Internet Tablet Hacker Edition pushed at Chinook level

There are two new releases of the Internet Tablet Hacker Edition but READ CAREFULLY before starting to download:

• If you are adventurous power user willing to try out unstable releases then go for it and get Chinook/OS2008 level software in your 770. Don't miss the known issues and instructions below.
• If you are a more conservative user and/or you want your 770 to be as reliable as it is now, then you are encouraged to keep using the last HE software based on Bora/OS2007. There is now a patched version allowing the change of language, a fix relevant to those users willing to have the interface in a language different than English.

About making Chinook/OS2008 fit in the 770: it has not been easy and the result is not fully satisfactory. All built-in applications start and run including VoIP but overall the device is not responsive and reliable enough for serious usage.

Hardware limitations are clear in certain circumstances, extra swap memory is required to get a decent performance, the device reboots from time to time... This release is definitely not recommended to end users and not even to users depending on this device alone. We are releasing it to show how far we have gone but for us this is a proof that the Hacker Edition has reached its limit. Still, the maemo community might find it interesting and some of you perhaps want to experiment with it. This release goes for you.

Known issues

• Browser works nicely but there is no Flash.
• Music player works nicely but video playback is unreliable.
• It needs at least 16 MB of swap memory in the external memory card, much better if you allocate more.
• No serious test has been done on third party applications. Some work, some don't. For example Maemo Mapper works, while Canola doesn't even boot.

Instructions to mount a swap partition on the external memory

Get root permissions (sudo gainroot) and then edit the file /etc/osso-af-init/af-defines.sh:

-export INTERNAL_MMC_MOUNTPOINT=/media/mmc2
+export INTERNAL_MMC_MOUNTPOINT=/media/mmc1

Then reboot, and the Memory Applet will allow swap creation.

Brave 770 hackers enjoy! (all the rest you probably want to keep your current HE version)