The FCC has the manual for the SL-6000

[Zuber]

It\'s quite simple. You spin the screen around and you can enjoy all the vertical form factor you want (at 480x640). Next you are going to tell me you prefer the thumboard as well  

[Anonymous]

I\'m just interested at looking at the screen!  Backlighting is by far worse than a transflectlive screen and at high res for a pda?  SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  probably better than tungsten t3

The only problem with the zaurus is if...........
1.  if sharp going to become a conformist like the palm, pocketpc and especially HP? as posted here in theregistry?  http://www.theregister.com/content/6/34804.html

the reason here is that i play my movies i own and cd\'s on my zaurus

2. if support from http://www.skyscape.com/index/home.asp ---is it going to be translated to zaurus without the serial being used in the back of the unit for DRM purpouses.

im a medical student/RN student/linux user, windows user going for linux and etc.


Cresho

[sleeper_service]

1.  if sharp going to become a conformist like the palm, pocketpc and especially HP? as posted here in theregistry?

From my viewpoint, application developers can do what they want. There are plenty of applications for Zaurus, and I can choose. They are playing with their own chips. If they lose them... perhaps they learn.

Including any copy protection on OS/hardware level would be a relatively pointless exercise for Sharp, since Linux-based systems are open to modification by nature. Hardware is blind without an operating system, and Linux is open to modification.

On the contrary, an investment into an open system... can be a wise investment. An open system has inherently greater guarantees of future usability (no fear of the Apple scenario). It appears to me that Sharp has leveraged such an invenstment to their benefit, gaining credibility in the process.

Why people prefer Zaurus... has major relevance too. Linux is among the major reasons why I prefer it over competitors. I have switched over to Linux, and would not buy a device which includes a Microsoft operating system, especially one with centralized copy protection. In fact, I avoid buying any device with copy protection, unless I absolutely know I can override it.

I do not pirate. However... I do perceive \"fair use\" to include rights of unlimited personal use, limited extracts and quotations, archival and backup (not buying something again, after media fails). I also insist on watching/reading my favourite nonsense... regardless of which continent I acquired the license on.

I have this odd habit... of preferring that my computer listen to me (as opposed to some guy in Redmond). So far, Zaurus SL-6000 seems to meet my requirements. Eagerly awaiting its release.

The usb host connector is described as \"Enables connection to specified sharp products\"

I do hope this is a standard disclaimer -- otherwise it could prove a major liability, forcing me to reconsider my plans in favour of Tiqit. There are a thousand gadgets I need to connect... and the existence of a compatible USB host port is vital.

[zbones]

Sleeper_service,

I totally agee, If I buy a dvd, then why the hell shouldn\'t I repack it and watch it on my zaurus?

If I buy a cd, why should I also have to buy the tape for my car, and then purchase the mp3 file to play on my pda?

Vendors adopting DRM may well be in for a shock!

The simple answer to all this is if it costs £10 to buy a cd, and maybe £4 to buy a copy, what would the majority prefer?

The majority of people who buy cd\'s are students/young people with a very limited budget.  Any budget they have to spend on music will be completely spent one way or the other.

If original cd\'s were cheaper, then why buy a copy? you would simply buy more cd\'s than before, the original is far better to own than a copy, and you would spend just as much money as before on music, except all your money is going to the original artist(s), not to pirates!

We have heard that cd\'s only cost a few pence to produce, so why charge £10 for them!

Also, forget spending loads of money investing in copyright methods. They don\'t work!  If a cd can be played, then it can be copied.

I do not agree with, or practice piracy on any scale, in fact I hate pirates, why should they profit from other peoples hard work?

But I do think that record companies should \"wake up and smell the coffee\"

Sorry, my rant is over, I will return to the topic at hand....

I do hope this is a standard disclaimer -- otherwise it could prove 
a major liability

I am sure it is, none of my peripherals are \"guaranteed\" by Sharp, but they all work ok, gps, cf, sd and wifi card included.

It\'s usually just a case of somebody writing/porting a driver for it.

Peter.

[sleeper_service]

I do hope this is a standard disclaimer -- otherwise it could prove a major liability

I am sure it is, none of my peripherals are \"guaranteed\" by Sharp, but they all work ok, gps, cf, sd and wifi card included.

It\'s usually just a case of somebody writing/porting a driver for it.

Hopefully yes. It should be possible to tell... theoretically by checking whether components have USB certification (or are used in other USB-certified devices) or practically by running some tests.

If things work with a few devices... they are usually possible with others. Like you said, it would probably depend on:

a) which chipset is used
 which set of drivers Sharp ports or writes
c) which drivers others will need to add

[ScottYelich]

I have a 700/76 and a 5600 ...
I can use the 5600 for testing, etc... it\'s basically my ruggedized zaurus. :-]

it just doesn\'t compare to the clamshell.  The screen #1, the keyboard #2.

I can seem perhaps playing (some) games might be easier/better on the 5600
-- but I haven\'t tested or convinced myself of that yet.

