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MSNBC Reviews the Sharp Zaurus
Khalid sent in a link to this review of the Sharp Zaurus. They only noted a few flaws, such as the synchronization being harder than necessary, and generally seemed to like it, at least better than the Wall Street Journal columnist did.
the article was written by by a knowledgable techie and so obviosuly he would like a powerful handheld... the problem with this is that these are nice but a bit bulky and someone who doesn't want to run linux programs might not be so impressed... im not saying its a bad product but i am saying i hope that others find it to be just as useful or else we might never see another linux handheld again...
unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep
I've been using linux for approximately 3 years now, and I still can't find a reason why I want linux on my pda past the "cool" factor which really translates to "geek" factor in this case. I have a palm m505 which I can do just about anything on, including playing short video clips (Impressive considering how much slower these processors are compared to that of the PocketPC PDAs. Of course, those of us in the "know" can't wait for the next Palm to come out its going to totally rock the scale for multimedia ;)
Linux is good for servers folks, it makes an Ok desktop, and I can't see how it would be all that useful on a PDA!
You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!
The main problem I have with the Zarus is that it is FAR heavier than it competitors. I can't carry it around in my pocket, so what good is it?
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
Why is everybody talking about syncing. Syncing sucks. With this linux PDA, i can use wireless lan att my work, school and home to acces my online calendars, todolists and email. NO SYNC! Real time information. It rocks!
This journalist is nothing like the guy from the WSJ who gave the device such a bad rap. This guy mentions vi and ping in his review. He also tries it with 802.11b, which is where I believe this device really becomes a killer app.
He claims 4-5 hours with 802.11b, which I thought was more than I remember hearing.
Being a Java programmer, lots of options really open up for making this device do useful things. There are lots of really cool projects you could do, from controlling your server remotely, managing, and may be streaming your MP3's, run remote X sessions, etc. The thing is basically, as he says, a handheld computer which is not in the same league as most PDA's.
Amazon has them for $439 and change: Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 (affiliate link, so ya know)
This device is on the list of toys, or tools, I want to get. It is good to see the prices are coming down toward a point I may consider purchasing one, even though I (as of yet) don't have a real useful purpose for it. It's still over $500 equipped with 802.11.
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
3) With the Zaurus you get an powerful Linux system right in your pocket.
Possibilities to run apache, PHP, mysql, LOTS of games, LOTS
of other programs (such as media players, etc), you can mount samba/NFS partitions
and much more!!
How exactly does one run Apache and mySQL on a PDA? What would be the applications of it in the real world?
I think you're overselling it. While it's a good toy, it's definately not a webserver. Some things are just not meant to be on a PDA.
Honestly wasn't trolling. WE keep on hearing disinformation that Mooslims are so backwards etc and I felt that it was great to have a mooslim on board. That's all. Not intended to offend or troll. Cheers.