Author Topic: Can anyone point me in the right direction? (Read 5080 times)

pointydog · « **on:** February 13, 2004, 06:29:48 pm »

I am really happy to have found this group!
I have just bought a 5500 from ComputerGeeks (wish I kmew about the coupon..)and it has yet to arrive.
This little guy will be my very first ever PDA, and I know absolutely nothing about linux.
One the positive side, I spend my days doing translations for a wireless communications switch, so I should be able to learn.
I\'d like to know if anyone can point me at some very basic information...this forum is great, but I need much more basic information!
I plan to use the Z while traveling for Email, games and MP3s. I\'m sure I still have to get some accessories, maybe all will be clearer when the Z gets here.
Any one have any idea where I can find the real basic poop, I\'d really appreciate it!

CoreyC · « **Reply #1 on:** February 13, 2004, 06:39:53 pm »

Hi,

I can understand you being nervous about linux but most of the info you will find here is pretty straight forward. It\'s actually pretty hard to mess anything up and if you do just flash a new rom and format

I got my first Zaurus a few weeks ago and have used this page as a resource.

I have a 5600 and there are not many games for it. There are emulators out there are are said to work better on the 5500 than the 5600. Most of your high end standalone games will cost you a couple bucks, you can find these at the zaurus.com software store.

There are email clients, though I haven\'t used them. I just bought tkcplayer to play my MP3s. The free sharp media player works fine for mp3s, I just wanted more eye candy.

Other apps i have bought from TheKompany.com is tkcradio and tkcVideo. tkcVideo is a video player that plays almost anything you can throw at it. It also plays mp3s, but doesn\'t support any kind of playlists. You can get by with just using freeware, I just really enjoy the apps these guys offer.

My WiFi card is the Linksys WCF12. It works out of the box. Just plug it in and configure your network settings.

offroadgeek · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2004, 10:23:08 pm »

I would recommend you read thru the Unofficial Zaurus FAQ... some of the entries are a little out of date, but for the most part there is extremely valuable info in there. You will definitely learn a ton of basic info about the Z.

I\'m about to update the ipk, so that it could be read offline.

good luck and welcome!

pointydog · « **Reply #3 on:** February 14, 2004, 11:29:17 am »

Thanks to you both. I have read through the FAQs, but I didn\'t really understand much of it. I guess I\'d be more familiar with the acromyms if I had already had some other PDA.
I have a camera that uses xD cards, and that\'s about all I know when it comes to card types and interfaces.
My Z is supposed to be here Tuesday, and once I get him out of the box and play a little, I\'m hoping the manual and the info in the FAQs will make it all pretty clear. My next trip isn\'t until Feb 29th, so I have some time to get acquainted before then.
Thanks CoreyC for the advice on the WiFi card.
I\'ve found the Kompany.com site you mentioned, and it looks like they have a lot of very reasonably priced goodies. I agree with paying for the cool stuff I want, especially since the prices are reasonable.
I\'m wondering too if anyone has a utility that will allow you use USB storage devices with the Z, and if anyone makes a (CF?) card with a regular (RJ45 or USB) LAN connection. (I\'ll probably have more times in a hotel where I have LAN access via cable than wireless).
offroadgeek- Thaks for the welcome, and for all the great stuff you have a part in here. You\'ve lost me though, what the heck is ipk?

offroadgeek · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2004, 01:27:53 pm »

Quote

and if anyone makes a (CF?) card with a regular (RJ45 or USB) LAN connection. (I\'ll probably have more times in a hotel where I have LAN access via cable than wireless).

Socket has a nice CF ethernet card that works great with the Z, here\'s a link to thier site. I\'ve also seen one that doesn\'t have a dongle (connector + cable), but I can\'t remember who makes it right now.

Quote

You\'ve lost me though, what the heck is ipk?

an ipk is just the extension of the apps that are installed on the Zaurus. what I meant was that you can download a packaged version of the Unofficial Zaurus FAQ and install it onto your Zaurus to be viewed offline in a browser.

offroadgeek

jrsjkd · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2004, 05:22:35 pm »

what may help a bit is some doing some more very basic linux reading.

