[tlug] Cassiopeia Fiva, anyone?

["Ted O'Neill" <mailtedoneill@example.com>]

Hi all,

I've been lurking on the list for quite a while, but wanted to ask if anyone 
out there has experience using the Cassiopeia Fiva.

I was in Akihabara Sunday and played around with one of these a bit. The form 
factor is perfect for what I want, and the price second-hand seemed quite 
reasonable. However, the default Linux install is a strange beast.

You boot into Linux using an a-b hardware switch on the back rear corner. 
What comes up is a very minimal X with a "start" button. This offers three 
apps; Netscape, gFTP, and kterm (IIRC). Then more weirdness; you 
automagically are logged in as root with no password check or anything. I 
looked at /etc/passwd and there were two entries; root, and guest, but no 
login.

Looking at the Casio website http://www.casio.co.jp/mpc/216xl/spec/ , I see 
that the b-mode Linux is only 392M on a 15GB hd. This seems a mighty waste. 
Also, according to the Casio page, there is no compiler installed.

I couldn't squat on the floor in a crowded aisle at Otto any longer, so I had 
to leave off any further exploration. Has anyone used one of these with a 
better Linux installation?

Thanks,

Ted O'Neill