dingoo-scene

 

With the release of dualboot, it’s easy to think of non-Dingux ports as so … oh … last week but let’s remember that the Dingoo also comes with a native SDK, and Alekmaul has used it to port Spout ... again . Read about it here or here !

‘nuff said.

Here is a translated link for those who need to play Beneath a Steel Sky, like, NOW!

Shockingly, some people think the loading screen for the Dingoo’s default GBA emulator is ugly: No, surely not! However, if it really bugs you, salvation is here in the form of LSChange v 1.1, which you can read about and grab here: http://a320.freeforums.org/lschange-v1-1-t692.html This cool program is brought to you by www.dingoogermany.wordpress.de – check out an English translated link of this new Dingoo blog here .

Patman’s done a nice mock up of what Dingoo-“cartridge” packaging would look like.  Nice concept, Patman. Blab about it here: http://a320.freeforums.org/dingoo-cartridges-t654.html

Here’s another video review of this Dingoo pretender , which is a little more watchable than the Russian one a few posts below:

That's right, hot on the heels of the last release comes another update - this time squashing a possibly major bug & further tidying up some other minor annoyances. Booboo strongly recommends all us dual-booters heed his word & update (grab it here ). Another recent post on his blog details the tribulations of LCD driver autodetection. If you have any constructive ideas, don't be shy & help him out !

If you are bothered by the slowdown in the original firmware, fear no more, as Booboo has updated the dual-boot installer, and this issue has been resolved. You can grab it at the usual place . Booboo also reveals that things have been progressing quickly because of him taking time off his day-job due to sickness. I think I speak for everyone when I say 'We wish you a speedy recovery & Thank you so much for all your effort!' =] Rest well Booboo, you certainly deserve it!

After posting on his blog a theory about DMA starvation causing the slowdown, Booboo wrote a program to further investigate, and has determined the real culprit : A bug in the original firmware that affects the pixel-clock multiplier. In layman's terms, the pixel clock speed after being initialized on a dual boot system is less than that of the original, leading to the slowdown. However, this also fixes the screen tearing issue, which is an advantage to some. Booboo says that he has already fixed the problem and is readying a new release, but is ironing out some additional discrepancies with the GPIO. He also posted code to aid anyone who would like to write a program that adjusts the pixel clock speed (similar to the programs from A600 that adjust clock speed). Kudos to Booboo for finding (and fixing) the problem so fast!

After the installation of dualboot, the infamous tearing problem in the original Dingoo SEGA Megadrive/Genesis emulator appears to be fixed! Look at this video of the Dingoo running MUSHA after Dingux – no screen tearing at all!  MUSHA, a fast scrolling shoot ‘em up, used to screen tear like crazy before the dualboot patch.

Here is a video of the “slowdown” I experienced after installing Dingux Dualboot: There does appear to be a slight slowdown but it just add a touch of sluggishness, as you can see.  It doesn’t seem worth worrying about as the menu is still perfectly usable.

You’ve probably read the news elsewhere, but it’s posted here for completeness. Two steps forward, one step back: it appears that for some users, installing dualboot causes a slowdown of the original firmware menus.  Strangely, the original emulators work fine, and in the case of the megadrive emulator, the problem also fixes the screen tearing.  For those who find they prefer a virginal Dingoo, Booboo released an uninstaller for dualboot about 2 hours ago. Read all about it on Booboo’s blog .

Quadomatic over at the Opendingoo wiki has posted a detailed guide on installing dualboot and what to do afterwards: http://opendingoo.com/wiki/index.php/Dingoo-Linux#History At present, this guide will help you end up with SnesX - so you’ll at least have a good reason to put up with the possibility of dualboot causing slow menus .  You can also use this link: to help with getting Duke Nukem going.  As the man says, “Come get some!”

Here’s a quick Google translation of yoannd26’s dualboot Dingux installation guide: http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=n&u=http%3A%2F%2Fgueux-forum.net%2Findex.php%3Fshowtopic%3D217694&sl=fr&tl=en&history_state0=

Unless you’ve been under a rock, or like me, just got home from work – there’s nothing more to say except GO HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY TO GET IT!!!!! Well, you can also read more and discuss it here: http://www.dingux.com/2009/06/dual-boot-installer-released.html

BooBoo has decided to change the name "Lingoox" to "Dingux". An update on his blog (now located at www.dingux.com ) says that he'd just like to get on with coding & I'm sure no one will have a problem with that ;]. Now we can all put this behind us & get to back to compiling emus!

