How to install skid on a Linux machine



install subversion, ruby-full version 1.8, rails version 2.1.0 and hpricot using the Synaptic Package Manager.



Open a terminal window and type



svn co http://rubypython.svnrepository.com/svn/skid



This will download the software into a directory called skid. After that, enter into the terminal the following commands:



cd skid

script/server -e production mongrel



Now fire up your browser, and point it to http://localhost:3000/modules/select/fun



Joystick control



If you want to be using the skid software via a joystick or equivalent, go to http://pablotron.org/software/joystick-ruby/



download http://pablotron.org/download/joystick-ruby-0.1.0.tar.gz and follow instructions in the README to install the joystick driver. Type



ruby joytest.rb



to test if your joystick is working ok. Ctrl-C terminates the joytest.rb program.



Then, install festival text to speech, type



sudo apt-get install festival lame

sudo gem install festivaltts4r

Finally, add the jssh extension to firefox, as described at http://wiki.openqa.org/display/WTR/FireWatir+Installation



Now, in the terminal window, type

./twobutton.rb -l -y 4 -n 5 -m picbrowser+recognize

if you want to use buttons 4 and 5 of the joystick to operate the modules picbrowser and recognize. Button 5 in this example lets you switch between modules, and button 4 to select a choice within each module. Button numbers on the joystick itself will typically be numbered one higher: use the joytest program to help select the buttons that work best for you.