Re: New Image
Greetings,
My Netwinder just arrived a couple of weeks ago, so I am very much a
newbie. :-)
I tried the new image, and it boots, and networks! Cool! However, it
seems there is a major package inconsistency which is preventing apt
from functioning at all! It seems base-files depends on base-passwd,
which isn't installed, and so apt-get update or dist-upgrade fails with:
Checking system integrity...dependency error
You might want to run 'apt-get -f install' to correct these.
Sorry, but the following packages are broken - this means they have
unmet dependencies:
base-files: Depends:base-passwd
So, I go to my nearest mirror, and find that there is indeed a
base-passwd_2.0.3.3.deb, so I download and dpkg -i, which seems to work
(unpacks and sets up), but the error persists!
Now it could be that I'm missing something, as I have only been using
Debian at all for about two months now (mostly PPC, recently also
Intel). But I think it's fair to say that this image is broken. Any
chance on a new one, soon?
Oh- one other thing. The online documentation for this port is in a
HORRENDOUS state of disrepair. I mean, REALLY BAD!!
<flame> Because I didn't have email access where I was setting up the
Netwinder, this dreadful documentation delayed a successful boot for
about two weeks after I first tried. I was very angry, and the
password-protected nature of the Netwinder newsgroups is partly to
blame, but most of that rests with the DREADFULLY out-of-date
documentation. Did I mention the documentation is pathetically
out-of-date?
Day 1. First, the News section of the ARM "Port-specific page" at
debian.org was last updated on January 20. Bad sign. Surely there's
been some news since then, like perhaps the February image.
So I scroll to the August 11, 1998 entry on the Netwinder bootable
image, which is the most recent entry of any relevance. Both of the
links are broken, "netwinder" should be replaced with "arm", and
"chroot-image" with "image". Okay, that was easy enough.
So now I follow the README.Install, getting the February image,
expanding it into what was the /home partition, and go to step 2,
upgrading the NeTTrom. Problem: the web page where I'm supposed to get
the firmware is password-protected! So I skip this step and go on, but
of course it doesn't boot because the old firmware the machine came with
doesn't seem to understand the rootdev environment variable. So I need
the firmware. No luck in the FAQ on netwinder.org. Mailing lists?
They've all been dropped, according to the "Discusions" page in favor of
newsgroups. Oh- by the way, can't subscribe to the newsgroups, they're
password-protected too. Register? Sounds like a guestbook type of
thing, and I won't be writing any major apps, so why bother?
So I go home and write a big flame to the netwinder.org webmaster,
saying that there is no reason to close the documentation or newsgroups,
no other open-source project that I've been involved with has ever
worked this way, etc. Big flame. His reply came back within an hour
(though of course I had logged off and didn't get the message until two
days later), saying I need to register, and what was I talking about
with secrecy, anyone can get involved real easy.
Day 4 (got the email on the evening of Day 3): big project deadline
tomorrow, can't spend much time, but registered, maybe will get a
password when I get back from presenting this big project.
Day 10: got home, checked the email, there's a password! Awesome! Now
I can get the firmware.
Day 11: There's no firmware to be found! Anywhere! The link from
sanm.html goes to a file in an empty directory, nothing remotely
resembling firmware anywhere nearby. So I go home and flame the
newsgroup, same secrecy complaint (same big flame), now asking where on
earth the firmware might be. Checked a while later, there's a polite
message directing me to the Projects page. D'oh! Why isn't this
anywhere in the FAQ? Or in the README.Install? Or on the ARM
Port-specific page at debian.org?
Day 12: Happy happy. Well, mostly. Got the firmware, got the new
image, replaced the old one, it boots, it networks. Awesome! But not
so fast, the image is broken, apt-get will update (and complain) but not
upgrade, because of a missing dependency. Thanked the news poster who
answered my question (Ralph Siemsen), repeated my call for more
openness.
Day 14: Actually sent the news post written two days ago, decided to
flame debian-arm. Who knows, maybe a new image will come out of this,
one which works. Maybe the documentation will be updated for the first
time in SIX MONTHS (or perhaps more?). Maybe the next guy won't be
stuck for two weeks because of the pathetic debian-arm web documentation
and the pathetic password protection at netwinder.org. I hope so.
</flame>
Sorry to be so long-winded, I've been horribly frustrated with what
should be the easiest distro to install (well, except the one that came
with it :-) and use. If you can help me get a working image, or help
update the docs, thank you very much in advance. I look forward to
using my Netwinder to its fullest potential- with Debian of course- and
maybe even to helping out in some way.
Sincerely,
-Adam P.
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