Robert Small, The blog thereof.

Some of you will already know about this little project that I’ve been working on. Basically I’m producing a USB memory stick with all the things which I think it needs. Quoting the wiki page:

http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick

If you’re in a situation where you only have one memory stick, what’d you want on it? If baggage handling lose all your bags and you just have the encrypted hard drive in your jacket pocket and the memory stick round your neck, what do you want on the stick?

You’re stranded on an island (or somewhere with a really poor internet connection) and you want to acquisition a computer for your own uses, what do you want on your stick? Someone else on the island wants you to fix their computer, what do you want on the stick?

In general, what do you want on a memory stick when you don’t trust or want to use your internet connection? This is what the Chute Stick project is meant to provide.

Although there are many different situations where this may be of use and some of them wont require most of the software provided this is meant to be an ‘in any event evacuation plan’. I know a lot of you have already contacted me about this and so there probably wont be that many comment; however, there are several things which I’d love to be posted here:

• Situations where you might need a rescue stick.
• Software suggestions/requests.
• Things to stay away from.
• Suggestions for replacement software, I know I may not have picked the right stuff all the time.
• Suggestions about ways of packaging or unpacking software.
• Ways to make things more accessible to more people.

Of course you could just tell me I’m doing something useful!

Which brings me to another point, what am I doing? Well I don’t intend to distribute too much software, I’d prefer to write a script which downloads and updates software to a memory stick for you. Much of the software I’m looking at is either not free/libre and so I don’t expect to be able to do more than provide a script to get the end user to download and use the software correctly. If anyone is familiar with the gentoo ebuild context they’ll understand more of what I mean, my script wouldn’t require pre-built packages but do it’s own work.

The wiki page is: http://www.robertsmall.org/wiki/index.php5?title=Chute_Stick

Kind regards, Robert.

The Linux GPS project has been started, it’s aimed at providing useful information about Linux related GPS projects and how to get GPS devices working correctly with Linux. I have a CF based Holux GPS device and a Bluetooth/USB based Holux device, I’ll provide as much information about these as possible.

We hope to provide information on the protocols we come across and the ways they can be made to ‘play’ nicely with Linux. In the end we may develop programs to provide unavailable features to Linux users. Although there are several projects which seem interested in providing GPS support for Linux they seem to lack a central place for a user to start, a place for you to pick what you need and get everything working; Linux GPS is being developed with this in view.

www.linux-gps.org

Your support would be appreciated.

Kind regards, Robert.

I will be working on a new V8d Org project, Linux GPS. This is a project designed to build an almost complete compatibility list with full instructions how to get all the devices working with your chosen distribution. Membership and readership will be free.

We will be using a mixture of a wiki for the main information and forums for threaded conversations about what’s going on. Lee is working on the design of this site at the moment, the process simply is to pick two pieces of standard software to be integrated together with the desired result.

We will also be providing a list of software which uses GPS and the role it takes, if we see any major gap in the software packages then we will attempt to breach this gap to provide a complete experience for the Linux user. For those interested I do intend to support and involve the OSM (OpenStreetMap)  community and their work in both the software and the information.