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Linux Yopy Handheld Preview
Isamu Noguchi writes: "The Samsung Linux-powered Yopy is coming back with a fliptop screen and an odd keyboard. A developer unit is previewed at infosync." After a series of design flip-flops, changing release dates, and nice-looking prototypes, could the Yopy actually be released?
Who cares about the Yopy? Sharp is shipping the Zaurus to developers (at least some of us anyway).
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
If people does not have to care whether it's got Linux, PalmOS or symbian, that is, if it works well enough that people take it for whatever it is, disregarding the OS it's running.
It's just a BloJJ
I am so sick of my palm. Looking foward to a Linux powered hand held that is actually worth something. A keyboard would be a nice edition and a lot easier than toting around my happy hacking keyboard
FearLinux.com
They use what of Linux?
------I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either.------
That's one slick looking unit. Much better than the I-paq. Has anyone had any experience porting KDE apps to a portable like this (one that uses QT-embedded I assume)? The article didn't mention a JVM (at least not that I saw), but that could be a big way to drive application development for PDA's in general. If you could write one simple little app in java, and have it run on PocketPC 2002 (Via the Geode JVM), on the Yopy, and on the new unit from sharp. That's really the only stumbling block I see to Linux PDA's doing great things is applications. Nice pretty user-friendly applications, and lots of them.
Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
Can it run Mozilla there is an intersestin article on about that project at Linuxdevices.com
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Simple idea: make me a PDA that includes the following:
-A BIOS that handles power management and screen taps, as well as a fairly safe routine for handling flash functions
-Easily swapped OS
-Versatility of an iPaq, batteries of a Palm (rechargeable is best
-USB cradle
Put that out as an OEM device. You can even ship it with WinCE if you like (PalmOS 5/ARM would probably be a better choice of course), but make sure the world knows you can hack it.
/Brian
especially if you have toothpicks for fingers. Maybe it's just me...
Some technical specs and more pictures are here.
Does that *really* say 206MHz ? Gah.
I couldn't purchase anything with a name like "Yopy". It reminds me of the Doctor Seuss book, "Horton Hears a Who."
YOP! YOP! Yop! yop! ...
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
thats a dealbreaker right there. why go with a "calculator-style ABCDEFG" layout? odds are, anyone using a PDA is going to be familiar with normal sized computers, and normal sized computers usually have qwerty keyboards. i know personally that anything non-qwerty slows me down. sure, i could get used to it, but i am already used to qwerty, so why up the learning curve of the thing with something like that? just doesn't make sense
The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
yeah it could but w/an ABCDEF keyboard I could not understand why anyone would want it.
;)
I live and die by my Landware keyboard for my Cassiopeia. I do all my note taking for research. I could NOT imagine using my TI85 for note taking
-- cheating on tests is another story
It is a great idea and I most certainly like the serial port but the keyboard was not a good idea.
yopy.com
gmate.com
And the announced that it's shipping end of November on the 'gmate' site.
Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com
From the InforSync:
Part of the surprise is also that the keyboard isn't in the QWERTY layout, but instead an ABCDEF "calculator-like" layout.
This sucks. We all know why. Bleah.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
If things haven't changed, there is a booth at the Las Vegas Comdex 2001 according to a pop-up spawned by this page. You can read the details here.
And also according to this announcement, the Yopy WILL be released, allegedly at the end of November!
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
Yopp-ee? Yoh-pee? What?
The Yopy would not only have been the first GNU/Linux-PDA, but also the coolest. Today, the Yopy still isn't there. Agenda VR3 and Compaq iPAQ have taken its place. The very reason for this is G.Mate not having focused on getting an external community around it.
About a year ago when the Yopy was hyped, I really wanted to get one, or at least look at the distribution. The hardware has been delayed forever, and the distribution was still "under development" accessible (AFAIR) only with some sort of click-through NDA. That is, the distribution was non-free, though they promised to GPL it once it's ready.
I ended up with a Compaq iPAQ H3660 which is basically the same hardware (16 MB flash and 64 MB RAM instead of 32/32 on the Yopy). The distribution ist entirely free-as-in-speech and quite easy to install. Compaq provides some infrastructure (the site "handhelds.org", the Skiff cluster, even some pieces of software like the bootloader or some kernel adjustments), and the rest is getting glued together by an independent developer community the same way Debian is being made (Familiar is widely derived from Debian and works quite similarly).
