[plug] Linux on the Compaq IPAQ

[Anthony Jones]

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Guys,

As some of you may know I've been installing Linux on a Compaq IPAQ and 
thought I'd let you guys know how I got on.

I installed Familiar Linux (www.handhelds.org) version 0.5 which is the 
latest version. It runs X and it works pretty well. I've got a 64MB model so 
I have not had to worry about RAM usage. The full familiar system comes with 
about 16MB of applications (they use half of the 32MB of flash installed in 
the unit). This includes goodies such as sshd, bash, vim and less. There is 
also a browser and a couple of other applications. There is a soft keyboard 
program which is pretty horrible but kind of works. I think a real keyboard 
would be best - there is a fold-away one which I believe is supported.

Overall it is really neat being able to be able to ssh into the unit and it 
runs a couple of applications but there is nothing particularly interesting 
that runs on it. I have read that there is support for wavelan. The bluetooth 
IPAQ models are not currently supported.

I've managed to get the Blackdown version of Java running on it (by 
installing Familiar 0.4) and this runs quite well. Unfortunately Familiar 0.4 
is a little buggy. To get Blackdown Familiar running under Familiar 0.5 I 
will need to recompile the X server to get the necessary libraries.

At the moment Familiar Linux is a great platform to develop software on or 
run a mailserver or small webserver (these would require cross compiling at 
the moment).

There is a non-X environment called QPE based on QT. It is actually quite 
good for PDA tasks - it has a really good version of patience. I need to run 
Java and I couldn't find a version for QPE so it didn't really suit my needs.

My recommendation is that if you want a Linux box you can put in your pocket 
the the IPAQ is really good. If you want a PDA that is based on Linux then 
you're probably best to wait a while until the technology stabilises.

Anthony

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