New Guy Help

[drnick]

hancom presentor from the cacko feed was very usable for viewing basic <1MB PowerPoint presentations on my c3000.

[JAmerican]

I don't have Picsel browser due to the fact that it is tied to a specific SD card which sux because that would mean I need to switch SD cards all the time since mine is more or less attached to the Z permanently. I believe it may support ppt but you probably want to check with someone who has it. I do run out of space all the time, so I suggest you get the one Zaurus with as much space as you can get, ie the newest Z with 6GB HDD since you intend to use it as a laptop replacement, and well, nowadays, laptops have about a hundred gig HDD so the more the better.
One thing to note is that you probably will not be able to do your college programming assignments on the Z. Programming courses usually tend to require a specific version of an IDE/compiler to work with their supplied samples. The version that the Zaurus has is most likely to be different so you definately need a PC as well. You will need to do most of your assignments on the PC, but be able to take notes and have your schedules/timetables on the Z and even record the lectures with your Z if you get a mic and of course have space for the recording. I wouldn't bet the Mono version available for the Z would be a bit dated and not be compatable with the latest and greatest. VB is traditionally a windows only language and no matter what MS is trying to tell you, you will eventually need to learn c sharp one way or the other in order to do dot net programming. even though vb dot net will allow you to retain the vb syntax, the programming paradigm and object constructs you would need to learn and use will be based on c sharp anyway and you will be using using c sharp libraries as well for most functions. The beauty of the dot net framework however is that it allows you to virtually use c sharp without knowing c and continue to use the language syntax of your preferred language with which you are already familiar with and gives you that fuzzy feeling that you are merely learning extra features to the language you are already familar with instead of learning a new language that just looks very similar to the one you already knew. Anyway, you will be better off to stick with a windows desktop for the  dot net framework of things, support for it on linux known as mono is not as comprehensive and very experimental, so don't expect too much from the Zaurus version since it will be even more limited. You will notice that a lot of people with linux program in either c, php, perl and python. linux supports these languages pretty well and those programs also port much easier to other platforms as well.
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I'm going to ask each of my colleges/universities if a laptop is a requirement and if coding is done via laptops owned by students or computers in the classroom. I really don't want a laptop due to I have my own PC that can has 2GB of RAM and Dual processing. I doubt any laptop I get can match that at an affordable price. Getting a laptop to me is like wasting your money if you only use it for things you can do on a PDA. So I hope all my colleges say its not required and that I can use my PC. I would think that I can easy go back to my dorm room after class and do whatever assignments I have to do or I can write up a paper in the lounge on a Zaurus. I just feel a Zaurus would be the best. Hopefully they are not required. Although, I'm still kinda disappointed about the PPT thing. I would have thought that there would have been a port for powerpoints due to the USB host allowing you to do presentations.  Depending on the feedback of my colleges, if they all say no to laptops, then I may get the Z and Picsel Viewer SD card and a SL-C3XXX.

Any programmers here in college? If so, did you need or use a laptop in college for anything more than writing papers or using the internet?

JAmerican

[cmonex]

Meanie,

did you see my latest PM or again full inbox?

i admit i've never tried pdaxrom (i will soon - out of curiosity), but a friend of mine switched back to cacko from pdaxrom because it's faster (i mean cacko), according to him.  
i dunno what real multitasking is supposed to mean, not sure about the meaning of virtual windows either, BUT: i can very easily switch between apps in cacko (can even use keyboard shortcuts for that). when 2-3 apps are running i don't experience any slowdown. tried it with 6-7 apps for fun and switching slowed down a little but it still felt very stable (unlike older versions of windows CE! oh and no random slowdowns). so, i strongly disagree about that cacko isn't good for running more than just one app. (i hate cascading anyway  )

hmmm, as for browsers.. yeahhh i love dillo's speed from your x/qt cramfs package  just wanted to mention i totally agree and thanks for your cramfs stuff. but now comes my disagreement, it is a common misconcept that IE is going to get infected you with viruses and whatnot. if you're not clicking like crazy and not visiting warez sites, you'll be just fine. and IE for windows CE is absolutely free from any viruses and trojans! because it isn't even x86 code... so if that nokia had IE6 i would be convinced it's the best for browsing  just because it (IE6 ported, not the PC IE of course) renders everything better than mobile opera 8 (this is my experience. and only my humble opinion of course!!)

[Jon_J]

JAmerican,
I just thought of something, and I don't know if this has been mentioned to you.
About these 3 models C1000/C3000/C3100.
The C1000 and C3100 are similar in this area. They both have 128mb of flash memory.
The C3000 only has 16mb of flash.
When you're considering the different ROMs, the C3000 has issues because the flash area is so small.
There are DIFFERENT versions of Cacko and pdaxrom for the C3000.
These were developed later, (after versions for the C1000/C3100)
The C3000 stores the bootloader in flash, and it's ROM on the first or second partition of the microdrive.
(If I'm wrong on this, someone please step in and correct me).
The C3000 and C31000 both have a 4gb microdrive. (It's actually another CF slot, mounted internally).
Some people actually open their Zaurus and swap the microdrive with a bigger CF card.
The C1000 has no internal microdrive. The C1000 also doesn't have the internal CF slot.
There are also some chips missing, (that have to do with the CF slot in the C3000/C3100).
You cannot put a microdrive inside a C1000, as said above, parts are missing.
(You could try to solder in the necessory parts, but it would be more economical to get a different model).
But, in my opinion, when it comes to trying/using the various ROMs, you're better off choosing a C1000 or C3100,
(or a C3200), because of the flash memory size.
Jon

