Debian on the OUYA. Linux Based XBMC build not far away.

"The idea is not to touch Ouya’s Android at all. Kernel is booted from RAM and Debian from an SD card or USB stick.

The instructions for debootstrapping your own Debian Wheezy rootfs are described in the github repository and the needed binaries are in a temporary location that will probably change at some point.

WiFi is working as well but I’m not sure if the firmware binaries are redistributable, so you need to copy them from the Android rootfs after booting to Debian.

One of my main goals for this whole exercise is video encoding and I’m happy to say that H264 encoding from an USB webcam works nicely with hardware acceleration as well.

I’ve also noticed some issues:

• Hciconfig doesn’t show BT devices, I didn’t debug much further.
• Mpg123 seems to play but nothing is heard. Maybe it tries to pass MP3 onwards instead of PCM? GStreamer provides acceleration for MP3 and AAC though.
• Video acceleration works only with GStreamer and nvxvimagesink. Mplayer can’t even use XV video output correctly.
• Tegra3 supports only OpenGL ES 2.0 with EGL, so no full OpenGL with GLX.
• Xrandr seems to be able to switch the resolution but after the switch there was window decoration corruption.

Despite the deficiencies I think Tegra3 is quite well supported in the X.Org world and many things work well with this 99$ device."

"Playing 1080p H264 while running glmark2-es, an OpenGL ES benchmark. And the CPUFreq ondemand governor doesn’t even raise the CPU frequency from the minimum as everything is properly accelerated."

Now this build is still a bit buggy and risky, but it does open the doors to further development that could open up the true power of the OUYA, and not just some low end gaming device. Keep from messing to much around with your OUYA since it is atleast a great deal easier to brick because it lags the hardware to boot into recovery. 

A button has also been discovered in the final OUYA hardware. Unfortunantly it does not let you boot into anything else but NVIDIA's state, where you can't really do anything without the 128 bit encrypted code. 

via Tuomas Kulve

Running Emulators on the OUYA

Seeing that a lot of people are taking their first steps into the world of Android with the low end gaming console OUYA, i thought that a rough guide to emulation on the Android OS is in order. Since the OUYA does not have access to the Google Play store you will need to sideload the emulators and game ROMS. Sideloading is directly installing .apk files, where .apk files is the installation files of a game or application in the Android OS. Like a .exe file on Windows. To sideload you need to first acquire the .apk file and place it on a memory stick or card. In case of the OUYA you will need to place the files on a USB memory stick.


What follows is a short list of links to the most popular emulators:
Note that there are usually more than one emulator for a platform. Try them out to see what works best for you. There is also some emulators for Android in the OUYA store.

Nintendo 64:

N64Droid

N64Oid 2.7

Games


Playstation 1:

psx4droid[3.0.5]

FPse [0.10.45]

Games

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES):

Snesoid 2.2.4

SnesDroid 1.0

Games

SEGA Genesis / SEGA Megadrive:

Gensoid 2.4.3

Games

Gameboy Advance:

GBAOid 2.4.7

Games

The files is in Zip and RAR format and needs to be unpacked on your PC first. Then transfer the .apk files to your USB memory. For the games. All the Emulators i have tried out works just fine with Zip files, so in most cases you will not need to unpack the games themselves. 

Unzip the file browser .apk and transfer it to your USB storage. 

(For ease of future transfers you could also include this "Airdroid" .apk that will let you connect to your OUYA wirelessly from your PC browser)

By now you should have your emulators in .apk format and your games on your USB storage device, Plug it into the back of your OUYA. 

Now thanks to OUYA coming down with the walled garden Apple fever, accessing your own files is all of the sudden a bit tricky. On your OUYA. Go to the main menu, then navigate to the "make"section, then "software"  And then open the "browser". Now this is basically just a web browser with OUYA's own page set as a start page. That is your way out of the walled garden OUYA has set up.

