Messages

1

General Discussion / New Zaurus This Summer?

« on: May 18, 2005, 06:55:32 pm »

Hmm, maybe I'll hold off for a while then.

I do need to save money right now anyway

2

C1000/3x00 Hardware / Possible Replacement For Internal Md On 3000

« on: May 17, 2005, 07:57:08 pm »

The iPod would be self powered.
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True, but newer models charge from the USB port, so it'd also be powered from the Z (if it can supply enough)

3

General Discussion / Please Recommand A Gps Cf For My Z

« on: May 17, 2005, 07:44:30 pm »

ps:  i'm planning using it inside my car

i know there's bluetooth one, serial one, and CF one
which one is better? more suitable for my needs?
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use a serial one over USB.. then you can place the GPS reciever anywhere in the car.. and put the Z somewhere you can see the display.. also, it frees up the CF slot for like.. say.. 802.11b  
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Wait. A "serial" one over USB? You mean using the serial port on the Z or the USB port?

4

General Discussion / Opie And Qtopia - A New Hope ?

« on: May 17, 2005, 12:56:37 am »

I'm new and all, and have no opinion either way (and won't comment on the "moral" aspects of Free software) , but I took a glance at this:

1.3
Gigs+5.8 Gigs=7.1 Gigs totals are required if you want to code with
OpenEmbedded,

and something didn't seem right, so I looked at your link.

7.1GB is the *entire* OE tree including all apps in it.   As he said it's ~200mb to get bitbake and use it which is much closer to your other estimate.

You just took numbers and threw them out there. Also your situation is not common (I think most people have a little more than 100mb free if they're developing software) so I don't think that argument stands well.

But hey, whatever you want to say...

5

C1000/3x00 Hardware / Possible Replacement For Internal Md On 3000

« on: May 16, 2005, 08:25:12 pm »

Truthfully, I'd rather have an Archos 20 gig USB drive (1.8 inch) for around 200 bucks.  The 20 gig drive doesn't need external power.

I have an Archos 40 gig drive that works fine with power, but am seriously thinking of the 20 gig for travel, because it's powered off the C3000's USB port.

R.
==
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Are you sure it'll work? Most hard drives that are powered from the USB port require the standard amount of power from the port; the Cx000s don't supply that much power... it's fine for a CF card but someone said it hung the system to put a microdrive in.

...On the other hand, if it works I'll just use my ipod as an ext HD  

6

C1000/3x00 General discussions / Internal Cf On C1000

« on: May 16, 2005, 07:35:51 pm »

Word of warning - you will not find +5 @400mA free inside your Z. Even if somepart of it runs at 5v these days, there will definitely not be enough spare capacity from the voltage regulator as they would scale the system in the design stage to maximise efficiency...

You could add a simple step regulator to get you 5volts directly from the battery... You could also probably connect the shutdown terminal on the regulator to a 3.3v supply line so the 5v regulator shuts down when the rest of the system does.
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Would it be possible to put a BT module internally in a 3k or is it too cramped in there with the microdrive? If it's reasonably easy to add internal BT to the 1k, I may decide to go with that (of course I should go with the 3k anyway as I'll never get around to opening it up and doing this anyway...   )

7

C1000/3x00 General discussions / Backup C3000 Microdrive?

« on: May 16, 2005, 07:16:18 pm »

I put a new 6GB drive in mine. When I took it out, I put it in my linux box and created a dd image on it. Then I dd'ed the image on the new disk. That way, when I [inevitably] brick it    I can just re-dd it. Plus I have the original microdrive. You should never need to send it back if you have a linux box.
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I had to smile when I read this, we really are a bunch of crazy hackers, Because 4Gb is not enough

Kudos for the soldering.
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How difficult is it to do this? Could you do it to a 1000, or is there a fundamental hardware difference? (There probably is, but I'm just wondering if one were to open up a 1000 if they would see a blank spot on the PCB where a microdrive could go)

edit: Why no, it's not possible on a 1k, as I saw in another topic. Nevermind  

8

General Discussion / Considering C-x000...

« on: May 16, 2005, 05:40:28 pm »

First thing: 1000 or 3000? Basically, it's a matter of having the builtin hard drive or not. If you plan to load tons of music or movie files, or other bulky data files, or if you want to be sure that you'll never, ever run out of space when in an installation frenzy mood, then go for the 3000. On the other hand, if you want a cheaper device, and can live with having your data and third party apps loaded on a SD card, then the 1000 seems a good choice. It really all depends on what you plan to do with the device...

Now for the ROM. Since the alternative ROMs are only in (early) beta phase (OpenZaurus, Cacko...) on the 1000/3000, there hasn't been yet any complete review with comparisons of the pros & cons of each ROM on these devices. All in all, it's mostly small changes in look & feel (Cacko), slightly different applications (OpenZaurus), and integration of stuff that you otherwise have to install on top of the Sharp ROM. OK, I oversimplify things, but basically, don't expect a revolution when switching to a new ROM, mostly an evolution, it will still be the same hardware...

I'd suggest first sticking with the Sharp ROM for a while and find out which accessories work fine with which device/ROM combo before buying any (especially for the Wifi and Bluetooth cards). That might give developpers enough time to polish the other ROMs, and you'll have gathered enough knowledge to avoid the common traps and pitfalls of the Zaurus devices...

Ah, okay. I'm probably going to go for the 3000 so I don't have to constantly swap CF cards (much; I'll still have to for wifi/bluetooth..)

