I'm deleting OZ 3.5.1

[johnw]

I've tried OZ 3.5.1.  There are a lot of things to like about it as long as you aren't planning on installing anything on it.  I can't get anything to install on it.  The package manager won't see any of my uninstalled applications.

Maybe it works for those of you with Zaurus Doctorates, but for the average user, version 3.5.1 is a bust.  It simply shouldn't be that difficult to install new applications.

I'll wait for a future version of OZ that works better for me.  Thanks to the OZ team for their efforts.

-John

[technojunkie]

I've tried OZ 3.5.1.  There are a lot of things to like about it as long as you aren't planning on installing anything on it.  I can't get anything to install on it.  The package manager won't see any of my uninstalled applications.

Maybe it works for those of you with Zaurus Doctorates, but for the average user, version 3.5.1 is a bust.  It simply shouldn't be that difficult to install new applications.

I'll wait for a future version of OZ that works better for me.  Thanks to the OZ team for their efforts.

-John

At least you gave some feedback, alot of people have called it crap without saying why.

Just bear in mind that 3.5.1 is an unstable/beta release, that was intended to flush out problems like you have faced. I too flashed 3.5.1 when it fist came out, and the biggest reason I didn't keep it was because of sync issues and the lack of being able to run qpdf2. I am using OZ 3.2 ATM and am awaiting 3.6 as that will be a stable release. Keep an ey open, this project has a lot of potential.

[sujainath]

I've tried OZ 3.5.1.  There are a lot of things to like about it as long as you aren't planning on installing anything on it.  I can't get anything to install on it.  The package manager won't see any of my uninstalled applications.

Maybe it works for those of you with Zaurus Doctorates, but for the average user, version 3.5.1 is a bust.  It simply shouldn't be that difficult to install new applications.

I'll wait for a future version of OZ that works better for me.  Thanks to the OZ team for their efforts.

-John

I'm going one step further so to speak.  I'm going to get a Palm either T3 or the new T5.  I've realized that the Zaurus as a PDA/PIM just doesn't cut it for the reasons you mentioned:

-cant synch easily
-cant install apps easily
-no easy way to back up all installed apps and data and then restore it
-many desired apps not available

If you do go with the stock Sharp ROM, then the first two problems are solved but then it is like any other PDA only with less apps available for it- really no compelling reason to use it over a Palm or PocketPC.  And I did use the Sharp ROM first but realized there was lot of untapped potential which is why I've tried the OZ ROM.  Now as you say, to do practically anything you have to have a doctorate in Linux on the Zaurus.

I will keep it around as my play toy so I can see where things go but I just can't depend on it for day to day use.  It has a lot of potential as a micro laptop or micro tablet but it remains unrealized.

Ron
 

[sigmaX]

welp ... I am trashing it too ... it is quite NICE and FAST but package manager hanged up while downloading the packages list from openzaurus feed ... my wifi started flashing for "traffic" (I assume it was downloading the list) but after some seconds i stopped. Now I can only click on the "O" startup menu, while the package manager window is stuck, but I cannot load any other application either.

I always wondered if it was SO hard to do a remote package downloader or similar. All zaurus graphical package managers (ranging  from pdaxrom. to sharp rom, including openzaurus where / are flawed  as long as I recall ... I am no linux guy (but I am trying to get the grasp of it) ... I do code in .net framework for the (Argh!) windows scene, and it just baffles me WHY is it so hard to create a decently working graphical ipkg manager (although pdaxrom installer worked quite fine)

[lardman]

Sorry to hear you're all having troubles.

You do realise that if you give some explanation of what you want to do, and what you've tried, I will try to help you out?

Assuming any of you still have OZ......

@sigmaX:

Try 'ipkg update' from the command line to grab the Packages list - i.e. see whether it's a connection problem.

@johnw:

I can't get anything to install on it. The package manager won't see any of my uninstalled applications.

What does this mean? Do you mean non-installed applications (presuming that's the correct word; uninstalled says to me that you've had them installed and have now removed them)?

In which case, this is a (reasonably) well documented issue. There are a couple of fixes:

1/ Use ipkg from the command line
2/ Create your own local feed (using the Package creation script which was linked in another thread to make the Packages file) and add it (either using the graphical installer, or by editing /etc/ipkg.conf directly (hint use file:/// rather than http://).
This is the thread with the file: https://www.oesf.org/forums/inde...opic=7042&st=15
3/ Install aqpkg instead of opie-packagemanager (or whatever it's called)


Simon

[peter_s_conrad]

I too am tempted to delete 3.5.1, maybe move to 3.2, or maybe try to find SL-5000D stock ROMs somewhere. I don't know where though.

