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Re: [PLUG] Zaurus SL5000D - Linux PDA
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On 19-Feb-2002, "ian reinhart geiser" <geiseri@yahoo.com> wrote:
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On Tuesday 19 February 2002 09:17 am, Arthur S. Alexion wrote about [PLUG]
Zaurus SL5000D - Linux PDA:
> Has anyone had a chance to check out this PDA running embedded linux? I
> think it is a Sharp hardware, Trolltech OS thing.
>
> Blackberry-like keyboard, little trackball, OK & Cancel buttons.
>
> Looks nice on paper. Has anyone tried it?
>
it is okay to use, but is randomly responsive
basicly think WinCE jordania or Ipaq with a keyboard.
eats batteries like popcorn, but if you have the cash it is a great toy
sharp has had a long history of great PDAs that never take off, so maby
this
will be there chance. i doubt it since Palm is comming out with there new
OS
in the spring that can do all this, plus run your old palm software...
just my 2c
- -ian reinhart geiser
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:-- Ian Reinhart Geiser --:
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I actually got my hands on one at LinuxWorld - construction-wise, it
felt a bit flimsy. The keyboard is a spiffy feature, but the
ergonomics are not superb - it takes a bit of getting used to. Even
so, it does make working with a shell session a lot more convenient.
The keyboard does not replace the stylus, though you can move
around, run apps, etc., using only the keyboard and buttons. Since
it's a thumb keyboard, it's not too hard to hold the stylus while
typing.
The devices they're selling currently (5000D) are developer
models, with half the memory that will be in the production units.
Sharp apparently feels they're not quite ready for prime time, yet -
they haven't started up their corporate evaluation program.
The OS is Lineo's Embedix embedded Linux distribution. For its
graphical environment it uses Trolltech's Qt/Embedded environment,
with Trolltech's Qtopia PDA app suite. Visually, it looks very nice,
and behaves somewhat like a cross between PalmOS and Pocket PC.
The apps are definitely a bit on the clumsy side - much development
work to happen before they're truly (IMO) convenient to use.
On the plus side, it /is/ running Linux. Many binaries from the ARM
port of Debian can be plopped right in, and it's pretty
straightforward to port stuff. It's pretty easy to convert Qt-based
apps, as well - mostly, you need to redesign the GUI for the
constrained screen size.
To compile, you need to set up a cross-compilation environment for
the ARM - there are some precompiled GNU toolchains at handhelds.org.
Alternately, you can compile natively using the skiffcluster, a
set of ARM-based servers that Compaq has made publicly available -
just telnet it, upload your code an compile. While you can set up
a native compilation device on the PDA, it will be slow. You'll
also need external storage (CF, SD or PCMCIA) to cram everything
in. A native environment can also be NFS-mounted from another machines.
It is possible to run X apps, as well, though hardly convenient.
As far as running Palm apps, I've seen some efforts being made to
port the Copilot Palm emulator to ARM-based PDAs - not sure if it's
up and running yet.
If you'd like to see the environment in action, come to the PLUG
talk at NetAxs on this Thursday, Feb. 21. I'll have Qtopia (or
rather, its recent fork, OPIE) up and running on an iPAQ, along with
an X11-based environment, both running on top of . I'll be going a bit
more into depth on
some of the above issues, as well. (Plug, plug.)
pls
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