Linux and Zire 21

[swithers]

I'm new to Palm PDAs. I am also a confirmed Linux user, having ditched Windows a couple of years ago when the MS WinXP SP1 EULA effectively required me to grant backdoor access to my system.

Um......no.

Has anyone used the Zire 21 with Linux? Which of the Linux-based Palm apps I know to exist is best?

Thanks.

Steve

[Rick 098]

Do you mean to sync? I think the desktop part of wordsmith works with linux. Most apps dont care what OS the zire's host copmuter is.

[Rick 098]

You still here? Did you download another syncing software, or did you use wine with palm desktop? If you use wine? how wel does it work with palmdesktop?

[Lance]

There is not an official version of Palm Desktop for the Linux platform. However, there are some third-party solutions available. I do not have any experience with any of these, so I am unsure of all the details involved. Good luck! ColdSync (http://www.coldsync.org/)
Gnome-Pilot (http://www.gnu.org/directory/gui/gnome/gnomepilot.html)
J-Pilot (http://www.jpilot.org/)
KPilot (http://www.slac.com/pilone/kpilot_home/)
Ximian Evolution (http://www.ximian.com/evolution)

[Rick 098]

WINE lets you use windoze apps in linux natively:) (not an emulator) It works quite well, although I haven't tested it with palm desktop.

[Saiko_Kaiten]

now in reverse: i want linux on my palm zire 71.

the palm os 5.2.1 is ok, but nothing beats linux ( well, perhaps the mac osx, but it's unix based, so it's linux enough for me ). i've heard of uclinux, and i'm trying to get that, but if there's another, perhaps easier way, i'm open to suggestions.

( not registered yet, will register under the handle "Saiko_Kaiten"... maybe. )

[Saiko_Kaiten]

-_-¯-_-¯-_-¯-ok, now i'm registered.

( click "ちょ" in my signature if you're wondering why i'm quoting myself. every one does... )

[zipslack]

Glad to see you went with a real OS ;-)

Linux Sync Apps:

J-Pilot -- This is my personal favorite. It uses GTK, is small and fast, and resembles the older Windows desktop program. I've used it with M100 (serial), T415, and TG50 (both Clie USB). Has always worked well. Also, it can popup reminders on your screen based on your Palm alarms and can even work as a standalone basic PIM.

KPilot -- Haven't used this one enought to judge, but seemed to work well the few times I tried it. The big advantages are:
1. Integrated with KDE PIM suite (mail, addresses, notes, etc. are all shared)
2. Included DOC <--> text converter
3. System-tray sync daemon (don't have to manually start the program to sync)

Linux on the Palm -- I wish. Might as well forget about this one. People have been trying it for years with very limited success (nothing that you could actually do anything useful with - mainly just "Gee -- a boot screen!") If you want Linux on a PDA, get a Zaurus. It seems there was one company (WInd River?) that had a replacement OS for the Palm based on a Linux core, but it was commercial and provided the same functionality of the Palm OS without the extra benefits of Linux. I think it was only for the older Palms (V, Vx). The uCLinux project seems interesting, but it's using specialized hardware to do the job, and the benefits are still questionable.

[Saiko_Kaiten]

-_-¯-_-¯-_-¯-well i'm not giving up hope. how about getting a linux api to work as a program on palm, like cygwin for windows, and a palm version of x server.

i've got several 2 gb sd cards, so the only limit is what i can get the zire to do.

i don't know if that os compliment was aimed at me, but i'm stuck with windows until i can get a hard drive large enough to do a raw copy of what i've got, since i'm not about to loose it all in another windows formatting error. 240 gb of anime, games, programs, and pure internet... gone... oh the tragedy of windows...

but noticing your name, yes, my first linux distro was slackware 8.0, and i've never regreted it. /_/=^-^=\_\ my linux now consists of cygwin, and a slackware 10 virtual machine.

[Cyker]

Ugh! I don't understand this obsession with running Linux on everything!

Linux would *SUCK* on a pen-based PDA!

On a keyboard-based PDA like a UX-50 or (in fact) a Zarius, I can understand it (Even 'tho I still think Linux+X Window System sucks on a PDA), but on a pen-based PDA? *brrrr*

[Saiko_Kaiten]

-_-¯-_-¯-_-¯-ok, ok, you have a point. sure linux would suck on a pda, just like i'm sure windows sucks on pocket pc's, but i'm just crazy like that. not just insane, i'm also interested in putting linux on the palm for a suprizingly logical reason.

i want my palm to be a mobile ( since laptop's are already linux friendly, and those are mobile too, even more mobile ) version of my home pc, which, despite using windows, has a bunch of linux programs i'd like to have access to on the go. specifially i'd like to have apache, mysql, php, any good media player, mozilla, perhaps a refined interface for the gimp, pico or kwrite, and probably xfce.

it's nothing to tune xfce to work well on small ( or micro ) monitors; a comand line version of a media player could be run from a graphical frontside that would better match the zire's screen res and control shceme; striped down, and with a more manageable interface, the gimp would be infinitely better then the built in notepad; with a l.a.m.p. set-up, the palm would be an ultra portable server, couple that with dyndns, and you could connect to any wifi / bluetooth network and serve on the road, or connect to your home pc even easier; speaking of "connecting", mozilla isn't just a web browser, it's e-mail functionality would also be usefull on the go; and if you used the x server to connect via a terminal, it's just as good as any remote desktop software ( and you could do the same in a shell interface, which is most likely what i'd use ).

admitedly, without a keyboard for the shell, easily the best part of linux ( in my opinion ), it's all far too annoying to bother with, but full sized keyboards are availble for the palm, and the on-screen keyboard / grafiti2 input methods suffice while you're unable to sit down and type. linux is so highly modifiable that even without the mouse / keyboard system, you'd still get a great deal of functionality out of it, previously unavailible with the palm os.

it has it's hurdles, and it'll not be much better as a pda then before, but as a mobile linux server, it's more portable then most laptops. plus, i have tons of time on my hands, and this is sure to eat up a good few weeks worth. /_/=^-^=\_\ i'm open to both suggestions and critisism, so post any comments you'd like to share.