Install Leapster2 Under WINE

[mickcalcara]

I am very close for a permanent separation from Windows. The one thing that I have had trouble with is software ( USB connecting software ) that is included with different types of electronic toys for my kids. These devices are simply do not behave like your usb drives but more of a connection manager that retrieves updates from the web and updates the toys with. I just recently tried the ( Leapster 2, I downloaded the connection tool from the website and tried running this with wine. It installs but several features do not work. Has anyone else attempted this or having any suggestions? thanks for any help. Thanks

[qrprat77]

Hi we got a tag reader for my daughter for Christmas. What issues are you having exactly? I also wonder if there is a way to just copy stuff to it. I haven't tried to hook it up to ubuntu yet, we dual boot, but sooner or later I want to eliminate the Vista partition on my computer.

[nlindz2065]

Hi.... I am having the same problem with my daughters didj. I was able to install leapfrog connect however there is info missing and, when I connect the didj to the computer I don't think that it is recognized. I am trying to work with leapfrog support but all of their info is for either mac or a windows pc.

[darrelljon]

I just got one and would like to know if it works too.

[shane2peru]

Hi.... I am having the same problem with my daughters didj. I was able to install leapfrog connect however there is info missing and, when I connect the didj to the computer I don't think that it is recognized. I am trying to work with leapfrog support but all of their info is for either mac or a windows pc.

I have this same problem with Leapfrog. We got a didj for my son and it quit working. I contacted them, and they said to connect it to my computer. I wrote them and asked them what I'm supposed to do, I don't own a Windows computer, only Linux. So by all means please let them know (kindly) they need to come up with a solution for the ever growing Linux community. I will post if they come up with a solution.

Shane

[golubovsky]

Hi,

Not sure how many of you saw the following PDF, but here it is:

http://www.leapfrog.com/etc/medialib...ication%20.pdf

This means that LeapFrog developers are at least "not totally unfamiliar" with open source software. So it would be fair for them to open up some details minimally necessary say to transfer books from CDs to Tag from a Linux computer, and doing other things.

I am as well interested to use Leap Frog products with Linux. I posted a question on their users forum:

http://community.leapfrog.com/forum/Tag-Talk/580000069

Let's see how they react (no replies as of Jan 9).

[headshrinker]

I was looking to get the leapster2 connected after getting one at xmas - it installed and ran under WINE but the leapster wasn't detected.

As usual, you tend to think this is some sort of linux issue, but after a little digging around it seems there are a fair few dissatisfied customers out there - and not just linux users. Here are 2 links I cherry picked:

http://www.epinions.com/review/LeapF...t_444954283652

http://community.leapfrog.com/topic/...Woes/580000357

They make for some fairly interesting reading - this is **not** simply a linux compatibility issue.

Interesting post, Golubovsky! I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic when you said the developers were "not totally unfamiliar" with open source software. From reading the PDF and downloading their source code (there are links to it in the PDF), they are clearly **extremely** familiar with open source software. Indeed, the embedded operating system that runs on leapfrog products **is** linux! Still, that is no guarantee that it should automatically work with Ubuntu (or any other linux based distro).

You can probably bet your bottom dollar that there will be developers there who are total linux fanatics and would love to get there stuff working with linux PCs, but the management slap them down because it's not worth the effort. Plus, by the sounds of the posts I've added here, they have enough of a job getting it working properly on shmindows!

[shane2peru]

Well I contacted the tech support about the Didj and they basically told me that I could return it to the store where I bought it because Linux was incompatible with their product. I did tell them that I didn't have any computers in my house running Windows or Mac. I guess I will have to be installing XP somewhere sometime, after all, you don't give a kid a present and then take it away from him! (Unless of course he was really bad!) What a shame, I was 100% windows free, and now I'm forced to install windows. I installed it through VirtualBox, but had a bear of a time trying to get it to access the network. What a shame!

Shane

[headshrinker]

Hey shane2peru,

don't do it man Banish the windows filth

No, but seriously, is it really worth the extra hassle? I know you don't want to disappoint your kids, but from what I've read, the online functionality is not really that great yet - they only have 2 games to download and it seems the technology is not really that mature.

The guy who wrote one of the links I posted above seemed to think that it had been rushed out in time for christmas and wasn't really ready. He also points out that it is not such a bad thing, because you can still use the cartridge games. I don't know what age your kids are, mine are 4 and 5 and they love playing it with just the cartridge games. My 5 year old was hankering after a DS, but since playing this he seems to have forgotten all about it.

My point is, even without the online features, its still a great console for the kids and, without these features, I don't think they're really missing much at the moment. Maybe in a year or 2, they might have sorted the software out and there might be more online games to download. It is a little shocking that leapfrog have actually released this when it's half finished, but I'm not going to be sending mine back.

Anyway, whatever you decide, good luck. If you get it working, let us know if its any good.

[shane2peru]

Hey shane2peru,

don't do it man Banish the windows filth

No, but seriously, is it really worth the extra hassle? I know you don't want to disappoint your kids, but from what I've read, the online functionality is not really that great yet - they only have 2 games to download and it seems the technology is not really that mature.

The guy who wrote one of the links I posted above seemed to think that it had been rushed out in time for christmas and wasn't really ready. He also points out that it is not such a bad thing, because you can still use the cartridge games. I don't know what age your kids are, mine are 4 and 5 and they love playing it with just the cartridge games. My 5 year old was hankering after a DS, but since playing this he seems to have forgotten all about it.

My point is, even without the online features, its still a great console for the kids and, without these features, I don't think they're really missing much at the moment. Maybe in a year or 2, they might have sorted the software out and there might be more online games to download. It is a little shocking that leapfrog have actually released this when it's half finished, but I'm not going to be sending mine back.

Anyway, whatever you decide, good luck. If you get it working, let us know if its any good.

No, my problem was that the Didj needed a tune up! It refused to do anything until it was connected to the computer and "tuned up". Anyway, I found out I had network problems in general. After some tinkering I got XP running in VirtualBox to work with it. Now it is working again and we have some happy campers again. Virtual Box was the safest way to work around my problem. VB has come a long way! Still needed an installable valid copy of XP, but it worked at any rate.

Shane