Scott

[stahlrosen]

Hello. I\'m a newbie to Zaurus, well have been watching it for a while and waiting to take the \'plunge\' and have a few questions if someone has time.
What are the major advantages / disadvantages of the 5600 to the 6000 (comparatively- besides memory)
Will both run MySQL and LaTex?
Are the expansion slots on the 6000 worth the extra as compared to what the 5600 has to offer?
As a side note, I run K9 for a search and rescue group, and would like to keep track of various aspects of our team, training, etc. Which would be nice to do on a pda. (and I am very partial to linux) Many of our teams carry gps units, but simply being able to track other aspects of operations without all the baggage would be nice!!! My pack already weighs about 35lbs...augggg...
Thank you in advance for anyone who has comments/advice

[tumnus]

The 5600 will struggle to run MySQL (there is a Zaurus ipk for it though) since it only has 32MB of RAM and it is hard to expand with a swap file. The only option with the 5600 you have is to put a swap file on a  SD/CF memory card, which is not advised. The 6000\'s 64MB of RAM will be much more capable.

I personally do not think much will come of the expansion sleeve. Although it worked for Compaq with the iPAQ, so maybe I\'m wrong. It depends on how much Sharp/IBM pushes it I guess. The thing with the 6000 is you can get models with either WiFi or both WiFi and Bluetooth builtin leaving the CF slot free for more memory or something like a GPS card.

Of course the 6000 (especially with WiFi and Bluetooth) is going to be a LOT more expensive than the 5600.

[Anonymous]

The 5600 will struggle to run MySQL (there is a Zaurus ipk for it though) since it only has 32MB of RAM and it is hard to expand with a swap file. The only option with the 5600 you have is to put a swap file on a  SD/CF memory card, which is not advised. The 6000\'s 64MB of RAM will be much more capable.

Swapping to a microdrive should be okay.  Or, if you are using a wireless network, you could try network swap.  (but then, why run mysql on the Z in the first place)    

I personally do not think much will come of the expansion sleeve. Although it worked for Compaq with the iPAQ, so maybe I\'m wrong. It depends on how much Sharp/IBM pushes it I guess. The thing with the 6000 is you can get models with either WiFi or both WiFi and Bluetooth builtin leaving the CF slot free for more memory or something like a GPS card.

I think the sleeve will be used for \"enterprise\" accessories like barcode scanners and rfid readers.  Although, the extra battery/cf sleeve thats already been announced could be useful, it\'s very ipaq-esque.

Of course the 6000 (especially with WiFi and Bluetooth) is going to be a LOT more expensive than the 5600.

Preliminary pricing that I\'ve seen puts them around 600-850 depending on configuration.  Granted, it is a lot more than the discounted 5600, but its not unreasonable for a high-end PDA, and not that much more than the japanese imports.

[Anonymous]

(but then, why run mysql on the Z in the first place)

Because we have a small database that we keep track of weather conditions, wind, terrain and gps locations. This way we can log everything while we are out training and keep better track of it. It helps us when we go out again and encounter similar situations. It would just be nice to be able to do it on something small.
--Stahlrosen

[Anonymous]

I think he was saying that doing a network swap would imply that you could be running MySQL on a stationary server and accessing it from the Z, not that it doesn\'t make sense to run MySQL on the Z in principle.

[Anonymous]

I think he was saying that doing a network swap would imply that you could be running MySQL on a stationary server and accessing it from the Z, not that it doesn\'t make sense to run MySQL on the Z in principle.

Yes, that is exactly what I meant.

 On a tangental note, there have been people in the PocketPC community that have figured out how to upgrade memory on those devices, through skilled soldering techniques.  I wonder if any enterprising hardware hackers have looked into modding the Z.  That would solve the problem entirely.  (a Z with 128mb of RAM?)  

[meangene]

I just received an SL-5600 with a PXA255 processor...the box says so!  I\'m very excited.  I guess that Dell wasn\'t the only company to make a switch in mid-stride.  Check Amazon.com for a great price and a PXA255 processor for the SL-5600...$299.88 with free shipping!!!

[claborne]

According to the manual (mirrored on this site), the SL-6000 does support IR, located on the side of the unit.  Is there something special about \"consumer IR\"?

     2
-- C  --

Since they seem to be making four different models, why couldn\'t they make them with all the combinations of WiFi and Bluetooth? The SL-6000D should have Bluetooth rather than 128MB of Flash since that can be expanded with memory cards and then the range would satisfy everyone\'s requirements. I only want Bluetooth at this time and would buy a WiFi CF card later if needed. The SL-6000W is going to be way out of my price range

It\'s also a shame that none of the models have consumer IR, but I guess that musn\'t be a priority for Enteprises...

[clivel]

According to the manual (mirrored on this site), the SL-6000 does support IR, located on the side of the unit.  Is there something special about \"consumer IR\"?

Consumer IR is like your TV remote, designed to work over a few metres  from your couch to the TV. The IR devices in many PDAs, do not put out much power, they are designed to operate over much shorter distances. Although you can program these to operate your TV, you would need to be much closer.
Clive