Yeah, I don't think Trolltech is hurtin' too badly. ;-) http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Feb/gee20030218018672.htm
I'm a Pocket PC owner and I regularly tout the Pocket PC's features over Palm, but often recommend Palm to users for simplicity and price point. After all, Palm is more ubiquitous and works with Linux (thanks to the SynCE project, this is changing for Pocket PCs). I love my Pocket PC. But lately -- get this -- I have been wanting Linux on my PDA because I want Linux to be very quickly accessible. I want the flexibility of Linux at a moment's notice. A bootable CD-ROM on a laptop is just not fast enough for me anymore (or so it would seem). 8-O I want the power and control that Linux brings to any platform. Yes, that's right, I said POWER and CONTROL! Now vote ME for President!! Just kidding. :-) Unfortunately, there is no Linux distro for XScale CPUs just yet (the architecture on which my Dell Axim and most new PPCs are based), and even more unfortunate is that the Zaurus, et al. are not true Linux PDAs, in the traditional sense -- rather, they are Linux-based PDAs. Their OS is Linux, but it is not a "distro" that you can tweak, update, or compile new software like you would your desktop distro. The Sharp Zaurus is a bundled unit just like the current offerings from Palm and Pocket PC (IIRC - feel free to correct me if I am wrong or if this has changed). Don't get me wrong -- that's great for consumers and regular users, but not for me. :-) I want to tweak, break, update, and compile new software like you would a regular distro. That being said, there are a couple of current Linux-distro offerings for StrongARM-based PDAs (Intel's predecessor to the XScale): Intimate: http://intimate.handhelds.org/ Familiar: http://familiar.handhelds.org/ Intimate runs blackbox by default, but can run KDE happily as well (Hooway!). Familiar also runs blackbox by default, but also uses the following 2 desktop environments: Opie: http://opie.handhelds.org/ GPE: http://gpe.handhelds.org/ Opie and GPE are great looking PDA-style environments, but again, what I really want is my regular desktop Linux software available, not just a subset of specialized "Linux PDA apps". I realize there will be limitations, and specialized software based on architecture, but I like knowing my platform is flexible and highly configurable, even if it isn't quite as robust as my desktop. For instance, the thought of being able to apt-get any currently available StrongARM-compatible .debs for my PDA is really exciting. I want that. The Kompany produces some great looking software for the Zaurus, but it all comes with a price tag (nothing wrong with that, unless you are looking for a free Linux distro-type solution). And, until recently, the Zaurus couldn't even sync with a Linux desktop, even though it is Linux-based. Bah. (That's fixed now, thanks to Qtopia. Hooway again!) So... hmmm, how to get back on topic? Ah yes, Qtopia appears to hold much promise for application development for PDAs, which could then be used on either Linux PDAs or Linux-based PDAs -- good for both consumer and consummate geek. ;-) BTW, I was tempted to get a Sharp Zaurus but there were 2 factors that stopped me: 1) Price point. Dell has come in at rock bottom pricing for a very sturdy, reliable product. Highly recommended for geeks on a budget. :-D 2) Ease-of-use. Some early problems with the 5500 left me willing to wait for the 5600, which looks to be a truly great product. I love the built in hardware keyboard. Very cool. Well, that may be more than you ever wanted to know about Linux and PDAs, but there are exciting times ahead for Linux in all markets, it would appear. Personally, I would love to see a Linux distro ported to XScale in the near future, but I'm not going to rush developers that are already working for free. ;-) But if they could time a release for next February when my warranty expires, I would be truly grateful. ;-) Oh, one last thing -- I guess I'll need a Pocket PC emulator on my Linux PDA so I can still play Snails and all those other "important" PPC apps. ;-) A February release for that also would be timely. hehehe Curtis.
