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Get Your Palm On The Network

Posted by timothy on from the feel-the-pulse-of-the-planet-prescribe-aspirin dept.

Anonymous Coward writes: "There's a cool article over on O'Reilly network showing how to set up a network connection between a Linux box and Palm Pilot, and then run a Web server on the Palm to access the documents. There's also a VNC client which I'm downloading now. Wild!"

23 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. Whoah this is so cool by oog_rocks · · Score: 3

    what would be even cooler though is if each palm pilot could act as a node in a self-growing network. with sufficient bandwith and rollout as well as a few repeaters, you could have a totally wireless network that is actually built simply by people having palm pilots near you. that would kick the crap out of just using infared docking.

    --
    Don't be mean or my friend Oog will smash your head
  2. Another Palm/Linux Gizmotron by rerunn · · Score: 5

    Here's another neat palm ditty. IBM had originally made an app called SNAPP for the palm which allowed admins to administer their RS6000 boxes with their palm. They have since released a linux version. Check it here: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/snapp

  3. Just as well... by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 3
    Just as well there's no working example of the web server online. Imagine a /.'ed Palm Pilot:)

    1. Re:Just as well... by Kip · · Score: 2
      Actually there have been examples. Check out this Palmstation article.

      For those who just want the link: This Old Palm.

  4. Palm / Linux connection? Awesome! by Yu+Suzuki · · Score: 2
    Wow, I can set up a network connection between my Palm and my Linux box? Sweet! Now I won't need to lug a laptop around ever where I go; I can just access it all from my Palm. Nothing beats having all your entire address book stored inside your hand?

    It's great to see innovations like these making good on the promise of nanotechnology -- but I still have to wonder, can I network my Sole, Lower Back, or Nose in addition to my Palm?

    Yu Suzuki

    --

    Yu Suzuki
    Deamcast. It's thinking.

  5. Ethernet Sync by affegott · · Score: 2

    I wonder why Palm/Handspring used a serial connection (or USB) to do the syncing and transfer. I think an ethernet connection would be the way to go... completely platform independent... that would rock.

    I wish we would see more companies use ethenet. I mean, would it be nice to see a Rio with an ethernet port to pump in MP3's? From what I have done with embeded ethernet, it isn't hard at all...

    Just a thought...

    Ryan

    -Vegtables can't run.

    1. Re:Ethernet Sync by sredding · · Score: 2

      I wonder why Palm/Handspring used a serial connection (or USB) to do the syncing and transfer.

      Probably because a vast majority of home users do not have ethernet ports. Most if not all personal computers running Win/Mac have a serial and/or USB port right out of the box. I'm sure connectivity is a large part of the Palm marketing strategy.

      If the Palm had ethernet in addition to the existing serial/USB, that would be best of all, but to use ethernet instead of the serial/USB would be counterproductive, IMHO.

    2. Re:Ethernet Sync by cvincent · · Score: 2
      It exists...

      Palm Ethernet Cradle

    3. Re:Ethernet Sync by dublin · · Score: 2

      I'd argue that in today's world of increasingly available broadband (cable/DSL/wireless/etc.) there are nearly as many home users with ethernet as with USB.

      If you count the number with working USB vs. working Ethernet, the numbers are even more strongly in favor of Ethernet.

      Not to bash USB, but USB is just starting to work, even in the Windows world. The USB in the initial Win98, although much better than the previous add-on for Win95 still left a lot to be desired in the stability and functionality departments. The hardware vendors only in the past year or so have gotten the BIOSes working predictably and reliably with USB.

      And don't even get me started about Linux. I love Linux, I really do, but I'm likely to switch to W2K at home simply because more things that I need (like USB) work out of the box in W2K than in Linux. (As part of my Linux advocacy, I refuse to ever build kernels, since that is not a reasonable thing to expect end users to do. Go ahead, flame me, but if you live with Linux as a "real world" user has to, you'll quickly see we have a very long way to go.)

      I'll resurrect Scott McNealy's old Windows challenge for USB:

      Scenario 1) Let's take a nice Taurus 6-shot .38 Special revolver, place one round in the cylinder, and spin it. Place the gun against your head and pull the trigger. If it clicks, you walk, if it fires, bummer.

      Scenario 2) Let's take the first USB-equipped machine we find as we walk around. Plug in an off-the-CompUSA-shelf USB component other than a keyboard or mouse and see if it works as designed. If it works, you walk, if not, the revolver gets loaded and bummer, you're shot dead.

      Which would you choose?

      Nearly all of us recognize that the odds are better at Russian roulette than they are at getting USB devices (or new software applications, as Scott originally framed the challenge) to work as designed out of the box.

      Add a third scenario, that of plugging in an Ethernet device and seeing if it works as designed, and it's suddenly quite clear that this is the safest of all three alternatives.

      The only downside to Ethernet as a peripheral interconnect is that a lot of people don't have Ethernet hubs because they are either using crossover cables or the modem has the pairs crossed internally.

      Why we don't build hubs/switches into our computers' NICs or cable modems is beyond me. (It's also beyond me why anyone would bother to build any PC anymore, especially a laptop, without on-board Ethernet.) It does add a little to the price, as do USB hubs in monitors, but the difference is that Ethernet hubs nearly always interoperate with other Ethernet gear, while USB hubs often create problems...

      --
      "The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last ./ post
  6. Not with my Palm I don't by Zico · · Score: 2

    Because I'm not really into wasting time (Slashdot posting excluded ;) ). Actually, although the Palm's a great PIM, if you're interested in going outside the box, like with the stuff mentioned in this article, you're much better served going with a real PDA computer, like a PocketPC or EPOC device, or at the very least one of the PalmOS-based Handsprings.

