Fixes for Bluetooth and 4.14-rc4 based Kernel

After I had recently trouble to find some time on merging the recent changes from Hans kernel into the GPD Pocket kernel repositories, I have finally been able to sort out the configuration issues and build a kernel that works properly.

The old 4.13 based kernel already fixed USB-C support but at the same time broke support on bluetooth.

The new kernel out (4.14.0-11.gpd) now fixes those bluetooth issues and provides support for USB-C. It thus breaks support for AppArmor (the kernel configuration does not contain AppArmor support as enabling it destroys Wifi support).

On the other hand the Kernel now is quite functional. I will create new ISO images based on it during the next days (when I bundle the new release).

For all of you already using a device, please just update using

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If you are coming from a version in one of the first releases, that still uses the "-gpdpocket" prefixed kernel variant, please use

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gpdpocket

instead.

Hotel Release Builds

The Hotel release is here

This fixes the issue with the display rotation issues on gnome and Unity. In some configurations, the touchscreen did not properly align with the display rotation.

The new release also provides linux-headers-generic packages for the current kernel. The kernel from Hans has been rebased onto a mainline-ppa kernel and now uses the same patches and configuration as the mainline-ppa kernel 4.13.0-rc7.

IMPORTANT: Updating existing devices

Ubuntu currently refuses to install the new kernel as it is identified as a new package. Thus a reinstall must be enforced!

Please call

sudo apt update && sudo apt install gpdpocket

to enforce the update.

Download locations

Before downloading the images, please reconsider if you really need them. There are no mirrors yet and the bandwith of the server is limited.

After downloading, please verify the integrity of the downloaded file against the sha256-hashes or the clearsigned hashlist.

Thankfully /u/nesousx has some bandwidth to share and setup a mirror. I am also in contact with some other people offering some space for mirroring the images.

The Hotel builds have a build date of 2017-09-04. Find the mirrors locations for the different images down in the list:

Foxtrot Release Builds

After some changes on the gnome support, I have released the Foxtrot build. This basically only changes things regarding Unity and gnome.

If you have already installed and setup your device, you can just update via apt. If you are using one of the other distributions, there is no need for a more recent download.

Download locations

Before downloading the images, please reconsider if you really need them. There are no mirrors yet and the bandwith of the server is limited.

After downloading, please verify the integrity of the downloaded file against the sha256-hashes or the clearsigned hashlist.

Thankfully /u/nesousx has some bandwidth to share and setup a mirror. I am also in contact with some other people offering some space for mirroring the images.

The Foxtrot builds have a build date of 2017-09-01. Find the mirrors locations for the different images down in the list:

Echo Release Images

After working to get the rotation configured rather then using a script, I have created a set of new images.

If you already have installed your system, you can just update via apt and there is no need to download the new images. In this case I would kindly ask you not to download the images as the bandwidth of the backend server is limited and the files are each >1,5GB of size.

Recent changes

What has changed:

  • Rotation is now performed via configuration.
  • Setting the fan-speed has been fixed based on a request by "Redsandro"
  • Kernel has been updated to 4.13.0-rc5+ by "jwrdegoede"
  • Touchegg is now a part of the images
  • Screen rotation is fixed in setup
  • Battery issues are fixed in live-system

There are also some changes on the backend:

  • Makefile for respin has complete been updated
  • Automatic upload targets have been added to Makefiles

All changes are available via https://apt.nexus511.net/repo as well.

Download locations

Before downloading the images, please reconsider if you really need them. There are no mirrors yet and the bandwith of the server is limited.

After downloading, please verify the integrity of the downloaded file against the sha256-hashes or the clearsigned hashlist. The following images are available:

Kernel Update and Xubuntu 16.04.3 Image

I have build the latest kernel (4.13.0-rc5+) from jwrdegoedes github repository [1] and merged it into the package source. This kernel fixes issues with the battery detection and also seems to improve display functionality for me.

I also added some improvements to the package repository yesterday and today:

  • merged patch for gpd-fan service
  • added touchegg for multi-touch support

To update to the new kernel and features, please call

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

on your gpd-pocket.

I also have updated the Xubuntu build to version 16.04.3. You can download it here:

[1] https://github.com/jwrdegoede/linux-sunxi

Lubuntu images for GPD Pocket

Also based on a reddit request [1], I have created and uploaded Lubuntu images. You can find those here:

This images have not been tested at all, so I do not know, if they really boot.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/GPDPocket/comments/6vy775/project_provide_ready_to_use_xubuntu_images/dm3y093/

MINT images have been added

As I have been asked on reddit [1], I have added the following images for download:

  • XFCE4 based Mint 18.2
  • Cinnamon based Mint 18.2

While I will not be able to actively work on Mint integration, this looks quite good for now. The images can be bootet and are basically running on the device but note that I have not actively tested this images.

