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First Looks at Linux DA PDA
e1en0r writes "My Linux DA PDA finally arrived yesterday. It's a great PDA for under $100. I put up a review of it here. It's very similar to the Palm OS, with a few more interesting features. The most notable being the file manager. You can see where everything is and view all the files in text and hexadecimal mode. It also appears that you can overclock the 16 MHz DragonBall CPU up to 25 MHz. There are some screenshots on their site, which include the CPU Speed application. Unfortunately that application is lacking in documentation." The review is a little thin, but its still cool seeing these in the wild.
french toast!
i really would like somebody to toss my salad... please? i'll return the favor.. thanks :-) oh yeah, snowball me and Cleveland Steamer me while you're at it... thanks
Get that rats nest off your head, you numbskull -- Wesley Willis
Not too long ago I caught a TV news story about the JonBenet Ramsey mess out in Colorado. I'd read about the episode earlier in the NY Times, and aside from a certain revulsion to the sordid details I'm certain all readers felt, I really hadn't reacted to or thought much about the case. But there on the TV screen was footage of JonBenet herself performing at a pageant- all dolled up in mascara, lipstick, pearls, vamping for the camera, and to be perfectly blunt about it, using some very adult sexual cues. It then crossed my mind is it entirely inappropriate that a healthy adult male respond to sexual stimuli that mimic almost perfectly those of a healthy adult female?
Note that I used the words "respond to" not the words "act upon" - the distinction is crucial. It's obviously not appropriate for anyone to have sex with a child that young, but is it wrong to desire it, or at any rate to manifest some of the symptoms of that desire?
Consider the following hypothetical situation A man is sitting in front of a roaring fireplace after a superb evening meal, enjoying the last glass of '86 Latour. There is absolutely nothing on his mind more serious than trying to decide between a snifter of Remy Martin Napoleon or Hennessy X.O. cognac. Outside a horrible winter storm rages. Nursing the last sip or two of wine, he crosses the room to a window near the liquor cabinet and amuses himself for a short while by watching the helpless passers by several stories below bending over against the wind, wading through slush, falling on the ice, etc. . He pours a generous snifter of cognac and before returning to his fireside armchair punches a TV remote to catch a weather update. Sipping his cognac, he nods off to sleep and awakens just in the middle of the JonBenet news story. Not knowing of the horrible crime committed, he watches her little pageant number, entranced. At the end of the number she turns and faces the camera, smiles and ever so subtly lip-syncs the words "fuck me". Now at this precise point in time and under these circumstances is it wrong for the man to feel his penis start to stiffen? It's an interesting question, but one I gave no more thought to till I caught a new product announcement in one of the European business journals I subscribe to.
It turns out that a German company, Cybernetika A.G., has completely cornered a heretofore unrecognized market with the introduction of their Cyber-Fraulein 3000 which has to be the world's most absolutely high-tech love doll. In fairness to the company, I should point out that their own literature stresses that the CF3000 is sold only to bona fide law enforcement agencies and penal institutions for the purpose of rehabilitating repeat criminal pedophiles. Well, we will see.
The customer base for the United States should prove interesting, for some marketing whiz at Cybernetika has made the doll a perfect life-size replica of, you guessed it, JonBenet Ramsey herself. Now German companies are not known for their sense of humor, macabre or otherwise, but when my tears of laughter had dried I realized I had to examine one of these dolls. I got a hold of Dieter von Stroelitz, executive V.P. of Cybernetika and was given the sad news, yes, at this time CF3000 is sold only to law enforcement agencies in the U.S., but in Europe the sales are a bit more "relaxed" as he put it. No problem, an old family friend is county sheriff in a midwestern state that shall go nameless. Call him "Earl", not his real name. Despite being law Earl has a great sense of humor, and has come through before with nifty toys like cans of mace and the odd submachine gun from a drug bust. A nice guy to know. I gave him a call and he said what the fuck, if he doesn't have to fork over any cash he'll get one. A couple of months later I get a call from him and he's laughing so hard he can hardly talk. "Get your ass out here to see this" is about all I can make out. I borrowed a buddy's Merc, grabbed a few bottles of Jack Daniels and got out of town on I-80, cruise set at 75 mph.
This doll is a piece of art. The skin and muscle tissue are a new DuPont polymer marketed as "Dermastyrene". The skin is eerily soft and lifelike. CF3000 uses thousands of small nichrome heating wires throughout the body that connect to a central heating element (110v. AC) that raises the body temperature to a nice 98.6 F. Reprocessed shark cartilage forms the "skeleton", and all joints are fully functional including jaws, neck, and hips. Even the internal organs are accurately represented by silicone filled sacs. Weight 68 lbs. , height 4'3". Hair is real, human, long and blond. JonBenet comes dressed in white anklet socks, cowboy boots, short blue denim skirt, white satin crotch less panties (!), light blue halter top, and beige cowboy hat. Hair and makeup are perfect. Additional outfits are available from the manufacturer. A small set of batteries (which recharge as JonBenet warms up) is provided for playback of about 30 recorded voice messages. A set of dip switches near the AC outlet control language (English, Norwegian, German, Swedish, or Dutch) and message playback mode Auto, Manual or Off. Auto provides random playback. In Manual mode a gentle tug on JonBenet's cute ponytail elicits a message. Some of them are real gems. "I'm wearing my crotch less panties just like you wanted Daddy" or "Ooooh, you're so BIG inside me Daddy" were two of my favorites. In both Auto and Manual mode occasional moans and whimpers are added. Sound quality is superb.