Just as a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so shall linux on the A320 ... well ... you know what I mean. BooBoo posted on his blog addressing the recent name-change talk, and he welcomes you (yes you!) to join in! Many names have been suggested thus far, but only one that is available as a domain name will do. Here is a (partial) list of names that have been suggested: Lingoo-X Dingux Lingux Dinlux DinGNU Xingoo Dinux DinTux LingoOS DingoOS DinBoo LinBoo DinLin Dinguin BooBoo also states that while "BooBoo Linux" is flattering he does not feel right putting his name on it due to the major contributions of those before him. Leave a post voicing your favorite here.

This apparently happened to a Dutch poster here , which suggests strongly that if you’ve ever received items safe and sound from Dealextreme, it’s worth reflecting on how lucky you’ve really been.  

Wahoo, here it is from lingoox.org to save y’all the clicking: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Quick update Sorry for the slow updates. I've had to deal with lots of unexpected trouble during testing of dual-boot, plus school finished recently and thus my two daughters require more attention. I appreciate your support very much and I know you're all holding your breath for the dual-boot functionality, so, please excuse me for the delay. This is what's been done: Dual boot code has been moved from U-Boot to the SPL: removes tiny delay introduced when booting the original firmware. LCD support implemented both in SPL and U-Boot (both ILI9325 and ILI9331). The LCD now goes live immediately on bootup, which is great when loading linux because otherwise you would see a black LCD for a couple of seconds until the kernel framebuffer driver kicks in, and it is a bit confusing. ...

I don’t know bout you, but I like to spend any available spare time on Tuesdays with some hard liquor, mindlessly surfing the net, all the better to brace my nerves for the rest of the week ahead, as I struggle with the torturous soul-destroying evil which is full time employment. Lucky for us all, Booboo appears to enjoy spending Tuesdays optimising code to fit in 8K of memory, among other things: A gentle reminder to all and sundry again from our interview with Booboo not that damn long ago, that he’s got a life too. So all you whinging ingrates – you know who you are - can stop your pitiful whining. Booboo is back!

The Dealextreme site appears to be operating much better.  All DDOS problems solved, hopefully. See? Every weekend, something good happens.

Remember this? Click here to buy one, yada yada.   More information has emerged on it in the DX forums, including this video: And this review : If you are looking for a portable emulation machine, this really isn't it. There's the four face buttons and the two shoulder buttons. Well, the shoulder buttons don't do jack in any game. So your emulation enjoyment is limited to games using 4 buttons or less. That limits you to NES, OG 3 button Genesis and GBA & SNES ROMs (That don't require shoulder buttons and will run full speed). That's right GBA and SNES are hit and miss. Some run fine, others run choppy. Turning off audio in the system settings speeds things up, but then you're left with no sound. There are no options for the emulators. No button remapping. There is 1 save state per ROM. And all ROMs are stretched to 16x9. No NeoGeo, MAME, Atari 2600, etc... And when they say BIN format games, it's their own proprietary fo...

Dingoo-digital.com are holding a contest for the upcoming launch of their internet webstore.  You have to design a logo for it.  Read about it here .

What the - is it a Dingoo, Lingoox, or what? Rookie 1 has implemented a menu system for Lingoox which looks like the original Dingoo OS. Read about it and discuss here .  Very nice.

Being the handheld console equivalent of a sawn off NDS certainly has its advantages, as it means you can readily use NDS accessories like the Cyber Coin Assist if you find Dingoo’s keypad somewhat lacking in travel.  It features on Ubergizmo this week , and distinguishes itself by looking well made and featuring a nice black string.  Can anyone translate the Japanese characters? Thanks to Strider_mtk for the link!

