Well, I guess I disgaree. I used RedHat for years, then tried FC1 after desktop RedHat was discontinued. It simply didn't measure up to what I expected, and I ended up going over to Debian (the best move I ever made).
That was for my main box, but for my laptop I tried Knoppix for kicks, but found it wasn't production ready for permanent installs as much as I'd like, and I now run FC2 there. It simply isn't as mature, predictable, or stable as Debian (even testing/unstable). I'd never use it on a desktop.
That said, Cedega is a mess. It broke support for a number of games, and introduced glitches in others. Far more of a disappointment than FC2 ever was.
A lot of posts to reply to, but basically, Naval Ship radars function on lots of bands, not exluding the A Band, mentioned above.
Aircraft carriers have a good deal more power than one would think, and certainly more than a Tico, which is about medium size. One thing to note is that there is no "Medium" size for Navy ships, there are small guys, and big guys. CVN, LHD and LHA are going to have more power because they are bigger...the LHD I served on had 5 primary generators rated at 2500kW a piece, plus another 2 backups at 2000kW each. LHAs are similar, but CVNs have even more, mainly because they have fuel to burn, being nuclear.
Oddly, in the radar category, its only the smaller ships in the Cruiser Destroyer community that have phased array radars, which have higher output than those found on other ships. On carriers, the primary high output radar is the SPS-48E (a rotating radar, as all are, with the exception of the SPY-1 series), and has such power because it is an Air Search radar that scans in 3-D. There are ranges at which we are required to turn off our radars in vicinity of land, but this is soley at the attentiveness of the watchstander, and we frequently got reports during Operation Iraqi Freedom thaty our 48E was jamming the airport radars in Kuwait, and we were requested to lower the power output.
Anyway, a carrier pulling into town running a 48E could certainly jam such devices, but more frequently we get reports that devices start *operating* without warning (garage doors opening, etc.) Certainly you'd see these things more often if you worked on a Naval Base, since lots of ships tend to pull in and out there.
Actually, it *is* breaking and entering. "Breaking" is constituted by physically manipulating an object to gain entry - so unless the window or door is *open*, it is breaking and entering, if you're not authorized to be there.
I had a Handspring Visor for a while, and then a Visorphone... That eventually gave way to a Nokia cellphone and now a Sharp Zaurus.
Running Linux on the PDA is awesome, because it makes the whole package very hackable, and the possibilities regarding application porting are tremendous. I just added an 802.11b CF card to it, along with 512 mb SD card, and using the Zynergy ROM set, the device handles all my email, some web browsing (for sites like slashdot.org/palm and CNN to GO) and also can do MP3/Ogg Vorbis. The built-in keyboard (say what you will, it *is* quite fast) works well with inputting contacts and notes.
The best is putting it into an ad-hoc 802.11 network with my laptop, running VNC on it, and bringing up the screen on my laptop along with an samba connection for file swapping, and I can input data, transfer files, and then leave the laptop in the hotel and bring the Zaurus with me, including important.pdfs, word documents and excel spreadsheets.
No phone or palm device can do all that. I would say that if we can mainstream some of these features in other PDAs (I had to hack a bit to get the desired result), people would see that phones don't really measure up that well, and PDAs can actually replace laptops to some extent, just as laptops can replace desktops to some extent.
The new Sharp SL-6000 has built in 802.11b as well as the CF and SD/MMC slots, so all the better for expandability.
Actually, I cached it before the story ran because I saw it before it went public (subscriber), but the problem is, if the server goes up in smoke, freecache will stop serving because it can't verify the server is still there. That was my mistake. We need to use freecache in the actual story, rather than in comments, I guess.
There was a story about freecache, but no one here on slashdot ever uses it in stories. Here's a pre-cached link, in case the main NZ server goes up in smoke.
http://www.freecache.org/http://www.usbwifi.orcon. net.nz/
Just set your helper web application in whatever program to run:
mozilla-firefox -remote "openURL(%u, new-tab)"
This will bind to an already existing instance and just open the new tab, leaving everything else as is. I think the new tab does take focus though, which is appropriate.
You need to decide how you want to play the game. Either the software:
1)Comes with a particular program in the box
OR
2) It doesn't
I don't include all the free programs on the net that I can download when I evaluate windows, and I sure as heck don't include all the free software I can download on the net for Linux.