The company literature states that "all three of the sexual orifices are fully functional and incredibly lifelike." I asked Earl, "Hey, you give her a whirl yet?" He took a long pull from my last bottle of Jack and sneered at me, "Shit boy, I wanted to save her cherry for you." There remained the obvious problem of how to test this doll. We thought a little bit, and I asked him, "Who you got in the cells upstairs?" "Already working on it," he replied. There was a knock on the door and a junior deputy came in and handed Earl a file. He started thumbing through it. "Lets see, we got here one Rafael Hernandez, visiting us for grand theft auto and possession with intent to sell, his ass goes up to Joliet in a couple of weeks, two priors for sexual assault on a minor. He's our man!"
My job now was to prep JonBenet for sex. I plugged her in to warm up and found the 3 "body fluid" boxes. Each box held 20 or so plastic packets of fluid for each of her three orifices. There was a simulated saliva with a kind of minty odor for her mouth, a slimy goo labelled "vaginal lubricant", and an incredibly funky grease for her little butt hole. I put on latex gloves and applied the three packets as instructed. By now JonBenet was beginning to warm up nicely. Earl came back downstairs and let me in on the plan. There was a small kitchen and lounge on the first floor. A one way mirror in the lounge allowed officers to watch the room from a hidden hallway near the duty desk. Rafael had been told he could mop the kitchen in return for extra exercise room time, and had readily agreed. When JonBenet was fully warmed up I carried her to the lounge and had her "nap" on the sofa with her little blue denim skirt hiked up to reveal a generous portion of her white satin panties. The effect was damn good, I had to admit. Earl got one of the female officers to sit with Jon Benet and pretend to work on a crossword, while a deputy got Rafael in leg irons and led him down to the lounge and kitchen. When he came in the female officer whispered to Rafael, "Try not to make much noise, her parents were killed in a car wreck and we just finally got her asleep." Rafael nodded silently in reply. He began to putter around in the kitchen then started mopping the floor. After about 5 minutes another officer stuck his head in the lounge and addressed the female officer, "Martha, phone for you, line two". Martha said "Thanks" and got up and left the room, closing the door behind her. Rafael peeked through the kitchen doorway, nervously looking around. Earl and I watched through the one-way. Outside the lounge door six deputies waited with batons, pepper spray, and stun-guns. Rafael got a dust mop from the kitchen closet and started pushing it around the lounge floor till he was next to JonBenet's sofa.
"He's gonna take the bait, I can feel it", said Earl.
Rafael sure as hell looked nervous. Beads of sweat on his forehead, licking his lips, his eyes darted about the room.
"Look, he's got a hard on", I whispered.
"Earl counted, "One, two, three..."
At 3 1/2 seconds Rafael let out a subhuman cry, dropped the dust mop, and grabbed JonBenet by the throat, picked her up, and slammed her head against the top of a heavy oak table.
The blow would have easily killed a 6 year old. Rafael dragged her waist up to the table edge, tugged her panties down (I guess he was too eager to notice they were crotchless), unzipped himself and got down to business.
"When do the cowboys come in?" I asked Earl.
From the look on Rafael's face, that wouldn't take too long. After less than five minutes of furious strokin', he pulled out and shot three monster wads across her peach fuzz, denim skirt, and halter top. He pushed the body forward on the table and rolled her over on her side with her ass near the table edge. He dropped to his knees and started tonguing her little butt hole.
"Get him", Earl barked into his radio. The lounge door burst open and Rafael stood up and tried to get his tool back in his trousers, but the two deputies with stun guns were on him too fast. After a few zaps Rafael was on the floor, and the stun gun detail stepped quickly aside. Three deputies with batons worked him over while one with pepper spray stood off to one side shooting the liquid in his eyes and mouth as he screamed. When they figured all the fight was out of him, they stood him up and cuffed his hands behind him. Martha, who had been "baby sitting" JonBenet went over to her and felt her wrist.
"I'm not getting a pulse", she announced.
"I didn't mean to kill her, so help me God!" Rafael pleaded.
Earl strode into the lounge while I stayed at the mirror. "Get that piece of shit back in his cell", he ordered. Two of the deputies hustled Rafael, penis still dangling from his fly, out of the lounge and over to the elevator. It didn't take too long for the general population to learn that he raped and killed a 6 year old girl while being trusted with cleaning duty. Poor Rafael, it seems he cut himself pretty bad shaving the next morning. Bled to death, in fact.
Earl had all sorts of plans to use JonBenet as a decoy in a couple of local spots. I would have loved to hang around and check it out, but my buddy needed his car back. Martha had cleaned up JonBenet and tested the heating and voice functions. All OK. You gotta hand it to the Germans, they really know how to build shit.
On the drive back east I got to thinking. While Cybernetika had built her as a rehabilitation tool, it seemed to me that CF3000 was going to be much more of a hit as an entrapment vehicle for police, unless some liberal shithead poo-poos it in court. Also, I had to get a hold of Dieter von Stroelitz at Cybernetika to formally request (beg) that CF4000 be a full sized copy of Princess Diana. There must be tens of millions of men who would love to bend Lady Di over the side of the bed, lovingly adjust her tiara, then ram their stiffy dog up her shit chute while she whimpers "Ooooh, don't be too rough with me my little budgie," in that lovely British accent.
