Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[dvw86]

I was about to purchase a MicroClient Jr. but before I did I wanted to ask a few questions of the people that are already running Puppy on them. They say that it is "fast" and runs "well", but I'm looking for some more specifics. This information may also help other people who are looking for a low cost Puppy PC.

Does the sound work? (I know that the answer is yes to this one)
If sound does work, can it decode an MP3 with out getting choppy?
How long does it take Abiword to open?
How long does it take Open Office to open?
How long does it take Seamonkey to open?
Has anyone purchased the optional built in wireless, and if so, does it work in Puppy?
Since it only has one PS2 port, can you use a "Y" adapter to plug a keyboard and a mouse in at the same time?
How long does it take to boot Puppy 2.12 from the compact flash slot?
What is your best guess "feel" for it to be compared with (Pentium 1 at 200MHz, Pentium II at 300MHz, etc...)?
And are you happy with it?

Thanks for your opinions and advise.

[raffy]

Addition: If you're getting one unit, consider http://ewayco.com - just mention when you order that you're a Forum member/Puppy user.

[Brad D]

I bought one of these to play music off my server,play internet radio and maybe do a little web surfing in my kitchen. So far I have two CF cards one with Win98 an one with the latest 2.12 beta puppy. Being a linux newbie I found it much easier to get everything I want to work under Win98. I used 98Lite for an installer then added Cool Player and Opera 8 as a web browser.
Everything works well, the streaming and and sound are great but the web browsing is very slow which is dissapointing since my music server (gnump3d) uses a web interface.
Under Puppy 2.12 the web is a little faster but still not great. Dillo works very well but I can't get it to open a media player when I click on a music link. The sound works ok but I can't get xine to do everything I want (play recurse.3mu files) so I am playing with xmms.
The minipup distribution is suposed to work with this device but I can't get the sound to work. I havn"t timed seamonkey but it takes a long time to open.
I havn't given up on Puppy for this device but right now I am finding Win98 a bit more usefull on this device. If someone could put together a distribution specificly for this device I think it might be quite good at doing what I want. I think Xmms is more suitable for this device since you won't be playing video on it.
Sorry for the long post, that is my expirience so far.

[dvw86]

Brad,
Thanks for those comments. That's the kind of thing I was looking for. Too bad that web browsing is so slow.

Raffy,
Don't you have a Micro Client Jr.? What are your thoughts on it? Also, I emailed ewayco.com about a week ago and have never heard back from them. Are they associated with norhtec.com? It looks like norhtec.com may be a little easier to order from since you can just place an order with a credit card and don't have to wait for them to email you back with a quote.

[raffy]

Dan, I just thought ewayco.com offers a lower price. It is a different distributor, one that is eager to cooperate with the Puppy enthusiasts. I guess that we can support ewayco and do our own Web ecommerce and product support. I saw a while back that Snowdog has tried a small order from ewayco, and we can learn from his experience.

BTW, ewayco's President Steve Freiberger supported the Nov 27 workshop on "Affordable PC for Education and Development" in Manila (see press release, proceedings).

For the minipup, i built a smaller pup_212.sfs (uploading now to http://bexa.org/pup ) and here are the results in my 200-Mhz unit:

Starting to full desktop - 80 seconds
Seamonkey, first/next load - 50/30 seconds (same with running standard Puppy)
Abiword, first/next load - 12/8 seconds
OpenOffice 1.1.4, first/next load - 110/30 seconds (don't close the OpenOffice window; close only the application)

Other info: Yes, the Y-ps2 connection can be used, and MP3 is run well - just listened to Lobster's 4-minute podcast.

I needed Seamonkey only for occasional online editing of webpages, so am OK working long hours with HV3 and Dillo. And all this on a 200-Mhz, 128-MB-RAM machine!

I even opened, test-run and modified my presentation for the APEC Open Source Symposium in Hanoi on Dec 4-6, 2006 (see attached original file).

Tip: Maybe turning Flash off in Seamonkey will make webpage access faster.

[dvw86]

Raffy,
Thanks for the reply and MiniPups. It looks like the Micro Client Jr. is a bare minimum but usable computer for Puppy. I just wish that ewayco.com was more responsive. Maybe I will try calling them in the morning.

[indefatigable]

I am also interested in the MicroClientJr machine. I ordered one from Norhtec last week and it should arrive sometime soon. I'll happily document my set up process in the hopes that someone else might find it useful. Nortec was prompt and courteous in their reply to my messages and were generally a pleasure to do business with.

