Programmers Notes for PadOrbiter

Contained on this page are my notes for the PadOrbiter. Particularly in regards to the various bits of glue software that make the user experience more convenient.

TabletCFG

TabletCFG is the Configuration program for setting network parameters on the PadOrbiter. It modifies various configuration files to configure network parameters for the PadOrbiter to function properly.

Network Configuration Snippets

TabletCfg needs to modify various files to configure network parameters for the wireless card. These files are overwritten completely each time the configuration changes.

WPA-PSK

WPA-PSK requires that a configuration file for /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf and /etc/network/interfaces be modified.

/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
#ap_scan=2

network={
       ssid="your_ssid"
       scan_ssid=1
       proto=WPA RSN
       key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
       pairwise=CCMP TKIP
       group=CCMP TKIP
       psk=your_psk
}

Note: Add needed changes for using AES256 WPA encryption.

/etc/network/interfaces

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
pre-up wpa_supplicant -Bw -Dwext -ieth0 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
post-down killall -q wpa_supplicant

On-Screen Keyboard Notes

Due to the tablet nature of the PadOrbiter, an on-screen keyboard was necessary. It is embedded directly into the configuration window itself. I had tried various external keyboards, but was unsuccessful in finding a keyboard that was easy to use for this purpose.

The Keyboard merely appends the given letter to the cursor position (or removes it in the case of backspace) of the text field.

TODO: Find which ESSIDs are legal. Do I need to create an extended keyboard to support funky characters?

Todo

• Finish TabletCFG (CRITICAL)
• Replace bootscreen with LinuxMCE splash. (NICE TO HAVE)
• Modify Orbiter to allow for automatic configuration without needing to create an orbiter in the web admin. (CRITICAL)
• Optimize Boot process. (NICE TO HAVE)