Palm IIIxe Hardware Compatible
2 MB Flash Upgradeable
8 MB RAM
Motorola Dragonball CPU
Battery Operated
Color Available - GALAXY GREY
15 Days Technical Support by Email
6 Month Linux DA O/S Software Upgrade
One Year Warranty
DataSync Program Only Available in MS Windows Platform
Includes: Carrying Case, 2 AAA Batteries, PC Sync Cable, CD with PC Sync Program, Quick-Start Manual, Handwriting Guide, Warranty Card, Registration Card
By now, all devotees of Slashdot must be familiar with the new sub-genre known simply as "Bukkake". I will not go into an historical/linguistic analysis of the term, but I will attempt to offer a sketch of the genre and ruminate a bit on some of the potential sociological implications of what I see as a significant advance in human behavior.
The original Japanese films portrayed a highly ritualized sex show where a demure young lass, usually in school girl or corporate uniform kneels in the center of a small room. There is usually some visual prop to emphasize her as the center of attention - velvet ropes hung from brass pedestals forming a fence around her, two or three rows of "security guards" who serve to control access to her.
The girl waits patiently, little or no emotion showing on her face as one by one, men who have been masturbating just off camera approach and ejaculate into her face.
Often there will be as many as 75 or 80 men. Sometimes the girl briefly fellates the man of the moment, sometimes not. There is usually no significant sound track ( ie.music or dialogue ) other than a few appreciative grunts and groans from the gents.
Although I find some Japanese women quite attractive, the Japanese bukkake films I've viewed leave me cold, kinda like watching an IBM documentary on their latest mainframe operating system.
Not to worry though, with characteristic Yanqui ingenuity and resolve, the U.S.porn industry has spotted a good idea, and improved it. The U.S. versions are considerably livelier, almost a party atmosphere. Some of the girls really get into the action, after all they are doing the best thing possible for their complexions -the natural vitamins and proteins in cum have long been known to help condition skin.
I'm really enthusiastic about the direction of the U.S. versions, a few of the latest films I've seen have been quite hot, and I think bukkake also has some promise as a general, amateur activity. Talk about a natural fund raiser - how many times have you been driving around and seen a church group or civic club selling car washes ? Now, who the hell wants to wash their car ? I let mine sit in the rain - works just fine.
But suppose you drove past a fire department and saw a large hand-lettered sign that read "Bukkake 5$" . You park, and walk into the station, ( which has been emptied of fire trucks for this occasion ), and lo and behold, a gorgeous brunette Demi Moore look alike is kneeling on a pillow in the center of the garage. Men mill around, drinking draft Heineken from a freshly tapped keg, bullshitting, and stroking their meat. One by one, as the need arises, they drift on over to Demi and shoot their load.
Her hair is streaked with strands of cum, cum hangs from her chin and occasionally falls to her bare breasts - she is grinning like a she-devil - a good time is had by all. Shit, you would donate 5 bucks and join the party, right ?
Bukkake is also a natural initiation rite in a least two ways. First, sororities at some of our rowdier campuses could require that all new members undergo a bukkake.
The beautiful debutante would kneel in the center of a large room in the sorority house while several invited fraternity houses mill around, swilling beer, and, uh, rising to the occasion. The debutante would have to fellate the three largest guys, the rest would have to service themselves. At the crucial moment guys move right next to or in front of the cutie and shoot their load. The whole party would be recorded on video for both the sorority archives and the debutantes scrapbook. ( Interesting item for her future ex-husband don't you think ?)
Football games ( pro and college ) could be made infinitely more interesting if a simple rule was adopted: the losing quarterback=s wife or girlfriend must perform a bukkake for the players and staff of the victorious team. This would take place immediately after the game and be televised live - wow - talk about ratings !
Anyone stuck in Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport would appreciate this scheme: Shitcan 1 large giftshop on each concourse and make it into a bukkake room. Hookers from Greater Atlanta, dressed in cute stewardess outfits would staff each room. Christ, guys would be praying for flight delays.
My final suggestion: For all you guys who have stood in line for 3 or 4 hours at the local Division of Motor Vehicles office waiting for the privilege of paying 20 or 30 bucks for a plastic decal which certifies that you have, uh, spent 20 or 30 bucks, how would you like the cutest female employee at the office to be forced into bukkake for the waiting gents ?
Think the shits would speed up service ? ( Probably not, I can see the end of shift scene now as one female employee consoles another : "Lawdy lawdy Shoneeka , dey sure cum all OVAH you dis afternoon !" ).
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The irony here is while it promotes linux as a pda system, the datasync feature is available for windows only right now.
Yet another crppling bombshell hit the beleaguered *BSD community when recently IDC confrmed that *BSD accounts for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of the latest Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as further exemplified by failing dead last in th recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.
You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood. FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.
Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.
All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS hobbyist dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.
Fact: *BSD is dead
The palm m505 is so hopelessly overpriced that these things have to potential to sell well. I've been a plam user from the start but I'm looking for an alternative. Let's just hope the usual open source tilt towards completely ignoring any kind of marketing doesn't haunt DA.