When you are in the browser. Press "Y" on your controller. And enter the following URL:

http://bit.ly/13SJxOB

i have used bit.ly because the "real" URL is: http://gdown.baidu.com/data/wisegame/86f47585c4eed74f/ESFileExplorer.apk

Which will give you a bad day trying to enter with a controller.

Your OUYA will then download the ES File Explorer application to the internal memory.

Once finished. Navigate back to the main menu. Go to "Manage", "System", "Advanced"

This will bring you to the standard Android menu.

Scroll down to "Storage" then select "Downloads"

Up comes a list of the files you have downloaded. On that list should be the ES File Explorer .apk file.

Select it and press the "O" button. And choose install.

Once finished you will now have access to not only your own files but also the content of your USB storage from the ES File Explorer application.

Navigate back to the main menu. Then "Make" and in the "Software section" next to the browser. You should now have a icon for the ES File Manager.

Now i will not be doing a tutorial in how to use the ES File Manager or setup each of the emulators to work with the OUYA controller. But it does work and both using ES File Explorer to copy your game ROMS over to the internal memory of the OUYA, and setting up the emulators is pretty self explanatory and straight forward. 

First press "O" on the different Emulator .apk files to install them.

Next, copy over your game ROM files to the OUYA's internal memory. Note: Keep the game ROMs separated in a folder for each gaming system you want to emulate.

You can either create a folder on your OUYA or just copy the game ROMs to the "Downloads" folder. in each of the Emulators you will use its internal file explorer to navigate to the ROM directory and it will save where you have pointed it to.

Next go into the settings of your emulator and keymap the different buttons to your liking on your OUYA controller.

Thats it. your $99 US ARM device can now play 20+ year old games.

Update: Seems that some emulators is not able to be installed and will present a "parsing" error. 

OUYA, Root & ROMS

For some reason i was really surprised at the userbase that have gathered around the OUYA game console.

When i first saw that the crowdfunding had exploded i had high expectations as well as being a bit surprised as to why so many people was going insane for what seemed to be sort of the specs for a lot of other Android devices. My expectations was high because i for some reason thought that it was the massive developing community that had casts its love and attention on the OUYA.

It turns out that most backers and buyers are people looking for the low end console and not the veteran Android users i thought it would be. There are nothing wrong with that. And the veterans are there, no doubt about it, and so are a part of the developing community as it is the case with most Android devices. But i was surprised at seeing questions fell way below what the average Android user can come up with. And if you are new the Android world, then surely you have no knowledge about the Android enviroment. Why would you?

For some reason a lot of people is almost suprised to learn that the OUYA is running straight up Android. They seem to think that OUYA has build their very own operating system. Of course that is not the case. OUYA is running Android Jelly Bean, with a VERY limiting user interface overlay of their own.

They require a credit from the latest firmware to even log in. There is no Play store access, which would open up for a flood of different ways that the OUYA could be used, not to say the numerous games that could be mapped to use with the awesome OUYA controller.

For users that want to get more out of their OUYA device and that are new to the Android scene. There is a bit more work, and also learning in altering your Device. If you like how the OUYA looks, works and runs then you are all set. If you would like to use the device for more or simply just something else than just playing games. You need to fiddle and read and search and learn. Jailbreaking on IOS has always stood out as a joke to me. On one hand, i can see how just opening an application and pressing the "Jailbreak" button and then wait, is nice and easy. On the other hand, if even the slightest thing goes wrong, then people jailbreaking will not have the slightest idea of what, why and how to fix it. On Android. There are many ways to gain root access to devices, and a lot even comes as a one-click function.

But Android is by nature so open that for you to need root access you really need to want to shake things up or you want to use applications that require root access. Once you have obtained root access, you can then flash ROM's that is tweaked and optimized version of Android.