There is only one important point here:
If the vendor puts it on the CD, its supported. That is value added.
If not, they don't care. You think MS is going to help Fred set up an Apache server? Or run a large FTP site on Windows Home? Nope. But SuSe (Novell) will, if its included on the CD.
It is a LOT of value added to have free programs included with a commercial distro - it means a certain level of support and confidence from the vendor.
They're fighting technology. Almost every company that has ever fought technology haslost out in the end. That's all I'm saying. You do make a very clever point though. But, as the original post I was responding to said "Doesn't work that way in a capitalist society." That's the whole point: to have the consumer determine what gets sold, and for how much.
I don't advocate free music. I disagree with the old adage that "all information wants to be free."
No typo. Just because someone downloads songs does NOT mean its illegal. Some of those songs are free, some are not. Some are already bought on CD and downloaded instead of ripping. They risk breaking the law.
Apple's downloads don't work on Linux, and that's what I use. So I can't use their wonderful product, that doesn't permit fair use anyway. Walmart? Yeah, last I checked, they don't support Linux either.
Now, of course, you're saying that I'm complaining because I'm using Linux. But that's missing the point. The reason I have to use Windows or Mac is because they want to implement DRM. I completely support them coming up with a system that prevents me from giving music away to other people free. What I don't support is them doing that at the expense of my ability to excercise fair use. So while DRM is great in theory, it sucks in reality, and no one has come up with a way to fix that. No one has a way to prevent me from breaking the law while allowing me to use the product in legal ways. Bad deal for the consumer.
This has nothing to do with pro-freedom OR anti-corporation. Its entirely based around convenience for the consumer, and pro-fair use.
Oh, and by the way, all that money you pay for CDs does NOT go to the artist, it goes to the RIAA who is really a no-value-added entity. I'd be happy to give the bands I love a flat out $10.00 for their hard work, and another $1.00 or so for the media+case+insert. But that's not the breakdown.
Maybe you should do a little research: CD Baby
before you post things you don't know about. An artist usually get $1-2 per CD in a normal record deal, and that's only for CDs sold after the first few thousand. You're pretending the RIAA isthe victim here, when its really the artist, and the consumer, that are getting the bad deal.
The income tax analogy is not valid. Income tax is levied by the government, and political organizations hold sway with the government (they can lobby). As long as people like you pay $18 for a CD, the RIAA will continue to do business this way. Political groups cannot change that. Only you NOT spending the money can.
By the way, I don't even trade files online. I think it is a tragedy that the RIAA can convince folks like you that your $18 is well spent, while robbing the artists.
There is a bigger point here, which is not the question of whether or not someone is breaking the law in whatever small way, but how to enforce the law. It is a weakness of our legal system that few (none?) of the RIAA vs. Joe cases have actually gone to court, because no one can afford to argue with them in a court. This is not the enlightened way to fix the situation. If millions of people are all breaking a law, it doesn't mean that the law is wrong, but it sure bears taking a close look at why millions of people would rather break the law than the alternative. Maybe there really are fair use issues that the government needs to address.
Encrypting the network just forces the issue up the food chain; the RIAA has a much harder time simply forcing the small guy into submission now...to fight this fight, they will actually have to go to the government and get new legislation passed, which will highlight the issue to lawmakers.
That's where you're wrong. That exactly how it works in a capatalist society. The consumer determines the price point. And that's what we're doing. We're effectively saying "We're willing to risk breaking the law until you wake up and provide a product that is reasonable."
Eventually, they *will* bend to the consumer's will. We're just having to drag them there kicking and screaming, because they're children, and always want to have it their way.
id is well known for being very accurate on release dates, mainly because they don't give them. I believe they coined "When Its Done", but in any case, every time they have given a release date, they have made it. It'll be out this summer.
At the top level, this looks like any PDA OS. The underlying Operating System is OpenPDA from Metrowerks (a company owned by Motorola). The GUI is Qtopia from Trolltech. This is a very well established system and has a good user and developer base. It also benefits from a certain amount of cross-platform portability, meaning that software can easily be translated from other systems to this one.
