I got Hippo Remote (basic) for my iPod specifically to control XDSL. I can't get it working and would love some help.

First things first. I checked Hippo's support page and found this:

"Does HippoRemote work with the XBOX?
No, HippoRemote does not support the XBOX."

That seems like a pretty broad statement, and I have asked Hippo for some clarification, but they haven't responded. The remote works via VNC. I can run VNC, so why should the hardware matter?

I know that I have VNC installed correctly because I can access the XDSL desktop from other machines on my network.

I get the feeling that this might be a credentials problem. The Hippo setup asks for the IP (or host), a password, a port, and a HW address (which it lists as optional). I know my XBOX ip, and verified it with ifconfig. As for the rest of the info, I'm not really sure. I have tried entering the port number that XBMC uses. I have no idea about the password. XDSL never asks me for one. I tried "xbox" but it didn't work.

I don't know if it matters or not, but I'm running XDSL as a 2GB loopback install.

Any ideas?

i dont know anything about hippo. i have no idea what it is or what it does. that stated, i will shoot you some ideas.




so far you are supporting hippo's claim that hippo is not compatible..




you might need to set a port thru your router (port forwarding).
oh wait, you tried that? unless you did something wrong, there's strike two.


the default user/pass for a standard issue install of DSL is xbox and xbox, if i am not mistaken. i never need to present a login, but if its not xbox/xbox, it may be root/root, xbox/root or root/xbox. just a shot in the dark.

otherwise, thats three strikes against hippo.


it should be noted that it could be a kernel incompatibility or really any number of problems. you would probably be better off asking the hippo user community if they have used hippon on the 2.4 based linux kernel. 2.4.x is the last stable/working kernel for a loopback install of DSL on the xbox. this kernel is *old* now and possibly may not have a function that modern linux kernels offer. i have a certain mp3 player thats brand new, it won't mount on ubuntu karmic koala, but it will mount on the 9.0c ubuntu release (the last most recent). its a kernel relative problem.


it gets better, if i plug it into my DSL via usb adapter, it detects it, but fails to identify its FS format.

if anything, you could always reinstall your DSL and define your own username/password, but i would chalk it up to this unit being icompatible with DSL.

I guess it's no big loss if I never get it working. My USB mouse works fine, but wireless would be better.

BTW, I heard back from hippo support. The remote needs avahi to connect. I'm not sure if xdsl includes / supports avahi or not. I tried to install it through the terminal just to see what would happen, but it says it can't find the package (apt is enabled, and the command was "sudo apt-get install avahi-daemon").

Oh well. I will keep fooling around with it. If I figure it out I'll update.

google around and see if avahi is in the sarge repo.

you may have to update your dsl install with the directions provided in the thread "questions about the various..." in these forums.

if avahi is in the sarge repos, you may yet have a shot at getting it to work.

avahi may also be in the etch repos, but use etch at your own risk as many packages there will break your dsl install.

run088 here usually has good dsl advice, so do some of the guys in the newb room. im pretty good with it too and will be happy to help when i cam.

http://avahi.org/wiki/DownloadAvahi#Requirements

states that linux2.4 is a requirement. dsl operates on the 2.4 kernel. base hit!

gtk - might be a bitch to compile gtk. ive done it before and it is -not- fun, but doing so will teach you about package dependencies. first thing i would before anything else would be update your dsl in the forum i previously stated. build synaptic as run states in it, and use synaptic to build gtk and any others packages you will need.

i will say that you can probably get this running with some perseverance. it will teach you a lot, too.

WW3, many thanks for your help. I updated my install following the the instructions in the "questions about" thread that you pointed to and was able to finally get it working.

Unfortunately, there's so much lag in VNC that the remote is worthless. But whatever, I still had fun. And I plan to follow through and build synaptic this weekend.

Before I sign off, I just want to say that I think this site and its users are great. It's like a freaking xbox-mod encyclopedia. I had never touched an xbox (or a linux system, for that matter) before last week and now look at me go. It's all thanks to people like you who are willing to share. I hope I speak for the rest of the noobs when I say thanks for the help. We couldn't do it without you.

right on, man. im glad to hear that at least you were able to get it working!

bummer that it was slow. how do these things work anyway? on USB, or wireless networking? i dont have an ipod so i know nothing about them. but, since you were able to get that up and running, you could probably get an ipod sync'r running thru your DSL if you ever wanted to set your xbox up as a media/torrent space. you could download to your HD, and update right from your xbox via a USB adapeter. i had an ipod sync app setup once for my woman on my xbox, but she cant find the ipod anymore so that project went nowhere.

DSL is a pretty sweet build of linux for the box. i have been doing a lot of work on it trying to update it and perhaps modernize it a bit. i don't know where it will go, but even if it gies nowhere and nothing of my work is released, its still a great hobby. i've always been into hacking, after all.


if you work with DSL enough on your xbox you may even venture into the world of linux on your desktop or laptop computer. if that happens, you may ditch windoze and never look back! thats what i did. it can be a pretty addicting learning experience.

if you ever have any questions about linux on your box, ask anytime. im usually always lurking in these forums waiting to help out.


welcome to the wonderful world of linux.

Oh yeah, I guess I never even explained what the hippo remote was supposed to do. Sorry about that. Basically it turns the ipod touch into a trackpad mouse and keyboard. The ipod connects to the network via wifi, so theoretically I could control the xbox from anywhere in the house. But really I only wanted to be able to sit on the couch instead of the floor.

You're right about linux being addictive. My other project this week was fixing up my old laptop for my kid. I decided to install Mint, even though it already had a "working" vista install. She thinks Mint is "cute." I think it runs the laptop better than vista ever could. I wish I had a reason to put linux on my main desktop, but if it ain't broke . . . then again, knowing Win, it's only a matter of time before it will break! In the meantime, I'll just have to settle for xdsl and a Mint virtual machine that I'm using as a learner since the kid won't let me use "her" laptop anymore.