I had ordered a couple of DreamPlugs from https://globalscaletechnologies.com/c-5-dreamplugs.aspx https://dreamplug.googlecode.com/files/DreamPlug%20User%20Guide_US_v1.1.pdf
and then complained to the list about slow delivery. Well, the boxes arrived and I tried one tonight. You plug it into the wall and it boots up what looks like a very stock Ubuntu 9.04 for ARM and enables the WiFi as an access point. You can then connect to SSID DreamPlug-xxxxxxx from a laptop, and ssh [email protected] with password "nosoup4u". (Then change it!) The basic machine comes with df showing about 1GB of spare flash space, which you'll start filling with apt-get; it's a very stripped down distro. I added strace, powertop, mtr, and binutils right off the bat as I poked around. It comes running a web server, you can just edit the page in /var/www. When I plugged in an Ethernet cord, it got itself an IP address. If you could figure out which address it got, you could ssh into it, or browse its web page, over your home Ethernet. But it doesn't seem to be gatewaying or natting the access point to the Internet by default -- so those on the access point can't see the Internet, even though the DreamPlug itself can. I haven't compiled "hello.c" on it yet, but I believe it'll self-host for software development (after a big apt-get gcc). You can add an eSata or USB disk drive to it for some real storage. I also bought a JTAG/serial adapter that plugs into little jacks on the DreamPlug for debugging kernels or init scripts, or for general "console sysadmin" when needed. Not everyone would need this, but you'll need to borrow or buy one if you manage to reconfigure your system enough that you break it in some fundamental way and it won't boot up. It gets warm but not hot when sitting there doing very little for a day. Anyway, it looks like an interesting base to start building & trying FreedomBox software on. Anybody want to do some experiments with routing an overlay IPv6 network via such boxes? I have a theory on how to build an overlay network that'll let you reach your neighbors despite an Internet shutdown caused by a government, an ISP, or a disaster. It should also get all of you on the net, at least in a fashion, if *any* of you has a working net connection. If you want to help develop and test this idea, you should be running IPv6 on your local Ethernet already. John _______________________________________________ Freedombox-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss
