Never Had A Pda, Looking At C3000 - Capabilities?

[asden]

I've never owned a PDA, or a laptop, cell phone, pager, mp3 player, et cetera and so on (yes, I'm a deprived child, pity me!).  At any rate, I'm very interested in getting a C3000 and a couple accessories, and I've seen reviews refer to this little widget as almost a mini-laptop, so...

Can you replace the OS that comes preinstalled on the device?  Just like formatting a hard drive and installing what you want on there?  If so, would the installation have to fit into the 16MB flash memory, or how would that work?

I saw one review that said you could uninstall any software you installed, which led me to believe you can't uninstall software that comes preinstalled on the device... is that right?

Can I install any piece of software I want onto this thing?  Treat it like a computer, get a USB CD drive and install whatever I want that doesn't exceed the system specs?

I'm guessing you plug it into its docking bay to recharge the battery, but is there an AC adapter type hookup so you can just run the thing off an electrical outlet?

If I don't have wifi in my house, am I screwed, or is there any accessory which lets you hook up to any regular hub and get out through my home network?

For those of you who have one and would know, how comfortable is the keyboard for extended periods of time?  Would you still recommend a USB keyboard?

And finally, PriceJapan is much less expensive, but Dynamism looks a little more reputable, and easy to deal with... opinions?

Thanks, guys!

[d.maddock1]

I've never owned a PDA, or a laptop, cell phone, pager, mp3 player, et cetera and so on (yes, I'm a deprived child, pity me!).  At any rate, I'm very interested in getting a C3000 and a couple accessories, and I've seen reviews refer to this little widget as almost a mini-laptop, so...

I'm not a C3000 owner, but you're questions are pretty general, so:

Can you replace the OS that comes preinstalled on the device?  Just like formatting a hard drive and installing what you want on there?  If so, would the installation have to fit into the 16MB flash memory, or how would that work?

The preinstalled OS & software is called a ROM.  Yes, you can replace it, but generally with another linux-based OS.  It kinda is and is not like working with a 'normal' computer.  You wouldn't be able to install 'what you want' unless what you want is one of the available linux options.  You can't put windows on it for example.

I saw one review that said you could uninstall any software you installed, which led me to believe you can't uninstall software that comes preinstalled on the device... is that right?

You can change the preinstalled software by using a different ROM, but once installed you can't change it without again replacing the ROM.

Can I install any piece of software I want onto this thing?  Treat it like a computer, get a USB CD drive and install whatever I want that doesn't exceed the system specs?

Theoretically, sure.  Practically, no.  You can compile much Open Source software for it, but it is not like just plugging in a cd drive and letting it rip.

I'm guessing you plug it into its docking bay to recharge the battery, but is there an AC adapter type hookup so you can just run the thing off an electrical outlet?

Yes.

If I don't have wifi in my house, am I screwed, or is there any accessory which lets you hook up to any regular hub and get out through my home network?

Yes, you can get cf cards which work with a wired network instead of wifi.

For those of you who have one and would know, how comfortable is the keyboard for extended periods of time?  Would you still recommend a USB keyboard?

I like the keyboard on my c760, but for real word processing you should get an external keyboard.  I've got a pockettop ir keyboard that I like.  I don't know if you can use usb keyboards.

[asden]

Can you replace the OS that comes preinstalled on the device?  Just like formatting a hard drive and installing what you want on there?  If so, would the installation have to fit into the 16MB flash memory, or how would that work?

The preinstalled OS & software is called a ROM.  Yes, you can replace it, but generally with another linux-based OS.  It kinda is and is not like working with a 'normal' computer.  You wouldn't be able to install 'what you want' unless what you want is one of the available linux options.  You can't put windows on it for example.

No problems there.  I'm trying to move far, far away from Windows, which is what put me onto the Zaurus in the first place.  Here in a few weeks, before I get my Zaurus, I'm going to be shifting my home PC from Windows XP Pro to Suse 9.2 Pro.

Can I install any piece of software I want onto this thing?  Treat it like a computer, get a USB CD drive and install whatever I want that doesn't exceed the system specs?

Theoretically, sure.  Practically, no.  You can compile much Open Source software for it, but it is not like just plugging in a cd drive and letting it rip.

So no Windows emulators for programs designed for the Pocket PC?  Specifically http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/downloads.html though there may be others I run across which I may decide I want.

Or chucking the browser and email client (Opera and ?) for FireFox and Thunderbird.

[bluedevils]

You probably could use firefox and thunderbird, but you would have to install something like debian's pocketworkstation and x/qt.  I'm not sure what the performance is like or how easy it is to install.  I heard firefox takes more than a few seconds to load up.  Maybe somebody else can chime in.

Software wise, the 7 series and 8 series clamshells have the most options, but you don't get the HDD or the USB host.

[kahm]

So no Windows emulators for programs designed for the Pocket PC?  Specifically http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/downloads.html though there may be others I run across which I may decide I want.

Or chucking the browser and email client (Opera and ?) for FireFox and Thunderbird.
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I use Firefox on the desktop and Opera on the Z, and I don't miss Firefox for the Z at all. Opera is light, fast, handles multiple windows and pop-ups well, and looks *good* on the small screen. For mail I use the OM/PI package which, while not perfect, is getting better. I had a bad BIOS flash on the motherboard of my desktop PC so I used OM/PI exclusively on my Z for email for over a month.

As for your PocketPC software - if you don't get too stuck on having to have one particular piece of software then you can usually find something with a similar set of features for the Zaurus. There's a lot of software out there for the Z - keep you're mind open and you'll find what you need.