Shameless plugs:
I hope it doesn't put off any harmful radiation like the pentium 4.
tcd004
Ants do it well. Bees do it better. But the society of Homo Sapiens is a sorry example of colonial structure. This is good however - that structure which, through the Darwinian lens, we see has obviously served the class Insecta well for hundreds of millions of years, is the worst of all possible "life styles" for bipedal intelligent apes. Despite the best efforts of many evil goons (Hitler's SS, Stalin's NKVD, Clinton's ATF, etc.) human beings do not respond well to serious attempts to collectivize their behavior. To be sure there are occasional success stories - high in a crumbling tenement tower the welfare queen spewing forth her gangsta larvae while down below in the streets her 11 and 12 year old drones are buzzing with criminal activity - even if they happen to be micro-environments supported by AFDC. As the 20th century draws to a close we can see the cumulative effect of these state-of-the-art equipped goon squads ever more frequent and intense attacks. The resultant deadening of creativity and suppression of the individual insure that the main legacy of this century will be appalling vomit like Auschwitz, suburban shopping malls and the Lawrence Welk show - dead games for dead players.
To liven things up a bit I suggest legalizing all drugs, maybe a constitutional amendment asserting the right of each citizen to eat, smoke, inject or shove up their own asshole, any chemicals, plants, or invertebrates that they so choose. Think of the fun! Each evening gaily painted vending trucks roll through the neighborhood, bells-a-tinkling. At each stop the vendors (all retrained former narcotics officers) are greeted with welcoming crowds of eager customers. Next morning the same trucks, driven this time by work-release inmates, roll through the neighborhood collecting the corpses of overdose and suicide victims. The week's bodies could be burned at half-time at the local football stadium, or maybe reprocessed into fertilizer for marijuana and opium farmers. Society could rid itself of its most stupid say those unable to read and comprehend an LD-50 in a PDR, instead of being guaranteed that they join the already swollen ranks of state and federal civil service.
The art scene in America today could also benefit from rampant drug use. Picture this: Seiji Ozawa is guest conducting the New York Philharmonic on Christmas Eve, a special program of holiday music broadcast live. With his back to the audience he raises both arms high poised to begin the first number. Instead of a baton in his right hand though, both hands are holding small Uzi machine pistols with 30 round clips. In an unannounced change of program the orchestra strikes up a turgid, obscure atonal piece by Arnold Schoenberg. Just as the audience's impatience seems ready to erupt into riot Ozawa empties both clips into the orchestra and turns to face the audience, grinning with demented joy, an erect penis protruding from the unzipped fly of his tuxedo trousers with a strand of jizm hanging precariously. As he's hustled off by paramedics, Connie Chung manages to ask him "Mr Ozawa, can you tell us what happened here tonight?" Ozawa just has time to reply "Connie, just my very, very best performance." Later in an exclusive interview with Montel Williams at the Betty Ford Clinic, Ozawa reveals that he had been pretty fucked up on sake and scopolamine for several years.
although the OS of this PDA might be linux-based,
the following line on their site:
"6 Month Linux DA O/S Software Upgrade"
shows that it lacks the main feature of linux, which
is to be downloadable and free (beer&speech)
The product page says " 6 Month Linux DA O/S Software Upgrade", but if it's based on free software, I should always be able to download the latest source and install on the handheld, at least for the kernel, which is obviously GPLd.
Alas, this PDA makes the same mistake as all the others. From the sales page:
"DataSync Program Only Available in MS Windows Platform"
It'd be nice to have a PDA running Linux, but if it can't talk to my other computers, it's pointless.
Rats.
A.
Does anyone else find this funny?
It looks like a Palm , only chunkier.
It runs very little software and won't sync.
A linux PDA that doesn't even attempt to sync with anything other than Windows and then fails anyway ?
Seems like a pointless device. Why try to emulate a palm anyway ? If you're going to take them on try to be BETTER.
Seems like a joke device. I wonder if the reviewer would be favourable at all if it wasn't a linux based device ?
I'm a big fan of Linux, but why would I want this instead of kicking a few bucks extra and actually getting a Palm device?
I'm serious here; my Visor does what I want it to, does this solve some problem that existing PDAs don't? It seems like sort of a tough sell, especially when the device has only 15 apps.
Which would be a better buy? The Linux DA goes for $99 and you can get an Agenda VR3 for $119 at Tigerdirect. You have to wait 6-8 weeks for the DA though. The Agenda, right now, has more applications, a faster processor (66Mhz compared to 16-25 for the DA), and more memory but support could be dwindling. As far as pure hacking pleasure goes I'm still tempted to go with the Agenda VR3. Any opinions?
Thank you, drive through.
does this mean if i could maintain a copy i could use it on my palm IIIXe?
Oh my shit shit, this is big two time fuck fuck for family and pet cow. I am having graduated from India Institute of Technology (New Delhi campus) with degree in Physiological Gonzo Marketing Nuclear Gymnastics with minor in Oracle Java J2EE Informix eCRM XML Datawarhousing Programming so I can have come to America to work for $3.95 an hour at Motorolla in Shuamburg Illinois or Oracle in Redwood Shores. They were not having me because 2 weeks before I received my H1B, this fucky indian bodyshop was offering bluelight special - 2 H1B's for price of 1, and of course Oracle and Motorolla hit the 195,000 H1B limit on this. So what I am having then was job at VA Linux.