“STILL down? What about these missing SKUs?! Enough have I had, forsooth. Can I buy retail on Alibaba?”   OK, don’t panic.  Really. The Eighth Wonder of E-Commerce, the site which broke my “Gotta buy something on Ebay NOW” addiction (by replacing it with a “Gotta buy something from DealExtreme NOW” addiction), the site that’s sold almost as many Dingoos as Lingoox most certainly will – the best place to source a flashlight, flashcart or garlic peeler – www.dealextreme.com (click here to buy a white Dingoo and here to buy a black one – if you ever can again!) – well, it’s been more disembodied than a dead robed Jedi for close to a week! What’s going on? Looks like it’s under a DDOS attack! Fortunately, a brave lone commando from their backup call centre (think his name was Kyle) managed to smuggle the message below to here , hidden in a parcel marked “Gift”: Dear Valued Customers, As you may have all noticed that there a...

Well, here we are on the cusp of a new dawn for the Dingoo.  But even after dualboot, something will be missing - until – aww geez, could someone please port VICE, or any other C64 emulator for that matter, please, please, please, please, please, with a big brown cherry on top? This post, brought to you out of pure personal interest, the fact that DealExtreme has been flaky for more than a week so I can’t waste my time there, and because it’s a slow Dingoo news day.

Almost as important as dualboot is some way of launching Dingoo apps without a keyboard – and until Gmenu is ported, or a virtual keyboard developed, Ainu’s workaround is going to be very useful.  Read about and grab it here: http://a320.freeforums.org/dingoo-file-manager-or-using-dingoo-without-pc-t608.html (If you’re so inclined, Ainu’s solution now allows you - even without dualboot - to play ported games without a PC after Linux is launched.  You’ll still need a PC to boot Linux though, and once you turn the Dingoo off, you’ll have to connect to a PC to boot Linux again, of course.) Well done, Ainu! Another video is linked here: http://video.mail.ru/mail/klepid/_myvideo/1.html

From the A320 freeforums, Zear announces: Hey guys, it's me again, with another port for our Dingoos This time it's Blockrage - a falling blocks game with quite nice graphics. It's staticly compiled, so it should work with every rootfs. The sources are included. What's even more interesting is the 2-players-at-one-console game mode. Probably a first multiplayer game for A320 So, if you have a second person to play with - try it. Download: archive mirror …… And now a little preview of what's coming for Dingoo next time >click< Discuss it here: http://a320.freeforums.org/blockrage-for-dingoo-linux-t609.html

Patience young skywalker, patience... Booboo has posted a small update on his blog asking for our patience as he irons out the final kinks before release. yes, I said I'd be releasing binaries this weeked, but though I've dedicated quite a lot of hours, there were many issues to address. Please be patient. Just like wine, these things take time to mature, and I'm sure we'd all rather wait a little bit longer for a finely crafted zinfandel than some cheap swill. Keep on chooglin' Booboo!

Just posted on Booboo’s blog : Still preparing the dual boot package release. Meanwhile, here 's a short video of dual boot working. The final version lits the LCD as soon as you switch it on, but shows nothing on it until the kernel framebuffer driver takes control. It's not nice but is better than having a dark screen (which felt like something was not working). One note on boot time: the current boot process involves u-boot and a one second delay before mounting the root filesystem. u-boot is necessary because we are booting from miniSD and the delay is needed to let the kernel hotplug system detect the miniSD. Eventually, when linux replaces the original firmware (don't hold your breath), those delays will disappear.  

Spout appears to be a thrust clone of sorts: … and looks like it can double as an Atari 2600 addiction quick fix placebo for the moment.  Grab and discuss it here . Thanks Zear!

Yet another thing to try when Dual Boot is released! Discuss and grab files here: http://a320.freeforums.org/duke-nukem-3d-port-t604.html

Check out the latest post from Booboo’s dingoo-linux blog: ……. The normal keyboard map hasn't changed (mimics the GP2X), but now there are special combinations that use POWER and START. I've tried to come up with a clever set of combinations, but I'm always thinking I might be missing something important, so I kindly ask for your comments and suggestions. Please have a look at the keyboard section of the README-A320 file (you can also checkout the kernel code, compile and test it, at least until I release a new kernel binary). Head on over there and make any comments or suggestions.