In order to flash a ROM, you need root access, and imo have CWM recovery installed. The ClockWorkMod Recovery is a state of recovery you can boot into in order to recover, backup, update, clear system cache and other good stuff. Usually you can boot into this state using a combination of pressed down hardware buttons that differs from device to device, and some even have a dedicated "recovery" button. For some reason OUYA did not really feel like adding this feature. How open is that?
In their defense there are not many locked aspects to find in their device. So it will not matter to much.

Luckily there are other ways to squeeze some custom ROM's into the OUYA. And that is Fastboot. Fastbooting is using the ability to connect your PC with your device and executing a protocol if you have root access.

The OUYA has only just reached retail in the last week, and today the first real custom ROM hits XDA. The ZG BETA v0.0.1 Although there have been a few modified stock ROMS available for some time

You will need to be rooted and have clockworkmod recovery installed first.

Unfortunately, the method for obtaining root access, and thereby superuser privileges, is not a one-click. Not yet anyway. So you will have to get your hands dirty and fiddle around a bit. On the plus side. You will learn a lot, and there is always a great community of elitist assholes on XDA to ask for help.

i love that place.

64 GB Micro SD Card .. $15 US

Now i have not received my memory cards yet, but usually the top purchased products on aliexpress is not fake. A single comment states that it is Class 6 and not 10. But even so. 15$ for 64 GB is still a pretty good deal for the most average use for a Micro SD card.

If you plan on using as memory for your Raspberry Pi. Don't. Class 10 makes a great difference in speed, and every bit of speed is needed for the little 600 MHz Raspi.


Update: The card is 64 GB.  However the R/W speed is Class 3, and the memory is poorly build. Using it for system or important files is NOT recommended.


Via Aliexpress

Onion Pi(e)

The Onion Pi is a WIFI access point that directs all your traffic through 3 layers of anonymizing Tor network.

• Raspberry Pi model B - Ethernet is required
• Ethernet cable
• WiFi adapter - Not all WiFi adapters work, we know for sure it works with the ones in the Adafruit shop!
• SD Card (4GB or greater) with Raspbian on it. You can either copy the Raspbian image onto it or buy a ready-made Raspbian card
• Power supply for your Pi & a Micro USB cable
• USB Console cable (optional) - this makes it a little easier to debug the system
• Case for your Pi (optional)
• A SD or MicroSD card reader (optional)

follow the turotial here:

http://learn.adafruit.com/onion-pi?view=all

or skip some steps and buy a plug and play Onion Pi:

https://www.adafruit.com/products/1406

Build your own Pirate Box Darknet Network for less than 40$

A PirateBox is a self-contained mobile communication and file sharing device. Simply turn it on to transform any space into a free and open communications and file sharing network in the spirit of open source and sharing. The network is closed meaning that all devices connected can only discover, connect and interact with other devices connected to it. For dorms, schools or in your local library or favorite café. 

The meshnet allows the connected users to chat and share files over the closed network within the limited range it provides. The device is also really cheap and fairly easy to set up. It has a really low power consumption, meaning you should get days worth of up time on a single charged external battery charger power bank.

You will need the tiny TP-Link TL-WR703N router 

You will need to flash the router with OpenWRT

You will need to power it with something like this 5V 2000mAh external battery charger power bank
You will need a USB stick. 

On Android there is an app to access the darknet

On your IOS device, in the WIFI network selection select piratebox, and access its options by pressing the blue arrow. Disable "Auto Join" and "Auto Login". You should now be able to access your Piratebox in Safari.

When you have acquired all the parts for your very own darknet server, follow this tutorial:




Note: To SSH/Telnet into a device in Windows, use PuTTY

1. First download a custom copy of OpenWrt for the MR3020 (modified by Matthias Strubel to include all needed kernel-modules). See this thread on the forum for more info. For the WR703N, download this OpenWrt firmware

2. Set the toggle switch located beside the LAN/WAN port to WISP mode

3. Turn off your laptop’s wireless (in OSX, click on the wifi icon and select “Turn Wi-Fi Off”)

4. Connect the router via ethernet cable to your computer and open a web browser to http://192.168.0.254 (for the MR3020) or http://192.168.1.1 (for the WR703N)

5. Enter the default username & password (admin & admin)

6. Navigate to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade and select the OpenWRT firmware

(Note: The WR703N firmware text is in Chinese. To flash OpenWrt from the web interface, select the last menu item on the left, and then the third submenu item. More info in this Village Telco post).

