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COMDEX and Linux Handhelds
code_slayer sent us a cool review of linux handhelds at COMDEX. You can see
Qt Embedded (which has been released under the GPL)
as well as MicroWindows, and a bunch of prototype boards. I'm still waiting for the 802.11 wireless linux handheld capable of displaying remote X applications, but it looks like we're getting closer.
Isn't it the software and hardware features that matter rather than the OS? Palm OS has the most applications. Except for l33t-ness, why would anyone switch from a Palm handheld to a Linux one?
I realize these questions are annoying, but there had better be a good answer if you ever expect Linux to win in the market.
The people working on Linux for handhelds (at least the people at handhelds.org anyway) are NOT interested in reproducing your Linux desktop that is running on your AMD 1.4Ghz PC with the 64MB AGP video card. They are interested in making the Linux kernel work on handheld computers so that lots of other really smart people can come up with a really nice UI schema that will run on top of it. Read the list archives a bit to realize that these people *really get it.*
Lots of people are going to be talking about "the huge Linux distro" installed on their handheld computer, thinking about their home PC. Again, that's not the way it works. The Linux distro build by the handhelds.org people has the kernel, X11, some nice utilities, and fits into about 8MB. (Yes, that's the TCP/IP stack, fbdev X11, glibc, and most of the other usual suspects.) The point is to make a working operating *environment*, not a fancy e-based desktop. They know that that's not appropriate for the handheld form factor.
Like the article says, the point is *not* Linux-centric technofetishism. The point is to literally "open up" the capabilities of the devices to make them more accessible to the people who use them. I own a Palm IIIxe and I love it. I also am having a very hard time wrapping my head around the Palm API and trying to find decent tools to program it under Linux. If I have Linux running on my iPAQ, using Qt either under X11 or with Qt/Embedded, then I don't need to learn a new paradigm and can start programming my iPAQ right away. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll understand how to program for this sort of UI, but that at least will be my fault if I screw it up. The fact that now I *can* easily screw it up on my own is the important part.
I think what everyone's assuming is that the people who are involved in these projects are under the same mistaken assumption that Microsoft has been for so many years with WinCE that the whole point is to reproduce the desktop on a really tiny computer. BUT THEY'RE NOT! Everyone involved really understands that that's a BAD IDEA.
The reason, IMHO, that this stereotype keeps propagating is that right now, just getting Linux to boot on any of the handheld devices commonly available in the market is such an accomplishment that nobody's really been able to put a whole lot of effort into coming up with a good UI for the things now that we can actually use them. Qt/Embedded is a GREAT BIG step in that direction, and hopefully will make people start realizing that this is actually REALLY COOL STUFF and not just done for the sake of doing it.
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My mom's going to kick you in the face!
The Linux Community is too hyped on porting to new hardware, and too lax on simplification, and applications.
People use computers to do things, not just as fetish accessories. At least, most people do.
What applications will people run on a Linux handheld? Is someone working on a Linux Host and Handheld system similar to M$ Outlook and similar tools that would allow the primary users of handhelds (people trying to organize their lives) to actually organize contacts, communications, and calendar entries in a unified manner? The Qt/Embedded looked like it had at least the remote half of that pairing...
The Qt/Embedded interface photo looks nice - it even looks simple enough (something a lot of people don't feel about Linux on the desktop), though I don't yet know how complex it is to install (many still have difficulty installing Linux on their desktops - maybe they are idiots, or maybe just busy with the rest of their job... but a lot of these folks buy computers and if Linux wants to rule, the need to be taken into account...)
I love Linux, I love *nix in general, but the dearth of applications and difficulty of installation and maintenance makes it such that I can not use it in my organization, adn thus use it for work without at least as much hassle as using Windows. There is too much emphasis on "gee whiz" and not enough on real work (with the exception of real engineering work, but unfortunately business people, not engineers, control the market - even the computer market)...
I hope that these systems work as well as they look in the pictures, and maybe this will start Linux down the road of acceptance on the Business desktop if developers focus on the host-side applications as well...
o/~ we are pissed, we are pissed, we have to resist... o/~ - ec8or
Now, X on something like a palm pilot or visor is just a waste of space. But X on one of these wireless webpads that everyone likes to demo but not sell...that's the best thing they can do.
The whole point of one of these webpads is that it's just an extension of the desktop. It's not like my visor, where I keep track of phone numbers, etc. It's soposed to be for when I want to read slashdot on the throne.
What better way to have it an extention of my desktop, then to run all my desktop aps nativly. This is one of the underrated uses of X. THe fact that it can display remotely. The webpad doesn't need any real power, just enough to run the display. My desktop is taking all the cpu load runing the ap.
When this comes, I'll spend money on one. I'd love to be able to do stuff like control xmms form anywhere, read salshdot on the can, and go to landolakes.com in the kitchen so I know how to make a turkey. That's what these things are soposed to be able to let me do. What better way then to do it with X? After all, that's what it's for.
And this just isn't a linux pipedream either. MacOS X having an X server, will be able to do the same thing. And also if I'm not mistaken, doesn't Corel, or one of it's partners ship a product that lets Windows display it's aps remotely to an X server?
These Linux PDA folk should take a lesson from the Palm marketers, and supply soft-pornographic pictures of nearly naked women holding the Linux PDA in a strategic spot.
Come on, everyone remembers the naked ballerina holding her Palm, right, the Simply Palm ad?
So why couldn't they round up a few booth babes or Lara Croft wannabees to model these? Who cares how well it works, as long as a sexy babe holds it up, I'll buy.
Now I can fit a 1024 node Beowulf cluster in the linen closet.
You would think they could have stickered over the "Powered by Windows CE" logo for the screenshot.