I was having done exceptional work for VA Linux. My responsibilty was to design an Oracle database J2EE compliant application that would make sure slashdot would crash enough times each day. It was what you white marketing/sales guys would call - "killer app". Nerds at work didn't have to worry anymore about slashdot being up all time - it was great, and I felt I was helping out most graciously especially after September 11. I was even having american flag in my car window hanging under my ganesh sticker. What else could an H1B ask for?
Today what am I having - big pink slip on desk next to american flag and dilbert cartoon that I thought would help me fit in to "american corporate culture". I am so pissed pissed - after the "formkeys" killer app, this is how they treat me? I blow you white fuckees now - you always snicker behind back and I thought it was nothing - I know now - I blow you assholes. I no even have money for plane ride home to New Delhi because I sent my last check home and they refuse to send any back to me - they say "screw you fuckee fuckee, we spend on atari and shitty movies where 10 guys dance and sing around one girl".
I am so screwed - maybe someone else will have use for "formkey" killer app. Email me at prabhakarakadeshasima@weneedmoreh1b.com if you know anyone who could be having use for this app - it has oracle and j2ee and wap enabled too.
"Unfortunately the software that this comes with only works on Windohs"
How clever.
Here's a related article at LinuxDevices.com. It's not a review, but it has links to more information.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
Is anyone using the latest Mozilla and noticed the icon in the URL flicking you the bird on elenor.net? That's a nice way to greet your readers.
Yeah, well fu2.
-Russ
Me
Isn't Linux a trademark by Linus Torvalds? Looks like he might have to file a lawsuit of his own there to prevent the Linux trademark from being "diluted".
What bugs me about this is not that some company is using the Linux kernel to build a proprietary PDA, but the fact that they so prominently use the Linux name. This is not a "Linux" PDA in any useful sense: it doesn't run Linux utilities, it thumbs its nose at the open source process, and even its kernel software development appears to take part outside the Linux community.
I also wonder whether the company even still has the right to use the Linux kernel. They failed to make source code available for months (I requested it), even though they were distributing binaries. That was a violation of the GPL, and once you violate it, you lose the right to use the code. Also, the source code that they did finally distribute is a mess, and I have my doubts that it even corresponds to the kernel that they ship, which would constitute another GPL violation.
With a few extra apps that noone needs?
Michael C. Hollinger
Actually acording to an email I just got back from them.. they are actually porting the sync program over to linux. I got now timetable on this but atleast a linux verion is on its way. They also gave me two options when I expressed my disatisfaction with a windows only sync program. They said that I could either wait for the linux version or return it for a full refund. :)
Good points: The price - this is in the price range of many people. However, would the Palm m100 be a better deal because of the wealth of applications available?
Also, that website has a way too small font, and it is a fixed size so I couldn't scale it up in the browser (konqueror). Mozilla will probably fare better as its font resizing even works on sites there the stylesheet has been rude enough to specify a fixed font size instead of a relative font size.
Promotional Photo? A) Why would any self-respecting company use this photo? and B) I feel sorry for whoever this is.
I ordered a Linux DA PDA on Sept. 22 and it finally arrived today (Nov 15). Their website gave me errors when trying to have it shipped to a different address than the billing address, so I had to put the shipping address in the special instructions field. Needless to say it was delivered to my old apartment. Thankfully I thought to go over there and check for it. Aside from the shipping annoyances, I really like this PDA, especially considering that it was under $100.
It's about twice as thick as my Palm Vx and comes with batteries, a data sync cable and a pretty decent case. It looks pretty nice too. There was a lame Linux DA sticker on the case that I peeled off right away, thinking it was just protecting the logo like the cover I peeled off the screen. Heh. Oops. The packaging was nice and it arrived in one piece.
But on to the important details - the PDA itself. I'm very happy with it. It's got a DragonBall EZ 16 MHz processor that you can apparently overclock up to 25 MHz, 8 MB RAM and 2 MB Flash Rom. The physical buttons are pretty much the same as a Palm and there's a backlight and contrast control. It comes with 7 games, 10 applications, and 4 system utilites. A lot of the features are similar to the Palm OS, but it has some cool differences. For one, you can change the keyboard to QWERTY or natural. I also like that you can choose whether or not you want small or large icons. I'm having a little trouble with the handwriting recognition because it's a little different than Palm's. One cool feature is that when you write something it pops up a box showing what you're writing.
My favorite application is the File Manager. It's cool to see where things are, and you can view the files in text and hexadecimal mode. I'm trying to figure out if you can actually do anything with the htdocs directory. It seems strange to have it but with no purpose. I also like the paint application. It's a basic application that lets you draw crude pictures and save them, but it's so fun coloring things in. The games are your basic free games - snake, mine, tetris, etc. Plus there's the standard applications like an Address Book, Expense, Email, Memo, Schedule, Clock, etc. There are some screenshots here.
Unfortunately the software that this comes with only works on Windohs. And it even seems to have problems with that. I'm using Win2k and I'm getting various sync connection errors (COM2 is using by the other program!, Communication error). The strange thing is when I press the sync button, the PC pops up an error and the PDA shows the sync screen but times out. So they're both recognizing the sync request but not connecting. I've tried both serial ports but have had no luck. There is a nice feature that lets me import my Palm addresses and memos. Hopefully I can actually sync them eventually.