The main functionality is organised into four Home Pages or "Tabs": Applications, Java, Settings and Files. The Java Tab seems completely pointless, and I was glad to find that it disappears if you reset the flash memory as I have done several times while testing the device (if you want it back, you can reinstall from a package on the CD). I won't bore you with describing the three Java "applications " on the SL-6000. Their only worthy feature is that Java apps run in resizable and movable windows, which is a big deal when you have this much screen real estate. One day all windows will be movable and resizable (imagine that!).
You can add your own Home tabs, including a custom icon from a choice of what looks like hundreds. You cannot edit the system tabs. The pictures below show the four default Home Tabs; clicking on each one will open a new window in your browser showing the actual screenshot. All these screen shots are in portrait mode, but I only did this so they'd fit the review page better. They work just as well with the screen rotated 90 degrees.
You can change the theme of the interface easily using the Appearance tool in the Settings Home Page; the differences are significant but not Earth-shattering. You can also set a graphical backdrop to the Home Tabs (other than the File Manager). This doesn't seem to slow the interface down, and it has the potential to look great on this display.
Zoom Zoom
One feature of the SL-6000 which affects many applications is the "zoom" capability. Using the Qtopia menu items (ZoomIn and ZoomOut you can zoom in and out in most application displays. What this really means is scaling the font and usually some other window furniture (e.g. column markers in a spreadsheet). It is very effective, and only limited by the font you are using. I made an animation of this when I reviewed the C750 last year - click here to see it.
Help System
The Qtopia GUI includes a customised help system which offers help on just about anything with an icon. It looks like a basic web browser and would be very useful to someone just starting out with the PDA. Once you've skimmed the manual I doubt it would be much help, but it does provide a good introduction.
(back to contents)
Personal Information Management (PIM) Tools
PIM Applications: Address Book, Calendar, ToDo List.
The Address book is pretty standard - adding, deleting and editing entries is easy. You can choose which fields appear on the list and their order, as well as the overall sort order. The display uses colour very well.
Contacts can be beamed back and forth between the Zaurus and any other IR-capable PDA easily, although only one at a time from what I could tell, using.vcf files. I was hoping that I'd be able to hold the Zaurus near a telephone and have it tone-dial a number for me, but it can't do that.
The Calendar allows a day, week, month and year view and you can set up reminders, repeating events, and so on. In the month view you can have a text format (which soon gets crowded) or graphical, which uses colour coded stripes to show events. This works well. Having used the application for some time on my 5600, I have found a few things which are annoying. For example, setting an appointment to repeat daily results in an entry in the calendar for every day forever. It would be so much nicer if it just updated each day to indicate the next scheduled event.
The ToDo list, like the Calendar and Adress book, is adequate. It syncs with Outlook or Qtopia Desktop and is fairly useful f
Pretty big review - heres the text of pages 1-4
on
Zaurus SL-6000 Review
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Review of Sharp Zaurus SL-6000
Reviewed for bargainPDA by Ian Giblin. Thanks to offroadgeek from The Zaurus User Group for input and discussion.
Overview and Introduction
The new Zaurus SL-6000 from Sharp is a versatile, linux-based PDA incorporating an Intel XScale (PXA255) CPU at 400 MHz. In some respects it is a hybrid of the Zaurus SL-5600, which became available in the U.S. in April of 2003, and the SL-C750/760/860 which is only available as a special import and was reviewed here in September of 2003. The main enhancements to the SL-6000 are a better screen, some ruggedisation, built-in Wi-Fi and/or bluetooth, and a degree of expandability. There's also a USB host built into it using a Mini A connector on the bottom of the device. Oh, and a longer stylus.
The device I'm reviewing here is the SL-6000L, which has only Wi-Fi. We spoke to Sharp's representative about the other models - specifically the SL-6000N (Bluetooth only) and the SL-6000W, which was billed as the combo product with both 802.11b Wireless and Bluetooth. The representative told us that the only version which will be made available to the general consumer is the 6000L Wi-Fi variant.
If you put it into Google you can find the SL-6000W but you can't actually buy one yet (May 2004).
The Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 and You
You might wonder - what's the target market for this device? It is large, expensive and ruggedised. If you haven't already guessed, the answer is "Enterprise". Sharp collaborated with IBM on this project, but the only evidence on the consumer device is the link to IBM's page when you open the Opera web browser. A little nosing about on IBM's site yields some other interesting pages like this one on cross-developement. But I digress...
