July 3rd, 2010
I have just released Gmu 0.7.1. As usual you can download the latest Gmu version here at wejp.k.vu. This release comes with some new features as well as some bug fixes.
The major changes since the last release are:
- New introduction/help screen explaining the most important functions and their button mappings
- Gmu now remembers the current track and position on exit and resumes on the next start at the same position (can be disabled)
- Support for LIRC remote controls has been added (hardware supported by LIRC is neccessary to use that feature)
- Dingoo: Support for the hold/lock switch has been added
- Dingoo: Support for the new OpenDingux kernel has been added
- Pandora: Initial support for the Pandora handheld has been included
Please note that the Pandora support is still experimental.
Attention Ben NanoNote users: Make sure to delete the files located in /root/.config/gmu after updating, so Gmu uses its new configuration.
gmu-0.7.1-GP2X.zip (GP2X and Wiz version, 740 kB)
gmu-0.7.1-DINGOO.zip (Dingoo A320/A330 version, 680 kB)
gmu_0.7.1-1_xburst.ipk (Ben NanoNote package, 160 kB)
gmu-0.7.1-test.pnd (Pandora test version, 1.6 MB)
gmu-0.7.1.tar.gz (Gmu source, GPLv2, 180 kB)
Posted in Ben NanoNote, Dingoo A320, Dingoo A330, Dingux, GP2X, GP2X Wiz, Gmu, Pandora | 17 Comments »
June 8th, 2010
I have been asked to post a picture showing some handheld consoles to compare their sizes to the Pandora handheld. So here it is, a picture, showing the Dingoo A330, the Dingoo A320, the GP2X-F100, the Pandora console and the Ben NanoNote.
The Pandora’s size (when closed) is almost identical to that of the GP2X. Also, they are both equally thick when including the GP2X’s battery compartment, which sticks out a little.
Posted in Ben NanoNote, Dingoo A320, Dingoo A330, GP2X, Pandora | 1 Comment »
June 8th, 2010
Here is a screenshot of the first Gmu build running on the Pandora. It is not finished yet, but a first Pandora beta release will be ready soon. So, stay tuned!
Posted in Gmu, Pandora | No Comments »
June 5th, 2010
Introduction
I’ve just got my new Pandora console today and now I want to give you some impressions about this new device.
The Pandora is a handheld device designed by a few people from the GP2X community, built with money collected through pre-orders which started about one and a half year ago. Its release was delayed many times, but now the first units have been shipped to the customers. I was among the first to receive their Pandora console.
The Pandora came without any fancy package. Instead it came in bubble wrapping only. This was not a problem though. It arrived in good condition.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Pandora | 1 Comment »
May 28th, 2010
I just received my Dingoo A330. Thanks to Justin of dingoo-digital-usa.com for giving me a free A330!
In many ways the Dingoo A330 is very similar to the Dingoo A320. Still, one cannot call it the successor of the A320 as it is made by a different company. The A320 has been made by Dingoo Digital, while the A330 is made by Dingoo Technology. To make things even more complicated, Dingoo Technology is run partly by people previously working for Dingoo Digital. At least that is what I’ve read about these companies.
Dingoo Digital even claim on their website that the A330 is a fake.
Let’s see what this A330 looks like and how it compares to the A320.
The A330 came in a nice white box with colorful images of the device on it.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Dingoo A320, Dingoo A330 | No Comments »
April 10th, 2010
A new firmware image for the Ben NanoNote has been released. This image also includes the Gmu music player and comes with gmenu2x preinstalled, which is launched at boot instead of a shell.
Probably the easiest way to update the firmware is to use the reflash_ben.sh shell script.
Make sure to also read the Official Software Image wiki page which has a change log.
Posted in Ben NanoNote, Gmu | 2 Comments »
April 10th, 2010
Breakpoint was a huge demo scene party which took place in Bingen/Germany over the easter weekend since 2003. It was one of the biggest demo scene parties with visitors from all over the world. Breakpoint 2010 was the last Breakpoint party and was also the one with the most visitors. With over 1000 visitors, the party hall was extremely full this year.
Here are a few photos of Breakpoint 2010. Those are probably not the typical party pictures with shots of those crazy party people. 
There are plenty of those on the net, so if searching for those, look elsewhere.
The party hall:
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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
March 29th, 2010
After eight beta releases it is finally here: The Gmu Music Player version 0.7.0. This Gmu release comes with full source (GPLv2 licensed) and is available for the GP2X (with Open2X firmware), the GP2X Wiz, the Dingoo A320 (with Dingux) and the Ben NanoNote.
