PRS-600 Where can I find the Linux source code?

[Xaphiosis]

The Linux license is GPL, this means sony must release the source code for it, right? I've seen some old posts where there used to be source for the 500, but I have a 600, and going to http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/ doesn't give me the sources for anything ebook related.

Do any of you guys know where it's disappeared off to?

[sol_barbez]

Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/Audio/PRS-600.html

I think it's confusing. But the ebook-readers are in the Audio category:
http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/A...ategory03.html

[Xaphiosis]

Yes! That's exactly it!

D'oh. I think I've been staying up too late with this reader... then again, I wouldn't ever look under audio. You sir, are a genius.

Thank you!

[sol_barbez]

Well thanks.
I'm not a genius though. I wouldn't know what to do with the source code, though I run linux on my desktop. Do you?
Is it some kind of Red Hat running on the PRS-600? At least it's som kind of rpm-package management it seems.

[Xaphiosis]

Compared to me at the time? Definitely genius :P

Well, I don't know what to do yet, I'm just setting up the ARM toolchain in order to take a look. You can get a toolchain here: http://www.gnuarm.com/

The linux running on the device seems to be "MontaVista linux", /proc/cpuinfo shows:

Processor	: ARMv6-compatible processor rev 4 (v6l)
BogoMIPS	: 398.12
Features	: swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp java 
CPU implementer	: 0x41
CPU architecture: 6TEJ
CPU variant	: 0x0
CPU part	: 0xb36
CPU revision	: 4
Hardware	: Freescale MX31 EBX5016
Revision	: 31020

My current problem is that I'm limited to editing the load_test.600.sh code that you place in test/ to run the porkupan/igorsk firmware loader, which is tiresome. I want to make it so I can just put stuff on an SD card, stick it in and it'll magically run, like (so I hear) the old reader versions used to be able to (allowing the development of, for example, PRS+). What I would really want is to ssh into the device via the USB connection, but I haven't heard of anyone succeeding with that. Maybe the russians have, but it's hard for me reading their forums via google translate so I don't know.

My other problem is that I know some stuff about how to implement a kernel in general, but don't know that many specifics. This means that there are gaps in my knowledge. For instance, I can clearly see that there's a /dev/fb framebuffer device, and I'm sincerely hoping it represents the screen (which I will investigate once I get a "hello world" working)... but the touch screen interface? I don't see it anywhere. Even if I did see it, I don't currently know how to set up a callback to be told when the user does something, etc. So it's a very fun exploratory exercise for me into the world of embedded linux. Probably the best way to actually have something happen it to modify the xml and js files in /opt/sony/ebook/application/... there's a guide somewhere that's for the 505, but lots of the "modify this" info applies to the 600 once you get porkupan's russified firmware installed: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08...k_sony_reader/

Feel free to ask me questions though. If I know something, I'm willing to share, but I really don't know that much right yet

[sol_barbez]

You know a thing or two... I have a hard time just reading your post. But I would love to read more if you found a way to unlock hidden power in the PRS-600.

Something about Freescale processors and ebook-displays. Maybe it can inspire you:
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/N...escale-iMX508/

So is this the processor?
http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/...sp?code=i.MX31

Good luck. And don't make a brick out of your reader.

And how did you get to see the /proc/cpuinfo?

[patpat]

you might be interested on this
http://pastie.org/857018/wrap
this is AFAIK the source code for ebook_msc.exe part of the russification thing... so far I couldn't find the included libgen.h ...
I also think should be a way to start a session via USB probably it's just a matter of completely understand what MSCEncComm.dll & USBDLL.dll are able to do...

[Mike_73]

I haven't got a glue either what exactly you say, but one thing I found for sure in borodas "about" screen of the russification for the 600:

- Autorun from /Data

is this what you are looking for?

reading the russian threads was a bit cumbersome for me, too. But at least I managed to get the russification on my reader. I didn't really care about replacing netherlands with russian, but I wanted the clock again.

[Xaphiosis]

sol_barbez: wow, thanks, it looks like that may well be the device! The readers definitely have vizplex displays. I'll take a look at that and see if there's any extra info I can use.

patpat: thank you, I didn't realise the source was out there at all! Unfortunately, I can't do much with dll files, as I don't run windows. Maybe it'll work under wine, but I doubt it. In my initial investigation of the system, I don't see how we could run a shell over the USB interface. I may be too much of a noob to see it, but my instinct tells me the functionality would have to be added on the reader side too, not just on the PC side. Maybe someone crazy will figure out how to plug a usb network card into the reader along with the right drivers and go outwards rather than inwards? No idea. If you find out anything, could you throw it my way?

For everyone trying to read my post and not comprehending... I may not be explaining things very well.

If you check this thing I wrote: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...953#post870953
then you'll see I'm doing a small modification to the firmware and then using porkupan/igorsk's loader to test-load the new firmware by putting it in the test/ directory on the reader's internal memory (READER). The loader executes the load_test.600.sh shell script which does the actual loading. What I'm doing is playing around with that script. So for example, my version of the script ends with:

# node internal memory is at this point mounted at /Data
# SD card is not
echo "Xaph diagnostics" >> $W_LOG
/bin/date
cat /proc/cpuinfo 2>&1 >> $W_LOG
echo "Uname:" >> $W_LOG
uname -a 2>&1 >> $W_LOG
echo "ASM:" >> $W_LOG
/Data/test/hello/hello_asm 2>&1 >> $W_LOG
echo "C:" >> $W_LOG
/Data/test/hello/hello 2>&1 >> $W_LOG
echo "FB:" >> $W_LOG
/Data/test/hello/fb 2>&1 >> $W_LOG
echo "End Xaph diagnostics" >> $W_LOG

This is the file in /test on READER along with the firmware (see guide). So every time I want to test it, I have to turn my reader off, turn it on, wait, remove the sd card, press vol+ and home and insert the sd card, press zoom, wait for script, wait for reboot, plug the reader in via usb, then examine READER/test/script.log to see what happened. Hardly optimal :/ sol_barbez, does this answer your question?

As far as I know, that's what the "Autorun from /Data" means, as "/Data" is where the reader's internal memory (READER) is mounted. What I want is to pop in an SD card and have the reader just magically run what's on it.

Another reason I'm not so understandable is that I've got a horrific headache for about three days now, and so instead of focusing on what I should be doing, I'm playing around with my reader. It makes me happier, distracts me, but sadly I'm no more coherent.

Once again, thanks everyone