New Zaurus ROM (V. 3.10) Released

dawiz writes "LinuxGear.info writes (article is in German, this is a translation): "The new Zaurus SL-5500 ROM (V.3.10) was released last night. As Sharp didn't keep the last dead-line due to last-minute bug fixing, it's even more pleasing to see the new version that is claimed to solve most of the issues users had with the older ROMS finally released. [...] One drawback for Linux Users: there's no new Linux version of the QTopia Desktop software yet, that'll probably take another couple of days.""

Comments

Here it Is

[hbo]

http://community.zaurus.com/projects/sl5500uss/

OpenZaurus

[image]

You may want to try OpenZaurus instead. It uses Opie (a gorgeous fork of Qtopia), gives you better control over how memory is used, contains a ton of improved applications, includes support for all the old applications, and runs an updated Linux kernel.

Read more about why you would want to run OpenZaurus here.

Re:OpenZaurus

[krow]

I also found that it crashes more and has applications that are less developed (the backup tool being a very large sore point).

Re:OpenZaurus

[krow]

Nicer to me means that it works better :)
OpenZaurus is pretty but that is about all it has going for it at this point. I am hoping that in the future they become a legit option for those who want to upgrade but at this point its just not the case (despite what every Zaurus story's comments on Slashdot would make you think).

Having the source is nice, but it doesn't matter to most people, and lets face it, having the source only gives you the option if you have the time, the source is well documented, and it is fairly bug free in the first place (if not you end up going off on tangents and never getting around to fixing what you started out wanting int the first place).

Open Zaurus still has a long way to go before it can be used by the masses, telling people to use it at its current state is just dishonest and makes open source look bad in general.

Re:OpenZaurus

[Minna Kirai]

Having the source is nice,

That might be nice, but OpenZaurus doesn't even give you the source. Notice their download page has binary images, but no source (which is against GPL). Elsewhere, there are instructions to get the "buildroot", which is not source code (according to the definitions in the GNU GPL). Instead, it is patches which could possibly be applied to 3rd party packages to create the source code.

The OpenZaurus website suggests some of their software is GPL licensed (which makes sense, if it includes Linux), but they make little visible effort to obey that license.

OpenZaurus

[ccady]

The Zaurus has had a high-performance open source replacement ROM for a long time. It is OpenZaurus. There are some good reasons to use it.

Re:DebianZaurus

[hbo]

As far as I can see, the qt-e based guis are way ahead of X for the 1/4 vga screens. The typography is so much crisper. Then too, there's the memory overhead of X to consider. I'm sure both these problems can be addressed, but nothing I've seen on my iPaq can match opie, or even qpe for readability and low resource impact.

Re:DebianZaurus

[Realistic_Dragon]

I just wish DZ had gotten further off the ground nearly as much as I wish OZ or the Sharp rom were based upon X11.

First slashdot want X dead, then they want it on everything...

Have to agree though, it would be great to X forward apps off my Z onto my desktop (like Qplot) - I know you can install a X server for OZ, but you can't forward Opie based apps AFAIK.

Re:5600?

[hbo]

I believe that the answer to your first question is no. But this release is mostly catch-up for the 5500 anyway.

According to kergoth's posting to the OZ news page, support for the 5600 is "forthcoming". That link also gives a timeline of three to four months for OZ 3.4, but one month or so for the 3.3 development series that will probably include 5600 support.

As for being an early adopter, I envy you, but the price drop on the 5500 when the 5600 came out was just too tempting!

Can be said about any open source OS

[yerricde]

Open Zaurus still has a long way to go before it can be used by the masses, telling people to use it at its current state is just dishonest and makes open source look bad in general.

Likewise, popular desktop GNU/Linux distributions still have a long way to go before it can be used by the masses, telling people to use it at its current state is just dishonest and makes open source look bad in general.

How is it any different?

Sync over LAN

[Gothmolly]

The killer app for me was to sync over a LAN connection - I had to use OZ for that. Sharp disabled syncing over anything but USB in ROM 2.38, in the interest of security. OZ lets you specify where you can sync from. Plus the memory management is superior - you can install to flash, you don't have the stupid JVM demos on there, the media player plays Oggs, etc.

Re:what kernel version?

[ajohnj1]

2.4.18-rmk7-pxa3-embedix

Re:5600?

[robson]

On this topic, how do you find the performance so far compared to the 5500?

Are the new memory adjustments any hindrance with the large processor power increase?

Have you tried real-time video feeds on both?

A little disappointing, really. It seems like DivX movies run a little smoother on the 5600 (with tkcVideo). I was really hoping it would be fast enough to run MAME, but now that I have the 5600 I can't find a version of Zaurus MAME that works with any of the ROMs I have.

The two major hardware improvements don't justify the early adoption price, but they're pretty nice nevertheless -- a fully transparent screen cover and a built-in speaker.

Re:What's involved?

[hbo]

It's pretty easy and very safe. The worst thing is, you lose your add-on applications and data, so backup is indicated.

This page has PDF downloads of this upgrade instructions. There are basically two ways to do it. If you are syncing to a Windows PC, you can download an update application that will do the whole thing for you. If you are using Linux or Mac, you can place the upgrade image on a CF card and do the Zaurunian C-D-Reset finger pinch. (Read the docs if that doesn;t make sense.) What makes it safe is the fact that the boot ROM has a flash programmer in it. So even if you completely toast an upgrade, you can just start over because the programmer is still there. (You do have to have the image you want loaded on a flash card to take advantage of this safty.)

Re:What's involved?

[Minna Kirai]

The worst danger is that you'll lose power in the first quarter-second of the flashing process, turning the unit into a small brick until you mail it in for repair. (And depending on the kind of ROM you're flashing, even this problem might be impossible. It's only a concern using a 3rd party ROM)

Of course, a simultaneous failure of your AC power and battery is impossible on its own. Which is why the flashing software refuses to run unless AC is attached.