MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - SmartQ 7 Customization: Stock OS

ColdSun · 06-10-2009, 03:15 AM

I know some of you purchased your SmartQ 7 to read comics. I'm going to show you how to make your device into a great comic book reader. Next, I'm going to show you how to load a replacement image viewer that has far more features than the stock image viewer that comes with the device. I'm going to help you install these applications, but you must do so at your own risk.

Quick Note: Bug Found in the SmartQ 7 OS!
People may be having trouble with "SDHC" (high capacity) cards when trying to install applications (using the package installer). My suggestion is to get a standard 1-2GB SD (NOT high capacity) card to fix this issue. It seems to have trouble creating a file called "soft.img" on the card. The steps below are vital in getting the SmartQ 7 open to install new applications to the stock OS:

1. Format your standard SD card for FAT32 (use a card reader and your Windows PC or if you have something else to do it you can do it that way) - don't put any files on it
2. Make sure the SmartQ 7 is OFF and insert the newly formatted SD card.
3. After the device boots up, click on the SmartQ icon (looks kind of like four colored circles in the top left of the screen) to bring down the system menu.
4. Select System Tools
5. Select GDebi Package Installer
6. Let the package installer finish loading - it might take a little while. If you get an SD Card Failed to Init error - then your SD card may not be compatible or you might have skipped step 1 and had an existing soft.img file that needs to be removed from the card. Be sure you format it just for good measure.
7. At this point you can close the GDebi Package Installer. We will be opening it later, when we begin to install our new applications. Normally, for Linux, you would simply use a repository and grab whatever applications you need. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get that working yet. So we need to download them to the device.

Installing Your New Applications
Assuming you have followed the requirement above, you should be ready to start installing applications to the SmartQ 7. You can find more applications by going to the parent directories of the application links I give you for the apps below. For now, I'm giving you direct links to the applications. BE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD THESE FILES TO THE SD CARD! YOUR DEVICE DOESN"T HAVE LOTS OF FLASH MEMORY (only 1GB).

Comix - Comic Book Reader

1. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for Python Imaging (required to install Comix).
2. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for Comix.
3. Click the SmartQ icon (top left of screen) to open the system menu.
4. Select System Tools
5. Select GDebi Package Installer (GPI from this point forward)
6. Click the File menu from the GPI.
7. Select Open from the File Menu.
8. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure.
9. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the python-imaging_1.1.6-1ubuntu5_arm.deb file and click the Open button.

NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button.

10. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required python imaging files. This might take a few minutes so grab a drink and relax.

11. You should see a message indicating the package has been successfully installed. Click to close the message and you should be back at the packet's information screen. At this point we are ready to install the next DEB package.

12. Select Open from the File Menu.
13. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure.
14. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the comix_3.6.4-1.1_all.deb file and click the Open button.

NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button.

15. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required Comix files to the device.

16. Don't worry! The hard part is over. You might notice no icon on your desktop for the Comix program. Never fear! We fill put one there. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left of your device's screen.

17. Select System Tools
18. Select PC Man File Manager
19. Go to /usr/share/applications
20. You should see a green cat-like icon there that says Comix. Click Edit from the menu and Select Copy to copy the file to memory.
21. Go to /home/user/desktop and click Edit and Paste the file to the desktop. You can now launch Comix from the desktop!

Mirage Image Viewer
This is a pretty sleek, fast and feature-rich image viewer. It should give you the features you need to replace the stock image viewing application included with the device. One feature someone asked me to help find was a viewer with slideshow abilities. Here it is!

1. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for the Mirage Image Viewer application.
2. Click the SmartQ icon (top left of screen) to open the system menu.
3. Select System Tools
4. Select GDebi Package Installer (GPI from this point forward)
5. Click the File menu from the GPI.
6. Select Open from the File Menu.
7. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure.
8. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the mirage_0.9-1_arm.deb file and click the Open button.

NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button.

9. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required Mirage files.

10. You should see a message indicating the package has been successfully installed. Click to close the message and you should be back at the packet's information screen.

11. Don't worry! The hard part is over. You might notice no icon on your desktop for the Comix program. Never fear! We fill put one there. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left of your device's screen (you can close the package installler now).

12. Select System Tools
13. Select PC Man File Manager
14. Go to /usr/share/applications
15. You should see a Tree icon there that says Mirage. Click Edit from the menu and Select Copy to copy the file to memory.
16. Go to /home/user/desktop and click Edit and Paste the file to the desktop. You can now launch Mirage from the desktop!

Another Quick and Optional Trick
Some folks (like me) don't like single-clicking to launch applications. I find that I sometimes launch more than one! You can change it to require double-clicks if you are interested.

1. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left corner of the screen to bring down the system menu.
2. Click System Tools
3. Click PC Man File Manager
4. Click Edit from the menu along the top of the file manager
5. Click Preferences from the Edit menu.
6. In the general tab, uncheck the "Open Files with a single click" option.
7. Click OK to close the Preferences window.
8. Close the File Manager application and you are finished.

I'll post more information about customizing the SmartQ after I do a full review (tomorrow). I'll be loading Mer on the device next and am working hand-in-hand with the developers of Mer to test the device for the new OS. I will also explore WinCE for this device as soon as it is ready.

P.S. Sorry for the blurry pictures! It was late and I'm pooped.