    And as for the the dozen commands, it's called exaggeration, nothing to get worked up about. The fact is that it's a pain in the ass to get the Palm going under Linux than compared to the same under Windows. And yes, I've done both. Anyone saying otherwise must not've read the article, which is pretty accurate.

    Cheers,
    ZicoKnows@hotmail.com

    1. Re:Not with my Palm I don't by alhaz · · Score: 2

      It's a pain in the ass to do most things in linux. I don't see why you're complaining.

      also, you've forgotten an important rule: Never ask a geek 'why' - just nod your head and back away slowly. don't make any sudden moves, make sure they can see the open palms of your hands.

      --
      This is just like television, only you can see much further.
  7. maybe you would be interested... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    you can get full text internet access, read and post to newsgroups, run Unix commands, compile C programs, telnet, use Linux icq, etc. for free with any wireless email device. http://www.trancell.com free wireless internet without the WAP.

  8. Linux and Windows CE by a.out · · Score: 4

    (begin shameless plug)
    There is also a tool to create a connection between a Linux box and a Windows CE device. It's called SyncLICE.
    It just sets up a ppp connection between your box and the CE device, creates ipchain rules etc... Check it out Here!
    (/shameless plug)

  9. I sent email postcards on vacation from a Palm. by Joe+Rumsey · · Score: 2

    I sent email postcards (including pictures drawn on the Palm) last time I went on vacation. A record of them can be found at http://rumsey.org/trips.html. They were done using nothing but a Palm running MultiMail, with a Palm modem, connected through a shell account using SLiRP.

  10. My palm on the network? by Raymond+Luxury+Yacht · · Score: 2

    Hmmm... from the sound of that article title I thought it was going to be about mixing business with pleasure.


    But what to do I know? I'm going back to watching Bowling for Aardvarks.

    --

    Ceci n'est pas une sig.
  11. Connect Handspring Visor to Qualcomm Cell Phone by Rick+Richardson · · Score: 2

    Here is how I connected my Handspring Visor PDA to
    my Qualcomm cell phone and got on the net wirelessly...

    http://rick.8k.com/handspring/

    -Rick

  12. Many net apps for the palm by Booker · · Score: 2

    There are a ton of great network apps for the palm pilot, including web browsers, telnet clients, IRC & ICQ clients... it's too bad that Serial is becoming a "legacy" port, because having the serial port on the Palm is cheap and easy to program. I can walk up to my headless server and plug the palm into the serial port, log in, and see what's going on. You could rig it to a cell phone and check mail. I was even looking at writing an app to use it to talk (via the serial port) to a servo motor driver... there's not much these things can't do! :)

    ---

  13. Re:Yes, it is funny. I bet most users don't know. by yerricde · · Score: 2

    Users cannot create files and folders whose names are reserved words like DOS device names.

    But...

    third-party application developers can create their own device drivers and add their names to the reserved list.

    What about: create a folder, then reboot with a device driver of the same name loaded?

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  14. CDPD (Ricochet) Palm modem by .@. · · Score: 2

    Since nobody's mentioned it yet, you might want to check out OmniSky. They just finished their beta program, they're taking orders now, and are shipping in a few weeks. Inexpensive clip-on CDPD wireless 19.2kbps modem for the Palm V, full TCP/IP, unlimited service.

    I just ordered mine.

    Of course, the Palm V only has 2MB of RAM, unlike the Palm Vx, which can make web browsing, news reading, running a web server, and e-mailing feel a bit cramped. So I'm getting mine upgraded to 8MB next week. There are currently 3 companies who do this, and this one has gotten the best reviews and is also the cheapest. Many of the OmniSky beta testers did this.

    --
    .@.
  15. Wireless dialup? by ywwg · · Score: 2

    I've been trying to figure out if it's possible to connect a Visor modem to a cell phone to dial in to an account. The upside, of course, would be wireless interenet access to porn wherever you go! From what I've seen, it looks like some GSM phones support this feature (ericsson ones seem better), but I'm still not sure if it is doable in the US. Can anyone say definatively if this is possible, and how?

  16. Re:Good work Palm !! by generic-man · · Score: 3

    "Fighting those new Pocket PCs", uh Palm is the one with the monopoly.

    Palm doesn't have a monopoly in the pocket-sized PDA market. With a market share of 70-80%, there's still plenty of room for competition. People have been buying Palms not because they're automagically bundled with their operating systems or computers, but because they actually like the product. Remember that Palm/USRobotics/3Com/Palm never even advertised in print or on television until last year, and they had sold several million units when the campaigns started running.

    Imagine that. A good product is selling on its merits, and of course on the fact that Everyone Uses It, So It Must Be Good (tm). 'course, I don't want to compare the Palm with AOL any time soon, but hey, there are at least a couple of paralells.

    --
    For more information, click here.
  17. Palm Security by szyzyg · · Score: 2

    Just in cas you're interested, my Palm III is vulnerable to several well known DoS attacks such as IP frag attacks like teardrop and netsea.

    On a related note - I once demoes mp3 streaming from my palm III - by streaming low bitrate mp3 files to players (actually 16kbit, 11025kHz, mono mpeg 2.5 audio). one of these days I want to port the core of iceast to it.... but I think Ill have to wait until I get a faster connection to the palm - the cradle only supports a bandwidth of about 56kbit... not enough for many listeners.

  18. Re:Handspring Visor and Direct Serial Connect by evilcartman · · Score: 2

    I don't think "Direct Serial" was an option until PalmOS 3.3. (Visor runs modified 3.1 and is not flashable). However, there are a couple of ways to do this.

    1. In Preferences -> Network, define a new connection type. Set the phone # to "00". This is an undocumented switch to create a direct connection without dialing.

    2. Make the connection at USB speeds using "LinkUSB". Check out usbvisor.sourceforge.net for more info.