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[jewelie]

Hiya

Lots of folk talking about getting the Opera Browser working on the SuperCard, or what homebrew stuff out is being developed for browsing the web...

...but how many folk have actually picked up on how useable "links" (not retawq) is on DS Linux, already, right now.  (Note, I'm talking about "links", not "retawq" -- "links" is an alternative one that works better but needs more memory -- something the supercard can provide.)

DS Linux can now use the extra 32Mb of RAM on SuperCards, and in the latest builds the "links" browser seems to be quite stable.  Although it isn't rendering graphics yet ('tho I dare say it will do soon I imagine, as the standard links source code IS designed for graphics), it does otherwise render a text page neatly, has working JavaScript, and SSL for secure connections.  Good enough for the vast majority of sites.  It's menu driven (press ESC to get the menu.)  Can't wait to see it rendering graphics -- been using another version of Links (called LinksBox) on the XBox for ages, so I know how well it can work.  

If anyone wants a play, grab the latest "dslinux-ram.tar.gz" build from www.dslinux.org.  Though wish they'd use rar or zip, as not many folk are going to have tar & gz on their windows boxes.  Just uncompress the archive and pop the files on the root of your filesystem.

The default configuration of links isn't exactly optimal -- I found that enabling the original/standard/(insecure) referer option helps with compatibility, and enabling color & linux frames works well.  Also, turning javascript off unless you really want it seems to speed things up.

It's still "alpha", but its definitely getting there, and if you're prepared to fiddle a bit, its definitely very useable.  

Bye...

[PharaohsVizier]

Damn, DS Linux doesn't work on my router, the wifi.

[tennisgy]

so "Links" is built into the latest DS Linux Download?

[PharaohsVizier]

I don't understand how to put DSLinux on my card.  I opened the download and it has a file with no extension....

[NT]

Damn, DS Linux doesn't work on my router, the wifi.

Try switching from Open System WEP to Shared Key or vice versa.  I know that it supports one but not the other.

Also, WinRAR handles tar.gz files very well.

[PharaohsVizier]

Ummm, yea I'm using WinRAR, I'm getting a file called dslinux-ram[1]  with no extension

[tennisgy]

i used zip, worked fine. How do I boot linux applications within dslinux
?

[PharaohsVizier]

Alright, i just put .zip to the last part and now it work.  I can't remember how to set up the network, and the writing is so damn small on the DS, anyone have any tips?

[jewelie]

NOTE: EDITED

DSLinux + Links: Mini Tutorial

Downloading:

Ready to go files available on the dslinux website (//www.dslinux.org, downloads section).  The distro you want is dslinux-ram.tgz. Just extract it using something such as 7-zip from //www.7-zip.org.

Here's the direct link to the latest build for the Supercard + 32Mb memory extension-

http://kineox.free.fr/DS/dslinux-ram.tgz


Extracting:

If you've got a downloaded file that's just called "dslinux-ram" ('cos Internet Explorer has renamed it for you, how helpful)  then you probably need to rename it back to "dslinux-ram.tgz" (or "dslinux-ram.tar.gz" - they both work/mean the same.)

Changing the file extension to .zip won't help you if you're using regular windows compressed folders; XP and ME don't understand ".tar.gz" files (Explorer is being a pain and dropping the file extension after downloading.)  

You can extract the files with RARsoft's unrar, or alternatively, there's the completely free http://www.7-zip.org/ which installs a right-click-menu for extracting such files.  tar.gz files are VERY common in the Linux world, much more so than zip or rar.   I highly recommend 7-Zip, seems to work a treat.

Once you've extracted the files from the archive, pop the resulting "linux" directory into the root/bottom of your flashcard's filesystem. and the "dslinux.nds" file to wherever you like to keep your homebrew apps.

Test it by launching dslinux.nds on your NDS.  (You do NOT need to patch it or anything.)  Assuming it boots, you can turn it off neatly by entering "poweroff" (like Windows' Turn Off Computer/Shutdown -- if you don't do this you could theoretically end up corrupting some files if you were really unlucky.)


Configuring:

Assuming you've got a booting installation on your flashcard, you'll want to configure it.  

Whilst under linux, do the following

Code Select Expand


cd /etc/
cp rc.defaults rc.conf


Now, rc.conf is a text file for configuring dslinux.  NOTE: DO NOT EDIT THE FILE WITH WINDOWS, IT'LL MESS UP THE LINE-ENDS.  If you do, start afresh, sorry.  My bad for suggesting using notepad or wordpad previously.  Sorry sorry sorry guys.

