Dedicated Linux Notebook

Asked by john

Hello,
I would like to recycle an old Sony Vaio Notebook PCG-N505VE.
It is small and very portable to take into the field observing.
However, the WIN 98 operating system is no longer supported and was always a resource pig.
My thought is to make it a dedicated machine running a small linux kernal and Stellarium.
If I could attached the encoders on my AP-800 mount to it through an interface box, via the usb port
the notebook could act as a digital setting circle as well.

Of course this idea leads to many questions, I will only ask 3:
First, does this sound plausable?
Second, which varriant of linux would you recommend?
Third, could you direct me to a linux guru that would like to collaborate on a project like this?

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Bogdan Marinov
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Best Bogdan Marinov (daggerstab) said :
#1

Hello.

I had a look at PCG-N505VE's specifications. I doubt that it will be able to run Stellarium smoothly, if it can run Stellarium at all. The crucial parts are the graphics card (Stellarium is a 3D-accelerated application), the RAM size and the processor. Stellarium also is a resource hog. :) Some of the older versions may run, though.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/stellarium/files/Stellarium-sources/
I think that everything after 8.1 supports telescope control, but in the old way - set up via the configuration file. I am also not sure if your mount will be supported by the existing telescope servers for Stellarium. Is it compatible with Meade LX-200/Autostar or Celestron NexStar?

As for the Linux distribution, some distributions claim that they will run on anything:
- You can try Gentoo:
http://www.gentoo.org/
- or Slackware:
http://www.slackware.com/
but I think that you may need help during the set up.

These distributions boast that they have been optimized for older hardware:
- Damn Small Linux:
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
- Vector Linux Light edition:
http://www.vectorlinux.com/

This list contains notes by people who have installed various Linux distributions on a PCG-N505VE:
http://tuxmobil.org/sony.html
It seems that there may be a small but resolvable issue with the network card.

I can't recommend a "guru". Although I use Ubuntu for development, I am not one. :) After you choose a distribution, you can ask for help on its forum or mailing list.

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john (jholst) said :
#2

Thanks Bogdan Marinov, that solved my question.

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john (jholst) said :
#3

Thank you for the quick and thorough response.
I think I will stick to running Stellarium on my thinkpad.
Sounds like recycling the old machine will be challenging and a time sink.
Really appreciate your help.
John