Overall I'd say the Palm is easier to use, but if you're looking for a cheap PDA I'd highly recommend this one, assuming that the sync utility will eventually work. It definitely holds its own against the others that I've played with. The lack of software is an issue, however. I haven't found any other applications for it. You can download their development kit, complete with core dump, and try making your own though.
Here are the specs from the official site:
* Manufactured by Linux DA O/S Licensee
* Embedded with Linux DA O/S for PowerPlay III
* Palm IIIxe Hardware Compatible
* 2 MB Flash Upgradeable
* 8 MB RAM
* Motorola Dragonball CPU
* Battery Operated
* Color Available - GALAXY GREY
* 15 Days Technical Support by Email
* 6 Month Linux DA O/S Software Upgrade
* One Year Warranty
* DataSync Program Only Available in MS Windows Platform
* Includes: Carrying Case, 2 AAA Batteries, PC Sync Cable, CD with PC Sync Program, Quick-Start Manual, Handwriting Guide, Warranty Card, Registration Card
Pictures coming soon. Although the pictures on their site are accurate.
Whats a fucking kernel tarball up to now? 20 meg? Split the fucking code! 90% of the people use x86 so make an x86 only tarball, plus x86 has the most hardware and drivers.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
There's been a lot of talk aobut how you can't use a Plam to reilably dial a phone. I've read that it was both a speaker limitation and a shortcoming of the dragonball CPU's ability to generate tones. Has anyone had any luck using a dragonball-based PDA for phone-dialing?
Someone trolled CmdrButtfuck! YHBT YHL HAND.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
1) The compnay does not ofically support rsync. It does NOT appear the the cradle is using TCP/IP for communication.
Haven't tried this thing yet, but do remember getting my paws on an Agenda a while back - it was pretty neat, especially watching it boot up - made you feel right at home. Ate batteries like it was it's job though (which I guess it kinda was)
Anyway, I don't use PDAs since I took my Visor sailing with me - doh! (WON the sucker from Handspring too, easy come, easy go I guess)
sic transit gloria mundi
I was about to order when I saw that. No sale.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Even in my darkest days of true geekdom I was never this bad.
I mean, I know it runs Linux, and it looks nice and all, but how much digital crud do we really want to strap on our bodies anyhow? A certain borg analogy comes to mind...
NOTE: grep -r "humour" > your
It sure seems like the only appeal of this device is that it runs linux. It adds no signifigant breadth of functionality to the handheld genre. The apps they have screenshots of look like standard (and a few substandard) palm os facilities.
I'm not an embedded systems sort of person, so there may be something terribly cool about mushing linux down into little devices, but why not use NetBSD? NetBSD is very portable, and I'd bet my socks there's one that runs on the dragonball. Linux (as far as I know [let's be honest, that isn't very far]) was designed to run on i386, wasn't it?
there's more than one way to do me.
Coming so soon after that fucking stupid
harry potter thread, it demonstrates
how damn stupid Commandante Taco is.
All hail commandante Taco!!
Not to try to out irony the irony_nazi, but I think what is being said is the only way to get the PDA " 'N Sync" is to use windows.
Misery loves mediocraty, perhaps?
If it is not on fire, it is a software problem.
I wonder if the reviewer would be favourable at all if it wasn't a linux based device
Nope. The product wouldn't even get to market. Inferrior products don't go anywhere unless they've got some reason to survive. In this case the company hopes that Linux users will buy it (over Palm, etc.) simply because it runs Linux, not because it has better features.
I did a view source on their webpage...
<meta name="generator" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0">
I find it interesting that a company that thinks it is important enough to put linux on a PDA still can't make a web page without Frontpage for Microsoft Windows...
That it's cheap is about the only reason I can see to get this thing. I'll stick with my Palm.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
"it uses linux guts instead of palm os guts!"
Wow. Is there _any_ benefit to these things?
I mean sure, linux on the pc instead of windows, it gives you unix stuff - but when your are abstracting the kernel so far from the user by placing a super-friendly pda interface in top of it, who cares what the kernel is?
A linux handheld that can only be synced on windows.... well.. so far.
With Palm offering the Palm OS 4.1 upgrade for $29.95. I've been thinking about buying one of these and just flashing it with the latest palm os. I'm a fan of the old Palm III form factor.
I was wondering also is it compatiable with Palm III accessories. If so this might be a decent way for people with a big investment in old style palm accessories to be able to get a new pda.
Any thoughts.
This is just the current state too. We know that Palm is doing all this in an economically viable way, whereas Linux DA may not be and probably is not. In other words, with Palm the continued support and development is pretty much a sure thing...Linux DA on the other hand.....will likely be forced to fold very shortly.
A nice, inexpensive piece of equipment running an OS that looks like PalmOS but doesn't actually run Palm apps...
I'm a big fan of Linux, but why would I want this instead of kicking a few bucks extra and actually getting a Palm device?
I'm serious here; my Visor does what I want it to, does this solve some problem that existing PDAs don't? It seems like sort of a tough sell, especially when the device has only 15 apps.
"Galaxy grey"!? Since when are galaxies grey? I suppose if you are the sort of guy that wears PDAs and mobile phones in their belt (a bit of the galaxy-coloring is visible around the buttons), things like fashion and colors tend to become a blur.