Edit rc.conf whilst under linux using a fairly user friendly linux editor called "nano"-

Code Select Expand


nano /linux/etc/rc.conf


Pop your network settings in there, fairly straightforward if you know what they are; make sure you do enter them manually, dhcp (automatic/dynamic IP addresses) and picking the settings up from the firmware doesn't seem to work very well on most routers with dslinux.  You'll need to be using a static IP, and not DHCP (automatically assigned) addresses.  Also, remember to turn on network on boot (another option inside rc.conf).

Some example settings you might want to fiddle with (note, this is NOT a complete rc.conf file -- just an example of some of the settings you may
want to change to get the network working)....

Code Select Expand


# To enable the network when the machine starts up
enable_network_on_boot="YES"

# The broadcast "name" of your router, that comes up when you scan
# for a list of available connections in your area under WFC Settings
essid="YourRouterSSID"

# The channel used, probably 11
channel="11"

# If you're using WEP encryption, pop your wep key in
wepkey="YOURWEPKEYIFYOUAREUSINGWEP"

# The IP address that your NDS is to use
ip="192.168.0.123"

# The IP address of your router
gateway="192.168.0.1"

# The network mask of your network (you may have to check the router
# settings for this, if you've got an IP addresses like the above, this
# netmask is probably okay for you)
netmask="255.255.255.0"

# Again, if your IP address is of the 192.168.0.??? sort, then this will
# probably be correct for you
broadcast="192.168.0.255"

# Nameserver, this will either be the IP address of your router if its
# a nice helpful router than runs a nameservice, or alternatively the IP
# address of a DNS server that your ISP runs
dns1="192.168.0.1"


When you're done, press CTRL+X to exit nano.  Then press "Y" to save your changes.  Then "return" when it comes up with the filename to save to.

Then under the linux prompt enter

Code Select Expand


poweroff


to turn the NDS off, and try rebooting it, see if it works.

You may need to play with settings on your router, especially the WEP key type (Open/Shared/Automatic), and SSID Broadcast will probably need to be on.


The webrowser "links":

The "links" webbrowser is included in the DS Linux build designed to work with the supercard's extra built-in 32Mb RAM (i.e. "dslinux-ram.tgz" build.)

To start it, type either

Code Select Expand


links


or, to start by going directly to a website

Code Select Expand


links www.google.co.uk


Within the links browser, press ESC to get the menus.  

Note: When changing any settings (HTML options and other settings) remember to select the respective "Save settings" menu option to record the settings you've changed, otherwise it'll forget them.

Enjoy.


More info:

For more info, go to the DSLinux website //www.dslinux.org and have a look at the wiki there for some (admittedly, now getting a little out of date) instructions.


Hopefully this tutorial covers most points I missed when I first wrote it.  I will try to updated it when there's more questions... but for now, I MUST go out shopping and then I've got to meet my other half at the gym soon so byeeeeeeeeeeeeee  

[Vasco]

Please, please post a version already made for the SuperCard SD, and with that said, all the things needed to have it working, like pass to dslinux...

[bert]

thanks for this short tutorial.
boots fine for me now, but it seems i cant boot in network mode. i set the network boot cmd line to YES in the rc.conf file and yet it says


"not configuring network:
enable_network_on_boot is set to "YES

any ideas  :?:

[Vasco]

Cant find Host... any ideia ?
and i cant get the rc.conf    please explain better...

[jewelie]

Please, please post a version already made for the SuperCard SD, and with that said, all the things needed to have it working, like pass to dslinux...

EDITED

See the above edited mini-tutorial.

[jewelie]

thanks for this short tutorial.
boots fine for me now, but it seems i cant boot in network mode. i set the network boot cmd line to YES in the rc.conf file and yet it says


"not configuring network:
enable_network_on_boot is set to "YES

any ideas  :?:

EDITED

My bad... it'll be because you edited the rc.conf file under Windows, using Notepad or Wordpad, and its messed the line-ending characters up (linux needs UNIX style line-ends at the end of each line, M$ Windows, as usual, does it differently).  Sorry sorry sorry.  Start again afresh; note the edited tutorial above.

[Vasco]

It never finds a host... how can i configure my network ? i cant get the file rc.confi