's, or "Systems on Chip, but I'm not getting into that here), one of which is in your phone (specifically it's a Qualcomm SnapDragon S4 @ 1.5GHz -- thank you, Mr Google) via FatDogARM which has just recently entered Beta stage. I can tell you offhand that your processor is not supported at this time.

However, Puppy is a sort of a Do-ocracy. This can potentially work out quite well for you. If you are a software engineer with lots and lots of experience doing programming for PCs and smartphones both, and you know how to write drivers (which is, I'm told, highly challenging), then you have a chance here. For the record, nobody on this forum AFAIK has the knowledge and experience to do this for you.

There are three ways to accomplish this...

(1) Get the Android drivers (probably in "binary blob" form) and decompile them back to some form of human-readable code. (You almost certainly will not get open source drivers, even for Android.) Then develop your own Linux drivers that function identically (or nearly so), having picked a kernel to build against, so that they are compatible with Puppy (I will recommend building against FatDogARM so that you're not totally reinventing the wheel). Once you have drivers, you'll have to write interface programs so that Puppy can use the drivers. Once you have working drivers and working interface programs, you have the ability to properly Puppify your phone.

(2) The other DIY option, if you don't want to mess with porting drivers, or if the binary blob decompiling doesn't work out so well, is to get another Droid RAZR Maxx HD and take it apart. Get datasheets for each and every bit of hardware, and reverse-engineer how it all works. *Then* write your drivers. Speaking from a legal perspective, this is probably actually the better way of the two so far -- code can be (and rarely /isn't/) copyrighted, and if the license agreement given with the drivers indicates no reverse-engineering, then Option #1 just flew the coop.

(3) There is a truly infinitesimal chance that you can convince the company making your phone to develop and release drivers for real Linux. If they will listen to you at all, they'll probably ask you to fund it. This will not be cheap, so I hope you're quite well off if you want to do this.

...good luck...

Hello Everybody,

Thought it was about time to actually post something. I really like puppy linux. At the current time 'm using precise 5.7.1. I have dabbled around linux since the days of Red Hat 6 and Mandrake 7. And while I'm no power user I get around pretty good.

I really liked the website it was helpful on getting puppy installed. I learned a long time ago what rtfm is and why it is important. I've been running puppy now for about a year and have tried a number of different pups.

I really don't have anything bad to say about puppy linux. It's one of the best if not THE best linux distro's that I have used. Guess that's about all I have to say except, Keep up the great work Puppy is an AWESOME linux distro.

Lot of people will not try Puppy (or Linux) because everything is english written or spoken. newbie means from outside Linux, in my opinion and outside development.
That is the reason why non native English spoken people don't try or stay in Linux.
One way to improve would be that people talk their native language on the forum,
I know that American and British are so eased by the English rule, that they will never admit my proposal.
I am quite sure there are so many non-English users as English ones. A spanish talks to a spanish in english.
Be aware of that, even with Google translation, our thoughts are far from what we say, because lack of vocabulary.
It would be exactly the same when you choose where to go on holidays.
Just to underline this huge problem. Not for you, but for my family. I used to speak English when working (aircraft) but i am an exception.

.... catching up ...

... starhawk, star post! ... quite brilliant, and so helpful to me and I think a great many others.

... pelo, you make a very important point on the language issue (I think?) but, heck, you've been around here long enough to know that worldwide there exist several Puppy communities using languages not represented on this forum, and even here we have had French and German speaking sections for many years. As starhawk has reminded us, Puppy is a do-ocracy ... so if you feel so strongly, why not go for it and kick off a Spanish section on this forum? Spanish is surely becoming a very important language computer-wise in terms of population numbers and increasing uptake of the technology.

...but we've more or less had a Spanish section...

Pelo wrote: A spanish talks to a spanish in english.
.

Of course, if one speaks Euskera and the other Catalán - one of the greatest Spanish copla singers, Conchita Piquer, learned to speak English before she learned Spanish (castellano), because her first language was Valencian.
It is a matter of some regret that this English language (only historically associated with the English nation) is not now called something else, say Shingle. It could then be considered a universal language like Esperanto. It is at the moment possibly the most widely known language, counting not only native speakers but those who have it as a second language (wiki has it at 2130M, Mandarin next at 1026M with Spanish at 528M).
As a frequent contributor to the Spanish language section you are no doubt aware of that section's existence. Is there something else that can be done to help non-English speakers take up puppy?