Opinions stated are mine and do not reflect those of the Illuminati
DataSync Program Only Available in MS Windows Platform
Um, so this "linux pda" requires me to use windows on my real machine. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having linux on a pda in the first place (ie cater to us geeks on slashdot)? What is the company thinking to release a product with such a benefit-destroying feature. Reminds me of a dilbert strip where Dilbert is asked to add a standby light to a battery operated product.
not_cub
q='echo "q=$s$q$s;s=$b$s;b=$b$b;$q"';s=\';b=\\;echo "q=$s$q$s;s=$b$s;b=$b$b;$q"
I can't say i'm terribly impressed with this thing. Only syncs with Windows, no third-party apps (that'll be fixed in time), and even the Windows sync program is broken.
Not to mention, Palm could probably sue them for ripping off their UI... Other than that the fonts are ugly as fuck and not positioned onscreen properly, it looks exactly like PalmOS.
The one thing i'm curious about though : They claim "Hardware compatibility with Palm IIIxe". Does that mean I could buy one of these devices, get a ROM image of PalmOS 3.5 somewhere and throw it onto this $100 handheld? (Slightly illegal, I know, but I'm just wondering if it's possible)
I am at this moment, alone in my dark, dark room, the only light coming from the monitor screen, I am leaning back in my ergonometric leather chair that I bought at a dot com garage sale for $2.98, and now, my friends, I am imagining a beowulf cluster of these.
Wow, there's a new PDA out! Let's hack it and put Linux on it!
:)
... oh, wait, it already runs Linux. Move on geeks, nothing to hack here
Petru
Making Linux run on a PDA was pritty cool.
It showed how flexable Linux really is AND has the additional benifit of producing improved code for the desktop/server Linux code.
It says if needed an imbeded Linux CAN exist. Linux CAN be stuffed ANYPLACE.
I like my Visor Neo...
Can I get a wireless modem for the Linux PDA? Unlikely... But I can plug a wireless into my Neo..
Mom has a wireless built in her Palm IIV
Can I get a camra for the Linux PDA?
Unlikely... But I can plug one into my Neo
Mom has a Kodak she uses on hers...
How about a GPS? Yeah just about every PDA ever made has a GPS. The ill fated Zoomer had a GPS.. My Neo.. moms Palm... but this? Unlikely..
This comes off like a toy.. and hurts the Linux credability...
I'll stick with my Visor thank you..
I don't actually exist.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of shitty open sores PDAs!!!!
Love And Kisses,
BiffJerky the Troll
I've had my eye on the iPaq H3135. 200MHz StrongARM, 16MB RAM + 16MB ROM. Those specs put the VR3 to shame, and handhelds.org should have all the info on flashing the OS to Linux. Amazon.com is offering them for $150 after rebate.
Note: the status of Linux on the mono iPaq seems to be a little behind the color version, so be sure to check the relevant info on the development site before jumping on the idea.
It baffles me why all these people are saying go buy a palm instead. newsflash: This IS a palm, just one that's not shipped running the PalmOS.
Well, at least that's the theory. I'll be flashing mine when it gets delivered in a week, then I'll let you know for sure..
So for those of you saying buy a palm instead: learn to read.
Well, I didn't make that claim. In fact, I gave the VR3 as an example of what I would consider a true Linux PDA, as opposed to to the "Linux DA".
In fact, I like my VR3 a lot. The only thing it really needs is an MMC expansion slot.
Forgot to turn on the brain again?
One thing I didn't see on the page or any of the follow up comments is about battery life. For such a slow CPU (at least by today's standards), I'd expect a pretty good lifetime. The old Casio Zoomer (c. 1992), a product done with Geoworks and Palm before they started doing their own hardware was slow. Way too slow -- otherwise it probably would have done much better even though it was expensive. But it had a great battery life, something like 100+ hours. Some other products recharge through their sync cradles. What is this one like in that regard?
Finally a PDA with good sense. How else to view core dumps than in hexadecimal?
Nobody seems to mention that their sdk is freely available, including a cross-compiler, all under linux right
here.
Seems like the ideal pda for the linux hacker who want to develop custom apps on a Free platform.
to mail me, first remove the evil spam.
If I collect all 7, do I get super ultra powers and fly around and fight 5 episode long fight scenes!!!!!! That would be so cool....
Do you think that since its Palm IIIxe compatible you could just flash it with the PalmOS?
If so, it can be a cheap memory upgrade for my 2MB Palm III while keeping the old one for someone..
'Cause the only thing that makes a Palm great is all the software and SDKs for it.
% cd /usr/src/linux-2.4.14/arch
% ls
alpha/ cris/ ia64/ mips/ parisc/ s390/ sh/ sparc64/
arm/ i386/ m68k/ mips64/ ppc/ s390x/ sparc/
I placed the order one day later than the author and didn't get an acknowlegement until the next week. I'm still waiting for mine :(
The day I recieved the acknowlegement, I also downloaded the all of the developer stuff.
I figure that if the code DA runs on a Palm III or Palm V, at least SOME of the code that is used with those will be of use with a LinuxDA. As a rough template if nothing else.
And, yes, I am a linux user. The argument the it will only me of interest to linux users is, I think, facicous.
