Palm OS? Windows Mobile? Why not Linux!

[Colin Dunstan]

Tired of the endless discussions whether Palm OS or Windows Mobile is the preferred handheld OS? Perhaps you should consider buying a Linux-powered Sharp Zaurus handheld instead. Unfortunately, the default Qtopia desktop environment and the alternate OpenZaurus environment both lack the ability to run some specialized programs. The obvious solution is to install the X Windowing System on the Zaurus. The distribution Pocket Workstation is based on Debian Linux and can run in a chroot environment on a storage card, using the vendor's preinstalled native Linux system for most hardware access.

What's exciting about Debian Pocket Workstation is that you can run QTopia and a complete Debian distribution on the same machine. Switch back and forth as you need to. You can also build a complete cross-compilation tree on your own Linux computer, and compile and/or modify available open-source software for the Zaurus.´

A new version (updated 2005-03-16) is available. To stay up to date with this project make sure to visit the debian-handheld mailing list.

I cannot wait to play with the first Palm-OS based device running Linux.

[Chaos]

Or if you have any of the C7x0/C860 series... pdaXrom. It's more polished than Pocket Workstation. And for the 5xxx series, I'd suggest staying away from X for the most part. It doesn't work that well on a 320x240 screen. If someone's done some work on X on the 6000, it might work out, but the 6000 series is not widely developed for.

So, best ROMs in my opinion...
5000D/5500: OpenZaurus
5600 (shameless - I make this one, but it is said to be the best): Watapon
6000: Default, as there is no really well working alternatives, that I know of
C7xx/C860: Cacko (there isn't really a homepage for it, but there are some pinned topics on it there), or pdaXrom
C3000: Default, as I don't think there are well working alternatives either


On the Zaurus note, my own ROM (Watapon for the 5600s) should have a new version on Friday. A nice new version.

[Traecer Prime]

Why not Linux? Easy: cost and PIM friendlyness.

The best way at the moment to get a Linux PDA is to buy a Sharp Zaurus, but buying a new Zaurus in the US (through importers) would break my PDA budget. Getting a Familiar distribution onto an iPaq still seems to involve too my gyrations and chances for failure to make me comfortable doing it.

And frankly, the PIM apps for Linux suck. The most popular seem to be the ones included in QTopia, and are widely regarded as less friendly than Win Mobile, which is less friendly than the apps on my Tungsten T3. The apps produced by the Opie project (http://opie.handhelds.org) seems a little better, but still not quite there. For me, a PDA has to be super-easy to use, or I won't use it. Linux PIM apps aren't there yet.