With help from various folks, things are moving forward quite nicely. On the
hardware side, a friend volunteered to wire up the two prototype cards (yay!).
On the software side, it appears that we can use PINN to create an accessible,
multi-OS Micro SD card (details below).
-r
It would be convenient to have a Micro SD card containing multiple, bootable OS
distributions (eg, Arch Linux, Raspbian, Raspberry VI), along with a common data
partition. This would let us boot the RasPi into a selected OS, inspect and
edit
configuration files, compare distributions, etc. Better yet, we wouldn't need
to
manipulate the (tiny) Micro SD card for any of these actions.
Partitioning
The image file used to load an SD card is divided into multiple partitions. For
example, an image for a single Linux distribution will typically have a pair of
partitions: boot (FAT) and root (ext4).
However, most RasPi users start with a NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) image,
which adds more (real and virtual) partitions. It's possible (though
complicated
and tricky) to use NOOBS to set up images that support multiple operating
systems,
using even more partitions:
https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs/wiki/Standalone-partitioning-explained
https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs/wiki/NOOBS-partitioning-explained
Accessibility
Problem is, NOOBS employs a graphical user interface, has no screen reader, etc.
So, it isn't accessible for blind users. Fortunately, there is an alternative.
PINN (PINN Is Not NOOBS) is a fork of NOOBS, adding some features which should
be helpful in supporting text-based administration (eg, via SSH and Wi-Fi from
a computer with a keyboard and screen reader).
Better yet, PINN's developer (Kevin Hill, aka procount) has been very helpful
and positive about resolving the remaining issues. (If you want to follow the
ongoing online discussion, visit https://github.com/procount/pinn/issues/84.)
At present, setting up a multiple-OS image (or even installing another OS) is
still inaccessible, because they require the use of a GUI. However, Kevin is
thinking about adding a command-line interface that can be used over SSH. His
initial thought is "a numbered menu system that can be screen read", but he's
asking (on the GitHub issue) for suggestions.
In the meanwhile, Kevin is going to help me create an SD image with a selection
of preloaded OSes. This will let Amanda (and anyone else :-) use a text-based
UI to select the boot OS, switch from one OS to another, etc. Here's the plan:
- develop a HowTo for creating multi-OS SD card images
- create an image that includes some "interesting" OSes
- load, install, and (informally) test an SD card
- make the SD card image available for download
My current plan is to include Arch Linux, Raspbian, and Raspberry VI. Feel
free to suggest additions or alternatives (no promises made or implied :-).
Stay tuned...
--
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm Rich Morin rdm@xxxxxxxx
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm/resume San Bruno, CA, USA +1 650-873-7841
Software system design, development, and documentation
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