Running Android Jellybean 4.0 on the Asus eeepc 900

The Asus eeepc 900 came on the market in May of 2008. If it were human, it would be just old enough to go to kindergarten this fall, but since it is a computer it is more like an elderly retiree. I can still run the original Xandros Linux on my eeepc, and it is still a speedy, capable operating system. Over the years, however, I have booted a variety of other distros on the device including Tiny Core Linux, BrowserLinux, and most recently Ubuntu. This week, however, I decided to install Android Jellybean 4.0 on an SD card and test it out in the little Asus.

To create a bootable sd card with Android Jelly Bean for the Eeepc 900, follow the following steps:

(These instructions assume that you are using a Linux system. Windows users will need to use a software program for burning a bootable usb stick.)

1. Download the android-x86-4.0-RC2-eeepc.iso from http://www.android-x86.org/download

2. Once the file has downloaded, open a terminal window and change directories until you are in the one containing the iso (to simplify typing the dd command below). Use the ls command to see the files in each directory as you navigate to the correct location.

3. Rename the iso file to android-sd.iso (to have less chance of making a typo on the all-important dd command below).

mv android-x86-4.0-RC2-eeepc.iso android-sd.iso

4. Use the mount command to see what  device drives you have normally:

5. Insert your usb stick and use the mount command again to discover the name of the device:

Be sure to unmount the usb stick at this point!
6. Carefully type--

dd if=android-sd.iso of=/dev/sdc

(Change /dev/sdc to whatever is the correct device name as discovered using the mount command above. Since you are going to overwrite the usb stick's master boot record, make sure to use sdc instead of sdc1. Double check for typos or any other errors before you hit the key. The dd command is popularly known as "disk destroyer" for a reason, but it is also the most direct and efficient way to accomplish the task at hand. You will probably need superuser privileges for this command. If so, preface the command with sudo or su--whichever works in your version of Linux. Or type su on its own line before the dd command. If you are creating your bootable usb stick on a Windows computer, you will need to use something like UNetbootin and follow the instructions of that program.)

7. After the file has copied, shut down your computer and reboot using whatever procedure is necessary to boot from a usb stick. Ascertain that Android works properly in live-cd mode.

8. Prepare a bootable sdhc card. I used an 8-gb card and reformatted it in Linux using cfdisk. I formatted the card as a single partition using the ext3 file format. Make sure that you toggle the switch to make the card bootable.

9. Boot Android from your usb stick with the formatted sdhc card in the sd card slot. Follow the instructions for installing to hard drive. Here is a little Youtube video of my eeepc booting Android.

Some Notes on Using Android x86 on the eeepc

Swiping with a mousepad can be difficult. To swipe to left or right, try positioning the pointer on the far left or right side of the page and then clicking. That works in some apps. Swiping pages up and down can be unpredictable. You can often double-tap and then drag text up or down, but you can also use two fingers to more easily scroll up or down. However, most apps also allow the use of the up-arrow and down-arrow to move a line at a time. Most allow the PgUp and PgDn key combinations. And a few advance a screen of text at a time with each press of the space bar.

Selecting / Highlighting text. This actually works better on the eeepc than it does on my Android tablet. In some apps (text editors) you can highlight text simply by positioning the cursor and then using Shift+rightarrow to highlight. In others (e.g., the browser) you should first double-click on the first word to highlight and then use Shift+rightarrow to extend the highlighted selection. 

The "Menu" key reliably brings up menus.

The key "Esc" sometimes serves as a "Back" button.

Google Play Store works well and allows you to download virtually any app you might like, but be prepared for occasional difficulties. Some apps display only in the portrait rather than the landscape mode of the eeepc screen. When that happens, the easiest thing to do is to shut down the computer, reboot, and uninstall the offending app. The following apps work well for me: Google Play Music, X-plore (for file management),  Google Keep (for note taking), QuickPic (for photo displays and slideshows), Google Currents (for general magazine-style articles), Kingsoft Office (for word processing), Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube.  

In some apps (X-plore, for example) double-tap-and-hold brings up a menu of options for actions on the selected file. This allows one to edit a text file that is stored on Google Drive and be confident that the changed file will be uploaded to Google Drive.

After a page has fully loaded in the browser, double-tap enlarges the text. Double-tapping again makes it smaller.

Music Player works nicely but it is necessary to transfer music into the sdcard Music directory for it to be recognized. It will not play music directly from the sdb1 partition. On the other hand, X-plore will play music directly, but it seems to be a limited music player (no playlists or cue controls that I can see). Google's Music Player does have a nice equalizer that allows the eeepc to have pleasant volume and sound. Hit the three dots in the upper right corner of the dedicated menu key on the keyboard. Then click on Settings and Equalizer. Click the "On" button in the upper right corner of the screen. Play with the various preset options or select "User" and tinker for yourself.