Booboo just posted some new info on the progress of his linux port. In a nutshell, he has rewritten the input driver. No word on a release yet, but his most recent changes should be up on google code soon. Here is the full explanation: Dual boot required a working way to reboot linux and get back to the original firmware, so I set out to implement that functionality into the keyboard driver, and noticed I should be using the input-polldev code rather than the original approach, so I ended up rewriting the driver (and learning in the process quite a lot about the linux input layer). The normal keyboard map hasn't changed (mimics the GP2X), but now there are special combinations that use POWER and START. I've tried to come up with a clever set of combinations, but I'm always thinking I might be missing something important, so I kindly ask for your comments and suggestions. Please have a look at the keyboard section of the README-A320 file (you can also checkout the kernel co...

France’s http://gx-mod.com/ has now started a dedicated Dingoo forum.  The forum is here: http://gueux-forum.net/index.php?showforum=276 There’s a useful tutorial on it about how to launch Linux (without dual boot, of course), in French here , and translated to English here . It even shows you how to run Heretic and Hexen! Thanks to yoann26 for the news.

Lots of anticipation over dualboot, of course. Nothing final to report yet, but here's a link from the Google Code linux page on the status of development: http://code.google.com/p/dingoo-linux/updates/list Last update at the time of this post - 80 minutes or so ago. I'd say, stand by.

Of course, everyone knows what a Chumby is, but in case you don’t, it’s a cute and charming, always on “ambient internet device”’, which looks like this: What’s it for? A good explanation is here ; and an even more fun one here . Well, Sirchadwick has gone and made a widget for this here l’il ol’ Blog for Chumby, and I’m most touched.  Grab it here . Thank you for your work, good Sirc! (How about one for the Nabaztag next?:)) Now, how many Dingoo owners own a Chumby?

Up and running and well! Great job, joyrider!

Zear from the A320 freeforums compiled the above.  The graphical glitches should be quite fixable: read more here .

I’ll “let the video do the talking” …

Hexen has been compiled and reported running: http://a320.freeforums.org/hexen-a-first-person-shooter-game-staticly-compiled-t583.html And here is a video of Gnurobbo running (which you can read about here ):

Booboo reports that dual boot is working (This news is also in a comment to a post below). In any event, this is great news. Read about it here: http://dingoo-linux.blogspot.com/2009/06/dual-boot-working.html This weekend is shaping up to be very promising.

Feel free to drop me a shekel or two with the money you save, and donate by clicking on the button --> (Try to beat the all time record set for donations so far of $0. Just think – YOU could be the first.) Any money received will go towards the orphans of Bhutan … (ok, ok, smart crowd) alcohol, drugs and if enough is collected, other sinful vices, like this PSP looking thing . I promise you if it is funded by donations, I will write it up.

Nhut on the Dingoo Facebook group makes this interesting observation: “ http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/bd6f/?ref=c/&cpg=cj ThinkGeek is trying to sell the Dingoo A320 under a fake (and horrible) name: the "Pocket Retro Game Emulator". For 99.99$, shipping NOT included. I can understand that. If they say the name "Dingoo A320", their customers (you know, the "geeks") will google that name, and find out that it's sold on DealExtreme for less than 85$ shipping included. And if you browse around DX you'll find 5$ gadgets sold for 20 on ThinkGeek. It looks like this "Pocket Retro Game Emulator" is already sold out. What do you guys think about all this? “ Well, I know what I think. If you wanna buy a Dingoo, get it from DX. Better still, use this link or this one for BLACK , and I get those eminently useless but strangely collectible DX points.

Joyrider has released Waternet for Linux! Get it here .

Torque has started developing a virtual keyboard, and seems to be making good progress. Read more/lend a hand here .

  Great Hahou Daisakusen Progear 19XX 1944 – The Loop Master Giga Wing Mars Matrix The shoot ‘em up is a sadly underdeveloped videogaming genre in this day and age (well, there’s Geometry Wars, and … Geometry Wars) . I never mastered any of them, but  I didn’t have to to love them. Nothing is more instantly playable than the following formula: (1) You (2) A craft of some kind (3) Progressively more and more bullets and larger and larger explosions. This might explain why in their heyday, they were as common as first person shooters are today. Development peaked, according to Wikipedia with “Bullet Hell” shmups in the early 1990’s. Capcom’s CPS2 shooters don’t seem to make Wikipedia’s list , but they most certainly qualify as “Bullet Hellish...

