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Palmtop NetBSD
BSD Forums writes "'Of course it runs NetBSD.' NetBSD is fantastically portable, but that doesn't make it supremely easy to install on oddball hardware like a Dreamcast or a palmtop computer. Michael Lucas demonstrates cross-installation with the HP Jornada."
Does anyone know of a linux or BSD based distro that will install on an old Palm Pilot? Not the III or V lines, the original lines. I've got one just sitting around. I've already got a replacement for it I just want to play around with it. Does anyone have any links for instructions on installing Linux (or any other OS) on them?
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
When will somebody port it to my TI-89 calculator machine. It has a MC68k processor in it.
Well, I can sort of understand that - hell, I do casemods..
But at the same time, a casemod doesn't impair the computer's operation - just its looks.
There aren't as many apps out there for the PDA *nix market, as far as I know, since it's nowhere near as well-developed. It's like cutting an arm off in exchange for a really cool watch on the other wrist - you lose more than you gain.
Now, replacing WinCE with PalmOS - THAT would be impressive. PalmOS is far more stable than wince, and there are more apps for it.
-- Karma is for people who think they matter.
You couldn't fit the kernel into ram, much less enough to do anything useful.
If you want it bad enough, steal the PDP11 UNIX source from SCO and port that. BSD or Linux will never fit.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Erm. I did not realize a quick cut'n'paste aimed at alleviating the slashdot effect would be considered a reprint. Please pardon me, normally it isn't a problem.
For those of you out there who own a Compaq/HP iPAQ, and would like to run an Open-source OS on it, it is currently possibly to run Linux on it, thanks to HP's Cambridge Research Labs, and of course many contributors around the world. For more, please visit Handhelds.org. (For what it's worth, I am the person who is porting Linux to the iPAQ h1910 - and no, I am not paid by HP.)
~pi/joshua/nontoxic/whatever
I've got an iPaq that runs Familiar Linux, and it's a great mobile hacking and experimentation platform. True, I wouldn't want to write full apps with the tiny onscreen keyboard, but it's nice to be able to either try out an algorithm or quick script idea in Python on a full-featured Linux system that fits in a coat pocket. If I had the extra couple of hundred dollars lying around, I'd definitely make the switch to one of the WinCE devices with even a tiny keyboard, and probably be able to use for for most of the tasks I'd normally assign to either my PDA or laptop.
Personally, at least, I've found that at least 80% of my time on either kind of portable device map fine into basic console tools: mutt for email, links or w3m for quick web browsing, and remote server administration via ssh, and a bit of Ruby scripting here are there. Not too much there that requires a GUI, (even if I liked the WinCE UI, which I don't) or support for the huge library of mediocre shareware and Windows-specific integration and synchronization that seem to dominate the PalmOS market.
Here is an IBM z50 with 265mg cf preloaded with NetBSD!!! Instant WarDriving!!!
A link on the page leads to the z50 serving a stats site under apache!!!!
projects @ http://spectechnologies.net
But I don't see how it's as portable as it claims. It's nearly impossible to build a cross-compiler for Linux from netbsd, especially if you don't have the libraries and headers already compiled for you. I've been trying fruitlessly for several years now.
:)
Palmtop NetBSD isn't that desirable for me, because I'd have to sacrifice using a Linux distro if I wanted to do cross-compiles. Of course, if I'm wrong, I'd love to know it.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
NetBSD supposedly supports the Hitachi PERSONA HPW-230JC, which is the 32 meg version of what I have, a Phenom Ultra. But, the funny thing is... the bootloader program is only for Windows CE 2.11, not 2.0 that the machines come with (so, I can't even test it). I've gone through hell trying to find an open source operating system to run on this thing, with no dice. Anyone have one of these things?
You can do the same thing with Linux you can do with BSDs.
It is how they do it that is different I have found that once you know how a bsd system works I can quickly cut out a system that does what I want and nothing that I dont.
For me BSDs a cleaner simpler and just as powerful as any free or commercial Unix out there on a few processors.
I have a IBM z50 running NetBSD and X11 and a webserver on a 265mg CF!!! and I know every process that executes and why.
projects @ http://spectechnologies.net
I'm curious.. has anybody tried porting this to the Sharp Zaurus (SL-5500g is what I have, but any model)? And if not.. how hard would it be?
Every article has a copyright notice. Would adding a note about reprint requests make it clearer?
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