Total Newbie + Sl-3200

[Mycroft]

Hi.

I will shortly be receiving a Sharp Zaurus SL-3200 with only its default Japanese software and manuals.
What recommendations does the panel have regarding what I should get for it, and where I should start reading/studying/buying/downloading?

My current system is a PC running Mandriva. I'm not nearly up to speed on that.

Any help/assistance that may be offered would be most gratefully received.

Best regards,

Mycroft.

[Capn_Fish]

Check out Meanie's site: http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus
Or download it in PDF: http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/book/zbook3k.pdf

You may also want to post what you want to do with your Z, as that will get many more replies. Someone who wants PIM needs different stuff than a developer, for example.

Also note that you shouldn't have to purchase anything software-wise, as just about anything you could ever need is available for free. Hardware-wise, you'll probably want a W-Fi card (The Ambicom WL1100C is one of many that work), and maybe a USB host cable, if one didn't come with the Zaurus.

I'll do my best to get you more info when I know what you want your Z to do.

[yoruai]

I'm in the same boat as Mycroft.  I just got my Z SL-c3100 from ebay and am a bit confused.  I had found Meanies site before but it is of little help as it seems to be writtin for Linux vets.  I have always been interested in unix and hobbyist programing but thus far can be counted among windows users.  I had hoped the Z would make a good spring board.  I can only understand a small amount of Meanies pdf (which would be helpful to veiw on the Z but so far I cannot though I read Opera should be able to).  

Also I received it from a previous owner and may want to start over for better control.  It is now running Cacko 1.23 with Linux Kernel (whatever a Kernel is) 2.4.20 that seems to be compiled by a maslovsky@linux.  The Cacko QT interface seems straightforward enough but again Meanies zbook3k uses screenshots from his own system wich may paralell the Cacko but make tranlation difficult as he doens't always name the application and icons won't match.

Basicaly I want to use the pim functions as well as office compatable software with some mobile web browsing.  Games and multimedia would be nice as well.  I really want to learn more about programming, wich seems inevitable with the Z, but as of now I am quite the dumb noob.  If I could get the Symbol wifi card working I might be able to get more guides/faq's on the go but til them I'm limited to researching help after work/school.  

If I"m not beyond help I would appriciate a point in the right direction.  A Linux book for dummies perhaps?

Thank you for whatever assistance you may offer.

[Capn_Fish]

Well, you seem to be on the right track. Cacko is almost certainly the correct choice if you want PIM that syncs normally with Windows. You should probably start a new thread on the wi-fi card and go from there.

Sorry this is a bit rushed, but I'll try to come back to it later.

[yoruai]

I got the card working on my home network and am useing the Z on ths post.  I did so only by altering settings until it functioned which is not to my likeing.  I'd perfer to know how and why things work. Haveing the opera browser working is nice. I only hope it will abroad as well as at home. It's functionality is a bit limited as far as video goes. I've discovered web downloads dont work the same as for explore, at least not on here.  I found Plugger wich says it will run just about any vid formats on Linux/Opera.  Just have tofigure out how to get it now.  I'll do some looking around now that I can.  For now I am incredibly happy just to have recived your well meaning response! When you can spare the trouble thank you again for the help.

[ZDevil]

I'd say don't rush to other roms; just spend *some* time with the original Sharp ROM while picking up the initial working knowledge of Linux/Zaurus.
The default rom is actually quite nice because it is very stable and it is a very nice environment to start studying *nix.
You'll know what you need when you feel comfortable enough and ready to try new things.
http://www.elsix.org/ is a good source of packages for the Sharp ROM. Or just google "zaurus cacko feed" which will bring you a number of cool resources for additional packages.
Besides, Meanies's site, check out TRIsoft's and Figlab's manuals in http://trisoft.de/en_zaurus.htm and http://www.figlabs.com/catalog/support.php

And yet one small tip: do set up and turn on a swapfile. It helps a lot in general performance.

[jfv]

Mycroft, just to add to ZDevil's post, since you are getting a Zaurus in Japanese, you should start at the Trisoft website where they have a howto for converting it to English (unless of course you know Japanese).