An ongoing aspect of the Enterprise factor is RailDocs, a system "designed to enable users to efficiently design, build, and maintain the fixed transportation infrastructure of a railroad". Not for the average user, obviously, but it speaks volumes for the stability and versatility of the Zaurus product.
It is something of a surprise that Sharp have made the SL-6000 available to the consumer market, particularly after a Sharp marketing representative originally told bargainPDA "Please keep in mind that this product is designed exclusively for the corporate market and will not be sold through the direct to consumer channel. It will be used by businesses for business applications.".
Whether the Sharp Zaurus is right for you depends upon the type of role you see for it. The Zaurus is probably the best linux-based handheld computer available, and the software is almost the same across models. It may not be the best PDA, in fact most Zaurus users wouldn't even call it a PDA. Sharp themselves call the Zaurus a Personal Mobile Tool. If you decide to buy a Zaurus you can find one to fit your budget. The table below summarises the features of key members of the Sharp Zaurus range, plus a very rough indication of their current prices. Links will open the bargainPDA reviews where available.
The C760 and C860 differ only in that the 860 has a Japanese/English dictionary on it, and it has a silver case rather than the white one on the 760. The C750 is like the C760, but has a smaller battery and less memory; reading the SL-C750 review will give you a very good idea of those three Zaurus "clamshell" devices. Some of the software section of this review is just an updated and edited version of the C750 software review.
Anyone looking at the SL-6000 should consider the alternative of buying an imported SL-C860 or C760 plus an 802.11b wireless card. This would give you the same functionality as the SL-6000L model reviewed here (plus an extra 64MB of internal flash memory), but you may have to risk some major inconvenience if the C model Zaurus breaks down - even when you buy through high-end channels such as Dynamism where the C860 costs $849, or ShirtPocket where it is 565. As well as the currency conversion you're doing in your hea
"...that visually produces entertainment or business applications..."
So wait, any video screen...? My radio is for entertainment, and it has a screen. Is that banned? How similar does the screen have to be to a television? All the law says is "similar".
But my laptop was running a screensaver. The law doesn't say "is capable of visually producing" it says "that visually produces" - so they can't enforce unless the device is actually visually producing an entertainment or visual application?
Oh wait, what the heck does it mean to "visually produce...[an]...application"? I can use emacs for entertainment, business, or what if it's just programming a game as a hobby? Does that count?
Define entertainment...obviously playing Quake 3 counts, but how does a screen showing your mp3 player playlist differ that much from a radio with all the tuning/seek/volume/equalizer buttons?
The intent is good, but they really need to get someone that understands the realm of techno-devices in vehicles and write the law intelligently, not just toss off some mediocre legislation that will ultimately cause a lot of hate and discontent *cough* DMCA *cough*.
After comparing the/. headline with the actual content of the email, I wonder what exactly/. *does* check on before they post these...I feel like they're trolling for a bunch of misinformed readers to overreact.
It may be newsworthy, but considering the length of the message, why not just post the original email and be done with it?
The K1000 is a nice choice, but is no longer sold. I've tried a few, but the Pentax ZX-M ($150, body only) is my favorite option. It is manual focus (as requested) but also features full auto on some of your other functions, while permitting full manual as well. Has all the basics (aperature priority for consistent depth of field, shutter priority to avoid motion blur (or maintain motion blur), bracketing, spot metering, depth of field preview). Good metering (more than just red, green LEDs). Nice focusing system as well.
I still shoot the ZX-M, but I also own digital, for obvious reasons. Film is still great for darkroom experience. You can get set up with a few aftermarket lenses for less than $500 easily, and have quite a bit of fun, particularly with black and white.
I agree, MS is probably underrated.
That said, what the heck to brand new graduates (even from MIT) know about OS design?? How does that compare to 50,000 sys admins that have lots of experience USING the systems, that are programming for their love of the craft?
I don't know...I think there's a lot to me said for OpenSource, even if MS is underrated.
1) Forbes fails to mention that LinkSys got the code that is "theirs" *free of charge*. Yeah, they're really the victim...
2) Forbes fails to mention that the conditions of distribution of that software included the free release of the source code to derivative works.
This isn't rocket surgery - no new rules apply:if you want to use the code, you have to do so in comliance with the license.
Why is that so controversial??
