[maemo-developers] [maemo-developers] Info on FIASCO components/hackers' guide to the N770

[From: Dave Neuer]

Hi all, and thank you Nokia for finally getting my lovely new 770 to me.

I'm still in the process of familiarizing myself w/ the device and the
Maemo/N770 environment. Let me first complement all of the people who
have made this impressive little device so usable and compelling
already. Great job.

One of the first things I generally do when I get a new Linux-capable
device is remove all proprietary software, and replace it with Free
Software or Open Source alternatives if possible (or otherwise do
without).

I'm still running the stock image on the 770, but I've been
investigating over the last week what it would take to rip out all of
the proprietary stuff, and how much customization of the device is
possible.

One thing I've noticed is there seems to be lack of a comprehensive
set of documentation for the device at the "how it all works" level,
from "processor beings executing code at location 0xNNNNNNNN" to "this
is how you assemble a FIASCO image."

I can kind of understand why this information might not be available.
Nokia no doubt wants us to concentrate on developing useful end-user
applications which enhance rather than replace the existing
functionality and environment.

However, given the existence of the information at [1] and [2], it
seems that the djinn is already half out of the bottle. For instance,
I've already been able, using the resources cited above on the
maemo.org website, to unpack a FIASCO image and determine that the
initfs and rootfs are JFFS2 images, and that the remaining components
aren't. So, I was wondering if it would be possible to have such a
"Hacker's Guide to the N770 and Maemo." Something which describes the
function of the various FIASCO components and the recipe for creating
a valid custom FIASCO image (obviously certain components couldn't be
replaced).

I'm most interested in creating my own kernel, initfs and rootfs
images and sewing them back together, and flashing them to the device
without breaking anything.

I'd love to know what Nokia's position is on this as well as what
other developers here think about it.

Also, is flasher a supported way to upgrade to the latest system image
from Nokia's support site?

Thanks in advance.

Dave