Category: Uncategorized

Some of the latest things I’ve been working on with my NSLU2 Debian-install ‘Slug’ has been mostly tweaking.

Last couple days, due to discussion on #libsl, I got curious and decided to get the second account I use for freenode IRC network working again. (I use a separate user login for each ircnet under irssi so that I’m *positive* not to post to the wrong channel (an unfortunate and common mistake for awhile).

I’ve so far parked myself (within freenode) on #secondlifelug, #commits (god what a mistake that is), and the three main nslu2/openslug channels. So if you happen to see tkimball there, wave hi. ;) Next up is what they call over there a ‘cloak,’ which should hide my IP as well as denote anything I’m working on (or even one of the folks who’s donated to freenode itself, which I’m considering).

For those who’s wondering where I am on EFNet nowadays, its just #libsl now. Though I poke my head into #secondlife from time to time, it’s gotten too popular now and just wanders too much. Oh, and God Forbid the grid goes down (which has sadly been a common occurance the last two weeks…)

Note I’m using irssi over dtach, so it’s very possible that I won’t respond for hours or days. I’m not logging any of the freenode channels either, but only #commits is insanely scrolling. Can’t help much with the slug stuff anyway, since I’m now using Debian (and very happy with that btw), but never a bad thing to follow what’s happening code-wise or even physical hacking wise. For example, some months ago I successfully overclocked (actually de-underclocked) the ARM CPU by carefully opening the case and breaking a specific resistor; Since many over time reported that was not too bad to do, I went and did it. :)

Anyway, back to relaxing…

–TSK

For those following this insane saga, I’ve now moved on to the Debian ARM install of Linux on the NSLU2 NAS unit. And now have both a stable working ‘slug’ and irssi with the perl module.

About time. Really!

Since this is a fully functional port of Linux, complete with packages, I’ve set aside *why* I was doing this in the first place to get a backup of this weblog running. Priorities. ;)

Actually, part of this is to learn web-based stuff that would be useful for work. Even though our Apache stuff is normally Solaris-based, the actual web-side stuff like CGIs are still the same.

Of course, I’ve still got to locate a semi-current screen-irssi config so I can get that back online properly too.

:link:

–TSK

For those first hearing about this little adventure, I wanted a little box to run irssi off of, that was inexpensive, low-power, and the flexibility of a Linux box.

So I got a Linksys NSLU2 NAS, and re-flashed it with a special Embedded Linux kernel (Google for OpenSlug).

Well, it worked, but irssi was horribly hobbled (in particular no Perl support), and several attempts to rectify the problem with my own cross-compiles failed miserably. But in the end, I always had something that worked at least; Just not the way I wanted it – I didn’t have the full Linux functionality to draw from.

So, today, I’m working on placing Gentoo on the Slug, as its affectionately known. Link is [here][GentooSlug].

So far, so good. I think. honestly, its a bit hard to tell currently. I do have emerge compiling and adding vim (from within the initial chroot – I’ve not rebooted yet), which is a heck of a lot better then the LAST time I tried this (The Sager notebook; see Comp Specs in sidebar for what it is). This may actually work, and give me a copy of irssi I finally need for my purposes.

Heh. It’s another form of Cautious Optimism I suppose. ;)

Anyway, looks like its also time for another catagory, as this is the third or fourth post on the subject. Stay tuned…

–TSK

[GentooSlug]: http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Linksys_NSLU2

Strike two. Irssi normal code compiles fine, even with all the options I sent it.

Bah.

Well, there is still the DebianSlug and similar releases for my little box. Or make it a full-fledged IRC bouncer of some sort (one that connects via SSL/HTTPS).

Still looking…

–Alan