I am a linux n00b myself. A while back i found this website. ITs interactive online and VERY BASIC. If you do a couple of the lessons it should give you some basic knowlege of moving around and starting to get comfortable with the terminal/command line. hope it helps

http://linuxsurvival.com/index.php?module=...&ceid=1&meid=-1

pointydog · « **Reply #6 on:** February 14, 2004, 08:43:19 pm »

I just looked real quick, and I think you\'re right. That\'s going to be very useful. Thanks jrsjkd!

Panyo replied to an offline message I sent earlier and gave me a nice link to another Linux information source: http://www.icon.co.za/~psheer/book/index.html.gz
This one seems really detailed, but also has a section with real basic info.

offroadgeek-Thanks, sorry about asking really silly questions. It would be great if I could have the FAQ on my Z when I\'m traveling and don\'t have a connection!
I\'m sure I\'ll be able to make much more use if the info in the FAQs once I get a little familiarity with Linux and a little time to play with the Z.

C

bluedevils · « **Reply #7 on:** February 15, 2004, 01:27:24 am »

New blood is good for the community. There\'s no need to apologize.

VeeDubb · « **Reply #8 on:** February 15, 2004, 11:03:46 pm »

Quote

New blood is good for the community. There\'s no need to apologize.

AMEN!!

Anyway, there\'s no short cut to learning on the Z. The best advice I can give any new user is to read the entire manual, cover to cover, testing each point with their z. And when you\'re done, do it again.

Beyond that it\'s just like learning Windows or Linux on the Desktop or how to drive a car. As a friend of mine who is a pilot likes to say, \"There\'s no substitute for air under your butt.\"

Mess around with your Z. Try to screw it up and then try to fix it. And when you get stuck, come here and ask for help.

decay · « **Reply #9 on:** February 16, 2004, 12:25:30 am »

VeeDubb wrote:

Quote

The best advice I can give any new user is to read the entire manual, cover to cover

Riiiight... My C860 is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, complete w/Japanese manual. Since my only other language is Spanish, would you point me to a link to an English Z (preferably 8xx) manual? Much obliged!

pointydog · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2004, 10:45:26 am »

Thanks, everyone.
I\'ve copied the manuals from the Sharp site and read them through..also spent some time reading the Linux primer info a few told me about...I think I\'m beginning to understand..I use some Unix at work, it\'s not much different.
I\'m still really foggy on how to move files around, but that will come with playing. VeeDubb, you sound like you already know me. I\'m bound to screw it up messing around with stuff, and that will likely happen in the first few minutes!

The Z will ariive here this morning, I can hardly wait.

Do most people get a card writer to put their files (like music) on the memory cards independent of the Z? Or do you usually connect it to the PC that has the files and copy them over? also don\'t get the \'flash\' business, is it like an image? Should I save an image of the device before I start messing around?
I\'ve also dowmloaded the Ogg ripper from tkc, it works great! If I understand things right, I have only to get the Vorbis download from the Sharp site to allow the Z to play those files.....Correct me if I\'m wrong.

Also, if I were to load a different ROM, what happens to the old one, and how would I go back? The manual is really vague about file management and the removable cards, as well as the ROM. I guess I could save the ROM files on my laptop for \'emergency\' re-re-fixing?

I\'ve read throght the FAQ, but I will probably have to re-read that stuff a few more times before it all sinks in.

Again, thanks for all the info, I\'ll be up to speed in no time, thanks to everyone here!

C

panyo · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2004, 02:09:53 am »

I like to put my Z in the cradle, then ssh to if from my PowerBook and use wget to download files I find on my PowerBook web browser (MozillaFirebird, in FVWM window manager so I can zip around my six windows to copy and paste things).