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I guess I disgaree. I used RedHat for years, then tried FC1 after desktop RedHat was discontinued. It simply didn't measure up to what I expected, and I ended up going over to Debian (the best move I ever made).
That was for my main box, but for my laptop I tried Knoppix for kicks, but found it wasn't production ready for permanent installs as much as I'd like, and I now run FC2 there. It simply isn't as mature, predictable, or stable as Debian (even testing/unstable). I'd never use it on a desktop.
That said, Cedega is a mess. It broke support for a number of games, and introduced glitches in others. Far more of a disappointment than FC2 ever was.
A lot of posts to reply to, but basically, Naval Ship radars function on lots of bands, not exluding the A Band, mentioned above.
Aircraft carriers have a good deal more power than one would think, and certainly more than a Tico, which is about medium size. One thing to note is that there is no "Medium" size for Navy ships, there are small guys, and big guys. CVN, LHD and LHA are going to have more power because they are bigger...the LHD I served on had 5 primary generators rated at 2500kW a piece, plus another 2 backups at 2000kW each. LHAs are similar, but CVNs have even more, mainly because they have fuel to burn, being nuclear.
Oddly, in the radar category, its only the smaller ships in the Cruiser Destroyer community that have phased array radars, which have higher output than those found on other ships. On carriers, the primary high output radar is the SPS-48E (a rotating radar, as all are, with the exception of the SPY-1 series), and has such power because it is an Air Search radar that scans in 3-D. There are ranges at which we are required to turn off our radars in vicinity of land, but this is soley at the attentiveness of the watchstander, and we frequently got reports during Operation Iraqi Freedom thaty our 48E was jamming the airport radars in Kuwait, and we were requested to lower the power output.
Anyway, a carrier pulling into town running a 48E could certainly jam such devices, but more frequently we get reports that devices start *operating* without warning (garage doors opening, etc.) Certainly you'd see these things more often if you worked on a Naval Base, since lots of ships tend to pull in and out there.
Actually, it *is* breaking and entering. "Breaking" is constituted by physically manipulating an object to gain entry - so unless the window or door is *open*, it is breaking and entering, if you're not authorized to be there.
I had a Handspring Visor for a while, and then a Visorphone... That eventually gave way to a Nokia cellphone and now a Sharp Zaurus.
Running Linux on the PDA is awesome, because it makes the whole package very hackable, and the possibilities regarding application porting are tremendous. I just added an 802.11b CF card to it, along with 512 mb SD card, and using the Zynergy ROM set, the device handles all my email, some web browsing (for sites like slashdot.org/palm and CNN to GO) and also can do MP3/Ogg Vorbis. The built-in keyboard (say what you will, it *is* quite fast) works well with inputting contacts and notes.
The best is putting it into an ad-hoc 802.11 network with my laptop, running VNC on it, and bringing up the screen on my laptop along with an samba connection for file swapping, and I can input data, transfer files, and then leave the laptop in the hotel and bring the Zaurus with me, including important .pdfs, word documents and excel spreadsheets.
No phone or palm device can do all that. I would say that if we can mainstream some of these features in other PDAs (I had to hack a bit to get the desired result), people would see that phones don't really measure up that well, and PDAs can actually replace laptops to some extent, just as laptops can replace desktops to some extent.
The new Sharp SL-6000 has built in 802.11b as well as the CF and SD/MMC slots, so all the better for expandability.
Actually, I cached it before the story ran because I saw it before it went public (subscriber), but the problem is, if the server goes up in smoke, freecache will stop serving because it can't verify the server is still there. That was my mistake. We need to use freecache in the actual story, rather than in comments, I guess.
Good point about the file size - html != >5MB.
There was a story about freecache, but no one here on slashdot ever uses it in stories. Here's a pre-cached link, in case the main NZ server goes up in smoke. http://www.freecache.org/http://www.usbwifi.orcon. net.nz/
Just set your helper web application in whatever program to run:
mozilla-firefox -remote "openURL(%u, new-tab)"
This will bind to an already existing instance and just open the new tab, leaving everything else as is. I think the new tab does take focus though, which is appropriate.
You need to decide how you want to play the game. Either the software:
1)Comes with a particular program in the box
OR
2) It doesn't
I don't include all the free programs on the net that I can download when I evaluate windows, and I sure as heck don't include all the free software I can download on the net for Linux.