With respect to ewayco, I can't recommend buying anything from them.

I found their website as the result of some extensive digging on google (I'm looking for a standard hardware platform for a rather large project) and was impressed with both the selection and prices of their products.

I sent emails requesting quotations on December 3, then again on December 6, and most recently again on the 9th. I have yet to even enjoy the courtesy of a reply.

The products and prices would need to be pretty good to persuade me to endure that sort of rudeness. In my opinion, if you're doing so much business that you can't take the time to reply to a request for a quotation, then you're doing too damned much business, or you don't have enough help. Either problem doesn't recommend the company much from my point of view. I don't need the products or the bargains that bad. Please forgive the tone of aggravation - I simply despise mediocrity in customer service.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to having a go at this MicroClientJr.

[klhrevolutionist]

I sure would like to look into purchasing a couple of these little things. It seems ewayco is the only one who shows the price. But given the bad review above I am not sure that would be the best option. I visited the site that Barry got a free computer from and they do not show prices either..

[tempestuous]

dvw86 & Brad D,
regarding a lightweight web browser,see my post here http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=1840
about an old version of Opera.
My enthusiasm about this smaller browser received lukewarm response at the time, but I still think it's a great solution for "processor-challenged" PC's.
Eventually hv3 might be the solution, when it matures.

[pakt]

Somehow I've missed this thread

Anyway, I got my MCjr a few weeks ago from Norhtec. It didn't come with any documentation, so I searched the net for information.

Here is a summary of the resources and bits of information I have gathered from the net.

First off - Microclient Jr, TU-40 - are they the same? Who makes them?

Well, I know for certain that the Microclient Jr is actually a re-badged eBox-2300, manufactured by DMP in Taiwan. When the Microclient Jr boots, the first screen that comes up includes the text 'eBox-2300'. Most likely, the TU-40 is also a re-badged eBox-2300.

Once I knew the PC was an eBox-2300, I found more info including the User Manual that should have come with the MicroClient Jr:

http://www.embeddedpc.net/doc/eBOX_2300_Manual_%20v0r0.pdf

One of the eBOX_2300 options is a 802.11b/g wlan Mini-PCI module:

http://www.embeddedpc.net/wirelessoption.htm

This uses the VIA VT6655 wlan chip. (The above page also has a good image of the module and the eBOX_2300 main board.)

Here is a brochure for the VIA VT6655:

http://www.via.com.tw/en/downloads/brochures/networking/vt6655_en.pdf

Drivers for the VIA VT6655 wlan chip can be downloaded here:

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=3&CatID=1250&SubCatID=179

From my searches, I also came across a source in the US and one in Germany for the eBOX_2300:

US: http://www.wdlsystems.com/modperl/view_services.cgi?r=detail&prod_num=1EBOX23&aisle_id=799

Germany: http://www.ipc2u.com/catalog/E/EE/34460.html

Note that I have no connection with either of these companies. I'm not even sure if they sell to private individuals or just to companies. If nothing else, they may be able to point to a someone who does

I also came across this amusing item - Microsoft holds an annual embedded competition called 'Imagine Cup'. They apparently use different target hardware each year. For the 2007 competition they will be using - wait for it - the eBOX_2300. Here's the URL:

http://imaginecup.com/Competition/EmbeddedApplications.aspx

Seems like this little PC may just become a popular item!

Paul

[pakt]

Oh, yes, I also came across this potential lifesaver:

[raffy]

Very comprehensive information - thanks, Paul.

And there is that added info about MS inviting innovations for the eBox-2300/WinCE 6.0 through a team contest. Pretty smart. That event plays in Puppy's backyard.

For this reason, I nominate you as mentor of a team that will play in another contest - building a Pup optimized for the eBox-2300!

[pakt]

[raffy]

A light Puppy available for the ebox is Puppy 1.02, as it has a Linux 2.6 kernel. Check the download sites from Barry's site: http://puppyos.com/download/downpage.htm

or this http://ftp.nluug.nl/ftp/pub/os/Linux/distr/puppylinux/

The good news is that 1.02's browser behaves (in my Yahoo mail) like Firefox - this must be the early release of Seamonkey.

Some numbers:

- Seamonkey, first/next opening: 30/20 seconds
- Abiword: 13/10 seconds

Oops, the system of 1.02 is OSS - discussion of the sound driver for 1.02 is created at forum.puppylinux.net.

[robin850]

raffy, can you explain how you decide what to put in the reduced size .sfs file and how you create it. I am just not finding good answers in the wiki or forum.

Cheers,

robin850