Follow the instructions here for how to set up USB networking:
http://www.linux-migration.org/ch05s08.html

In fact, come to think of it, those may be even better documents for you to work through
than the ones I mentioned. Start at http://www.openzaurus.org/, and read all of \'how to use.\' I am happily using Open Zaurus 3.3.5 and I have not looked back to the Sharp ROM. Maybe part of that is how outrageously hard it was to flash, especially when I had no idea if I was doing it right. I still can only flash from cards I get out of digital cameras I check out from school. When I try to use my own card, that I have re-formatted and repartitioned with pdisk again and again,
mkfs.msdos, mkfs.vfat, pdisk with and without DOS compatibility, etc. I always get the two blinking lights, that you find no mention of unless you really dig.

Another hint, to press the c and d buttons while flashing, I found it easiest to use the top surface of my fingernails, rather than my finger tips, to hold down the keys.

Another nice thing is NFS. See the relevant lines at
http://zaurus.spy.org/lekter/gentooforzaur...2.2/HOWTO-0.2.2
In fact, I would rather like to try gentoo for Zaurus. Gentoo has revitalized my PowerBook
and I would highly recommend it, especially if you want to have a better understanding of the Linux running on your machine. If you have Windoze, this might be the right time to switch!

pointydog · « **Reply #12 on:** February 20, 2004, 01:21:33 pm »

Hi Panyo!
I just got the 5500 on Tuesday, and I only spent a day with it before I flashed to the Sharp ROM 3.1. I did it from my PC though..I don\'t yet have a card reader.
I\'ve also downloaded handful of little games and utilities, and I think I\'m getting a handle on it. I bought a 256MB CF and another 256MB SD, now there\'s TONS of unused space.
I also have 2 network cards coming, one 802.11b and one ethernet.
I figure I\'ll use the CF memory card for stuff I wouldn\'t use if I was connected to a network (like music).
I\'m still trying to decide what I want and what I don\'t...I was thinking of a different ROM, but I wonder if there are problems with getting applications working....
I was glad to see that the new Sharp ROM has a utility that lets you save an image to your desktop or laptop. That recoverable image takes all the risk out of experimenting! I wonder if any of the other ROMs also support this?
Thanks again for the info, I\'m going away in a week, and I\'ll have plenty of time to do the reading!

VeeDubb · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2004, 09:17:53 pm »

Decay, i\'m sorry tosay that i don\'t have one for you. the best thing i could suggest is to do what pointy did and download a manual from sharp\'s site if there\'s one there for your model

pointydog · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2004, 05:42:42 pm »

Offroadgeek- I took your advice on the socket ethernet card, found it cheap ($45 incl. shipping), works great! I\'ve also gotten a symbol spectrum 24 wireless ethernet card, that works fine too, except for Kismet/wellenreiter,but that\'s another story.

I\'m using the laterst Sharp ROM, and the nice thing is the backup to PC utility that I upgraded along with it. Now I have good backups in case a screw anything up. (only had to use it once)

I\'ve been messing with the terminal (console) and I\'ve really come a long way...Thanks to you and everyone here.

I have a few (slightly more educated) questions, though..maybe someone can help?

Can you restore just one part of a backup (like entries from your calendar)? and if so, how?
If I were to go to OZ, would the Sharp backup utility and file xfer work?
Is there anywhere I could find a file tree other than just stumbling around in the console?
when you\'re in the terminal, some files are colored differently. Any idea what that means?
What does one do when an application requires an executable .jar file. I transferred the file to the Z and I can see it in the GIU, but I can\'t do anything with it, and I can\'t find it from the terminal. (this is for Qtjim)
Is there a specific directory where the files you place in internal memory wind up? how about for a CF or SD card? I tried finding properties for these things by holding the stylus on them (in the \'files\' tab of the GUI), but there\'s no file or location info.

Thanks in advance...
Oh, offroad geek again, are you really an offroader?

C

News:

Author Topic: Can anyone point me in the right direction? (Read 5080 times)