The hardware - i. e. the case, the LCD, the cradle etc. have matured away their worst child diseases. Meanwhile the Yopy (as in hardware) is still under development...
People frequently say: "Why would I want Linux on a handheld?" "Why bother with X11?" "Why bother with bash?" I think it's pretty clear that if you designed a handheld OS from scratch, it wouldn't quite look like Linux with X11 and a bunch of command line apps sitting around.
However, even something like the AgendaVR (66MHz MIPS) is powerful enough to run Linux 2.4 with XFree86 4.0 quite comfortably. And the benefits of having standard Linux running on it are significant. You may not want to actually use normal desktop linux applications or command line programs while tapping away on your machine. However, having a standard environment makes a lot of libraries and tools port very easily. And because you can log into your little handheld and even run X11 apps in both directions, debugging gets really eas.
For the AgendaVR, it took me maybe an hour to set up the cross-compilation environment, get PPP up and running, and read the documentation. After that, porting applications and tools to the AgendaVR was a snap: it took maybe 10 minutes to get a web browser and a scripting engine cross-compiled for the AgendaVR.
In that regard, I'm wondering whether the Yopy is doing the right thing by going with a different window system. If the AgendaVR can run XFree86 4.0 without problems, it should fly on the Yopy with its faster processor and bigger memory. I think the Yopy would be better off going with XFree86 4.0 as well. (And calling its window system the "W Window System" is nothing short of confusing, since X11's predecessor was called "W".)
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
If they want linux people to adopt it fully, then open it fully. Tell me how to access the hardware from my software. tell me everything.
Dont want full disclosure? ok then make it a super stable, easy to use, and powerful PDA.
mpeg video playback? only good for "geee, that's neat" comments.
and make it 100% open for people to write apps.
Palm destroyed and continues to destroy windows CE (or whatever they label it today) is anyone can write apps for it, and the dev tools are 100% free to everyone.
dont make development tools free or the info to write apps free? it's doomed for failure.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Remember next generation? Those neat little handhelds they had. Technology is certainly catching up. My sprint pcs phone looks just like a communicator from the original show. Be great to hit a pin on my coat and call home or where ever. http://www.sitchin.com/ off topic but a great site non the least. l8r
Cock!
How long do you think it will take someone to remap the keyboard driver to produce QWERTY?
Even if you can't swap the physical keys, you can more than likely reassign them in software - especially if its Linux based.
I really don't see a problem here.
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If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
This way, the YOPY could operate as a flippable PDA, or a PALM-like screen in front (no keyboard) type PDA.
Can't wait till one of their designers comes up with a sturdy enough design to make this feasible!
MMC's nice if you're looking for just storage in a palmtop, but if you're looking to do things like GPS tied to a database for GIS in a handheld unit, then you need PCMCIA or CF (because USB won't work as well in this case and makes it a LOT more clumsy...)
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
You can't 'remap' the physical locations of they buttons. The Yopy's keyboard has 6 columns and 6 rows. A qwerty keyboard has 3 rows and at least 9 columns. There is absolutly no way that you could 'remap' the keys to be qwerty.
That's not to say you couldn't do something more efficiant, but in no way could you emulate a full qwerty keyboard with just 6 rows!
Perhaps a half keyboard type layout, but not a full thing.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
hahahaha I'm a tard.... tard....
Ohhhhhh, xp has purdy buttons..... I like purdy buttons...... hehehehehehe....
If you're a retard with the mental capacity lower than that of a 9 year old, stick with windows... People that have IQ's above 100 use Linux.
What I've seen earlier on Linux PDAs is often something like 'Look, I can run xclock on this!'. People tend to forget that a PDA's interface is something entirely different than on a desktop.