It's only available in the US anyway, so they'll be bust before we find out.
Byeeeee!
It's basically a Palm computer (its probably made in the same factury, on the same line in Taiwan or something), with the Linux OS loaded on instead of Palm OS to save on licensing costs. So they can flog it for under $100.
Some pundits think a good proportion of buyers will just load Palm OS on it (if this as the same one mentioned in an article I read a month ago that was to be released in about a month at a RRP of US$97).
All the hardware is fully Palm OS compatible
If you don't see why simply Linux over Palm is a win, you haven't been reading Slashdot properly - go and do it again, and keep quiet until you've done it.
'Course, this is a loser product for other reasons, explained elsewhere.
They finally sent mine also.
The handwriting recognition has a box that shows the letter as your write it. That's cool, but it's disappearance is timed, so you can easily write too fast and write two lettes at once.
Also, I havn't opened th book yet, but the alphabet seems lowercasish, not grafitti. I think some single stroke alphabet like grafiti will work better and get rid of the need for a timed input window. Does someone know if the source is available in their handwriting?
Also, I need a simple serial terminal for this. It doesn't run Palm or Java apps, so I'm limited to writing my own right now.
I'll bet Palm Computing's Legal team will go after this one. It's a PC-Chips _hardware_ clone of a PalmIII. Flashable too. The pictures seem to imply this device is what the LinuxDA actually is.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/20102.html
looks to me that they just got linux to run as co-pilot. Reminds me of the Jayz Song
"Got this Chinese chick, had to leave her quick'
Cause she kept bootleggin my shit - man"
if he only knew about linux
"Got this Linux chick, had to leave her quick'
Cause she kept copying my shit - man"
There is no such thing as Solaris 2.8, and 2.7 only exists in some places. I assume you meant 7 and 8
/usr/bin, so technically it doesn't put it under /bin
You're just going to have to imagine me dressed up as Moon Unit Zappa circa 1985 as I intone from on high here:
Whatever.
Sun's breaking of a perfectly functional numbering convention for the sake of their marketeers is, well, their own lookout. Every other reader knew exactly what I was talking about, and only you were dumb and/or desperate enough to think that you could score some sort of lame debating point by pointing it out.
bash was only introduce into Solaris as of Solaris 8
Hm, I'm pretty sure I recall it showing up in one of the MU packs for 7, but I could be wrong on that count -- I was mercifully spared the experience of 7 for the most part.
/bin is actually a symlink to
From Moon Zappa straight to William Shatner: GET. A. LIFE.
Proof of the gay-linux conspiracy!
I do it wrong
Laying here in the shadows of my room, I squint up at my love. My Ms. Portman. I am sore and tired after fucking her for eight solid hours. My chapped and aching dick is soaking in grits to relieve the pain. She gets on her knees and starts lapping the grits up out of the bowl. She places her beautiful hands on my penis and starts to lick the grits off my achy piece.
Massaging my nutsack she....
WAIT, I DO IT WRONG!!!!
Yanking my dick out of her mouth I throw her to the ground and shove it in to her gaping freshly fisted ass.
"OH BIG ASS SPORK!! Fuck my ass, fuck my ass good. DEEPER, my stallion, deeper!! Make a Beowulf cluster of sperm on my back!!"
"Imagine a Beowulf cluster of this baby!"
I DO IT WRONG!!!!
Proof of the gay-linux conspiracy!
I was sowndering about if the thing even existed, since i ordered one 2 months ago! I thought they took my 89 bux and ran
The Arkie Libertarian
...dressed in Linux. Anyone with the displeasure of having worked with PC-Chips motherboards cringe at the thought of a PC-Chips PDA. Palm Computing legal is gonna take a fit unless LinuxDA's version isn't PalmOS flashable/hackable . This URL to The Register has the relevant links http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/20102.html
Woudlnt the palm emu run on a linux on dragonball?
Anybody know if you can get to a shell? I'm always looking for another device to run SETI on (hey, I'm a stats whore). ;-)
Why on earth anyone would release such a thing, with the name "Linux" on it, without disclosing all the technical and programming info, as well as the in-house development stuff is beyond me.
The SDK download wants you to agree to a fairly restrictive license, the tar files have cores in them, the docs are almost useless, and there is no way to backup or restore the unit from linux.
Someone at empowered technologies is a very confused person. Without more hacking info, that is easy to get, this thing is doomed.
Treatment, not tyranny. End the drug war and free our American POWs.
See my user info for links.
Samsing just released their newest Linux PDA... I just read about it on their site and it looks awesome. It has a DragonBallZ 133Mhz processor and 128M ram and 2 USB ports on the side.
Wow. That looks pretty funny out of context.
This comes from a former Linux 'fanatic'. Why is it that Linux always seems to be about duplicating other OS's/tools? It seems like there's never any creativity...
* Checkbook programs that try to duplicate MS Money/Quicken
* Linux trying to duplicate UNIX
* KDE trying to look like Windows
* this handheld copying Palm OS as closely as possible
Is there ever any originality in Linux development?
Until they support wireless with these things it is just like buying another expensive watch. I have a agenda but until it does wireless it just sits on my desk lifeless.
Got Code?
If it actually ran Linux, you could easily port software to it, and that is a big plus for many people.
any commercial linux pda with a pcmcia slot?
Just had to say it.