Please note that due to the new theme engine old Gmu skins are no longer compatible with this release. Creating new themes is rather simple though. For those who are interested in creating Themes for Gmu, just have a look at the supplied default theme for now. If I find some time, I’ll write a little theme creation tutorial later on.
Compared to the last beta release there are only a few minor changes and bug fixes. Most of these changes are relevant for porting Gmu to new devices and are less visible to the end user. Still, it is worth upgrading Gmu even if you have been using the last beta release, as some bugs have been fixed.
Attention Ben NanoNote users: In the current firmware (2010-03-26) libSDL is broken, which prevents Gmu from working with that version. To use Gmu you need to replace it with a working version. For your convenience I’ve added a suitable version to the downloads (see below). You need to replace the file in /usr/lib with this versionn (or another working version). This libSDL version is compiled with fbcon support instead of directfb (which seems to be broken).
gmu-0.7.0-DINGOO.zip (Dingux version, 660 KB)
gmu-0.7.0-GP2X.zip (GP2X & Wiz version, 720 KB)
gmu_0.7.0-1_xburst.ipk (Ben NanoNote opkg package, 145 KB)
libSDL-1.2.so.0 (Replacement libSDL for the broken libSDL in the 2010-03-26 Ben NanoNote firmware, 950 KB)
gmu-0.7.0.tar.gz (GPL’ed source, 170 KB)
gmu-openwrt-package-config.tar.gz (OpenWRT package configuration, 2 KB)
Posted in Ben NanoNote, Dingoo A320, Dingux, GP2X, GP2X Wiz, Gmu | 21 Comments »
March 3rd, 2010
Thanks to the guys from qi-hardware, I’ve just got my own Ben NanoNote. I want to share a few impressions of the little device with you. Here are some pictures which I have taken right after unpackaging it.
The Ben NanoNote came in a nice black box, quite similar to the package of the GP2X F100.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Ben NanoNote | 6 Comments »
February 26th, 2010
Gmu has been around for quite some time now and previous versions of Gmu always have been released as Freeware. Today I release another version of Gmu. It is another beta release of the 0.7.0 series and hopefully the last beta release until the final 0.7.0 release.
Over the past few years, people have frequently asked me if I would release the source code of the Gmu music player, but until today I didn’t. Although I had planned to release Gmu as open source software, I always wanted to make Gmu somewhat feature-complete, first. Now Gmu is very close to such a state. Of course there will always be features worth adding and bugs that need to be fixed, but (in my opinion) it is in a very usable state.
Actually, I had planned to release Version 0.7.0 as Gmu’s first open source release. The reason for doing it earlier with this 0.7.0_BETA8 version, are the guys at sharism.cc who develop open source hardware like the Ben NanoNote which I have mentioned a few posts earlier. They would like to ship those NanoNote devices with Gmu as the device’s music player.
What’s new in this release? Actually not that much considering new features, but there still has been a notable change. I’ve improved Gmu’s theme engine such that it will be possible to use Gmu on devices with screen resolutions other than the good old 320×240 resolution used on the GP2X, Wiz and Dingoo. This is not of much use for those devices but allows for easier porting of Gmu to other devices. Unfortunately, this change also means that you cannot use your old Gmu skins, but it is rather simple to create your own new themes with the new theme engine. Just have a look at the new “default-modern” theme, which comes with this Gmu release.
So here it is. The Gmu Open Source Edition released under the GPLv2 (GNU General Public License version 2). Also, for your convenience, there are binary builds for the GP2X, GP2X Wiz and the Dingoo A320.
gmu-0.7.0_BETA8B-GP2X.zip (GP2X and Wiz release, 707 KB)
gmu-0.7.0_BETA8B-DINGOO.zip (Dingux release, 671 KB)
gmu-0.7.0_BETA8B.tar.gz (GPL’d source code, 163 KB)
When trying to build Gmu please have a look at the BUILD.txt file first. There are important information on how to build Gmu binaries for different targets.
Also, new users should have a look at the README.txt file that comes with every Gmu release.
Update: Right after the release a minor bug has been discovered, which I have already fixed. So here is an updated BETA8B release.
Posted in Ben NanoNote, Dingoo A320, Dingux, GP2X, GP2X Wiz, Gmu | 1 Comment »
