OESF Portables Forum

Everything Else => Sharp Zaurus => Model Specific Forums => Distros, Development, and Model Specific Forums => Archived Forums => 5x00 General discussions => Topic started by: selektor on August 03, 2005, 02:13:11 pm

Title: Os Options?
Post by: selektor on August 03, 2005, 02:13:11 pm
I'm just wondering, are there other OS options besides Linux that will run on our hardware?

What prevents the Zaurus from booting something like MS Pocket PC (from a hardware perspective)?
Title: Os Options?
Post by: microsoft/linux on August 03, 2005, 02:39:51 pm
Ummm.....Hopefully the preference of the owner:) Seriously though, While I don't know this for certain, there may be some drivers and so forth that would prevent that. And the fact that, Afaik you can't purchase a copy of MS Pocket PC.
Title: Os Options?
Post by: Tom61 on August 03, 2005, 05:29:20 pm
I think someone was working on porting Windows CE.net to at least one model of Z. But licensing would make it hard to distribute.
Title: Os Options?
Post by: MorphiusFaydal on August 03, 2005, 11:07:48 pm
will CE even run on an ARM system?

besides.. wouldn't the OS overhead be aweful?

(This typed from a 5500/SharpROM v3.10)
Title: Os Options?
Post by: BarryW on August 04, 2005, 02:17:35 am
Uhh, what do you think is in all the iPaqs?
Title: Os Options?
Post by: bam on August 04, 2005, 02:39:11 am
and why would you want to violate a Zaurus for?
Title: Os Options?
Post by: JohnX on August 04, 2005, 02:53:23 am
I heard someone had one of the BSDs running on a Zaurus.  I can't be troubled to look it up right now, but googling would surely bring it up quickly...
Title: Os Options?
Post by: MorphiusFaydal on August 04, 2005, 03:32:03 am
Quote
Uhh, what do you think is in all the iPaqs?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90692\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

X-Scale, which, iirc, isn't really an ARM chip, its something else, w/ and ARM compat layer.. so CE would be running on the native X-Scale stuff....

Quote
I heard someone had one of the BSDs running on a Zaurus. I can't be troubled to look it up right now, but googling would surely bring it up quickly...
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90697\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

prolly NetBSD.... i dont think there's anything it doesnt run on....
Title: Os Options?
Post by: danr on August 04, 2005, 03:45:55 am
Quote
Quote
Uhh, what do you think is in all the iPaqs?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90692\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

X-Scale, which, iirc, isn't really an ARM chip, its something else, w/ and ARM compat layer.. so CE would be running on the native X-Scale stuff....

Intel bought an architectural license from ARM, meaning they could develop a processor which executes ARM binary code.  It isn't a compat layer, as it can't execute non-ARM code.

I worked for ARM for seven years you know  

Dan
Title: Os Options?
Post by: BarryW on August 04, 2005, 11:08:25 am
Not the current iPaqs, the 3000 series, and I believe the 4000 series.
Title: Os Options?
Post by: MorphiusFaydal on August 04, 2005, 12:10:01 pm
Quote
Quote
Quote
Uhh, what do you think is in all the iPaqs?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90692\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

X-Scale, which, iirc, isn't really an ARM chip, its something else, w/ and ARM compat layer.. so CE would be running on the native X-Scale stuff....

Intel bought an architectural license from ARM, meaning they could develop a processor which executes ARM binary code.  It isn't a compat layer, as it can't execute non-ARM code.

I worked for ARM for seven years you know  

Dan
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90705\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

heh... did not know that.

Well then, if you really wanted to try, you could probably get CE running on 5500/5600.

Actually.... you'd probably have to have source code access to make some of the hardware work.......
Title: Os Options?
Post by: samxiao on August 04, 2005, 02:46:14 pm
if you wants to run Windows
why not buy a Dell
it's cheaper
faster
and has everything you want it
Title: Os Options?
Post by: Tom61 on August 04, 2005, 05:49:56 pm
Quote
heh... did not know that.

Well then, if you really wanted to try, you could probably get CE running on 5500/5600.

Actually.... you'd probably have to have source code access to make some of the hardware work.......
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90755\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

The Platform Builder SDK has enough that you should be able to put Win CE on the Z, with some effort. You'd just never be able to legally distribute it, without paying M$ huge fees. There is a loop-hole(claiming everyone that downloads it is a developer), but you still have to buy the Platform Builder, which costs serveral hundred dollars.


Quote
if you wants to run Windows
why not buy a Dell
it's cheaper
faster
and has everything you want it

[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90773\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Including a slide-out reveal keyboard, or a clamshell design?  
Title: Os Options?
Post by: eekee on August 06, 2005, 02:05:23 pm
Searched the forums (to scratch an "I know I read about it somewhere" itch) and found this: https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showt...151&#entry90151 (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14090&st=0&p=90151&#entry90151)

Not much info there other than that it's OpenBSD not Net, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the project. I wouldn't use it myself, I use BSD in Darwin/Mac OS X form regularly on my iBook and by 'eck I prefer the GNU file- and textutils.
Title: Os Options?
Post by: Snappy on August 07, 2005, 09:27:07 am
Quote
will CE even run on an ARM system?

besides.. wouldn't the OS overhead be aweful?

(This typed from a 5500/SharpROM v3.10)
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90681\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

wince ran on StrongArm devices back in 2000 or even earlier. The very first few series of iPaqs were running on SA1100 devices. HPCs like Jornada720 have ARM chips inside as well and run wince3.0 (HPC2000). Siemens SL4 (SA1100) runs HPC2000 (wince3.0) and WinCE.NET 4.0/4.1/4.2.

The wince builds for ARM are native code, no abstraction or compatibility layers. I think you may be confused with Palm's strategy. Palm PDAs ran on DragonBall processors for ages (too long). And when the switch to XScale cpus, they chose to include a layer which allows existing Palm prc apps to run as it were without recompilation for the new cpu. This compatibility layer *did* cause a performance lag, though most of these older apps were running plenty fast on the older 33Mhz dragon balls, so factoring in a performance hit, they still ran as fast if not faster on the newer PXA250 400Mhz XScale cpus.

Even the earlier 200Mhz or 300Mhz versions were more than sufficient to run them anywayz