Linux Apps On Mac, Spreadsheets, & Rom!, The ROM for spreadsheets on Mac n' Z? Options

[Daryl Watson]

Part I - LINUX APPS ON MAC

For me, one use for the Zaurus that is a must have is a spreadsheet, that ideally I could also run on my Mac PowerPC G4. This would enable me to transfer files and open them directly on the mac, and edit, print and backup the files.

I have a copy of Microsoft Office for Mac on the computer and I'm also running Excel.

I'd like to install some spreadsheet software to test it to decide what spreadsheet to use, and subesequently, what ROM to flash my Zaurus to (I am currently waiting to receive a Zaurus 3200 from PriceJapan).

Has anybody used fink to install linux apps on their mac? Is it safe to use? Is it reliable?

Part II - SOFTWARE

I have also come across a range of spreadsheet programs that run on a Zaurus.
- Hancom Sheet (Sharp ROM)
- Gnumeric (pdaXROM)
- Open Office Spreadsheet (Mac)

Can anyone point to reviews of this software, or suggest a spreadsheet based on their experience?

PART II - ROM
I understand that the range of ROMs are:

TRIsoft ROM
SGARP ROM
Open Zaurus / Open Embedded
Open BSD
Debian
pdaXROM
Cacko ROM

FINALE!
Some suggestions I have already received are to link up to the Mac some people have suggested running:
- Open Office on the Zaurus, with Neo Office on the Mac
- Gnumeric on the Zaurus and the Mac, (on a pdaXROM)

I'm at a bit of a loss however, trying to make a decision, because:
(a) I know very little about linux and this is all rather new to me, and
( I'd like to use the software before fiddling around with the Zaurus installing it.


I'm feeling paralysed by choice - could anyone else shed light on this issue?

Regards,
Daryl

[kopsis]

If I have a few minutes to kill this weekend I'll try installing Gnumeric through Fink and see what happens. Note that I use Apple's X11 as opposed to the xfree86 in Fink. Another thing worth mentioning is that I only install from binary Fink packages ... I'm not concerned about bleeding edge versions so I don't bother with trying to install from Fink source packages. If you want to PM me with the specific Fink errors you're seeing, I might be able to offer some more specific suggestions.

Your experience with Neo Office mirrors mine. It's usable on my big G5 box, but pretty painful on my G4 iBook. I really *want* to like Neo/Open Office, but for work I need 100% MS Office compatibility and it's just not there. For personal use it's just far too "heavy" for my taste so I always find myself going back to faster, simpler apps.

As for ROMs that can run Gnumeric, pdaXrom runs it "out of the box". OE supports it (at least the X11 flavors of OE) but I don't know how much work it is to get all that going. It is possible to run it on some Sharp compatible ROMs if you get a Qt X11 environment set up, but if it's going to be a frequently used app, the inefficiency of that approach will get frustrating. I'm a big fan of pdaXrom, but OE is a great choice too. I'd suggest going with one of those two.

[Daryl Watson]

Ok,

There goes the weekend!

Spreadsheet bonanza:

Via the linux baptism by fire method i have discovered that

- NeoOffice was slow and sluggish

And with X11, installing gnumeric via fink that:

- gnumeric is smooth and fast, but the binary version available through fink is from 2004, and lacks print capabilities (and there are bugs there). This was a major turn off for me.

On aesthetics and a review (no source sorry):

- KSpred just didn't look developed enough so I skipped an install.

Via direct download that opens via X11

- the Open Office X11 version is fast to start up and smooth and feels great.

If I can easily run that on the Zaurus without having to lose a lot of other applications I'll be very happy.

Is it true it's a power hog? All considered that ranks currently as the best of the crop.

Any other thoughts on that before moving onto --

Investigating the ROMs...

o.k., maybe later this week..

Thanks Dave for your posts and messages. Things are starting to make sense now.

Regards,
D