QEMU BNN emulation video on YouTube

Paul Boddie paul at boddie.org.uk
Sat Sep 15 13:17:48 EDT 2012


On Saturday 15 September 2012 16:52:56 Ron K. Jeffries wrote:
> Is this qi-hardware list still working? I'm baffled by the near silence
> regarding Ben Nanonote software running over QEMU.

It's interesting to read about it, but I'm somewhat more occupied with...

1. Getting USB devices to work on the NanoNote using USB/IP (USB over TCP/IP), 
and then considering using something less than a full personal computer to be 
the USB host controller (device provider), which probably means changing the 
usbip driver to use a different form of communication. This may end up with 
some Arduino prototyping being done, so there's hardware and software hacking 
involved.

2. Configuring Debian/Emdebian to provide a decent experience on the NanoNote. 
I was very recently using the NanoNote "on the road" and managed to find a 
number of things that need to be fixed up, in addition to various package 
fixes such as making the Vorbis support use the integer decoding libraries. 
Using Debian means that I can draw on a huge selection of mostly ready-to-run 
and well-maintained packages rather than having to figure out how to bring 
upstream software up to date myself.

3. Actually writing software that takes advantage of the device and its form 
factor.

I've only recently purchased this device and have been building up some 
experience with it, but I think that it's necessary to do that first and then 
consider how it may be expanded or improved. As I may have written before, I 
was only distantly following the introduction of the NanoNote, being aware of 
it from having followed the OpenMoko initiative, and I seem to remember 
various people being somewhat dismissive of the project's achievements, but I 
think it offers a good starting point for experimentation and as a jumping 
off point for other open hardware platforms that such people fail to 
appreciate.

Then again, I think that some people are too accustomed to having things 
served up for them in a form determined by a large organisation, being told 
what to like by such organisations, and then using their time and energy to 
complain about the bits they don't like instead of taking control and doing 
something for themselves.

Paul




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