K. M. from Dallas, TX, USA. 25, m
I stumbled across the Zaurus when reading about Linux one day, but went on my way because while it looked great, I felt they were too pricey, hard to get, and I have only recently started using somethign besides Windows (OSX). Time went on, and I was frustrated with all the gizmos and gadgets I tend to carry. Sony PSP, iPod, Nintendo DS, laptops x2 (one is old, stays home), Tungsten T3, and a T-Mobile Sidekick II. I wanted to cut it down to 2 or 3 devices, and that means leaving stuff at home.
Anyway, at first I thought I would build something. I started scouring the web, and remembered Mini and Nano-ITX, and how they worked with Windows. The smallest board I found was 2.7" x 3.9", IDE, CF, and SD connectors I believe, and a 600MHz Transmeta CPU. But no real video support . The 3.5" boards aren't really available to "normal" people.
Nano-ITX was still just too big. 120mm x 120mm is pretty small, but not small enough.
So I started really looking into the Zaurus, especially when I found the CF GPRS modem (I don't like the CF card placement for this, messes with typing on the clamshell models). Then I found this place, and started reading about the different ROMs available, what the Zaurus itself could do, etc.
So now I have decided on the SL-C3100. If anyone has been holding off on the SL-C3100 while waiting for a new model to come out, I promise that next week it will
I wanted the 3100 for more flash-ROM, the internal drive (which I will probably replace with a 4GB CF card when I can), and with my electronic toys I love having "the latest and greatest". With the Zaurus I can just carry it and my Sidekick and have most (more) of what I want. MP3 player, maybe a movie or two, word processing, emulators (my PSP's biggest use until Battlefront II forced a Firmware upgrade to 2.0), and some PDA functionality. Not to mention I find Linux very interesting
The only thing really missing for me is a music writing/creation app . I use Bhajis Loops on my T3 (awesome application, imho) and GB/Logic on the iBook. I've read some threads about the Linux music apps, and the problems encountered with the Zaurus. I've looked into LMMS (Linux Multimedia Studio), but don't know enough about Linux to know if it is really feasible. I should probably make a new thread discussing it instead of talking about it here
Anyway, enough rambling. Great site, lots of good information, and I hope I get my Zaurus soon.
