OESF Portables Forum

General Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: dhns on July 21, 2004, 05:28:22 am

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: dhns on July 21, 2004, 05:28:22 am

There is currently a nice discussion on how to flash WinCE on a Zaurus.

Since I have the impression that while the Z devices are the best ones you can get - they are rather rare and do not come as a bundle with TomTom navigation. So why not thinking about the reverse thing (AKA PocketTux):

Port coLinux (http://www.colinux.org/) to WinCE/PocketPC so that we can flash/install the Zaurus ROMs onto any PPC device (HP, Dell, Toshiba, MDA, etc.)?

What are your opinions? Who likes to contribute? Trigger a project on Sourceforge?

-- hns

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: slocaus on July 21, 2004, 05:46:57 am

Try the forum search:
https://www.oesf.org/forums/inde...act=Search&f=72 (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?act=Search&f=72)

Returns the exact topic you started:
https://www.oesf.org/forums/inde...96&hl=flash+win (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=1596&hl=flash+win)

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: dhns on July 21, 2004, 06:23:32 am

Quote

Returns the exact topic you started:

NO - please read my posting carefully - I want to reverse the idea of exactly those links you have posted!!!

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: slocaus on July 21, 2004, 06:38:40 am

Urk, sorry, my bad.  It's what happens when you work mdt - 8am and 10am - 5:30pm each day.  Get a little woosy.  Trundling off to the coffee maker for more ....

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: tumnus on July 21, 2004, 06:56:33 am

This is effectively what http://www.handhelds.org (http://www.handhelds.org) and OpenEmbedded (http://www.openembedded.org/) are already working on.

The problems that arise are things like device specific hardware and different flash/RAM configurations.

Title: Can you flash Zaurus on a Wince?
Post by: dhns on July 21, 2004, 07:34:22 am

Quote

This is effectively....

Again: NO. Its a third option I would like to call PocketTux.

I think I have to explain my idea in more detail:

handhelds.org / Familiar / OpenEmbedded want to make a flash-image replacing WinCE.

This leads into large issues and effort for identifying and adapting to different hardware models, device drivers etc. It usually takes several months alone until the boot-loader of a new device is cracked and the device addresses are identified. Well, is much fun to do so but it does not help the spreading of Linux on handhelds because until then, the model might not be anymore on sale.

My idea is to use the coLinux idea - making a Linux kernel to run as a PocketPC/WinCE user application (PocketTux.exe) and using the device drivers written by MS and others. If this kernel is made 100% compatible to the Zaurus system calls, we can install a Zaurus (OE/OPIE/pdaXrom) file system and run Zaurus applications.

The only issue for a coLinux approach I am aware of is the memory management and that the underlying architecture (x86 or ARM or something else) must be the same as the Linux to be installed. There is NO CPU emulator involved (which would be much too slow).

Quote

The problems that arise are things like device specific hardware and different flash/RAM configurations.

These problems can be left over to MS and the HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc. as they already have solved them...

-- hns