Regards,
Cold

06-10-2009, 03:15 AM	#1
ColdSun Developer/Device Reviews Posts: 588 Karma: 22183 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Device: Sony Xperia Tablet Z, Kindle Paperwhite 2, Lenovo Yoga 8, IPad 3	SmartQ 7 Customization: Stock OS - Comics and Image Slideshow I know some of you purchased your SmartQ 7 to read comics. I'm going to show you how to make your device into a great comic book reader. Next, I'm going to show you how to load a replacement image viewer that has far more features than the stock image viewer that comes with the device. I'm going to help you install these applications, but you must do so at your own risk. Quick Note: Bug Found in the SmartQ 7 OS! People may be having trouble with "SDHC" (high capacity) cards when trying to install applications (using the package installer). My suggestion is to get a standard 1-2GB SD (NOT high capacity) card to fix this issue. It seems to have trouble creating a file called "soft.img" on the card. The steps below are vital in getting the SmartQ 7 open to install new applications to the stock OS: 1. Format your standard SD card for FAT32 (use a card reader and your Windows PC or if you have something else to do it you can do it that way) - don't put any files on it 2. Make sure the SmartQ 7 is OFF and insert the newly formatted SD card. 3. After the device boots up, click on the SmartQ icon (looks kind of like four colored circles in the top left of the screen) to bring down the system menu. 4. Select System Tools 5. Select GDebi Package Installer 6. Let the package installer finish loading - it might take a little while. If you get an SD Card Failed to Init error - then your SD card may not be compatible or you might have skipped step 1 and had an existing soft.img file that needs to be removed from the card. Be sure you format it just for good measure. 7. At this point you can close the GDebi Package Installer. We will be opening it later, when we begin to install our new applications. Normally, for Linux, you would simply use a repository and grab whatever applications you need. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get that working yet. So we need to download them to the device. Installing Your New Applications Assuming you have followed the requirement above, you should be ready to start installing applications to the SmartQ 7. You can find more applications by going to the parent directories of the application links I give you for the apps below. For now, I'm giving you direct links to the applications. BE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD THESE FILES TO THE SD CARD! YOUR DEVICE DOESN"T HAVE LOTS OF FLASH MEMORY (only 1GB). Comix - Comic Book Reader 1. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for Python Imaging (required to install Comix). 2. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for Comix. 3. Click the SmartQ icon (top left of screen) to open the system menu. 4. Select System Tools 5. Select GDebi Package Installer (GPI from this point forward) 6. Click the File menu from the GPI. 7. Select Open from the File Menu. 8. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure. 9. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the python-imaging_1.1.6-1ubuntu5_arm.deb file and click the Open button. NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button. 10. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required python imaging files. This might take a few minutes so grab a drink and relax. 11. You should see a message indicating the package has been successfully installed. Click to close the message and you should be back at the packet's information screen. At this point we are ready to install the next DEB package. 12. Select Open from the File Menu. 13. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure. 14. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the comix_3.6.4-1.1_all.deb file and click the Open button. NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button. 15. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required Comix files to the device. 16. Don't worry! The hard part is over. You might notice no icon on your desktop for the Comix program. Never fear! We fill put one there. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left of your device's screen. 17. Select System Tools 18. Select PC Man File Manager 19. Go to /usr/share/applications 20. You should see a green cat-like icon there that says Comix. Click Edit from the menu and Select Copy to copy the file to memory. 21. Go to /home/user/desktop and click Edit and Paste the file to the desktop. You can now launch Comix from the desktop! Mirage Image Viewer This is a pretty sleek, fast and feature-rich image viewer. It should give you the features you need to replace the stock image viewing application included with the device. One feature someone asked me to help find was a viewer with slideshow abilities. Here it is! 1. Click Here to download the deb installation package file for the Mirage Image Viewer application. 2. Click the SmartQ icon (top left of screen) to open the system menu. 3. Select System Tools 4. Select GDebi Package Installer (GPI from this point forward) 5. Click the File menu from the GPI. 6. Select Open from the File Menu. 7. Navigate to Disk (should be a shortcut there for it now) - if you don't find it, never fear - just find the Media/Disk folder from the root of the device file structure. 8. You should have saved the above DEB Install Package files and they should be listed here. Click the mirage_0.9-1_arm.deb file and click the Open button. NOTE: You may receive an error message talking about the package already being available in your software channel. Just ignore it by clicking the OK button. 9. Select the Install Package button to the top right of the current dialog window that gives information about the packet itself. This will install the required Mirage files. 10. You should see a message indicating the package has been successfully installed. Click to close the message and you should be back at the packet's information screen. 11. Don't worry! The hard part is over. You might notice no icon on your desktop for the Comix program. Never fear! We fill put one there. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left of your device's screen (you can close the package installler now). 12. Select System Tools 13. Select PC Man File Manager 14. Go to /usr/share/applications 15. You should see a Tree icon there that says Mirage. Click Edit from the menu and Select Copy to copy the file to memory. 16. Go to /home/user/desktop and click Edit and Paste the file to the desktop. You can now launch Mirage from the desktop! Another Quick and Optional Trick Some folks (like me) don't like single-clicking to launch applications. I find that I sometimes launch more than one! You can change it to require double-clicks if you are interested. 1. Click the SmartQ icon in the top left corner of the screen to bring down the system menu. 2. Click System Tools 3. Click PC Man File Manager 4. Click Edit from the menu along the top of the file manager 5. Click Preferences from the Edit menu. 6. In the general tab, uncheck the "Open Files with a single click" option. 7. Click OK to close the Preferences window. 8. Close the File Manager application and you are finished. I'll post more information about customizing the SmartQ after I do a full review (tomorrow). I'll be loading Mer on the device next and am working hand-in-hand with the developers of Mer to test the device for the new OS. I will also explore WinCE for this device as soon as it is ready. P.S. Sorry for the blurry pictures! It was late and I'm pooped. Regards, Cold Last edited by ColdSun; 06-10-2009 at 03:19 AM.