How to improve our Linux images?

[olimex]

hi friends

I open this topic for feed back about what and how to improve in our Linux images.
The topic with the wishlist was useful and we implemented almost all suggestions we got, it takes a bit of time to update all images for all boards we have but this is because extensive testing is necessary and our resources are limited.

Now I would love to hear what would you suggest to improve with the images.

Should we enable DHCP or use fixed IP for the Ethernet, do you see something wrong with the current default configurations etc.

We want to make the image as user friendly as possible and more eyes and more heads think better and see better.

Thanks
Tsvetan

[JohnS]

You cannot please everyone e.g. some want DHCP and others do not.  Some want a GUI, others none, others want a way out Linux version that no-one else uses.  Similarly, some want a lean and small image, others want every package under the sun.  You really cannot do it all.

What's very useful and you do quite a bit of already is to have detailed How Tos right from fetching source/packages through compile/build and then install & boot.  (Not that people seem able to find things!)

John

[olimex]

many people compare OLinuXino with Raspberry PI and all people say that we have better hardware which cost less if we compare all features (SATA, LiPo charger, native Ethernet) and if these are add to RPi their price will be higher than LIME

one of the argument I hear pro Raspberry PI is how easy to use is Raspberry Pi, we do not have one to see, this is why I'm asking here our customers, what they think should be improved in the Linux images to make them more user friendly and easy to use

if there are RPi users I would love to hear how they compare and what they think we should improve

[Marc Coussement]

Here is my vote for port/installation guide for Mono so we can start programming for C#

Debian support for on board Flash, uSD makes the system more expensive and reduce the mechanical reliability.

Guide, howto for building a minimum sized debian uSD.

Marc,

[martinayotte]

A good idea will be to provide both accelerated and non-acceleted video kernel images.
And/or to make sure that all softwares run fine in accelerated mode, such as GStreamer.
(because that one of the reasons I'm still using non-accelerated Rev5 image, the GStreamer on Rev7 doesn't work)

[bizdelnick]

Hi!
I'd like to have no X session for root user. And, best of all, root login locked. Then, it would be great to minimize number of customizations in .bashrc, rc.local etc. They just make system behavior unpredictable, and sometimes it is very difficult to find out the reason. The normal way to change something is to install some package (e. g. nodm in Debian for running X session automatically) or editing configuration files (or using dpkg-reconfigure in Debian case). But adding scripts running automatically can confuse experienced users and make it difficult to disable or change something when needed.

Thank you for your great work!

[hika]

I am a Raspberry Pi user and I have got a A20-OLinuXino as media server/player.

I agree you have better hardware but RPi has more images (Debian, Fedora, Arch, OpenElec...) and they are more up to date (Debian Jessie is installed on my RPi). An official Arch Linux image (and why not a Firefox OS one ^^) would be great.

Another improvement would be to allow more HDMI resolutions. For instance we can't use 1680x1050 over HDMI and that's a common resolution.

Thanks for your work and sorry for my poor english...

[kathikis]

A good idea will be to provide both accelerated and non-acceleted video kernel images.
And/or to make sure that all softwares run fine in accelerated mode, such as GStreamer.
(because that one of the reasons I'm still using non-accelerated Rev5 image, the GStreamer on Rev7 doesn't work)

And subtitle support.

[njeremic]

Hey forum
i have Rpi (since 2 months) and olimex A20 micro (since 1 week)
i liked about Rpi is better configuration script (rasp-config or something like that) - witch made i very easy and quick to setup the system for user needs (resolution, audio, ssh, boot to cli or desktop...) and i menaged in 1 afternoon to have a working system based on my needs (i use puredata and do some music/audio/synthesis/dsp stuff)
i still dont have a working system on my new a20 (after a week) - only 1 image was working for me (the official r7 debian) and many things necessary for me dont work good (midi does not work at all, alsa works but puredata not, jack does not work - i can only play audio files) so im still fighting with it

so for improvement better configuration scripts for debian with configuration for:
boot to cli or desktop
audio to headphones or hdmi
more hdmi resolutions
ssh+network setup
maybe some boot process setup (everybody needs some other services running and some not...)

hope this helps
best
niko
 

[HenningA]

Hi,

here are some of my ideast/thougts:

-I'd love to see out of the box support for the UEXT-modules: driver + command line tool or python lib. It took me quite some time to get my mod-lcd3310 running. I think it would be nice to get the UEXT-modules up and running easily, especially all the sensors. Nobody wants to recompile the kernel/modules before being able to use them

-I think for Android there is an App (never used android on the board) to toggle all GPIOs or show all inputs, test I2C. It would be great to have something similar witg debian

-please include the kernel sources and config in the immages or at least as package so one can compile modules more easily

[mongrol]

I'm not an Olimex board owner yet but I fully intend to buy a A20 LIME2 once they are available. I'm really impressed by the community support and involvement coming out of Olimex. That said, here's my feedback.

I'd the Debian image to be as close to the vanilla debian installer experience as much as possible. It should by default stick to loading only free software functional components with any binary blob driven components as an option. This means by default a slimmed downm, headless install probably ethernet only.

Then add options to install a desktop (e.g tasksel-xfce).
Accelerated desktop (mali binary blobs)
Wifi (more blobs)
etc.

Much easier to start with trusted build and add compromising blobs than trying to unpick them afterwards.

[Mouchon]

may be a full duplex working spi for the a20 based board , i was not able to get it working

[Marc Coussement]

A serial driver able to handle Tx enable for RS-485 half duplex without external logic.
It is standard in Windows Embedded Compact (WinCE).

Marc,

[cro]

This means by default a slimmed downm, headless install probably ethernet only.

Then add options to install a desktop (e.g tasksel-xfce).
Accelerated desktop (mali binary blobs)
Wifi (more blobs)
etc.

Much easier to start with trusted build and add compromising blobs than trying to unpick them afterwards.

This!

Maybe there could be a wizard at the first boot.
What about an own repository for olimex specific tools?

[tlhingan]

Desktop rotation for the touchscreen on Debian.
All methods I have tried for desktop rotation freeze the device as soon as I touch the touchscreen.
We had to switch to a BeagleBoneBlack to complete our project on time.