[Openchrome-users] How to say No!! in a polite though ridiculous way

Tue Jan 10 15:07:10 UTC 2017

Hi Andreas,

I am not sure of your intention when you changed the title of the technical support request to "How to say No!! in a polite though ridiculous way," but please understand that I do not get paid to work on developing OpenChrome.
I am not a paid developer of VIA Technologies, thin client vendors, or Linux vendors like RedHat, Canonical, etc.
I do not mind becoming a paid developer, although I will rather not want to do it as a contractor.
I work on this out of my own time, and I have spent my own funds (probably around $500 already) collecting VIA Technologies silicon products specifically for validation of OpenChrome code changes I have made.
I have already spent 1.5 years on developing OpenChrome, and if it was not for me, nobody would have done maintenance / further development of OpenChrome past the buggy Version 0.3.3 release.
    Please understand that developers often do not like being forced to adopt end user's particular OS release.
For now, I stick to Xubuntu / Lubuntu based OSes, and this is because I am most familiar with those OSes.
I do maintain source code backward compatibility all the way to X.Org Server 1.7 / Linux 2.6.32.
I do try to make sure that OpenChrome works with OSes other than Ubuntu based OSes, but the primary validation is done on Ubuntu based OSes since that's what I am most familiar with.
    Although I have done so for 2 to 3 months, I have tested OpenChrome Version 0.5 with Lubuntu 12.04 on Wyse Vx0 thin client.
This contains P4M800 Pro chipset; the same chipset your Neoware mobile thin client has.
Someone who owns several VIA Technologies based silicon products taught me how to install Lubuntu 12.04 on a USB flash memory stick that is recognized as a USB hard drive.
This is now I verified that OpenChrome works with Wyse Vx0 thin client.
Just to prove that OpenChrome works with your Neoware m100 mobile thin client, I recommend that you obtain a USB flash memory stick that can be recognized as a USB hard drive, install something like Lubuntu 12.04 to see if OpenChrome works or not.
Just to let you know, I do own several Wyse thin clients like Vx0, Cx0, and Xx0L (mobile thin client), and do some testing from time to time.
Obviously, more testing gets done during RC (Release Candidate) stage of the development.
    As far as I can tell, the issue you are observing with the VGA related helper module is a Debian specific issue, and it is beyond the scope of OpenChrome project.
I am a digital hardware engineering background person doing device driver development, and as a result, I am not an OS build environment expert.
I do not even know how to use Git beyond very basic stuff, and even that stuff was taught by one of the previous OpenChrome developer who probably could not believe that I knew so little about Git.
To get assistance with your issue, you will need to find someone who is far more familar with those issues, specifically with regards to Debian.
If you check the December 2016 openchrome-devel mailing list, you will find two Debian related developers who asked OpenChrome to accept changes to the build script.
You may want to contact those developers who may be able to assist you better than I can.
Again, I can see why you will not be happy with the way things are going or how I have responded with your issue, but this is basically the best I can do since I am mostly focused on coding side of the development.

