[clug] Help needed! FAT device testing at CLUG this month

[tridge at samba.org]

             The great CLUG FAT test
             -----------------------
 
            "It's not fat, it's just big-boned"
                  (slashdot comment)

I'd like to announce an evening of FAT filesystem testing at CLUG this
month. All welcome! I need your help!

Some of you may have noticed the public discussions of the VFAT patent
workaround patches I have posted on the Linux kernel mailing list. The
patches need as much testing as possible to make sure they work with
all the weird devices out there that support FAT filesystems.

That is where you all come in. At next weeks CLUG meeting I would like
to ask everyone to bring along any devices that support a FAT
filesystem. That means I would like you to bring:

  - MP3 players
  - photo frames
  - GPS devices
  - digital note takers
  - game devices
  - eBooks
  - mobile phones with microSD slots
  - movie players that take compact flash or SD cards
  - cameras
  - PDAs

or anything else that has one of the following:

  - a USB connector which exports a mass storage interface
  - a SD, miniSD, microSD or CF card slot
  - some other way to get a FAT filesystem written by Linux showing
    on the device

Ideally we want devices that do not run Linux. If they do run Linux
then bring them anyway, but the most interesting devices will be the
ones that run strange embedded OSes.

I am particularly interested if someone can bring a WinCE based
device, as I have not been able to find one yet.

Please also bring any cables, card readers or other devices needed to
connect your device to a Linux system. If you don't have the cables
then bring the device anyway, as I will have a pretty wide range of
cables with me. If you device needs external power or might need
charging, then please bring the charger.

If you have to beg/borrow/steal the devices from your kids or spouse,
then please do. It is all in a good cause! 

To start off the evening I will give a brief overview of the patches
I've posted, and explain the testing procedure. I'll show the test
scripts I've developed, and explain how they work. Then I'd like us to
get stuck into some serious testing while we munch on some pizza.

I will be bringing a new set of patches to the meeting that I hope
will fix some of the problems that have been found with the previous
patches. I'd then like to test these new patches against as many
devices as possible, to try to demonstrate that the patch works with
all the weird FAT filesystem implementations out there.

On the evening, please be careful to keep track of your own devices. I
hope we'll have a lot of gadgets there, and we don't want anyone going
home with the wrong holiday photos.

Come along and join in the fun!

Cheers, Tridge