As a non-geek newbie I found linux to be a bit overwhelming at first but it gradually started to make sense (especially with all of the "how to's" and forum support available). I almost gave up at the beginning because I was confused about all the different variations of linux - it just felt overwhelming to a newbie. After trying out a bunch - I now have puppy precise, but I did also try a few others;

- LUCID seemed good at first but then my windows created lots of off screen buttons - which I could only access by clicking "alt." It was doable but got really annoying.

- UBUNTU LUBUNTU and BODHI - they just wouldn't boot from the USB. I'd get the logo screen and then it would run for hours trying to load. I'm not even sure if those are linux platforms (not sure if that's the right term).

A suggestion about Puppy Precise - during the hard drive installation process - using "universal installer," it gives you just two options for where to get the .sfs file from ("CD" and "Directory.") In my case however, I just had a USB but there was no option for selecting USB. I ended up copying the files from my USB over to "downloads" on the hard drive, and then using the "Directory" option.

Also, the thing that messed me up multiple times was the save-file process during first re-boot. I kept doing a save-file (because it really encourages you to do so). But in my case it wasn't necessary because I only had one partition and wanted to use it as my only operating system.

This forum is GREAT - and I've gotten so much help it;s amazing. I wish I had known about the forum earlier on in the process.
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I am very new and can't offer much input. WHen looking for help on software installation, I had trouble because I need to install software for tethering my phone in order to get onto the internet. Installing from a CD without internet connection seems to be very difficult to say the least. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places, but I am glad I found this forum.

Puppy Linux impressed me so much that I have decided to take the time to learn how to use the console. So, kudos to all you developers! Keep the updates on Precise 5.7.1 coming!

For my oldest laptop, it will be a keeper.

As a hobby, I'm trying to make my old Dell Latitude CPi, which was optimized to run with Win 98, then was "upgraded" to Win 2000, a kind of usable one. I have a few machines (5 desktops, 3 laptops).

I heard about Puppy when I was looking for an apropriate distro for my old "compusaurus" I have already tried DSL, Debian and then Puppy. DSL was fast, but I have never managed to get wireless network function. Debian was functionning, after a HD change (30Gig instead of 6), but waaaaas toooo sllllooooowwww. Only Puppy made my museum artefact work that well.


Oh, from my point of view, it is not all perfect. Some edges are somehow a little rough. For example, if you want to add repos, you have to manualy edit config files. For a newbie like me, this is a little.... complicated.

The wireless LAN wasn't functionning well with the proposed driver. I used to succeed configuring it, but after some time, it used to disconnect from the LAN by itself. But with ndiswrapper and the XP driver, it works like a charm. No more disconnecting. The network is always available.

Some other things like that: I wanted to install the French langpack. It wasn't available in the PPM. I did a refresh and... ZAM!!! No more packages. So, after some searches I did a full install , opting refresh. No result, still no visible packages. Then full install, opting wipe. Then, as I have started all new, I got all the packages back in PPM. To get my so wanted french langpack, I went on the TOUTOU website and it got installed like a charm, by only clicking on it.

The last thing I have to fix is my network printing problem. I have received some good advices to help me, so, probably, my problems are about to vanish.

All in one, this an excellent distro. I wouldn't wipe out all my Mint systems to install it, but if a get another machine for free, I will probably put a new doggie on it

nuagedeboucane wrote:Oh, from my point of view, it is not all perfect. Some edges are somehow a little rough. For example, if you want to add repos, you have to manualy edit config files. For a newbie like me, this is a little.... complicated.

True, but I think that is one of the great and unique things about Linux in general and Puppy in particular: you have to learn and get your hands dirty a bit to get things the way you want it.

I remember having to edit some files when I wanted my screen background black instead of gray but got all the info I needed off the puppy IRC channel (and now I wish I had written those steps down somewhere!).

I just downloaded Slacko 5.7 after running 5.3.3 for the past year or so and really looking forward to trying it out. I'm glad you are enjoying your Puppy experience!

I'm what I guess you'd call a "moderately knowledgeable n00b."

