Numberporn.com IA-1 Site FAQ

1. Why hack the IA-1 in the first place?
   
   The IA-1 is down to less than $100 most places now. Using it for a digital picture frame alone is cheaper than actually buying a real digital frame, and this can do so much more than that. It makes for a great kitchen/living room/bathroom computer, or as a gift for a relative or loved one who isn't particularly good at computers and needs something they can use to check their email and look at the web. Moreso, it's just about the fun that is hacking. Making things do what they shouldn't is just inherently fun, especially when you can make them more useful in the end.
   
   
2. How does the IA-1 page work?
   
   The numberporn.com IA-1 page is built off of a content-distribution engine written by qDot. It does pretty much the exact same thing as any other content-management system (PHPNuke and PostNuke both being very nice ones), but those had a few too many features, and I like programming stuff myself anyways. So if anything breaks on here, it's completely my fault, please email me at qdot@numberporn.com and tell me what a horrible programmer I am. :)
   
   
3. What are the accounts for?
   
   The account system on here is mainly for me to keep track of file/upload/comment contributors. It's by no means required to use the page or read the articles, but I want to control who puts what on here, and the accounts allow me to do so. So, if all you want to do is pull files and articles, don't worry about signing up for an account.
   
   
4. How can I help with the page?
   
   There are two ways users can help with the page at the moment.
   
   
   1. Contributing content
      
      This page is nothing without articles and files. However, I can't put everything together myself. I'm not the linux guru I'd like to be, nor am I even glancingly proficent at BeOS. So therefore we need experienced people to help us make this the best IA-1 page on the net. We will soon have an upload page where you will be able to upload your content directly to the page, but for now, email it to projects@numberporn.com. Also, please read the content submissions guidelines at the end of this FAQ.
      
      
   2. Contributing money
      
      Research costs money, and this page requires research. I'd really like to get more equipment so I could write more for the page. Monetary donations would be nice, but are not required for anything, and I'm not going to shut the page down if I don't get any. I run this page out of my sheer devotion for making computers do things they wern't meant to, and I'd just like to take my research farther. So, if you have some spare change sitting in a paypal account and want to donate, send to qdot@numberporn.com. 100% of the money that goes to this account will be put directly into research for the IA-1 page. And you'll get a blurb on the credits page, assuming you want it. :)
   
   
   
5. Content Submission Guidelines
   
   Below are the guidelines for submitting content to the IA-1 webpage. Please note that until further notice, the upload functions are not available.
   
   
   1. Articles
      
      Articles should be about anything pertaining to the IA-1, be it hacking, modifying, experiences with, tips, tricks, whatever. Articles may submitted in two formats. If you already have a article written and on a webpage, please send the name, link, author, and a small abstract of the article to projects@numberporn.com. There will soon be a form up for submission of these type articles. If you would like to write an article, please test it on a black background and make sure it will look good in a table of 700px width (if you cannot code HTML and would still like to write an article, simply send us the text and any images and we will gladly format it for you). If the article is multiple pages, the first article should be simply .html (we will only accept HTML files for articles). All files after that should be named -.html. So, if the first page of your article is named foo.html, then page 2 should be foo-2.html, and so forth. Be sure to include all images when sending the articles. All articles should be either uploaded using the user form or email to projects@numberporn.com in zip format.
      
      
   2. Files
      
      All files should be related to the IA-1 in some way, and no commerically licensed files will be served from the IA-1 page (this means no stripped windows images). If you would like to upload a small file (<2 megabytes), simply use the upload form or mail it (assuming it's <1 megabyte) to projects@numberporn.com. For files over 2 megabytes, please email projects@numberporn.com and we will figure out a way to transfer the file otherwise.
   
   
   
6. Why all black and white? Is the IA-1 goth?
   
   Not quite. I just started using a black and white scheme when I started numberporn.com so I wouldn't have to worry about design, and then I got lazy, and color requires work. So now we have a greyscale site. Easy on the eyes, and gawth as hell. :)
   
   
7. Is that Flat Eric using an IA-1 in the picture on this page?
   
   Yeah. After the Flat Beat video, couldn't resist. Not quite as cute as a keyboard hooked up to a picture of a dog, but it works.
   
   

Site Layout Explanation

Here's a quick rundown on what all of the menu options entail:

1. About - Generals about the Site and the IA-1
   1. What's an IA-1 - Explanation of what the IA-1 is, and why this site exists
   2. Where to start - Step by step guide of setting up your IA-1 and CF card to get a images on and off the machine
   3. Site FAQ - Answering Questions about the site
   
   
   
2. Hardware - About the machine itself
   1. Hardware Spec - Basic specs of the machine, as it is out of the box
   2. BIOS - Quick look over the BIOS, what settings mean what, etc...
   3. Addons - Guides to hardware addons, such as harddrives, processors, etc...
   
   
   
3. BeOS/Windows/Linux - Various OS's that can be run on the IA-1
   1. Files - Images and other files needed to run the OS on the IA-1
   2. Installation - Install instructions specific to that OS, anything that goes above and beyond the normal install procedure listed in the "Where to start" guide
   3. OS Specific - Guides to doing things specific to the OS, such as getting NFS mounts working for Linux
   4. Recommended Software - Software that other people have gotten working and found useful on the IA-1
   
   
   
4. Other - Stuff we couldn't find a good place for
   1. Message Board - Link to our phorum message board
   2. l-h.com Board - Linux-hacker.com boards, this page wouldn't be here without them
   3. Log In - Log in if you have an account
   4. Links - Links to other pages we find interesting
   5. Credits - Props to the people who deserve them