You'll quickly discover that the builtin PIM apps on the Sharp ROM (even once translated into English) are not very good (read: slower and less powerful than, say, your typical PalmOS PIM apps). You have third party apps, though (Qualendar, Ka/PI & Ko/PI, etc.) but each solution has its pros and cons, and depending on your typical needs you might or might not find one to suit your taste.

Yeah, I had gathered that the stock PIM apps sucked, but KO/Pi looks fine for what I want to do. And it can read .ics files, so that's a bonus.

A few users have reported some success when using applications like Kismet or WellenReiter to do some wardriving, but other users (including me) have troubles finding the appropriate version & settings to achieve any useful results... Better chose wisely your WiFi card if you plan to make it work fast and painless!

I looked up the supported chipset listing, anyway, and as long as I get one of the standard chipsets it doesn't appear to be a problem. I might take a chance and get the Socket card ... I know that it SAYS it supports RFMON but of course if Kismet supports it is another story

There are some more or less advanced (in "early version number vs. stable application" as well as in "crude/simple vs. refined/powerful") GPS applications out there for the Zaurus, but nothing that would come close to, say, Tom Tom Navigator with vocal guidance...  And of course you'd have to find a suitable GPS, there's no simple way to connect a serial GPS to the Zaurus and the bluetooth stuff isn't builtin, so there seem to be some glitches when using bluetooth on the Zauruses... I didn't explore this area much, though, this might be worth investigating fully!

Hmm, so I'd have to work on that. I don't necessarily need vocal guidance but something like it would be nice.

UbahnNav is a great tool - if there's a data file for your city, that is! I almost got to the point of writing a (simple) version with the JR Yamanote line in Tokyo, and would have added the other subway line later, but I won't be traveling anytime soon to Tokyo again  so I've put that project on hold. I did read the UbahnNav docs, though, and it doesn't appear to be an impossible task, the thing that I would have missed were essentially the time schedules (to know the time between two stations)...

Well, I really wanted the train lines that run all across Japan, but I imagine they would follow the same convention as the subways, so maybe I'll put them in myself.

I've read here and there stuff about MacOS sync, but as I've no Mac (yet), I can't comment on that subject. Syncing in general isn't an area where the 1000/3000 Zaurus is overwhelmingly good, I'd say.

Yeah, I'd gathered that. I don't do a whole *lot* of PIM work, so it wouldn't be a huge deal to just keep my data on the Zaurus once I had it there. And it looks like there's a simple way to synchronize calendars, anyway.

Well, right now I'm not impressed by the PDA (read: PIM apps) use of the SL-C3000 Zaurus. For the "so much more" part, it's brilliant, but not for the PDA part, I'm afraid!

Well, I can use it to help learn Japanese, too, so that's a very nice plus.

That's one of the promising paths I have to explore. I've been able to install some cross-compilation tool chain on my Linux laptop, and also to install a Qtopia development environment on the Zaurus itself, so I hope to be able to also do some useful stuff. But that's needed, unfortunately, as the Zaurus, "as is", has a lot of shortcomings...  But it's a hacker's dream made reality, so it's sooooo had to resist the urge getting one!

Hey, I'll take a handheld COMPUTER with a few shortcomings. The Palm is great and all but it fails at doing stuff like browsing the web, and I rarely used the PIM stuff for more than just "appointment goes here" once a month or so.

Thanks for the help, I'll probably be getting the 3000  Sounds great...

9

General Discussion / Considering C-x000...

« on: May 16, 2005, 09:40:20 am »

So I went to Akihabara last weekend and for most of the things there I was sort of in a "Wow, that's kind of neat" mood - not really stuff I was eager to pay for right there (the cell phones are HOT) or stuff I didn't understand how to use (I'm sure I could have had the dictionaries explained to me, but I didn't want to bother at the time) ... And then I found the one small shop that had the C-1000 and 3000 on display.

 "Hello, I didn't know you existed five seconds ago, but suddenly I can't live without you."

I would have picked the 1000 up on the spot if the employee had been able to show me how to enable English mode on the thing, but all he could say was that it "probably could be done", which wasn't good enough for me to justify $400 on what is, admittedly, still really cool.

But I got home and of course now know that not only is it possible, it's really quite simple.

So my main question is which one should I get and what ROM should I use? I haven't been able to see any real features to any of the alternative ROMs - what features do each of them have, etc.

I plan to use it mostly in a PIM capacity, but of course it'll be quite handy for wardriving and such as well.    Is there a way to turn it into a GPS somewhat like on more expensive cars that will show maps of wherever I am and directions to wherever I want to go?

Also, I know from other threads that there is an app for subways in some cities, but it didn't have a Japanese data file. Is there a program that can plan routes on the Japanese rail system?

And of course, my main concern is with OS X synchronization. My old T3 still syncs with OSX's iCal and Address Book really well, is there a simple way to get this working? (Or perhaps a complicated one that still allows me to just "pres butan to go" when I want to sync) I know KO/Pi can sync with .ics files from the Mac support forum but I don't see a way to get Address Book synchronization.

All in all it looks like a wonderful little toy that I wouldn't mind using as my PDA as well as so much more. My Powerbook is great but there are a lot of situations that I just don't want to take it with me, and this would fit perfectly for those times when I want some computing device with me but it's not practical to carry a laptop.

(And I can do some development for it too  )