Well, the bad news is that I ran README-2.6.30.1 and everything downloaded and wrote - but now it's bricked.
Doesn't initialize networking enough to request DHCP address.
And my usb console cable doesn't seem to fit - so only if I hold it just right does the USB device show up in the System Profiler of my MacBookPro, and of the two serial drivers, none seem to recognize the device.   So, I'm going to bail for now.  (Have another cable and system elsewhere to try later.)

Thanks for your notes, btw!

Excellent.  Downloading and giving it a shot.
IIRC from a previous time, I couldn't compile my device driver because things in the kernel source weren't built.  I tried to compile the source (on the Sheeva) but there were like a zillion questions - i don't suppose the sheeva-2.6.30.1.config solves that problem?

How would I get the source to go with this?  I presume there's patches (in the patches folder?) required from straight distribution sources?
(Trying to build a custom USB serial device driver.)
Thanks,
Mark

Update: maybe found the answer in topic http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=417.0 - except I don't know what the patches are referenced to be available only in >2.6.30 which seems to mean 2.6.31 and not 2.6.30.1 ?

Will this include sufficient kernel sources to compile a special USB driver? (for a LabJack data acquisition device).  I've been down lots of dead-end roads without a working driver   (I'll probably try it anyway...)