First things first...
Dockstar or Plug, which should you buy?
The SheevaPlug is a 1.2 Ghz Arm compatible processor with 512 Mb RAM, SD Card Slot, a single USB port, a mini-USB port for a serial connection, with Gig Ethernet, Price $99
The Dockstar is a 1.2 Ghz Arm compatible processor with 128 Mb RAM, three USB ports, NO serial connection without hacking. $1 to $25 to $70. Office Depot had them 3 months ago for $1. Woot and Buy.com had them a month ago for $25. Retail $70+
Dockstar Issues: The dockstar unit is intended to be used as a web-enable Network Attached Storage device, not a pc. Therefore it is crippled or feature-starved compared to the Sheevaplug. Therefore the known issues are:
1. Have to boot twice to get into SD Card or USB mount for linux. The first time you boot you will go into the built-in version of linux on the NAND, which is not something you really want to jack up or you have a paper weight. Then you have to issue a '/sbin/reboot' and it then will reboot into debian. People have written scripts to automatically issue '/sbin/reboot' once the built in NAND linux is loaded, but this is a workaround, there is no known fix as of 7/24/10.
2. There is no serial access standard on the Dockstar. This may not seem to be a big deal at first, but if you have a boot error or lose ethernet due to a misconfiguration or crash, there is no way to troubleshoot the problem without taking the unit apart and making a cable or hacking an old phone serial cable off ebay.
So as an owner of both, if I were going to have to pay more than $50 for a dockstar, then I would pay the extra $50 for the sheevaplug. I got my dockstar for $25 and I have already had $25 worth of fun, just hacking around on it.
So Caveat emptor, you have been warned...
If I have not scared you to the Sheevaplug setup forum, then please continue below.
Two choices on the dockstar:
Pogoplug linux found here:
www.plugapps.comDebian linux (what most of us here use): Follow guide below.
Debian on Dockstar install guide:
http://jeff.doozan.com/debian/