Regards,

Kevin Brace
The OpenChrome Project maintainer / developer

> Well, now, dear chaps, there at the VIA-front,
> 
> if you look at my installation-report:
> 
> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=800367
> 
>  particularly this part:
> 
> > lspci -knn: 00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro
> > Host Bridge [1106:0314] lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> > CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro Host Bridge [1106:0314] lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in
> > use: agpgart-via lspci -knn: 00:00.1 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> > CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro Host Bridge [1106:1314] lspci -knn: 00:00.2 Host bridge [0600]:
> > VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro Host Bridge [1106:2314] lspci -knn:
> > 00:00.3 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc. PT890 Host Bridge [1106:3208] lspci
> > - -knn: 00:00.4 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro Host
> > Bridge [1106:4314] lspci -knn: 00:00.7 Host bridge [0600]: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> > CN700/VN800/P4M800CE/Pro Host Bridge [1106:7314] lspci -knn: 00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]:
> > VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237/VX700 PCI Bridge [1106:b198] lspci -knn: 00:0b.0 CardBus
> > bridge [0607]: Texas Instruments PCI1510 PC card Cardbus Controller [104c:ac56] lspci
> > - -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn:
> > Kernel
> driver in use: yenta_cardbus lspci -knn: 00:0c.0 Network controller [0280]: Ralink corp.
> > RT2561/RT61 rev B 802.11g [1814:0302] lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Device [18e8:6194]
> > lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: rt61pci lspci -knn: 00:0f.0 IDE interface
> > [0101]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE
> > [1106:0571] (rev 06) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018]
> > lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: pata_via lspci -knn: 00:10.0 USB controller
> > [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 81)
> > lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn:
> > Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd lspci -knn: 00:10.1 USB controller [0c03]: VIA
> > Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 81) lspci -knn:
> > 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn: 	Kernel
> > driver
> in use: uhci_hcd lspci -knn: 00:10.2 USB controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> > VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 81) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem:
> > Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
> > lspci -knn: 00:10.3 USB controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xx/62xx UHCI USB
> > 1.1 Controller [1106:3038] (rev 81) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V.
> > Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
> > lspci -knn: 00:10.4 USB controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 [1106:3104]
> > (rev 86) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018]
> > lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
> > lspci -knn: 00:11.0 ISA bridge [0601]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 ISA bridge
> > [KT600/K8T800/K8T890 South] [1106:3227] lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V.
> > Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn: 00:11.5 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: VIA
> > Technologies, Inc. VT8233/A/8235/8237 AC97 Audio Controller [1106:3059] (rev 60) lspci
> > - -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018] lspci -knn: 00:11.6
> > Communication controller [0780]: VIA Technologies, Inc. AC'97 Modem Controller
> > [1106:3068] (rev 80) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device [1631:c018]
> > lspci -knn: 00:12.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102/VT6103
> > [Rhine-II] [1106:3065] (rev 78) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem: VIA Technologies, Inc.
> > Device [1106:0102] lspci -knn: 	Kernel driver in use: via-rhine lspci -knn:
> > 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/P4M800 Pro/P4M800
> > CE/VN800 Graphics [S3 UniChrome Pro] [1106:3344] (rev 01) lspci -knn: 	Subsystem:
> > VIA Technologies, Inc. CN700/P4M800 Pro/P4M800 CE/VN800 Graphics [S3 UniChrome Pro]
> > [1106:3344] usb-list: usb-list: Bus 01 Device 01: UHCI Host Controller [1d6b:0001]
> > usb-list:    Level 00 Parent 00 Port 00  Class 09(hub  ) Subclass 00 Protocol 00
> > usb-list:    Manufacturer: Linux 4.1.0-2-586 uhci_hcd usb-list:    Interface 00: Class
> 
> 
> It should be evident to you, that the device has VIA-graphics and so in fact
> openchrome-driver should be workable on it.
> Indeed none of my thin-clients with VIA-graphics currently works with Debian and
> openchrome, but this particular mobile thin-client is a special case, because of the term
> 'mobile'. It means, that is resembles a notebook, and thus the openchrome-driver needs to
> use the LVDS digital output, which is connected to the integrated LCD-screen.
> The other VIA-thin-clients work fine as nano-servers, graphic-output is dispensable, but
> neoware m100 should probably be used as a mobile-thin-client, because it has an integrated
> LCD-screen. 
> Unfortunately the memory of the device is not really upgradable, because one memory-socket
> is missing, and the other is connected only half-ways, one-sided. On top of this
> limitation, the device lacks USB2-ports, so it is badly, badly below standard, and using
> it is not really fun, except if you have some retro-computing interests maybe.
> To put it at simple terms: I will happily test the Debian-package of openchrome-driver on
> the device, as they come in, but compiling the driver source-code myself is clearly out
> of my scope in the context. I would love to help with VIA-driver development,
> but currently, I have other higher prioritized things to do, which promise better
> effectiveness and more overall-impact, so I feel investing my time there just makes more
> sense and is going to yield more useful, meaningful and relevant results.
> 
> Cheers!