Extended Linux Functionality - GUI Launcher Kindle Touch

[dasmoover]

Extend uses "optware" packages to enhance linux functionality by mounting a premade 512mb image file with software such as openssh, nano, screen, irssi, php, bash, rsync pre-compiled with optware tools. Packages can be managed with the command /opt/bin/ipkg, no need to cross-compile.

1.1 Update - Adds support for Yifanlu's GUI Launcher for Kindle Touch




Requirements:
Jailbreak
Shell Access (ssh, launchpad, etc)

Compatible Models:
Kindle 3 Keyboard
Kindle 4
Kindle Touch
Kindle DX

Instructions - Kindle Touch:
PREREQ: Install Yifanlu's GUI Launcher
1. Place the folders extend and extensions in /mnt/us/
2. Run install.sh to create necessary folders in /opt - ./mnt/us/install.sh
3. Restart Framework - restart framework
4. Mount Extend should now be the second option in launcher


Instructions - Kindle Keyboard:
1. Place the extend folder in /mnt/us/
2. Run install.sh to create necessary folders in /opt - ./mnt/us/install.sh
3. Use mount.sh to mount all dirs and image - ./mnt/us/mount.sh
4. Use unmount.sh to unmount all dirs - ./mnt/us/unmount.sh

Download:
12/10/11 v1.1 - gitbrew.org/..kindle_extend-1.1.zip

Future releases: Integrate custom updates for each model

[geekmaster]

This is good stuff. Getting away from console command line apps will be a big plus for many people.

That extended mount could hold a few X apps which could be launched from this menu system, and no SSH needed to use them. Now we just need to get X apps to update the framebuffer. xdaliclock and xeyes seem to run okay using built-in X display :0.0, but nothing ends up on the display. xcalc complains about being unable to load a usable font though, and xconsole complains about "Input Method Open Failed".

[lkewei]

I haven't tried this yet. I wonder if you could start a Linux terminal window on Kindle touch.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

This is good stuff. Getting away from console command line apps will be a big plus for many people.

That extended mount could hold a few X apps which could be launched from this menu system, and no SSH needed to use them.
...

Update: x apps now run on the kindle touch. We still need a way to programmatically trigger a framebuffer update. More info here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=162022

And I found elsewhere on mobileread how to play streaming radio with only built-in software. That will soon be available in the App Launcher menu as well.

[lkewei]

I followed your instruction, and I got this:

[root@kindle us]# pwd
/mnt/us
[root@kindle us]# ./extend/install.sh
system: I mntroot:def:Making root filesystem writeable
mkdir: can't create directory '/mnt/us/circles/fs': No such file or directory
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/etc': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/share': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/lib': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/bin': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/tmp': File exists
system: I mntroot:def:Making root filesystem read-only
[root@kindle us]#

[dasmoover]

Originally Posted by lkewei

I followed your instruction, and I got this:

[root@kindle us]# pwd
/mnt/us
[root@kindle us]# ./extend/install.sh
system: I mntroot:def:Making root filesystem writeable
mkdir: can't create directory '/mnt/us/circles/fs': No such file or directory
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/etc': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/share': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/lib': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/bin': File exists
mkdir: can't create directory '/opt/tmp': File exists
system: I mntroot:def:Making root filesystem read-only
[root@kindle us]#

Don't mind the circles folder, thats an error in the script, it will run just fine. An update will be released by next week.

[lkewei]

Thank you! I logged in to my kindle touch through USB networking. Then I tried to use ssh, but it complains that it cannot find the command. Could you please comment on that?

[dasmoover]

/opt/bin/ssh or ipkg install ssh

[ixtab]

Great additon, thank you for bringing my favorite apps to the Kindle!

It works great, but for my taste, it's a bit too big. It's 500 MB, but only a bit more than 50 are actually used. So how about creating a smaller version with the same contents?

I actually did that, reducing the image to 75 MB. That's still about 20 MB of margin in case anything extensively writes there (I doubt it), but at least it hogs less of the precious user storage.

Here's what I did (as root on my Linux PC, and in a temporary directory already containing optware.img)

mkdir {big,small}
mount -o loop optware.img big/
dd if=/dev/zero of=small.img bs=1024 count=76800
losetup /dev/loop1 small.img 
mkfs.ext3 /dev/loop1 
tune2fs -c -1 /dev/loop1
tune2fs -i -1 /dev/loop1 
tune2fs -L optware-extend /dev/loop1 
mount /dev/loop1 small/
rm -rf small/lost+found/
rsync -av big/ small/
umount big/
umount small/
losetup -d /dev/loop1

The resulting file (small.img) works as a drop-in replacement for optware.img, except that it's much smaller.

Hope this is useful somehow - maybe you can package and make available this variant as well?

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by ixtab

Great additon, thank you for bringing my favorite apps to the Kindle!

It works great, but for my taste, it's a bit too big. It's 500 MB, but only a bit more than 50 are actually used. So how about creating a smaller version with the same contents?...

It is fine to start small. You can easily grow a disk image file later (like this):
http://www.tehfear.com/2007/10/08/re...op-disk-image/

[lkewei]

Originally Posted by dasmoover

/opt/bin/ssh or ipkg install ssh

There must be something wrong. I don't have ssh under /opt/bin, nor ipkg command.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by lkewei

There must be something wrong. I don't have ssh under /opt/bin, nor ipkg command.

Must be user error
Are you sure you installed and mounted it correctly?

Here's what I see in /opt/bin:

[root@kindle /]# ls /opt/bin/
a2p                  clear                enc2xs               h2ph                 irssi                perl                 pod2man              ptar                 shasum               tic                  zipnote
botti                config_data          find2perl            h2xs                 libnetcfg            perl5.10.0           pod2text             ptardiff             slogin               toe                  zipsplit
bzcat                corelist             glib-genmarshal      iconv                nano                 perlbug              pod2usage            reset                splain               tput
bzip2                cpan                 glib-gettextize      infocmp              ncurses-clear        perlivp              podchecker           rnano                ssh                  tset
bzip2-bzip2          cpan2dist            glib-mkenums         infotocap            ncurses5-config      piconv               podselect            rsync                ssh-add              update-alternatives
bzip2recover         cpanp                gobject-query        instmodsh            openssh-scp          pl2pm                prove                s2p                  ssh-agent            xsubpp
c2ph                 cpanp-run-perl       gtester              ipkg                 openssh-ssh          pod2html             psed                 scp                  ssh-keygen           zip
captoinfo            dprofpp              gtester-report       ipkg-opt             openssl              pod2latex            pstruct              sftp                 ssh-keyscan          zipcloak

[lkewei]

I just re-installed the program. It is working now. Thank you!

[lkewei]

Is there a way to add ssh to the system? so you can run ssh instead of /opt/bin/ssh.

[dasmoover]

PATH=$PATH:/opt/bin:/opt/sbin

enter that into your shell.