Superuser access is readily available and the distro comes preloaded with a handy superuser app. This is a true blessing because you will need to enter some terminal commands in order to get access to the built-in sda and sdb drives as well as usb sticks. Here are the commands to use in a terminal to access sdb1:

Open a Terminal window

In Terminal type:

mkdir /mnt/sdcard/sdcard2
su                                         (Note that you will be asked to grant superuser privileges.)
busybox mount /dev/block/sdb1 /mnt/sdcard/sdcard2

You can now use a file manager to navigate to the sdcard2 directory where you will find all of the files on your eeepc's internal sd-drive.

A single push of the power button attempts to send the eeepc into sleep mode, but even when it does go into true sleep mode it soon reawakens into a semi-comatose state with a dim, locked screen and only somewhat reduced power usage. Another longish push of the power button is needed to bring the screen back to full power and allow swiping to unlock.

To shut down the computer, try two slightly spaced pushes of the power button.

The PMS Ride

On Saturday, September 14, 2013, Chris Horner came in second on the legendary Angliru climb in the Vuelta a Espana, thereby sealing his victory in the three-week stage race and becoming the first North American to win the race as well as the oldest winner of a grand tour in the history of cycling. In fact, according to the powers-that-be in the cycling world, Horner is the only North American to win a grand tour since Greg Lemond did so in the 1990's. (Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis have been cast into the outer darkness for using the same performance enhancing drugs that almost everyone else used in their era.) An interesting story about Horner's achievement can be found here. I especially recommend watching the video clip from the race. (By the way, the photo up top shows Horner in perhaps his most famous pre-Vuelta moment. Click on this link to read the story associated with the photo.)

In my own smaller world of cycling, on September 14th I completed a 68-mile ride that hits the hardest climbs and the best views of any road ride in north-central Arkansas. I may, however, need a little reader assistance in naming the ride. I'm not sure I hit quite the right tone in calling it "The PMS Ride," but in this context PMS would stand for Push, Matney, and Shipps--the three biggest climbs on a very hilly course.

The ride started at the Sheid Bridge on AR 341, which has a lovely view of the famous White River and its impressive limestone bluffs. From the bridge my friend Laurie and I headed south on AR 341, first working our way to the top of the 2-mile climb up Matney Mountain. The average gradiant on this climb is only 5.9%, but that is because of a long flat section about half-way up. Most of the climb is in the 7-8% range, and even so it kicks up nastily near the very top.

There are stunning views of the surrounding Ozark National Forest from the top. About a mile after the crest of Matney, we slanted off to the right on Shipps Landing Road. A beautiful descent takes one to the landing, which was fogged-in on the day we rode, but which normally provides agreeable views of the riverfront. The climb back up Shipps is actually considerably longer than the descent since the road continues uphill after the right turn at the intersection with 341. The total climb is 2.4 miles at an average of 5%, but note that the first half of the climb is quite easy. Then the road pitches up very sharply for three-tenths of a mile; parts of this section hit 20% and all of it is brutally hard. After turning right at the stop sign, you climb another half-mile to the very top at an average grade of about 7%.

The 15 miles or so through the Ozark National Forest to the base of Push Mountain contain some of the prettiest (and least traveled) blacktop in this part of Arkansas.

There is the occasional roar of passing motorcycles enjoying what is widely known as "The Arkansas Dragon," but the road is usually empty of all traffic, and loudest noises are the humming of insects and the ticking of bicycle freewheels. (Except that several times a year the entire region is disturbed by the deafening overhead passage of AirEvac helicopters picking up the careless motorcyclists who crash on the descent of Push Mountain.)

Push Mountain is a punishing 2-mile climb with an average grade of 7-8%. It has the switchbacks of the classic climbs of the Rockies and Sierras, but it is a bit steeper. (For comparison, the famous Flagstaff Climb in Boulder, CO, is twice as long but with a gradient of only 6.4%.) Follow this link to a nice web page about Push Mountain Road.

At the top of Push Mountain we turned around and backtracked the 15 miles or so to the Sheid Bridge, crossing the river again and heading north to the intersection with 201 and the right turn toward the "Jordan Loop." This loop of about 30 miles has one big climb of its own (1.1 mile at 6.5%) and a descent of truly stunning beauty with expansive views of Norfork Lake and and the dramatic crossing over the Norfork Dam. Laurie and I added a bit more challenge and a bit more beauty to the ride by taking the turn to Jordan Landing and back.

Once we completed the loop, we finished off the ride with 10 miles of flat pavement on the River Road, enjoying its views of the dramatic bluffs overlooking the White River. 

Here is a link to more data about the ride (for those of you with Strava accounts). I hope to try it again in the coming weeks of pleasant fall weather--perhaps adding to its more than 5,000 feet of climbing by taking a little side excursion up 201 to the spur roads overlooking the White River from the top of the bluffs.