Install the HP webOS SDK on Debian 6 Squeeze

Quick instructions on how to install HP's webOS SDK (software development kit) on Debian 6 Squeeze x86_64. I was a little bored and was reading about webOS...

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list to add the VirtualBox repo and enable contrib and non-free for your favorite Debian repo line. The lines we care about look something like this:

deb http://mirror.rit.edu/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian \
squeeze contrib non-free

Grab the Oracle apt signing key and install it with a:

sudo apt-key add oracle_vbox.asc

Run a quick update for aptitude (or apt-get if you prefer):

sudo aptitude update

Install the needed packages (Java6 JDK [you supposedly only need the JRE but I'm using the JDK as well], VirtualBox 3.2, and ia32 libraries [only on 64 bit]):

sudo aptitude install sun-java6-jdk virtualbox-3.2 ia32-libs

Grab a copy of HP/Palm's novacom and the actual SDK (be wary, it's 185MB in size) in deb format.

And, finally, install both of those:

sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture \
palm-sdk_2.1.0-svn409992-pho519_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i --force-architecture palm-novacom_1.0.64_amd64.deb

As the novacom package provided by Palm/HP uses Upstart as found on Ubuntu (Debian doesn't), you have to start the novacom daemon yourself. It can be found in /opt/Palm/novacom/novacomd. Novacom should allow you to push apps into the virtual machine for testing, Palm/HP don't want you messing with the file system in weird ways.

To launch the emulator, fire up a console and run palm-emulator. It will first build the virtual machine and then launch it. Use the escape button (on your keyboard) to go back, the end button acts like the button on the phone, and home does something (sort of like end, but not sure why it's different). Clicking and dragging are just like your finger would do.

Enjoy! :)

Pretty picture below:

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Expectations and the i.MX53 QSB "Lab" Session

My expectations were high for the Freescale i.MX53 lab session that was held this morning. I was excited! The agenda had items like Linux on the i.MX53! LTIB! Android development on the i.MX53! and free lunch!

My expectations were not realized.
There was free lunch but I left.

The morning consisted of a lecture by a very nice and smart guy about general embedded Linux things and the i.MX53 QSB hardware. No fault on him but the material was way too basic. I was expecting to get right into using LTIB and learning about the LTIB configuration and build system and how it applies to the i.MX53. I don't have much experience with LTIB but we didn't really do much with it other than run a script and look at some options in the menuconfig interface.

Those who felt comfortable with embedded Linux were given the serial cables and SDcards so they could play during the lecture. I tried to do the Ubuntu demo but just loading it onto the SDcard must have taken a good hour. Then the USB to serial converter decided to not play nice with VMware Workstation (host machines were Ubuntu 10.10 in a VM on top of Windows). And then once the demo finished loading and I booted it... It's Ubuntu! What's the fun of that? What did I learn? Nothing.

SDcards are slow. But that's another topic all together.

I then played a little with LTIB but I didn't like it. I felt like I had no control over the choices. I'm not sure if that is LTIB's fault or Freescale's fault. We didn't have a connection to the Internet so there was no way for me to use any sources other than what was provided. Regardless, it was a type the following few lines, look at some options that have already been selected, push go. One thing I really disliked was that the LTIB menuconfig had almost no help for options that were vague. That's not cool.

I did meet a nice guy name Jon who works for a local company doing board support packages for custom embedded boards, that was cool. But overall, I wish I hadn't gone. It was nice out today so I did the next best thing and left at lunch to mow the lawn. Way better use of my vacation day.

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The TuxedoBoard has a Brain! (picked out)

I've chosen an ARM SoC (system on chip) for the TuxedoBoard! The Texas Instruments AM1707 ARM9 core will meet my requirements.

The AM1707 is a 456-MHz ARM926EJ-S SoC that has an internal Ethernet MAC, multiple UARTs (serial ports), an external memory interface for a 32 bit wide SDRAM bus supporting up to 256MB RAM, an external NOR flash memory interface multiplexed with an SD card controller, USB, an LCD interface, and a few other interesting features.

In keeping with the stated goals for the TuxedoBoard project, the schematic capture and layout will be done with Kicad. Kicad supports both Windows and Linux and is covered by the GPLv2 license. I'm currently using the 20100314 release as that's what comes with Debian 6.

I'm in the process of creating the schematic symbols for the AM1707. I'm new to Kicad and I was not able to find an already made symbol with a permissive license, so this is taking a little time. I've made the power symbol and the EMIF_A (external NOR flash / SD card interface) symbol. Some pretty pictures of what I've got so far:

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