Refreshing then, to see the well thought-out Qt/Embedded GUI on this one. And one of the images even shows an Opera icon! I've used Opera a long time on my Psion 5mx, and it blindingly fast (this nice PDA only has a 36 MHz processor). The recent announcement of Opera on Sharp's Linux PDA Zaurus is another plus point for Opera. Way to go!
the wait for the yopy has been too long, even for me, a korean-american who taught several english conversation classes to regular workers and some middle / upper management at samsung electronics main manufacturing plant in suwon, korea.
i've waited for the yopy for what seems like years. i studied every photograph, every news article, and every review, waiting for the consumer model. then, i finally woke up.
now i have a new love, the sharp zaurus (linux, java, keyboard). the developer edition is supposed to be released soon (end of this month) and the consumer edition will hopefully be released in the spring.
andrew park
Why did I lurk so long before registering for a Slashdot account? I could have had a Slashdot ID of less than 100000.
This YOPY stuff is getting a bit funky ! Have we not been teased enough with this YOPY ?!?! I am gettin' kinda tired of the whole thing. Looking into getting a Zaurus wich in terms of development moves alot faster and I hope I can see it in the stores soon.
DG
//
Put on a t-shirt u'r scaring the kids
Put on some pants u'r teasing the dog
Keeping with the tradition of recursive Unix names:
YOPY: Your Own Personal Yopy
May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
If it just had an integrated cell phone.... with caller id... sync'ed into a mysql database... with...
MMCA has a "secure" standard. AKA bullshit copy prevention. This really disheartens me. Why coulden't they go with compact flash or include PCMCIA? I want to buy a YOPY but since it has no CF or PCMCIA possibilities the only thing i could expand it with is with that... thing. No microdrive possibility either :( The look is nice tho and i'd like to load it up with a debian type distro as the YOPY's is still propriatary (and will probally stay that way regardless of claims)... I really like the look and all that RAM :) but no CF or PCMCIA or sleave or expantion :( :( :( i am sad. --MikeeUSA--
I have almost no money to spend on bullshit, but when I do spend $$$, I need it to get some *value* for it. No piece of shit $500 toy (my 6-month car insurance payment is less!) PDA is going to provide value in that price range. In fact the closest thing to that would be either of these:
1. $200 Jornada 525 which has 16 megs RAM, C.F. slot,
color screen and MP3 software.
2. $150 Palm pilot m105 (piece of crap! but useful)
You see, whether it has Linux just doesn't matter when you are spending hard-earned money on the thing. My laptop runs Linux, and that's good enough. What is the advantage to having Linux on a PDA anyway, if you're not doing on-site network analysis or something, and what Linux PDA would run the appropriate software?
Am I the only one who feels thus?
I doubt it!
That is where the real power would lie. You would radically change the operating system for yourself.
I don't like developing for MS Products so Linux gets points, and a few more for availability and price of development tools and a few more because the environment feels comfortable. Yopy just isn't the platform. How about a state of the art release of the old HP 720 clamshell, thinner, with Linux and weighing 12oz or less. I could do that.
Jim
I'm not arguing against Linux-based PDAs. Obviously we need something like this -- nobody wants to code for Windows CE, and PalmOS is starting to show its limitations.
But you just don't need special hardware to run Linux. That's precisely why Linux is so big. Nobody's out there developing "Linux PCs". Why are they developing "Linux PDAs"?
If they wanted a clamshell type PDA, why not make it like a Jornada 680/700, or like a Psion?
the screen would suit text better, and you would actualy be able to touchtype on the keyboard.
It looks as if it's trying to get the best of both worlds, but has ended up getting the worst.
And no CF slot? That's even more of a shocker considering it's a linux PDA.
Oh well, the search goes on to find the holy grail of the PDAs. I think Handera are going in the right direction.
It's about time someone has the sense to reorganize the keyboard so that it's not broken. Keyboards that can't be touched typed on should never be organized into qwerty in the first place. Most people can't type anyway. Even among programmer's and college students, I still see half the people using the classic hunt-and-peck. Unless you are still using an old mechanical typewriter, there is absolutely no reason to use qwerty anymore.
On a smaller than average keyboard, you can't touch type anyway. You pretty much have to hunt & peck anyway. Since everyone has to hunt and peck, you'll get more users who will be happier with an ABCDEF layout. I know I would.
ABCDEF
GHIJKLM
NOPQRST
UVWXYZ
On a full sized keyboard, the Dvorak layout is much easier on your hands and fingers since your fingers travel much less. I have switched over to Dvorak on the full sized keyboards and my hands are now relatively pain free.