[xotica]

JAmerican, it sounds like you need a laptop more than a zaurus.  I am a fourth year chemistry student and I think that my laptop provides me a lot more flexibility than my zaurus does.  The zaurus is nice because it is small and can fit in my pocket however, there is no way that I can review my notes or type papers with the same ease as my laptop.  If you are going to get a zaurus just keep in mind that there are less places where you can "set up base."  Also, the UX50 is still a great pda.

[adf]

xotica;

the xserver in pdaxrom is waaayy faster than xqt.  firefox, once loaded is nearly as fast a opera, and dillo seems faster.

as to "bloated" software, abiword is small and quite fast. I suspect it is the xqt speed thing causing a decepetive impression

as to various rom speeds....  I seriously doubt there is much difference.  pdaXrom and cacko have comparable kernels afaik. The OZ guys say there is a gain with the 2.6 hernel.  All of 'em use pretty much the same softfloat, imho. cacko uses qte, which is pretty snapppy, but has some limitations. pdaxrom uses X/gtk a touch heavier than qt but with additional functions and is more in line with the "mainstream" of linux software, especially in that it also uses a desktop qt .
Cacko is, as been said over and over, a more pdaish "point and click" setup, and does that excetpionally well.  pdaxrom acts more like a tiny version of a full linux laptop.  With a little thought either can be made to do pretty much anything the other can, though there are areas where one is stronger than another.  
I'm not really sure that there is a good technical argument fro preferring one to the other for a "general purpose" Z setup. I suspect it has more to do with personal taste.

[cmonex]

xotica;

the xserver in pdaxrom is waaayy faster than xqt.  firefox, once loaded is nearly as fast a opera, and dillo seems faster.

as to "bloated" software, abiword is small and quite fast. I suspect it is the xqt speed thing causing a decepetive impression

as to various rom speeds....  I seriously doubt there is much difference.  pdaXrom and cacko have comparable kernels afaik. The OZ guys say there is a gain with the 2.6 hernel.  All of 'em use pretty much the same softfloat, imho. cacko uses qte, which is pretty snapppy, but has some limitations. pdaxrom uses X/gtk a touch heavier than qt but with additional functions and is more in line with the "mainstream" of linux software, especially in that it also uses a desktop qt .
Cacko is, as been said over and over, a more pdaish "point and click" setup, and does that excetpionally well.  pdaxrom acts more like a tiny version of a full linux laptop.  With a little thought either can be made to do pretty much anything the other can, though there are areas where one is stronger than another. 
I'm not really sure that there is a good technical argument fro preferring one to the other for a "general purpose" Z setup. I suspect it has more to do with personal taste.
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hum, i think i was the one who mentioned bloated software. i was quoting others' opinion about abiword etc, not mine (i haven't tried pdaxrom yet). i am well aware that x/qt is much slower, it would be more than a miracle for it to be as fast as x natively.  

what are those additional functions ?

[JAmerican]

The problem with my UX is that my WiFi died and its a feature that I want again. I've lived without it for sometime but now that T-Mobile is starting to play games with my BT Internet, I want it back. I've decided to consider a laptop, the Palm TX, or the SL-C1000/3100. The only thing that I just noticed is that the Zauruses are so expensive (for example the SL-C1000) is between $300 and $400 and the Palm TX is just $300 and less. I've talked to some of my teachers and they've told me that the computer labs at school are usually the best places to work due to the computers are faster than a laptop and usually are up to date with software. Another teacher told me that I would have to look out for my laptop like 24/7 because people steal them often. So I've decided that I don't want a laptop but instead, I want to just get a PDA for entertainment, web browsing, organization and document viewing and a little editing (due to most of my major editing will be done in the computer labs at school. This is why I'm now considering the TX. I think that the SL-C1000 would have been perfect if it only had Wireless. Without wireless, I have to think about storage due to the SD slot is only 1GB. Thanks I'll let you guys know what I decide at the end.

JAmerican

[JAmerican]

Thanks all for your help during this time. But I've decided to stick with Palm OS. Here is the thread I created on the topic of Finding the Next Perfect PDA, Part II.

Many reasons for sticking with Palm OS is due to my familiarity with the OS, my videos that are already converted to a 480x320 resolution, the screen size on the TX is 3.8" compared to the Zaurus 3.7". The applications for Palm OS are mostly small and efficient. There are still a wide variety of applications for Palm OS compared to that of Linux. I really wanted USB host but the lack of Wireless is a little annoying to me and I feel that the cheaper price of the TX with WiFi and BT is a better buy because I only have to carry around extra SDs compared to WiFi/BT/CF/SD cards. Too much + the Zaurus is 300+. Thanks a lot for your help guys.

JAmerican