RIP: Nokia 770
My 770 has always had this weird problem where lines streak vertically across the screen, but it has been tolerable. Now that I want to use gpsDrive for plotting with my GPS, this will no longer work as the streaking is out of control. Some screenshots:
The This is what greets me on loading Xterm (command-line shell):
The console window is so streaked that I cannot read it. The keyboard has streaks running through it.
The home screen for Internet Tablet 2006 OS:
Besides the hideous color scheme, there is some orange and gray banding.
The boot screen:
Blue banding “bleeding” vertically from Nokia logo.
Apparently this problem is caused by activating and deactivating Research and Development (R&D) mode on the 770 while attempting to gain root access to the device - the “White Screen of Death” (WSOD). It is the symptom of a defective screen but the problem is exacerbated, or activated when the user enters R&D mode. The only solution is to return it to Nokia for replacement. Not happy.
In my case, CENS has an extra one lying around from a Computer Science course, so I will hopefully be able to swap mine for a working unit.
As a workaround, I installed the Maemo port of VNC Server so I can access the 770 from my desktop PC via wireless internet with a VNC Client. I can see the screen without the streaking. The keyboard keys do not work right (enter key toggles fullscreen mode instead of moving to the next line) and sometimes I have to use my mouse as a stulus on that damned onscreen keyboard pad. Oh well, it is a big improvement.