Thursday, January 17, 2013

How do I know which MP3 players can boot a linux live cd?

Q. My current mp3 player cannot be used to boot a linux distro, it seems, after a few approaches.

So, I'd like to know which MP3 players can boot a linux distro when plugged into a PC (live cd).

Even better, how can I tell that an MP3 player is bootable in this way? There seems to be no mention of this possibility in any round-up guides, or in the specs.

A. Some might be able to do micro C linux (uCLinux), but not can boot from any live CD that I know of. Some Tablets with a ARM processor can run Ubuntu, but the isntall is a bit weird. You have to root the device and then write a Ubuntu user space onto the drive, but leaver the kernel and boot loader intact.

RockBox offers OSS firmware that can run on many MP3 players, improving their functionality.

Will all the vista tablet pc components work in XP or ubuntu?
Q. I'm using an HP Touchsmart tx2-1020us tablet pc that runs on vista 64 which it came with. I was wondering if I switched to xp or ubuntu if all off the programs for for handwriting recognition and all the other tablet pc components would still work in either one of them. Basically, I can't stand Vista but I want to keep all the tablet functionality.Thanks.

A. No, they will not work in either XP or Ubuntu.

Linux, I have heard, does have *some* tablet support apps floating around but they are nowhere as comprehensive as what is found in XP or Vista.

MS made many changes to the TabletPC apps in Vista. TabletPC components are now integrated into the Vista OS and are definitely superiors to the XP versions.

In XP, you got WinXP Pro and the TPC components were "shell" apps that ran on top of XP, external to the OS.

On a TPC Vista is definitely the OS to run. Vista is actually quite good. The problem is the third party software developers who have not cleaned up their code to run efficiently or correctly in Vista. And many 3rd party hardware manufacturers have made absolutely horrible device drivers which cause all sorts of problems. I guess that's what you get when you pay someone in Bangalore $1/hour to write your drivers...

And you state you have the 64 bit version as well. Way too many software developers have ignored the 64 bit system and stuck writing apps only for the 32 bit OS. That will be your biggest problem...

If you do want to downgrade to XP Tablet Edition you need to know that XP TE was OEM only. You cannot buy the TabletPC version of XP anywhere except from the manufacturers.

If you're a true geek you can load XP Pro and find all the required apps to create a TPC, but it's a very difficult task to do so. It's much easier to contact HP.

My suggestion would actually be to wait for Windows 7 to arrive and upgrade to it. It will fully support the multi-touch screen on the TX2 which XP will not.

What operating systems are compatible with tablet pcs?
Q. I'm looking to buy a tablet pc on ebay and figure that after i can upgrade the os. I just don't know which ones will be compatible with it.

A. The only OS's that have the complete TabletPC functionality built-in are WinXP Pro Tablet Edition and Vista. And even with these you generally have to have the proper restore disks to prevent digging around the 'net for some device drivers.

There are TabletPC's running Mac OS and Linux, but there is no "package" that loads what you need, You would have to find all the Tablet screen and pen device drivers, all the handwriting recognition software, all the internal server apps, etc yourself to "build" the TPC system.

Vista is a great OS for TPC's, but upgrading to Vista can be problematic as many machines designed to originally run XP won't have the hardware specs to run Vista well. Maxxing out your RAM will help but most TPC's do not have upgradeable video cards.

You'll probably be Ok with anything current from the last 3 - 4 years provided you don't want to run Aero effects, etc in Vista.



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