VirtualBox on Wheezy

I recently bought an InnoTab children's tablet computer. Despite the fact that it runs Linux, and I run Linux, I couldn't get the free games and eBooks that the manufacturer offers because their software only runs on... Windows.

I managed to install the software in Wine, but it couldn't access the USB connection.

Something recently (hey, I'm old and I can't remember what it was) reminded me of VirtualBox, and I decided to give it a go.

I found VirtualBox in the Wheezy repository, and it brought along some dependencies called qt (the GUI) and dkms (kernel modules- something technical: I'm a Debian user- better not admit that I haven't got a clue what they do!).

The Debian Wiki page is aimed at Squeeze (the current stable), so not very useful for Wheezy. Of course if you're reading this after Wheezy becomes stable, the Wiki may be more useful, so use your judgement.

However, I found a helpful guide here, and found it was quite easy to get a virtual machine running Windows XP running on Debian Wheezy.

(Guest Machine > Settings > Storage > Empty: Add your installation CD (or ISO) here.)

The only tricky part was getting USB connections working. I needed to download the Extension Pack for the version of VirtualBox in the Wheezy repository (which is not the latest version- at the time of writing, 4.1 compared to 4.2).

After that, this guide helped me get USB connections working.

(I sometimes find that a year or so later, these guides have disappeared. As a permanent record, the steps are:

• Configure USB support in virtual machine settings
• Add USB filter
• Install Virtual Guest Additions from the Virtual Machine Devices tab
• Add your user to the VirtualBox group in Users and Groups)

My new Linux computer

This is my new Linux computer. Well, it's my daughter's, really, but I've been playing with it too. I know it runs Linux because somebody has hacked it.

Sadly the software that comes with it to allow download of new games and ebooks is not Linux compatible. Although I eventually got the Learning Lodge Navigator working on PlayOnLinux (Debian has a very old version of Wine- PlayOnLinux downloads the latest version), the USB to the Innotab didn't work.

Looks like I'll be needing to borrow a Windows computer.

I had better luck putting content on the SD card I bought (memory cards are astonishingly cheap now- 8GB for under £4!). Create the directory structure and convert videos as described on A Maggid's Musings. (I added a comment with an alternative parameter to make videos full screen which I used when resizing videos for Android.) I had no problem playing an MP3 file I put on the card, unlike some people.

Of course I had to mount the SD card first. I have an SD slot in my laptop, but it doesn't seem to work in Debian. I must try and get it working, but in the meantime, I bought a £1 card reader from PoundWorld.

It works. As did the bluetooth dongle I bought for a pound.