User:NeoAmsterdam: Difference between revisions

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* Introduced to OLPC via Lilug (sp. by [http://www.j5live.com J5]'s [http://www.archive.org/details/LILUG_20070508_OLPC demo] at [http://lilug.org LILUG])
* Introduced to OLPC via Lilug (sp. by [http://www.j5live.com J5]'s [http://www.archive.org/details/LILUG_20070508_OLPC demo] at [http://lilug.org LILUG])
* XO received on 2008/Mar/21 and it survived graduate school<br />(a bit dirty and the battery life's reduced a bit, but otherwise intact)
* XO received on 2008/Mar/21 and it survived graduate school<br />(a bit dirty and the battery life's reduced a bit, but otherwise intact)
* <s>As of 2009/Sep/03, trying to figure out what caused the battery to fail (XO still functions on AC adapter)</s>The battery sprang back to life on 2010/Jan/07, and I'm trying to figure out why.
* <s>As of 2009/Sep/03, trying to figure out what caused the battery to fail (XO still functions on AC adapter)</s><br />The battery sprang back to life on 2010/Jan/07. I have no idea what happened.
* 2010/Feb/12: Revising the usage notes on this page (should be completed in a few days).
* 2010/Mar/01: Overhauled this page.


= Tricks and Techniques =
-----
* [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Installing build 8.0.2 to a bootable SD card|Install build 8.0.2 to a bootable SD card]]
* [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Installing build 8.0.2 to a bootable SD card|Install build 8.0.2 to a bootable SD card]]
* [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Reconfigure XoIRC's defaults|Reconfigure XoIRC's defaults]]

* [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Customize Mini vMac's disk image|Customize Mini vMac's disk image]]
-----


= Usage Notes =
So that others can enhance their XO experience (read: fix all those pains in the <tt style="font-size: smaller">root</tt>), I'm listing here a few tweaks that I've employed.

<!--{{olpcboxtop|toptext=}}
{{ OBX activity |[[Image:activity-terminal.svg|42px]]|core}}
{{olpcboxbottom}}-->
== Installing a Text Editor ==
All of the following tweaks will need a text editor, such as <tt style="font-size: smaller;">emacs</tt>, <tt style="font-size: smaller;">vi</tt>, <tt style="font-size: smaller;">pico</tt>, or <tt style="font-size: smaller;">nano</tt>. You will also need a bit of command prompt savvy, such as <tt style="font-size: smaller;">cd</tt>, <tt style="font-size: smaller;">cp</tt>, and the meaning of <tt style="font-size: smaller;">~/</tt>.

If your preferred text editor is not available, you can install it using ''[[yum]]'' as follows:
# Open the '''[[Terminal]]''' activity
# Click the '''Activity''' tab at the top of the '''Terminal''' window
# Click the '''Become Root''' button in the upper right-hand side of the '''Activity''' tab<br />If your build does not have the '''Become Root''' button, type <tt>su</tt> to become the root user
# Type <tt>yum list "*<u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">name of text editor to be searched</u>*"</tt> and press [[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]<br />This will search through the list of ready-made programs (also called "precompiled binaries") to see if your preferred text editor is available for installation.<br />There may be varieties of your preferred text editor available for installation. Keep in mind that graphical versions of programs will run at a high resolution and be less legible as a result (I'm thinking specifically of <tt style="font-size: smaller;">xemacs</tt>, <tt style="font-size: smaller;">emacs</tt>, and <tt style="font-size: smaller;">emacs-nox</tt>).<br />For the record, I installed <tt style="font-size: smaller;">emacs-nox</tt>.
# When you've found your preferred text editor in the list, type <tt>yum install "<u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">name of text editor to be installed</u>"</tt> and press [[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]<br />The XO will make sure that all the programs that your text editor needs will be installed as well. Once that phase is complete, '''yum''' will ask for your approval of its to-do list.
# When '''yum''' completes the installation, type <tt>exit</tt> and press [[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]] to return to your normal user status.
Your text editor should now be available from the command prompt. If you have installed an editor other than <tt style="font-size: smaller;">emacs</tt>, use ''its'' name in the instructions instead.