There is only one important point here:
If the vendor puts it on the CD, its supported. That is value added.
If not, they don't care. You think MS is going to help Fred set up an Apache server? Or run a large FTP site on Windows Home? Nope. But SuSe (Novell) will, if its included on the CD. It is a LOT of value added to have free programs included with a commercial distro - it means a certain level of support and confidence from the vendor.
They're fighting technology. Almost every company that has ever fought technology haslost out in the end. That's all I'm saying.
You do make a very clever point though. But, as the original post I was responding to said "Doesn't work that way in a capitalist society." That's the whole point: to have the consumer determine what gets sold, and for how much.
I don't advocate free music. I disagree with the old adage that "all information wants to be free."
No typo. Just because someone downloads songs does NOT mean its illegal. Some of those songs are free, some are not. Some are already bought on CD and downloaded instead of ripping. They risk breaking the law.
Apple's downloads don't work on Linux, and that's what I use. So I can't use their wonderful product, that doesn't permit fair use anyway. Walmart? Yeah, last I checked, they don't support Linux either.
Now, of course, you're saying that I'm complaining because I'm using Linux. But that's missing the point. The reason I have to use Windows or Mac is because they want to implement DRM. I completely support them coming up with a system that prevents me from giving music away to other people free. What I don't support is them doing that at the expense of my ability to excercise fair use. So while DRM is great in theory, it sucks in reality, and no one has come up with a way to fix that. No one has a way to prevent me from breaking the law while allowing me to use the product in legal ways. Bad deal for the consumer.
This has nothing to do with pro-freedom OR anti-corporation. Its entirely based around convenience for the consumer, and pro-fair use.
Oh, and by the way, all that money you pay for CDs does NOT go to the artist, it goes to the RIAA who is really a no-value-added entity. I'd be happy to give the bands I love a flat out $10.00 for their hard work, and another $1.00 or so for the media+case+insert. But that's not the breakdown.
Maybe you should do a little research:
CD Baby
before you post things you don't know about. An artist usually get $1-2 per CD in a normal record deal, and that's only for CDs sold after the first few thousand. You're pretending the RIAA isthe victim here, when its really the artist, and the consumer, that are getting the bad deal.
The income tax analogy is not valid. Income tax is levied by the government, and political organizations hold sway with the government (they can lobby). As long as people like you pay $18 for a CD, the RIAA will continue to do business this way. Political groups cannot change that. Only you NOT spending the money can.
By the way, I don't even trade files online. I think it is a tragedy that the RIAA can convince folks like you that your $18 is well spent, while robbing the artists.
Vote with your dollar.
There is a bigger point here, which is not the question of whether or not someone is breaking the law in whatever small way, but how to enforce the law. It is a weakness of our legal system that few (none?) of the RIAA vs. Joe cases have actually gone to court, because no one can afford to argue with them in a court. This is not the enlightened way to fix the situation. If millions of people are all breaking a law, it doesn't mean that the law is wrong, but it sure bears taking a close look at why millions of people would rather break the law than the alternative. Maybe there really are fair use issues that the government needs to address.
Encrypting the network just forces the issue up the food chain; the RIAA has a much harder time simply forcing the small guy into submission now...to fight this fight, they will actually have to go to the government and get new legislation passed, which will highlight the issue to lawmakers.
That's where you're wrong. That exactly how it works in a capatalist society. The consumer determines the price point. And that's what we're doing. We're effectively saying "We're willing to risk breaking the law until you wake up and provide a product that is reasonable."
Eventually, they *will* bend to the consumer's will. We're just having to drag them there kicking and screaming, because they're children, and always want to have it their way.
It was...pac man was flat, doom had heightfields, and quake was full 3-d. Hmph.
id is well known for being very accurate on release dates, mainly because they don't give them. I believe they coined "When Its Done", but in any case, every time they have given a release date, they have made it. It'll be out this summer.
OS and Basic Screen Navigation
.vcf files. I was hoping that I'd be able to hold the Zaurus near a telephone and have it tone-dial a number for me, but it can't do that.
At the top level, this looks like any PDA OS. The underlying Operating System is OpenPDA from Metrowerks (a company owned by Motorola). The GUI is Qtopia from Trolltech. This is a very well established system and has a good user and developer base. It also benefits from a certain amount of cross-platform portability, meaning that software can easily be translated from other systems to this one.
