This is an unofficial port of the OpenWRT Linux distribution for the ZipIt Z2 handheld.
Note that this is an unofficial port of “OpenWRT trunk” at this stage.
Latest nightly build (2.5Mb download.)
If you’re installing new packages, it is best to automatically download & install from inside OpenWRT using opkg.
Very lightweight, OpenWRT is designed for low end devices.
Nearly 3000 prebuilt binary packages available via ‘opkg’ package manager.
The 2.5Mb base install includes wifi support, ssh server, ZipIt-friendly console.
A good base for building a more feature-heavy ZipIt installation.
No built-in special tmux/screen user interface or menu launcher, just a shell.
Not as many packages as Debian z2sid. In particular, not as many graphical packages (some have been ported from the Ben Nanonote OpenWRT port.)
No formal release as yet, just nightly snapshot builds.
OpenWRT is officially a router firmware (although it runs on lots of other devices), so some aspects are more router-friendly than handheld-friendly.
A ZipIt Z2 and a spare MiniSD card.
uboot already installed. If your ZipIt is stock, I recommend downloading the latest version of FlashStock from Mozzwald’s downloads page.
Set up your miniSD card with a single ext2 partition.
Download the latest build snapshot tarball.
Untar the tarball as root onto the SD card (be sure to run ‘sync’ when done.)
Edit the file etc/config/wireless on the miniSD card and follow the prompts to preconfigure the wireless (easier than doing it on the device.)
Eject the SD, then insert it into the ZipIt and boot. Press “Enter” to start a new console as root.
I haven’t gotten around to making anything myself, but mozzwald from #zipit has a RecoveryOS image, based on OpenWRT, that fits in internal flash.
After you boot, use ‘passwd’ to set a root password. This is important: until you do this, passwordless telnet will be available to the ZipIt.
After you set a root password, you will be able to ssh to the ZipIt.
Use “opkg update” to refresh the list of packages. Use “opkg install packagename” to install one.
For tons more information, see the OpenWRT Wiki.
Because this is an early image, most things will need some experimentation to get right. Here are some things to get you started, though:
opkg install kmod-sound-zipitz2 alsamixer to get Linux audio support.
To hear audio, you’ll need to run alsamixer then scroll right until you see “Left Mixer” then “Right Mixer” and press ‘m’ to unmute them. It’d be nice if someone makes a little alsactl script to automate this, we can put it in the kmod-sound-zipitz2 package. :)
One command line audio player is moc. opkg install moc then mocp to run (there is a bug where the first time you run mocp the audio stutters, but if you ‘q’ to the background it fixes itself and running ‘mocp’ again it’s fine…)
mutt is a great console email client. opkg install mutt msmtp libncursesw will give you mutt w/ secure IMAP & POP support, and you can configure msmtp as a secure sendmail for SMTP.
kmod install z2mouse and you can press ‘Option’ to toggle using the keypad as a mouse.
OpenWRT for ZipIt buildroot source on github.
ZipIt-specific fork of the Qi Hardware OpenWRT packages on github.
Contributors are extremely welcome, just fork on github if you want to get hacking!
If you’re wondering what is left to do, there are still several of the Qi Hardware packages that don’t build for ZipIt. Or take a look at the Issues List for OpenWRT-ZipIt. Or, port your favourite program!
Please send me Pull Requests or patches via github so changes can be incorporated.
Big thanks to the OpenWRT developers, the #zipit crew, anarsoul for his work on the z2 kernel, anarsoul & mozzwald for early testing.
If it pertains to the core OS, please report it via the github Issues for openwrt-zipit.
If it pertains to a package that was forked from Qi Hardware, please report it via the fork project’s Issues page.
If it is another program from the core OpenWRT distribution, please report it back to the OpenWRT team. Bear in mind that we are grabbing packages from their nightly snapshots, so it is likely packages will break from time to time. Also please remember that ZipIt is not a supported configuration for OpenWRT, although non-system packages should all be the same as “OpenWRT trunk”.