Here's what I want to do with my Zaurus. If I can do these things, I'll be happy. Maybe you know how to make them work for me.

1. I want to be able to use the GUI package manager to install stuff. I'd like it to see the.ipk files I have in /mnt/card/Documents/Install_files (paraphrasing, may be spelled wrong) and I want it to resolve dependencies automatically if I have the correct .ipk files present to resolve them.

2. I want wireless to be set up so that I can also install stuff from the net.

3. I want to install the Hancom apps, including their image editor.

4. I want Opera or another browser, and a simple GUI FTP program.

5. I want to still be able to swap in a different SD card-- that is, I don't mind quitting all my apps before swapping, as long as I can copy files from the new SD card. So I don't mind having my apps installed on an SD card, although I think I have to have my home directory in RAM. I've got the 24/8 configuration of OZ in there right now.

If I can get these 5 things to work, then I can take a picture with my camera, copy the image from the camera's SD card to the Zaurus, edit the image, upload it to the web, look and see that it's there, and then write an OpenOffice-compatible document or spreadsheet. All from a cafe.

But under OZ 3.5.1 I can't install anything! Should I move to 3.2 or the stock ROM? Where can I find them?

[sigmaX]

Lardman,

Thx for your availability to give some help. It seems that it connects into the feed, and grabs (or starts grabbing) the Packages list, as the network link starts blinking and no error is displayed. It just then STOPS blinking (I assume it FINISHES downloading the list) and everything gets stucked. I can make the application launcher menu to appear, but no sub-tag opens ... only the main menu. No other thing responds. The package manager stays there, stating that it is getting the packages list...

Please by no means I am trying to be ungrateful or anything, but I went back to sharp rom, as I needed web browsing / remote desktop ASAP (but I can always RE FLASH opie, as I go a NAND backup (life saver) of my "all things I need Sharp rom"

[peter_s_conrad]

sigmaX: How can I get the Sharp ROM?
Will applications like the Hancom office stuff work with it on my 5000D? *Note: I know there's a ROM on the Sharp site for the 5500, but I have the 5000D... haven't found a ROM for that model.

[jfv]

http://killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=1076 Sharp-like ROM for the 5000D

[peter_s_conrad]

Cool, thanks. I hope it works for me. Up until this point, OZ is the only one that actually seems to boot correctly. Other ROMs (Crow, etc.) tell me that something is spawning too fast and will be disabled for 5 minutes.

[peter_s_conrad]

Argh! 404 on that ROM link. Thanks anyway, but it's gone.

[peter_s_conrad]

Hey, I found a version of the Sharp SL-5000D ROM. And guess what? I've actually been able to install and use a couple things. Oh, sure, Hancom isn't working for me yet... but qpaint, visualq and qphoto all work! And the GUI package manager can see my not-yet-installed packages! Pretty groovy.
 
So, for me, deleting OZ 3.5.1 has been a positive experience so far.

[jfv]

Here is a copy of the ROM I pointed you to. Sorry about the broken link. I encourage the people who made it (cacko?) to keep it available, because it's a nice ROM. I did a "grand tour" of the ROMs for my 5000D after I got the C860 (didn't dare mess up my Zaurus before :-)) and ended up going back to this one. To keep this message on the original topic, I also tried the 3.5.1. GPE ROM and there were a lot of things that didn't work for me. It was very slow on my 5000D. The rosetta handwriting recognition (that I was looking forward to try) barely registered and after I installed a so-called patch for it from the OZ feed it broke completely. Neither the rosetta nor the trainer would even start. Sorry, but 3.5.1 is not beta, is alpha. I wish it would work because there are a number of potentially very interesting things on it.

Felipe

[cyboreal]

I started out treating OZ 3.5.1 as a polished release that would work out-of-the-box and was also disappointed that it didn't perform as such.  But, as was pointed out already in this thread, this is an alpha release only - more of a sneak preview than a reliable release.  And considering the massive changes made to transition to the Open Embedded architecture (which will pay dividends in the long run, I think), I'd say the OZ team has done great work.  If this is any indication of what we can expect in 3.6 stable, I'm eagerly waiting for it!

[Mickeyl]

Thanks for the compliments. Overall OZ 3.5.1 has got a very positive reception and it's technically really our best release ever, albeit the first batch of the new unstable tree.

Just one minor thing for me to comment on... if all of us people will just "wait" for further releases, then there won't happen any. How about attacking the things you don't like in the release and fixing them? Wouldn't that be cool?