Charging a ZipIt Z2 off USB

I love my little ZipIt Z2.  I don't always make room for it in my bag, and it was annoying me to cart around yet another adapter.  Taking a look at the back of the adapter, though ... five volts, you say?  1.2 Amps?  That sounds a lot like what USB provides!

And it turns out it works.  I chopped the barrel connector off the one end, and cannibalized one of the million USB cables I've accumulated in my life.  Twist them together to test -- solder them once I've got the polarity right -- and I'm all set.  Now it can travel with me, with one less accessory.

Shelving the Zipit Z2

W00!  I've now got a million weekend projects queued up, so the Zipit Z2 is going on the shelf for a bit.  It tweeted SSIDs and base station MAC addresses from here to Las Vegas -- which I like to think is a sort of modern-day stellar cartography exercise.

As soon as I need a cheap-ass, wifi-attached web/ssh server, it goes back into service. Meanwhile if anyone wants to borrow it ...

Skyhook Geolocation with a Zipit Z2?

I've been tweeting the wifi access points that my Zipit can see.  It just occurred to me, I should be able to stuff that into the Skyhook API and get a decent latlong value.  Hrm...

• Python to Skyhook (no python on my zipit, yet)
• Format of a POST to the api, with ruby and a curl one-liner (Z2 has curl on it...)
• Skyhook's official Linux quickstart (don't really wanna figure out C++ cross compiling for ARM)
• For extra credit, update a layer in SimpleGeo with my calculated latlong.

Looks like I'll need to get python working on the Z2.  Another possibility would be to gather the base station MAC addrs and post them raw to a cgi-script elsewhere, letting my own server do the skyhook request (and SimpleGeo post).  That's cheating, tho.

Even more Zipit fun

I know!  I know.  I can't stop.  I just loaded IZ2S (enhanced) 2.05b onto my Z2.  The dialog-based wifi setup is easier.  Also, the console font fits lots more columns on the page.  I copied over my script that scans for local wifi SSIDs and then posts to twitter -- it works just fine.  Gonna leave this one in the SD slot for a while -- it's great!

Zipit

That's Sven messing with the Zipit Z2.  Shortly after this, he demonstrated that you can, indeed, record audio on the thing.  Then he discovered the nfs filesystem support.  Sadly, sunsite no longer exports a public, read-only nfs volume to test against.  (I'm not kidding, he tried.)  That was just the first thirty minutes.  It's only a matter of time before he cross-compiles bind and runs n.root-servers.net from it.  I'm taking it away before it becomes the first node in Skynet.

A Weekend of Zipit Linux

Okay, so I spent a bunch of time messing with linux on the Zipit Wireless Z2, and took so many notes I put them in a separate page.  Installing and booting into the manufacturer's shell environment wasn't too tricky.  Getting the wifi to talk WPA2 was sneaky, but simple.

Next, I traded up to the IZ2S version of the shell, which has lots more stuff in it.  I got a web server running on the little toy, then figured out how to ssh to it, then finally topped it all off by making a twitter account and having it tweet something.  Zooom!

The Island of Misfit Storage Formats

So, the Zipit's add-on storage option was designed by Goldilocks.  The micro-SD format, that many cellfones use, is too small.  A standard SD card, that cameras and netbooks favor, is too big.  The "mini" SD is just right -- and who else uses it, I don't know.

I found a package from Patriot gathering dust at the local electronics superstore.  It's a teeny 2g micro-SD card, but it comes with an adapter to make it a mini-SD card plus a second adapter that makes it a regular SD card.  Problem solved, for ten bucks.

Now I just need porridge and bed adapter sets.

Zipit Wireless Messenger 2 (Z2)

I added the keys, for scale.

My new toy arrived today, a Zipit Wireless Messenger 2.  This little wifi-enabled palmtop computer caught my attention because you can hax0r it to run linux.  Oh, that and it costs fifty bucks, and we had a four-year-old target gift card for just that sum, gathering dust on a shelf.  Yoink!

Okay, so I unboxed it, plugged it in to AC so it can charge, and immediately did a google search for "zipit linux."  I expected to see links to some of the hack a day posts, or linux-for-devices posts that I've enjoyed lately.  Instead, I get the company's very own portal to resources for running linux on this thing!  I mean, they even link to tons of detailed tech specs!

This is a wonderful contrast to some companies' attitudes -- who've removed linux support to placate copyright bullies.  Seriously.  Homebrew.  It'll find a way in, with or without you.  "With" is whey more fun for everyone ... just sayin'.