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How to Sync PocketPC to Linux?
Giggles Of Doom asks: "I am a long time Windows user who is getting ready to make the plunge and move to Linux. Microsoft is just getting on my nerves. Anyway, I have made a little list of things I do in Windows that I will still need to be able to do in Linux. A BIG one of those is syncing the data from my PDA with my main computer's mail program. The mail program will probably be KMail, unless others can suggest a better one and give reasons why, and my PDA is a Audiovox Maestro, which is really a rebranded Toshiba 'PDA-1032' running Pocket PC 2002. It has a USB cradle. What Linux solutions are there for this task? I would hate to have everything else work great, but have to boot to Windows or load VMware just to sync my contact info. Remember, I am a Windows user trying to convert, but any solution would have to be pretty user friendly."
Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
I was wondering the same question myself recently, although I don't mind booting into Windows periodically to do the actual syncing. I have an iPAQ, also running Pocket PC 2002.
What I had in mind was this:
Sync iPAQ to Outlook under Windows, using USB cradle
Sync Outlook to an LDAP server
Sync Evolution to LDAP server (or KMail if you prefer, and LDAP is supported)
What I haven't fully explored yet is Outlook's ability to sync to an LDAP server. I'm thinking of running one of my personal linux fileserver, not just to keep my iPAQ and Evolution in sync, but to simply have a cetralized place to keep all of my contact information (calendaring would be great too though).
Is anyone aware of a better solution than just rolling my own LDAP server to be compatible with Outlook?
--Cycon
Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
It seems like a pretty poor trade- Linux sync functionality gained for the price of losing what you can do with the PocketPC and the hardware on which it runs. Why would anyone want to go and do something silly like that?
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
If your HD is big enough, repartition it out so you can dual boot into RH8 or Mandrake 9 for a while and get comfortable enough to do everything you want to do with it. Then, when the next big Windows OS release comes out, instead of getting that and throwing more money in the MS coffer, you can just jump ship to Linux full on. By then, there will even be better support for your handheld too.
Cheers,
m13b
Provided you have some network device for your PDA- be it a serial cable (for SLIP/PPP- not USB), ethernet or wireless would work, one could whip up a decent syncing solution in a couple days' time. Wouldn't do everything, but Calendar, Contacts and Todo would be pretty straightforward.
I wonder why no one else has done it yet. I have iPAQ hardware, but I don't use PocketPC for anything but a platform for running my own PDA environment, Dynapad.
I'm confident that I could hack something together using PocketC on the PDA and Perl on the desktop within a weekend. If anyone wants to sponsor me in this, I could do this. By sponsor, I mean for a price. Not a very high price. The person fronting the money can choose the license under which it lives - LGPL, closed-source commercial product or whatever. If there are any serious takers, email me and we can discuss what email app to support and cost, and so on.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
Remember, I am a Windows user trying to convert, but any solution would have to be pretty user friendly.
... I use Windows, also.)
You meant and, right?
(It's OK
"And like that
Find a crack for VMWare. Run linux in the background.
I had the same problem a few months ago. I had a HP Jornada 560. There is a linux module for connecting to some usb PocketPC devices (I am not sure if it's in the actual kernel, but it's in the few I have tried under Gentoo). It's under USB -> USB Serial Devices -> USB Compaq iPAQ / HP Jornada / Casio EM500 Driver when using menuconfig (CONFIG_USB_SERIAL_IPAQ). Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt has some more information about it. It allows you to make a serial connection with the usb device. I don't know if it would work with your's or not.
I never got that part working. You might have better luck with a serial cradle. I had to use VMware to sync with Outlook. This is why I sold my PDA and bought a Zaurus, which has it's on synching problems under Linux. I know, this is definately not the ideal solution.
Other than that, there is SyncCE which has some tools for the connection.
I suggest using Linux on the Toshiba as well. See handhelds.org and linuxdevices.com.
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
What is the value in having email in two places? Where do you answer it? Where do you file it? If the answer is "the desktop PC" then why sync up your PDA? If you just want to have some email on the PDA for reference, why not transfer it over as text files?
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
Syncing WinCE to Linux
If you're not a Liberal in your 20's, then you have no heart.If you're still a Liberal in your 30's you have no brain.
A better screen?
A more reliable OS?
http://www.med.unc.edu/~greena/back2palm/ has some good information.
I wouldn't necessarily reccommend going to a Palm proper, but a PalmOS device will be far more useful than an obscenely expensive, oversized, battery-gulping PocketPC device.
Compare and contrast:
Audiovox Thera PocketPC-based smartphone - 24 hours standby
Kyocera 6035 Smartphone - Over 6 days battery life including moderate talk time
The average PPC device is rated at less than a day or two of battery life with moderate usage, compared to a PalmOS device that can last well over a month with moderate usage on a pair of AAs.
For a non-phone solution, a Clie NR70 would be the way to go.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?