Both images are available at the same download location as the other images [2].

Here are the direct download links to all images:

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/GPDPocket/comments/6ustcw/what_is_the_bestsafest_linux_iso_for_the_gpd/dm3qnmj/
[2] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwzGpOdstDYaYWtNMlFrcEJOZXc (outdated. please check recent posts.)

Ubuntu Images for Download

I created a first bunch of precustomized Ubuntu based images that can be downloaded at [1] now. The following versions have been bootstrapped:

  • Ubuntu 16.04.3
  • Xubuntu 16.04.3
  • Ubuntu 17.04
  • Xubuntu 17.04

Please just pick your desired distribution. After writing the image to an USB stick you should be able to install it the way you know from every other Ubuntu distribution.

You can also load a live-system to test it, before you decide to install it.

This images also allow enabling full disk encryption.

What changes have been included?

All changes have been stripped into a set of Debian packages. Those basically are used to get the following features running on the GDP Pocket:

  • fan control
  • backlight control
  • audio
  • wireless lan
  • suspend modes
  • screen rotation

All scripts that are used to create the images and the included packages can be found on github [2]. I have not yet created a usable documentation, how you could build your own image. If you are planning to do so, maybe just add an issue so I know that there is some interest on that.

Contributions

The image basically contains patches based on the work of several people. The patches have been taken from the github project of cawilliamson [3].

The project is based on basic contributions by

(This list has also been taken from the repository of cawilliamson. If I have forgotten someone, please tell me.)

[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwzGpOdstDYaYWtNMlFrcEJOZXc?usp=sharing (outdated. please check recent posts.)
[2] https://github.com/nexus511/gpd-ubuntu-packages
[3] https://github.com/cawilliamson/ansible-gpdpocket/

Work on ubuntu repository

After I have received by GPD Pocket last week, I have been eager to get something useful running on there. I have been pleased to see that there has been some progress on getting different Linux distributions running on the device [1].

For a first start I decided to use the ansible based scripts by cawilliamson [2] to create a basic ISO image I could use to install xubuntu on my device. While it is a great work to get different distributions running on the device, it also has some flaws of practical nature: It does not allow updating via package management.

Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliant project and I appreciate his work very much. It also has been the basis for me to start on packaging things, so he deserves some big credits.

When talking about credits: My contribution is just bundling stuff other people have basically made. So please refer to the reddit thread or cawilliamsons repository to see who has been working on the different things. I will try to add credits soon.

The source code to the package building scripts can be found on github [3]. If you like to contribute, please feel free to provide pull requests or patches. It is still work in progress and the scripts have not yet been cleaned. I will work on that later, when everything is running.

What is this repo for?

The primary aim is using the repo with the images I provide. Those already contain a set of patches and it is used to allow updating packages on the devices.

It is also possible to get a standard image based on Ubuntu (or even Debian) and install this packages into it.

What is this repo not meant for?

You should not try to install the packages onto images either patched by GPD or build by some respin scripts. It is hard to tell what happens on those images as it cannot be determined which system configuration those use.

There are reports that the setup bascially works on those as well, but I would think that there is a large likelyhood that my patches will break things or leave you stuck with a non-bootable device.

Installing the repo on a ubuntu image

To install packages on an ubuntu system on the GPD Pocket, please add the following entry to your /etc/apt/sources.list:

deb https://apt.nexus511.net/repo/dists/stable/main/binary /

Then install the signing key on your system to be able to install packages from that source by calling

wget -O - https://apt.nexus511.net/repo/keyFile | apt-key add -

You should not be able to call the following commands to install the packages on your GPD Pocket

apt update apt install gpdpocket

Note: The packages are not clean. I have still to work on properly configuring the device. I am currently patching some configuration files in the postinst scripts which is not a good option. I will work on that soon.

I will also try to provide setup images for xubuntu and ubuntu for the versions 16.04.3 and 17.04 soon. Just give me some days to work on that.

Cheers,

Nexus

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/GPDPocket/comments/6idnia/linux_on_gpd_pocket/
[2] https://github.com/cawilliamson/ansible-gpdpocket/
[3] https://github.com/nexus511/gpd-ubuntu-packages