Topics

1

5x00 General discussions / What Os To Use For My Poor Old Collie (5500)?

« on: February 17, 2010, 04:09:50 pm »

I feel very much let down.

I was very happy when I first got my Zaurus, expecting a large user community with active developement, but it seems the SL-5500 got obsolete in no time at all...

I got the Cacko rom installed and I used it happily for some time, but somehow it got broken... I can´t get ScummVM to work anymore, mplayer neither... Don´t know which version of the actual Cacko rom is meant for my Zaurus nor where to download it...

Could anybody tell me what would be the best OS for my poor little old Collie? I´d like to use some games (scummvm, mame, c64) and some multimedia apps (video & mp3) and a good PDF reader (and possibly read other eBook formats), check my mail (IMAP without the need to download all the mails) and do some web browsing. I already gave up the hope to have a nifty painting program that really makes good use of the touch sensitive screen...

I got a 2Gb SD (Kingston) and a 2Gb CF (Kingston) card, but due to the 1Gb limit, I´m using a 1 Gb SD (Sandisk)... The 2Gb CF card works fine. My wireless network adapter is a Linksys WCF12, which used to work fine with the Cacko Rom.

Please help!

2

Linux Issues / Problems With Ipkg

« on: January 30, 2005, 04:05:47 pm »

Hi there,

On some packages I'm trying to install I get this error:

"The filename of this package includes character this application can't handle. Please change filename and try reintall"...

For example, this occurs with the mplayer ipk at: http://www.zeb.uklinux.net/files/mplayer_0.90pre10_arm.ipk

Any idea? Workaround?

3

Windows Issues / Cradle / Usb Cable Under Windows Nt4?

« on: January 27, 2005, 09:32:06 pm »

Pls. don't flame me for asking this  

Why NT4 in the first place? Well, 'cause my poor old laptop can't handle WinXP (233Mhz, 96Mb RAM and 4Gb HDD). NT4 is a lot better (stabler & cleaner) than win98 and I can't install Linux because I need a M$ OS for the Garmin Mapsources of my gf's GPS. So the lappie is stuck with NT4 Workstation (+SP6a).

I got another box with Linux running, but I'd like to be able to use the Z on the laptop. I know NT4 has problems with USB, so I'll forget about that (or is it possible?).

But how about the serial port?
I got a SerialoZThinCable USB. With 2 converters on my laptops serial port (SERIAL to PS2 and PS2 to USB) I can plug the usb cable from my Z into the serial port of my laptop. In theory, this should work...

But now how do I get QTopia Desktop to see my Z? With USB I had to install the USB drivers! Don't I need any drivers with a serial connection? In QTopia Desktop, I've set "PDA connection method" serial, but no go... items in synch menu stay grayed out...

Am I doing something wrong? Anybody has experience with Z on NT4?

4

Linux Issues / Problems With Zgcc

« on: January 24, 2005, 11:32:59 am »

Can anybody help me out?

I'm trying to install the "ZGCC GNU Compiler Suite Release 2.02" on my Zaurus.
(http://s91215199.onlinehome.us/zaurus/)

Configuration instructions are here: http://s91215199.onlinehome.us/zaurus/zgcc2install.html

But I get stuck on the part where I have to configure the compiler

I have to run "source zgcc.sh" as root, but root doesn't recognize the command "source"...

Any suggestions?

5

Linux Issues / Can't Mount Samba Shares On My Z

« on: January 19, 2005, 10:04:42 pm »

Finally I got my very own SL-5500, which makes me extremely happy... Got some nice stuff working (prBoom, ScummVM, qpdf2, embedded console...) but I can't mount Samba shares   although I've been fighting with it for a whole day now...

I downloaded and installed smbmount, but the page where I downloaded said I had to install Libncurses5 by remounting the root as rw (mount -o remount,rw /) but alas, no success...

The libncurses5_5.0-6.0potato1_arm.ipk doesn't install correctly (extraction error) and the libncurses_5.0_arm.ipk does only work for user "zaurus", which is of no use, because shares need to be mounted as user "root": as soon as I do a smbmount as superuser, then it starts to complain about missing libraries...

I guess the root filesystem needs indeed to be mounted as "rw" in order to get those libs in the correct location, but it's a cramfs filesystem!!!! These can only be "ro", right???

I got Sharp Rom 3.1 running on my Z... would the Crow ROM solve these problems? I'm thinking about switching over to the crow rom anyway, because due to some severe hangups (double reboot bug, I suppose), I lost all my configs, and since I'm experimenting a lot, this means a lot of reinstalls

(I'll switch to the Crow rom or openZ in order to preserve my configs, even after a full reset...)