Over at Booboo's forum, there is news, all good: * new Kernels to solve the alternative LCD controller problems posted on Google Code * Dual boot making excellent progress; information on Google Code as well Go Booboo! Click here to learn more!

That's right, the Dingoo has now joined the ranks of everyone & your mother; it now has it's very own facebook group! Head on over here if you'd like to join the group & see the real faces behind the scene, or over here to give a (somewhat ironic) thank you to 'SONY' of the GP32X forums for setting it up.

Another pretty detailed Dingoo review has popped up, this time on Gadgetoid.  Read it here: http://www.gadgetoid.com/2009/06/06/dingoo-a320-review/

This is a pivotal time for the Dingoo and Linux. Booboo was kind enough to spare some time and answer some questions for the community.   > Hi Booboo! Hi Larry! > The release of the your Linux kernel has created a lot of buzz. How does this make you feel? Great!. Really great. I'm not the love-lots-of-attention kind of person, but it's extremely rewarding to receive acknowledgement for your effort and encouragement to go on. > So, are things at this stage, going as you hoped with Linux? Yes. As soon as a working kernel/rootfs became available a bunch of coders started playing around with it. > Now, some people have compiled apps. ezelkow1 is working on the toolchain. Do you know of anything else going on in development world which you are excited about? Not really. That's pretty much everything we need for the final user: ...

Happy days! Booboo writes: A quick news flash: looks like my framebuffer code for the newer A320 works , so we can say all known A320 hardware variants are supported. I'll go the easy way and will be releasing one kernel binary image for each A320 variant, until I get my hands on one of the newer A320 and can implement and test the LCD model detection/selection. Read more on Booboo’s blog .

Hiya folks. A rather helpful poster by the name of OpTiMuSpRime or somesuch took me a little too literally and posted some rather … ah … colourful pictures over 44 messages recently. Much as I enjoy a good bit of Transformers porn* every now and again …. …. let’s keep it “R” territory at worst please, people (plus I can’t read Cyrillic script, so I felt I was missing out on something). So I’ve fried the whole Dingoo-Linux forum thing (I know, I know, I’ve set the cause back at least … 15 minutes), and the new Dingoo-scene forums are now up! Same link, leading to the one and only forum full of that special Dingoo magic and lurv that you can only find here! (Well, I need to believe something and the old one certainly wasn’t full of Dingoo posts …:)) *Megan Fox/Heather Graham/Angelina Jolie pics are acceptable if they can be linked to the Dingoo, however tenuously.

It might be worthwhile to explore the above questions, based on the “facts” available to date. Stats Source Oldest webpage which mentions the Dingoo A320 I can find Dated 30 Jan 2009 http://blog.livedoor.jp/geek/archives/50799703.html Earliest Dealextreme forum post about Dingoo A320 Dated 9 Feb 2009 http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.20217~threadid.270041 Assuming export sales commenced after, say, 3 months of China only sales, the above would make the Dingoo about 9 months old Complete conjecture Number of Dingoos claimed produced per month in China 30,000 Sofia (Dingoo Digital Rep, 14 March 2009), here Assuming production for 9 months at this rate, total number of Dingoos produced, ever, as at today 270,000 Complete conject...

New on the official Shenzen Dingoo Digital Site: Update the Latest system software with the Recovery Tool an update to A320 system software was released on May,2009. In order to take full advantage of all A320 has to offer, you should download the Recovery Tool then, when you are experiencing difficulties after updating the system software, try to use the recovery tool to troubleshoot the system. Grab the tool here: http://www.dingoo888.com/manage/download/Recovery%20Tool(New%20Version).rar

This is joyrider’s Dingoo Linux snex9x emulator port!

Another day, another working Dingoo port, this time of gnuboy, a Gameboy emulator: Joyrider says: ok uploaded the sources of gnuboy to the archive here http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/dingoo.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,72 it works now (R quits). and snes9x-sdl-1.39 here http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/dingoo.cgi?0,0,0,0,46,73    people can have a go with it. the gnuboy version basicly works like it should although i've seen slowdowns in certain games the snes9x sources need a little more work like not having the select button to quit the emulator and make it faster but thats something for more knowledged people. Take it as a starter or something to play with Keep the good stuff coming, Joyrider.