I noticed that you have one of the models that has to be "converted" in order to work with almost any software as it was originally only released in Japan. Seems like you have put yourself in the world of hurt that you're experiencing.
That's partially true. Even though I've read a lot about Zaurus before making the decision that C-series might be a good successor of Psion 5mx, I didn't fully comprehend that application support will vary so much between Z models. From my point of view both C-series and 5xxx appeared to be strange devices available only in Japan (and a bit in USA).
My impressions (after reading a LOT of materials/reviews/faqs) when I made the decision (after almost a year from the initiation of my search) were that:
1) difference between C-series and 5xxx series is mainly the design (clamshell versus Palm-like) and specs (CPU speed...). As I looked for a clamshell, the choice seemed obvious.
2) you can run all Zaurus applications on any Zaurus machine, the only problem being that 5xxx applications will run on 320x200 compatibility mode on Cxxx (meaning rotated screen, but no other issues).
3) the only significant difference between ROMs is that you can have a Qt-based ROM (supporting all Qt applications) or X-based ROM (supporting X-Window applications). All other differences are related mainly to what standard software is included in which distribution and library versions (which you could simply upgrade).
4) Linux is Linux = compatibility, ease of portability, lots of support...
And... you are complaining about the Z ("I'm really fed up with Zaurus software") too, not just the announcements because you talk about fighting with applications. You might not have that with better announments
It depends how you see it. IMVHO Zaurus itself is a great hardware, Linux is a nice OS (even if not too user-friendly), but the applications killed it.
My understanding of "fight" could be a complain about lack of applications, or their poor design/quality, but what I had on mind at the time of writing was simply "fighting" due to the fact that I expected an app to work and tried configuring/installing libs because I thought that it _should_ work, just my Linux knowledge was somehow faulty.
Once you understand that the differences between machines and even ROMs on the same machine are critical, and once you _get_ information about platform support for each application, it becomes clear when you shouldn't even start the fight (app is not supported on your platform/ROM). Unfortunately that information is NOT as available as it may seem. A lot of people just write things like "Zaurus" or "newer ROM" - this confused at least myself
but again you're choice of model probably plays a bigger role as it isn't widely available and generally developers have worked with one of the more widely released versions (AKA expect problems).
As written above - this is absolutely not clear when you try to make research (especially as people seem to almost never mention platforms for the applications they wrote or cross-compiled). It only becomes clear after you've had your share of problems. Maybe it's different in countries where there is a lot of Zauruses (like 5xxx in USA)...
Show Posts