The main functionality is organised into four Home Pages or "Tabs": Applications, Java, Settings and Files. The Java Tab seems completely pointless, and I was glad to find that it disappears if you reset the flash memory as I have done several times while testing the device (if you want it back, you can reinstall from a package on the CD). I won't bore you with describing the three Java "applications " on the SL-6000. Their only worthy feature is that Java apps run in resizable and movable windows, which is a big deal when you have this much screen real estate. One day all windows will be movable and resizable (imagine that!).
You can add your own Home tabs, including a custom icon from a choice of what looks like hundreds. You cannot edit the system tabs. The pictures below show the four default Home Tabs; clicking on each one will open a new window in your browser showing the actual screenshot. All these screen shots are in portrait mode, but I only did this so they'd fit the review page better. They work just as well with the screen rotated 90 degrees.
You can change the theme of the interface easily using the Appearance tool in the Settings Home Page; the differences are significant but not Earth-shattering. You can also set a graphical backdrop to the Home Tabs (other than the File Manager). This doesn't seem to slow the interface down, and it has the potential to look great on this display.
Zoom Zoom
One feature of the SL-6000 which affects many applications is the "zoom" capability. Using the Qtopia menu items (ZoomIn and ZoomOut you can zoom in and out in most application displays. What this really means is scaling the font and usually some other window furniture (e.g. column markers in a spreadsheet). It is very effective, and only limited by the font you are using. I made an animation of this when I reviewed the C750 last year - click here to see it.
Help System
The Qtopia GUI includes a customised help system which offers help on just about anything with an icon. It looks like a basic web browser and would be very useful to someone just starting out with the PDA. Once you've skimmed the manual I doubt it would be much help, but it does provide a good introduction.
(back to contents)
Personal Information Management (PIM) Tools
PIM Applications: Address Book, Calendar, ToDo List.
The Address book is pretty standard - adding, deleting and editing entries is easy. You can choose which fields appear on the list and their order, as well as the overall sort order. The display uses colour very well.
Contacts can be beamed back and forth between the Zaurus and any other IR-capable PDA easily, although only one at a time from what I could tell, using
The Calendar allows a day, week, month and year view and you can set up reminders, repeating events, and so on. In the month view you can have a text format (which soon gets crowded) or graphical, which uses colour coded stripes to show events. This works well. Having used the application for some time on my 5600, I have found a few things which are annoying. For example, setting an appointment to repeat daily results in an entry in the calendar for every day forever. It would be so much nicer if it just updated each day to indicate the next scheduled event.
The ToDo list, like the Calendar and Adress book, is adequate. It syncs with Outlook or Qtopia Desktop and is fairly useful f
Review of Sharp Zaurus SL-6000
Reviewed for bargainPDA by Ian Giblin.
Thanks to offroadgeek from The Zaurus User Group for input and discussion.
Overview and Introduction
The new Zaurus SL-6000 from Sharp is a versatile, linux-based PDA incorporating an Intel XScale (PXA255) CPU at 400 MHz. In some respects it is a hybrid of the Zaurus SL-5600, which became available in the U.S. in April of 2003, and the SL-C750/760/860 which is only available as a special import and was reviewed here in September of 2003. The main enhancements to the SL-6000 are a better screen, some ruggedisation, built-in Wi-Fi and/or bluetooth, and a degree of expandability. There's also a USB host built into it using a Mini A connector on the bottom of the device. Oh, and a longer stylus.
The device I'm reviewing here is the SL-6000L, which has only Wi-Fi. We spoke to Sharp's representative about the other models - specifically the SL-6000N (Bluetooth only) and the SL-6000W, which was billed as the combo product with both 802.11b Wireless and Bluetooth. The representative told us that the only version which will be made available to the general consumer is the 6000L Wi-Fi variant.
If you put it into Google you can find the SL-6000W but you can't actually buy one yet (May 2004).
The Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 and You
You might wonder - what's the target market for this device? It is large, expensive and ruggedised. If you haven't already guessed, the answer is "Enterprise". Sharp collaborated with IBM on this project, but the only evidence on the consumer device is the link to IBM's page when you open the Opera web browser. A little nosing about on IBM's site yields some other interesting pages like this one on cross-developement. But I digress...