I go back to the DOS days, so I've been comfortable with the CLI right from day one, and I've been running Ubuntu as my daily driver from 2007 until a couple of months ago. I'd had the metaphorical cup of coffee with Fedora before that, and Knoppix, but settled on Ubuntu because Gnome felt comfortable. I basically used Ubuntu for seven years without *needing* to learn much about Linux in general, because I was perfectly happy to Google things when I had a problem, and cut/paste 'em into Terminal.

Unfortunately, when Canonical updated the stack in 12.04, it borked my (always problematic) NVidia drivers. I updated to 14.04, since many reviews said that ran faster than the older versions, but it proved not to be the case with my hardware. I've been using LXLE instead for the past couple of months, and it's been perfectly adequate, but sometimes choked on my dual-monitor setup.

Last week I tried a frugal install of TahrPup, just 'cause. I installed from USB, which caused one minor inconvenience. The installer provides an option for finding the ISO on an installation CD, but not on a USB stick. I tried using the "browse for file" function in the installer to find my downloaded ISO, but I was too tired and cranky to feel my way through the filesystem. Instead, I opened up sda1 and copied the ISO to my desktop. After that, the installer found it without even asking and the install whizzed right through. Easy-peasey.

I wasn't entirely enthralled with the default JWM (I'll play around with it some more, and try to get it tweaked to please me), so I've also installed LXPupTahr. I'm really liking that. Both Pups run like hot spit on my 8yo HP, with a dual-core AMD Turion (2GB RAM, NVidia GeForce 7150M).

Responding to the question upthread, I think Ubuntu/Unity is arguably the most user-friendly for anyone coming to Linux without a predisposition to any other OS's way of doing things. My parents just bought their first computer recently, and I was seriously tempted to install it for them. For anyone steeped in the traditional Windows layout (or Gnome, I guess) Mint/Cinnamon is pretty smooth.

I'll try to provide more detailed feedback re: the first-time experience over the next week or two, while everything is still fresh in my mind.

Pelo wrote:Lot of people will not try Puppy (or Linux) because everything is english written or spoken. newbie means from outside Linux, in my opinion and outside development.
That is the reason why non native English spoken people don't try or stay in Linux.

Yes, this is a big problem!

If I hadn't found the Muppy 008.3F -which came completely in German interface- probably I would have never ever tried Linux in general or Puppy Linux especially.

After around one year of using Muppy 008.3F I was just on the search for some updated/newer versions of its applications as I've had entered the forum. Though I found there was not much help to be found in the German section of the forum, so I was in the need to refresh the fragments of my English knowledge.

After all it was worth the effort and my fun and joy in using my LazY Puppy of course will continue - even if I would disappear from development and from the forum completely.

I'll agree that language is an issue. I can understand that someone finding limited support in their native language would be turned off.

But what can you do about it though, aside from providing space for specific-language-speakers to find each other? For example, I know English quite well, so I'm going to continue to post and read with such; I'm not about to deploy my much-more-limited French to proactively start a post in French. (I do occasionally read them when the topic is interesting).

Puppy is a small community, it's a very niche distro and so the likelihood of having, say, 5 people who regularly post in Finnish is small.

Of course this is not an issue just for Puppy. The majority of internet content is in English, so it's advantageous to pick up at least some command of English to access it. But people choose to do that on the margin: there are plenty of Chinese people who will never learn English and are quite happy exclusively to access the large Chinese-language Internet.

I’m glad Puppy doesn’t run on phones.

I like computers. They have proper displays, proper input devices like keyboards and mice. They can't fit in my pocket. They can’t bother me when I’m driving or at other inappropriate times.

My 2cents.

Look up Android Puppy (not the advert one)

Burn_IT wrote:Look up Android Puppy (not the advert one)

If puppy does run on android I can look forward to people t-boning me while they edit sys files in geany.

I have a Kobo Book reader and I'm looking to run Linux/Puppy on that.
I believe it uses Android.

Burn_IT wrote:I have a Kobo Book reader and I'm looking to run Linux/Puppy on that.
I believe it uses Android.

What would be the benefit?

Maybe I'll learn something from your reasoning.

It is limited to reading books, web access, and either Chess or Sudoku

There a loads of other Linux Stuff that it could run on it. It has 256Mb of memory, backed by an easily updated MicroSD 2Gb internal card which holds the ROM? and user storage and up to 32Gb external MicroSD for extended user storage.
It has built in Wifi and a Micro USB adapter.
The screen is 800x600 E Ink touch sensitive

There is terrific potential there that is not being exploited.