7. After the upgrade completes, the system will restart

8. Telnet to the device:
telnet 192.168.1.1


9. Use the passwd command to set your login password – this will enable SSH:
passwd


10. Edit the network file with vi (vi cheat sheet):

NOTE: The following instructions assume your gateway router’s (home router’s) IP address is 192.168.2.1. If your gateway router differs from this, you will need to modify your network file accordingly. Keep in mind that your OpenWrt (PirateBox) router should not have the same address as your gateway router though it will need to be on the same subnet in order to access and download files from the Internet.
vi /etc/config/network


The modified file should look like this:
config interface 'loopback' option ifname 'lo' option proto 'static' option ipaddr '127.0.0.1' option netmask '255.0.0.0' config interface 'lan' option ifname 'eth0' option type 'bridge' option proto 'static' option ipaddr '192.168.2.111' option netmask '255.255.255.0' option gateway '192.168.2.1' list dns '192.168.2.1' list dns '8.8.8.8'


11. Remove the power from the router.

12. Turn ON your laptop’s wireless (for OSX, click on the wifi icon and select “Turn Wi-Fi On”)

13. Connect the MR3020 (or WR703N) to your gateway router (e.g. your home network router) with an ethernet cable and plug the power back in. Wait a couple of minutes until the router boots up. With your computer connected to your home network, try sshing into the router (Note: use the “ipaddr” you assigned in step 9):
ssh root@192.168.2.111


14. Ping google to ensure your firewall settings are correct:
ping google.com


15. Add USB support to OpenWrt by installing and enabling the following packages (Note: this step is not required if you used the customized OpenWrt image from step 1):
opkg update opkg install kmod-usb-uhci insmod usbcore ## may return: file exists insmod uhci opkg install kmod-usb-ohci ## may return: up to date. insmod usb-ohci

Install PirateBox

Next you’ll need to install PirateBox on the router.

1. Connect your USB drive (formatted to FAT32 with only one partition) to the USB port.

2. Install the mkPirateBox package by issuing the following commands.
cd /tmp opkg update && opkg install http://piratebox.aod-rpg.de/piratebox_0.6.3_all.ipk


3. Optional: Install the Kareha Image Board:
/opt/piratebox/bin/timesave.sh /opt/piratebox/conf/piratebox.conf install /opt/piratebox/bin/install_piratebox.sh /opt/piratebox/conf/piratebox.conf imageboard


Afterwards, edit the Kareha image board config file to change the admin username and password (ADMIN_PASS and SECRET):
vi /opt/piratebox/www/board/config.pl


4. Once the install is completed, unplug the ethernet cable and disconnect the power for at least 10 seconds.

5. Restart the device and join the “PirateBox – Share Freely” network. Open any web page and you should be redirected to the PirateBox menu.

6. Begin sharing files and chatting!

This tutorial was copy pasted from David Darts

Samsung Exynos 4412 based Android TV box for $125 ..

Normally, i prefer to steer clear of the Rockchip and Allwinner based boxes due to the low support for open source development. i will mention them from time to time if the specs and build quality is worth mentioning, since there is some development taking place with Linux for both Allwinner and Rockchip devices that makes them a very decent mini pc for the most basic needs.

This new Android TV box sports a 1.4 GHz Exynos 4412 ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core chip, ARM Mali 400 graphics, WiFi, HDMI, IR remote control, and 2 USB ports. The development for boards like the Hardkernel's Odroids of XBMC seems to be going well, even though the most useful version is still the Android libstagefright build, progress is coming along with a Linux based build with hardware accelerated playback.


via Aliexpress