I'm confused. Which ROM should I use?

[javalori]

Background - I bought my C750 over a year ago.  Loved it.  I think I loved it too much.  Instead of just USING it, I screwed with it.  Tried this ROM, and that ROM, installed this application, and that application, and basically realized that it was never useable, because it was always in some state of disrepair, because I was screwing with it to get it "perfect".  So 6 months ago I put it away, and switched to this "free" PocketPC that I got.  

I hate the PocketPC.  Really, really hate it.  I want my Zaurus back, and working!  I'm willing to put in time to work around problems, but I need to *know* that the problems have work-arounds.

My hardware is :

C750 (from Dynamism) + spare battery + battery charger
Socket Low Power WLAN CF
SanDisk SD cards (64 MB, 256 MB)

I must have:

-USB connection to Windows
-PIMs that sync with Windows, preferably Outlook 2003, but willing to settle for other desktop PIM *if it works*.
-WiFi that works
-Web Browser
-Music Player for OGG
-couple of simple mindless games, like freecell, etc
- and I want all that stuff listed above to work without freezing/hanging/rebooting the Z several times a day

Like to have:
-Palm emulator to run ereader to read my e-books with @$#%#$@%&* DRM
-Java stuff ('cause I'm a Java developer)

So... given all that, can someone recommend which ROM I should be using, and why you think a particular ROM would suit my needs?

[rrashkin]

Why wasn't the Sharp ROM ok for your needs?
I have a 5500 and, admittedly, simple tastes, so I don't know if I can make any useful recommendations.  That said, I am pretty comfortable with the Sharp ROM for the 5500 (3.1) and it never crashes on me.

[javalori]

Why wasn't the Sharp ROM ok for your needs?
I have a 5500 and, admittedly, simple tastes, so I don't know if I can make any useful recommendations.  That said, I am pretty comfortable with the Sharp ROM for the 5500 (3.1) and it never crashes on me.

The C7XX series doesn't come with an English ROM.  Dynamism did a pretty good English conversion job on the original Japanese Sharp ROM, but there are lots of places that the Japanese stuff just refuses to be converted, like in the "tabs" for sorting/finding in the "Contacts" PIM, etc, etc.  Also, my WiFi card wasn't natively supported in that ROM, either.

[maslovsky]

Install cacko ROM 1.21 + Hotfix B

[lardman]

Cacko worked well for me (I tried it for a week), but it was difficult to get some of the apps I wanted to run (because I'd linked them against a later version of libc - the Cacko version os prehistoric ;-))

OZ works fine on the C750, no problems, no lock-ups, etc.

The Cacko ROM does have the advantage of allowing zooming (and having a working IR applet), but I'm quite happily back with OZ now (as I can use more software).


Si

[zepheir]

I installed qpe-language on the original ROM (I have a C860) and qpe-i18n-en. When I want everything in English, I just go to the Language settings in the configuration tab and change to English.

I usually leave it in Japanese though since I used a script that StuBear made to convert a lot of the Japanese to English yet maintain the Japanese localization.

If you want to try it ---> http://ipkgfind.handhelds.org/result.phtml?section=qpe

[Yippee38]

Why wasn't the Sharp ROM ok for your needs?

The Sharp ROM (Intellisync more specifically) does not support Outlook 2003.

[freizugheit]

I owns a SL-5600 with original Sharp ROM.  With tkc MP3 Player, Neo Calc and all basic software applications, I am very satisfied with my Zaurus ever since I obtained it in Mar '03.  

I really envy on your C750.  You should be able to get it up and work efficiently for your work and personal matters:

Let deal with your wish one-by-0ne.

First, you should find your way to restore your C750 to use Sharp ROM.

-USB connection to Windows
    - I think it comes with CD-ROM that  bundles with USB connection to Windows.
       - You should try to troubleshoot whether the USB cradle station is good wofking condition
    - For my SL-5600, the IP for Zaurus and Windows machine is 192.168.129.201 and 192.168.129.200 respectively.
    - Ping the individual IP machine before pinging each other.  Once pinging is possible.  Mounting Zaurus onto Windows platform should be straight fotward.
    - Try the doubling clicking my computer icon.  Zaurus should be appearing on the screen.

-PIMs that sync with Windows, preferably Outlook 2003, but willing to settle for other desktop PIM *if it works*.
     - I do not have much expericence with PIMs acrorss platforms

-WiFi that works
     - I have not tried and do not need it at the moment.

-Web Browser
     - If memory serves me well, C-750 comes with its web browser.  It should work with the original Sharp ROM.
     - You might want to test Opera 7.0

-Music Player for OGG
     - Try downloading Kino2 which comes with mplayer and it should work with OGG with the right command line arguments, please find out yourself as I only play with MP3, mpeg and avi files.

-couple of simple mindless games, like freecell, etc
   - It should be bundles with the original Sharp ROM

- and I want all that stuff listed above to work without freezing/hanging/rebooting the Z several times a day
   - By virtual of Zaurus design, which has limited RAM, freezing and hanging is unavoidable and it needs to bear with it.   If you are familiar with Unix administration, by opening multiple windows with KConsole, one can kill those processes that hang the system without the need to reboot, ie using kill -9  processid


Like to have:

-Palm emulator to run ereader to read my e-books with @$#%#$@%&* DRM
   - Have tried on SL-5600 and it works,  but it behaves very slow as it takes up huge resources.  It might be working smoothly on your C-750.  No harm to give a try.

-Java stuff ('cause I'm a Java developer)r
 - Try using Zeditor as your text editor and Jikes Java compiler for the development.
    - After compilation, you should able to use EVM to activate your java class with the native jars.  For SL-5600, awt.jar and core.jar are located under /home/QtPalmtop/lib.
    -  I like ewe Java VM and you may wish to try yourself.  

I hope the above will help you on track with the Zaurus.