An ongoing aspect of the Enterprise factor is RailDocs, a system "designed to enable users to efficiently design, build, and maintain the fixed transportation infrastructure of a railroad". Not for the average user, obviously, but it speaks volumes for the stability and versatility of the Zaurus product.
It is something of a surprise that Sharp have made the SL-6000 available to the consumer market, particularly after a Sharp marketing representative originally told bargainPDA "Please keep in mind that this product is designed exclusively for the corporate market and will not be sold through the direct to consumer channel. It will be used by businesses for business applications.".
Whether the Sharp Zaurus is right for you depends upon the type of role you see for it. The Zaurus is probably the best linux-based handheld computer available, and the software is almost the same across models. It may not be the best PDA, in fact most Zaurus users wouldn't even call it a PDA. Sharp themselves call the Zaurus a Personal Mobile Tool. If you decide to buy a Zaurus you can find one to fit your budget. The table below summarises the features of key members of the Sharp Zaurus range, plus a very rough indication of their current prices. Links will open the bargainPDA reviews where available.
The C760 and C860 differ only in that the 860 has a Japanese/English dictionary on it, and it has a silver case rather than the white one on the 760. The C750 is like the C760, but has a smaller battery and less memory; reading the SL-C750 review will give you a very good idea of those three Zaurus "clamshell" devices. Some of the software section of this review is just an updated and edited version of the C750 software review.
Anyone looking at the SL-6000 should consider the alternative of buying an imported SL-C860 or C760 plus an 802.11b wireless card. This would give you the same functionality as the SL-6000L model reviewed here (plus an extra 64MB of internal flash memory), but you may have to risk some major inconvenience if the C model Zaurus breaks down - even when you buy through high-end channels such as Dynamism where the C860 costs $849, or ShirtPocket where it is 565. As well as the currency conversion you're doing in your hea
"...that visually produces entertainment or business applications..."
So wait, any video screen...? My radio is for entertainment, and it has a screen. Is that banned? How similar does the screen have to be to a television? All the law says is "similar".
But my laptop was running a screensaver. The law doesn't say "is capable of visually producing" it says "that visually produces" - so they can't enforce unless the device is actually visually producing an entertainment or visual application?
Oh wait, what the heck does it mean to "visually produce...[an]...application"? I can use emacs for entertainment, business, or what if it's just programming a game as a hobby? Does that count?
Define entertainment...obviously playing Quake 3 counts, but how does a screen showing your mp3 player playlist differ that much from a radio with all the tuning/seek/volume/equalizer buttons?
The intent is good, but they really need to get someone that understands the realm of techno-devices in vehicles and write the law intelligently, not just toss off some mediocre legislation that will ultimately cause a lot of hate and discontent *cough* DMCA *cough*.
After comparing the /. headline with the actual content of the email, I wonder what exactly /. *does* check on before they post these...I feel like they're trolling for a bunch of misinformed readers to overreact.
It may be newsworthy, but considering the length of the message, why not just post the original email and be done with it?
The K1000 is a nice choice, but is no longer sold. I've tried a few, but the Pentax ZX-M ($150, body only) is my favorite option. It is manual focus (as requested) but also features full auto on some of your other functions, while permitting full manual as well. Has all the basics (aperature priority for consistent depth of field, shutter priority to avoid motion blur (or maintain motion blur), bracketing, spot metering, depth of field preview). Good metering (more than just red, green LEDs). Nice focusing system as well.
I still shoot the ZX-M, but I also own digital, for obvious reasons. Film is still great for darkroom experience. You can get set up with a few aftermarket lenses for less than $500 easily, and have quite a bit of fun, particularly with black and white.
I agree, MS is probably underrated.
That said, what the heck to brand new graduates (even from MIT) know about OS design?? How does that compare to 50,000 sys admins that have lots of experience USING the systems, that are programming for their love of the craft?
I don't know...I think there's a lot to me said for OpenSource, even if MS is underrated.
1) Forbes fails to mention that LinkSys got the code that is "theirs" *free of charge*. Yeah, they're really the victim... 2) Forbes fails to mention that the conditions of distribution of that software included the free release of the source code to derivative works. This isn't rocket surgery - no new rules apply:if you want to use the code, you have to do so in comliance with the license. Why is that so controversial??