So can anyone help me out with this samba thing? Apparently a lot of people got it working, so what am I doing wrong? pls. help

JM.

6

Accessories / Socket Mobile Power Pack

« on: November 12, 2004, 09:25:51 pm »

Hi there,

I'm planning on buying the following item (Socket Mobile Power Pack): http://www.socketcom.com/product/AC4009-541.asp

as an eventual "remplacement" for my battery just in case my Z's battery would die on me.

Do you think this is a good choice?

Anyone has had any experience with this Mobile Power Pack? Does it work with the Serialo ZThinCable USB? Or would I need another cable? Or no cable at all?

This thing looks incredibly handy and usefull, but I'd like to hear some experience before I buy this thing!!!!

7

General Discussion / Garmin GPS + Zaurus

« on: November 12, 2004, 07:32:14 pm »

Hello there,

I don't know where else to post this question, so I'll post it here in "newbies" (I'm a newbie after all )

I've got a Zaurus SL-5500 and a Garmin eTrex Legend GPS.

Is there any way to connect those two together?

I know that there's some wonderfull Open Source GPS software available for Linux that would allow you to connect a GPS to a laptop, but I wonder if such a thing also exists for the Zaurus. Actually I know there is, but is it compatible with the Garmin GPSses? And do I need a special cable for that? (The Garmin cable that comes with the GPS is a SERIAL cable, so connecting it to a Z would need some adapter I suppose).

Anybody has experience with this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

8

Accessories / SL-5500 compatible CF & SD cards???

« on: November 12, 2004, 07:21:23 pm »

Hi there!

In december I wanna spoil my Z (SL-5500), so I'll go shopping for some accessories, but I'll need some advise here about what devices will work for the SL-5500. For example I've read that not all brands and sizes (capacity) of memory are officialy supported, but that a lot of them do work.

www.myzaurus.com says CF memory: up to 256Mb (pretec & sandisk), SD memory: up to 128Mb (only pretec). That would make my choice quite limited and the amount of memory too, hehehe. So is there any compatibility list somewhere to help me?

How about Dane-Elec (up to 2Gb CF) and they also have CF XS cards with a nice guarantee (99 months, replacement within 24h worldwide), which sounds really cool   and how about Dane-Elec's SD cards???

Then there's Kingston, Sandisk (I've read somewhere that Sandisk should better be avoided because they were very bad), Expansys cards, other brands?

I'd like to have at least 512Mb cards (both CF and SD) and even more (1Gb) if my budget will allow it.

Then I also want to buy a wireless networking card. I'm thinking about the Linksys WCF12. Is that a good choice? Or are there better / more compatible options? (Compatibility is veeery important, I don't want to loose too much time in searching / compiling drivers, but "low power consumption" would be nice too).

I'd appreciate the advise and eventually a reference to a compatibility list (also for other hardware / gadgets for the SL-5500).

9

Software / 3D Blender

« on: August 10, 2004, 07:54:34 pm »

Has anyone tried to "port" Blender on a Zaurus SL-5500 already?

Blender is open source modeling/rendering software that runs on different platforms, and now also on an IPaQ:

http://download.blender.org/documentation/...BLENDERING.html

and:
http://mirrors.wamug.org.au/blender3d/docu...ade%20news.html

The unoptimized version seems to work quite well on the IpaQ.

Blender uses opengl only, even for it's gui, so it's supposed to be very portable, so please anyone who volunteers to port this 3D baby to the big Z, please please pretty please? I'm not much of a programmer

Source code can be found here:
http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Source_Code.12.0.html

Hope there will be enough geeks interested in this, because this would also be a killer application to show off the capablities of the big Z, especially with code optimized and the likes!!!!

10

General Discussion / Does the SL-5500 already wear protective foil?

« on: July 23, 2004, 11:53:05 am »

Hi there,

I got two silly newbie question about protective foil (for the screen):

First: does the SL-5500 already "wear" one when it comes right out of the box?

And second question (it's my first PDA, so I'm a total newbie to this!): is the protective foil really necessary? Or is it just an extra measure to protect the screen.

(That is: it wouldn't hurt to use the stylus on the screen without protection, for say a week or so, would it?)

Thanks in advance!

11

Software / WINE?

« on: July 20, 2004, 03:08:27 pm »

Hi there,

I found a program for the Z called Wine, but alas it has nothing to do with Linux's WINE that runs Windoze binaries...

