Openzaurus 3.0 Released

numatrix writes "The first major stable version of OpenZaurus was released today. The 3.0 build offers the stability of the official Sharp ROMs, the freedom of open source, and a number of features the Sharp ROMs lack. Most importantly, the built-in 16MB flash ROM area of the PDA is read/write, instead of read-only as the sharp ROM uses it. A community effort, the only piece that isn't open source is the SD driver module taken from the Sharp ROM since no OS equivalent exists. The updated ROM also includes the newest version of Opie, the opensource fork of Qtopia, Trolltech's embedded version of QT, and will soon include PicoGui and X support."

Comments

First major s/w project error?

[gruntvald]

According to joelonsoftware, this statement "OpenZaurus is now a debian based embedded distribution built from source, from the ground up." is a fundamental flaw. The project started out as a rewrite/tweak of Sharps work, and then "progressed" to a complete re-write. Sigh. I wonder why they made this decision?

Re:First major s/w project error?

[numatrix]

Because the sharp work was a complete hack. It was a sym-link nightmare, full of all sorts of oddities to make things work instead of being cleanly designed. OZ will (and already has) benefit greatly from being a fresh rewrite.

Re:First major s/w project error?

[IceFox]

Because Sharp only gave out the kernel source and nothing else.

PocketPC is sexier

[CmderTaco]

No matter how I admire the idea of running linux on my handheld, instead of something which smells of microsoft, it seems that PocketPC looks much better.

Compare with this. The problem with the opensource guys is that they don't think "eye candy" like MS does.. and that's one reason which prevents me from buying a Zaurus.

Re:PocketPC is sexier

[darienk]

I don't know what Zaurus screens you have or have not seen. But they look sweet to my eyes:

OPIE candy

PicoGUI candy

Just to show a few.

Works great!

[Arthur Dent]

I just downloaded this distro and flashed my Zaurus. Great to have ssh out of the box. I love the boot logo and the background png. Managed to sync it on the first try too! I'll be testing the wireless stuff once I get home.

Now to install all the other goodies...

Great job folks!

curious, not in FAQ

[sydlexic]

but one reason I'm very interested in the Zaurus is the combination of Linux + Java + small. does the use of OpenZaurus instead of the stock system in any way prevent the use of Java that ships with the unit?

Re:curious, not in FAQ

[YodaToad]

As of now there isn't a java vm built into oz/opie, but they're looking into using blackdown's vm or another small vm in the future. They can't use the Jeode vm that comes with sharp's ROM due to some licensing issues.

Re:curious, not in FAQ

[sydlexic]

Is it still possible to use the Jeode VM that comes with the ROM under the new system? I think the blackdown VM is way too big for the available memory. Plus, the Jeode VM is optimized for this CPU and minimal resources. A blackdown port would take a long time and lack a jitter for a lot longer.

Surpasses the commercial Z distro

[aqua]

I'm typing this on a Zaurus running OZ3 and konq/embedded;
while still not as polished or featureful as it might be, and with some usability problems here and there,
it's definitely better than sharp's attempt. Some nice UI tweaks, APT-style ipkg repository fetching, lots more packages. Very nice.

Re: they could use CVM

[dujardin]

That's Sun's J2ME CDC implem. Latests standards, ARM- and Linux- friendly. With the recently released Personal Profile, it should be a nice replacement for Jeode. It's licensed under SCSL, which at least allows individuals to access the code and run it for free.