<!--{{Olpcboxtop|toptext=}}
{{OBX activity|[[Image:Xoirc.svg]]|2=extra|3=An [[IRC]] client based on [http://urk.sourceforge.net/ URK]}}-->
{{User irc | NeoAmsterdam |#olpc #sugar }}
<!--{{olpcboxbottom}}-->

== [[XoIRC]] ==
=== Setting the Default Nickname ===
'''XoIRC''''s page states that "''to make your default IRC nickname match your default XO nickname''" you can apply a patch, but it appears (as of 2008-01-11) that the link to the patch is dead. Here's how to get around it:

# Open the '''[[Terminal]]''' activity
# Locate <tt>XoIRC.activity/</tt> folder.<br />I found it at <tt>~/Activites/XoIRC.activity/</tt>, but it may be stored elsewhere on your XO.
# <tt>cd <u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">path to</u>/XoIRC.activity/purk/</tt>[[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]
# <tt> emacs irc.py</tt>[[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]
# Look for a line that reads <tt style="font-size: smaller;">nicks = [user_nick]</tt><br />I found it on line 71.
# Insert the following on the line immediately afterwards: <tt>nicks = [<u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">your preferred nickname</u>]</tt>[[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]
# Save the file and exit your editor.<br />'''XoIRC''' will now use your preferred nickname.

Note that your IRC server may complain about your chosen nickname if the nickname had been registered or is in use by someone else. This workaround does not address that potential problem.

=== Setting the Default IRC Server and Channel ===
'''XoIRC''' will connect to <tt style="font-size: smaller;">irc.freenode.net</tt> by default. Even though '''XoIRC''' is based on '''urk''', '''XoIRC''' seems to have disabled support for the '''urk.conf''' configuration file. Moreover, '''urk''''s documentation states that its settings can be altered with <tt style="font-size: smaller;">/pyeval</tt> statements in the IRC text input window. This also seems to have been disabled. Here's how to get around this limitation:

# Open the '''[[Terminal]]''' activity
# Locate <tt>XoIRC.activity/</tt> folder.<br />I found it at <tt>~/Activites/XoIRC.activity/</tt>, but it may be stored elsewhere on your XO.
# <tt>cd <u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">path to</u>/XoIRC.activity/</tt>[[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]
# <tt>emacs xoircactivity.py</tt>[[Image:Key enter.jpg|24px]]
# Look for a line that reads <tt style="font-size: smaller;">client.join_server('irc.freenode.net')</tt><br />I found it on line 37.
# Change the contents of the line to read <tt style="font-size: smaller;">client.join_server('<u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">your preferred IRC server</u>')</tt>
# Look for a line that reads <tt style="font-size: smaller;">client.add_channel('#olpc-help')</tt>
# Change the contents of the line to read <tt style="font-size: smaller;">client.join_server('#<u style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: smaller; font-variant: italic;">channel on server</u>')</tt> to automatically join on startup.<br />I have ''not'' tested '''XoIRC''' without this line, but I suspect that commenting out this line (by beginning the line with a <tt>#</tt>) will trip up '''XoIRC''' and cause it to crash.
# Save the file and exit your editor.<br />'''XoIRC''' will now use your preferred IRC server and autojoin you to your preferred channel.
You can tell '''XoIRC''' to autojoin other channels from within the program by right-clicking a channel's tab and selecting '''Autojoin'''

=== Automating NickServe/Identifications ===
I haven't figured that out yet. You will have to <tt>/msg NickServ</tt> manually.

<!--{{Olpcboxtop|toptext=}}
{{OBX activity|[[Image:minivmac.svg]]|extra|A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Plus Mac Plus] emulator based on [http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/ Mini vMac]}}
{{Olpcboxbottom}}-->
= Mini vMac =
=== Changing the Default Disk Image ===
Still figuring it out, but it probably involves <tt style="font-size: smaller;">MiniVMac.activity/bin/minivmacactivity</tt> . If not, overwriting the supplied disk image may be the only other option.

Revision as of 14:26, 1 March 2010

Chronology

  • G1G1 donor 2007
  • Introduced to OLPC via Lilug (sp. by J5's demo at LILUG)
  • XO received on 2008/Mar/21 and it survived graduate school
    (a bit dirty and the battery life's reduced a bit, but otherwise intact)
  • As of 2009/Sep/03, trying to figure out what caused the battery to fail (XO still functions on AC adapter)
    The battery sprang back to life on 2010/Jan/07. I have no idea what happened.
  • 2010/Mar/01: Overhauled this page.

Tricks and Techniques

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