Is there, or will there be, a port of WINE for the Zaurus?

There may be a few small Windoze based proggies that I'd like to run on the Z, so a port would be nice.

BTW: zwine sounds perfect, especially because it sounds like the german "schwein" which means "PIG", haha!  

Greetz,

JM.

12

General Discussion / Dual/Multiple boot a Zaurus

« on: July 20, 2004, 02:51:57 pm »

Hi,

Yet another question from me. I'd like to try out everything myself, but I don't have my Zaurus yet  .

So is it easy to get a multibooting system on a Zaurus?

What kind of storage space would I need? Would it for example be possible to put one OS on one CF card, the other OS on another CF card? (Or would I need SD cards for that?) and what amounts of storage space would we be talking about?
Would 128Mb cards be enough? Or perhaps ONE single 1Gb card??? I read that 256Mb is needed for a Debian distro.

Nicest would be to have each OS on it's seperate memory card, like swapping HDDs on a desktop, is that possible? (I suppose yes, but is it complicated?).

I'm very curious, really...

And ehhh,   just a crazy thought  has anybody tried to install WinCE or WinXP mobile on a Zaurus (don't kill me, it's just a curiosity question, you know: why is it done, just because it's POSSIBLE!!!) of course I don't want to use Windoze on a Zaurus, but a multiboot Win/Lin PDA would score a lot of geek points, no?  

13

Accessories / What is the best storage media?

« on: July 20, 2004, 02:36:50 pm »

Very nice to have the freedom of choice, yet confusing for the newbie, hehehe.

The SL-5500 has 2 slots, one CF that also takes Microdisks and a SD slot that also takes MMC cards...

I suppose it is wise to try to keep the CF slot "free" as much as possible, since that's the slot that is needed for the peripherals (ethernet cards & stuff), this is a bit of a bummer considering the CompactFlash memory cards seem to be the cheapest storage media!!!!

So what are the differences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different media, when used in a Zaurus (the SL-5500 especifically)?

A Microdrive sounds nice (especially since it's capacity can go way beyond 1 GB), but a 1Gb CF card is waaaaay cheaper, so why would I buy a 1Gb Microdrive? Is it faster? If so, is the greater speed really needed?
SD cards are not only more expensive than CF, but also their copy protection, which has no real added value for the common user, may cause for more problems than pleasure... but using an SD or MMC card does keep the CF slot free for use with a CF peripheral...

So could anybody give their experiences and opinions about this matter?

Thanks in advance!

JM.

14

General Discussion / Mortal Kombat on the SL-5500

« on: July 19, 2004, 10:07:55 pm »

I'd gladly find out for myself, but I don't have my Zaurus yet... and I'm soooo impatieeeennnntttt!!!!

My Zaurus will be mainly used for * s e r i o u s * work, but a bit of gaming fun is necessary once in a while, so how does the 206 Mhz StrongArm processor live up to those gaming needs?

I figure the difference between the 400 Xscale and the 206 StrongArm are pretty big (if not huge)... How well does the 206 perform??? Is "Mortal Kombat" (under Mame emulation) playable on the SL-5500??? How about Metal Slug (yeah, I know, these roms are heavy on resources). What mame roms are playable? (with sound / without sound).

Can anyone tell me his experiences with a Zaurus SL-5500? How well do certain emulators work, which ones are too heavy for the SL-5500?

How about Commodore 64 emulators? I suppose that they are not so heavy and that a good old graphical adventure like "Castle of Terror" or "The Hobbit" should do fine! No?  

How about ScummVM (very important!!!!): does it work okay? It should, because it's Linux native, but does it? What a great experience it must be to play Monkey Island on a small LCD screen, sitting on the coutch or in bed (instead of reading a book before going to sleep).

Is it worth to overclock the processor using http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=810 ?

If watching video, I guess DivX is too heavy, but mpg-1 (using my local network) should be ok, no?

And then about programming: how about LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP), I know Apache runs on the Zaurus, but how about PHP? And PostgreSQL?

And how about battery life? When gaming extensively, how long do the battery last, one hour?

And the size of the screen? 320x240 seems pretty small to me, but from the screenshots I see it appears to be quite sufficient (although I drool by the thought of the full VGA screen of the C series!!!)

Etc... etc... Please tell me your experiences...

In the meanwhile, as soon as I got my SL-5500, I'll save money for a newer model!!!! I definately WANT a bigger screen and a faster processor. Long live the Zaurus and Long live Sharp's new LCD technology!!!! Hurray to Linux and hurray to Java (I'll pick up my Java programming again )