Well I just got it and it rocks. This is similar hardware as older
Compaq iPaqs (StrongARM 206MHz), but has keyboad and
runs Linux originally, not Windows.
And it runs Java which means that a lot of applets written
for web pages or for cell phones or for other gadgets will work on it!
It plays mp3/divx, has office, IrDa, works with cheap CF wireless
cards, has e-mail, Opera browser, games, ssh, VoIP +
the normal PDA does. It can do TCP/IP over USB.
Things I plan to do
so if you know that someone else did it - let me know.
I do not have time to work on them right now - hopefully
in the summer.
They will be in Java in order to be usefull for Java cell-phones too:
warmup: port one of many Java Freecell to Zaurus -
add some more moves done automatically examples: moving
up cards that won't be needed any more or removing
ace from such sequence: 7H AH 6C, maybe more intelligent minesweeper
(some moves are boring)
Warsaw(Poland) Metropolitan Area public transit timetables
- general application for route/next bus search
(I haven't look around, maybe there are some already)
VoIP - getting EKG working on it - see below
Fix for some problems with binaries/libraries installed
on the SD/CF card
I had a lot of problems with libraries and binaries that
were installed on my SD card that my Zaurus can not find.
This is a small - very alpha quality
script
that works for me - it
creates links in /usr/local/lib and /usr/local/bin.
Getting extra libraries
Familiar distribution has very convenient library finder - if you miss
one you get one there
here is the link.
This is the way I encode avi with mp3 into one for Zaurus
(based on some of the above pages):
avi2ogmz.sh I use pre10 version from one of the above sites,
careful as some of the versions do not have ogg support!
Also version 1.2 of MPlayer launcher does not work for me.
1.1 does.
Networking on Zaurus
USB Networking Zaurus-Linux
Works out of box on RH 9 just add to /etc/hotplug/blacklist:
CDCEther
so CDCEther is not used (assuming you have no other CDCEther devices).
Also it works with 2.4.20-pre5-ac3 with ipaq driver (not CDCEther!!!).
Add to /etc/modules.conf on PC:
below ipaq usbserial
alias usb0 ipaq
Wireless LAN on Zaurus
I bought D-link DCF-660W for $40, plugged it in and it worked!
All I had is to go through Internet connection wizard.
Wellenreiter for wardriving
Ryan Oltman pointed me to
multisync
- relatively new, quite promising project.
In order to complete ./autogen.sh sucessfully on Red Hat 7.3 run
it with --disable-bonobotest option. There are some problems though:
addres lines are missing, sometimes contacts data is doubled,
sometimes it disappears if Z goes to ssupend while synchoronization is on.
Synchronization between Zaurus and Evolution is kind of a problem.
The best would be if zaurus could use pilot-link - don't know if this
is possible. Temporarily I did some work on
zesync written by Chayim I. Kirsh
(added scp and completely rewritten
Evolution to Zaurus calendar synchronization).
I took over zesync project at SF from Chayim and released this
as 0.3. However I think I will not work on it any more as
it looks like writing my own very simple PIM in Java that
uses same files as Evolution is a much better idea.
At the moment I simply use multisync.
There are other projects, there is one pased on Perl:
search for evolution-sync.pl and/or evolution-addbk-dump.pl.
Polish-English and English-Polish dictionary based on SAP
I made a binary package of
SAP dictionary
for Zaurus - no GUI yet, though.
Also currently I can not test package since I have something broken
in my ipkg. Just install binary from
here manually to /usr/bin/
and put dictionary files to /usr/lib/sap (can be link).
The dictionary is alpha quality - a lot of words a missing,
there are words translated incorrectly.
VoIP on Zaurus
I know 3: zmeetinng, tkcphone and EKG.
Regarding jack - itis a standard 3.5" stereo jack.
Microphone is read from left channel so if you have reasonable headphones
you can use the left speaker instead of microphone.
EKG
Haven't started testing VoIP yet. however I succesfully
compiled and run IM with EKG. Here is the
homepage of EKG(Unfortunately in Polish only).
Here is binary of ekg compiled by me and tested
on SL-5500 with OZ 3.2 and OPIE 0.9.9. Requires libraries libgsm,
libncurses and libz. The first one I got from
the Familiar Project.
It looks like this
zmeeting
My first try was unsuccessfull:
no voice from PC to Z
just noise instead of voice from Z to PC
chat from PC to Z was OK
chat from Z to PC did not work
Accessories for Zaurus
802.11b
Got D-link DCF-660W - works out of box. No opinion on power usage though
(that was the main compalint about DCF-650W).
modem
Got Targus PAU... works out of box.
There is Java Answering Machine that may work with Z:
T.O.J.A.M.
Zaurus is normally a USB client - not host. You need to buy an expensive
CF USB card like this one
power
Info posted on zaurus-general:
Ecovell USB charger for iPAQ from shopping.yahoo.com.
more convenient USB cable
ZThinCable USB is a replacement for standard cradle - and it allows
charging via USB from PC. Alse, when one has USB charger that can be plugged
into cigarette lighter adapter - it can be used for charging in your car.
Development for Zaurus on Linux
I think the simplest to start is Java for gtraphics and C
for command line. For more see below.
OPIEdev Live CD
This is soething new and probably very hot (haven't tried yet)
done by Werner Schulte :
you download and burn CD and then just use it - all the software needed
for development for OPIE should be on it.
In Red Hat you need binutils-cross-arm and glibc-arm.
Also you need dynamic libraries you plan to use.
Then simply use arm-linux-... tools instead of normal ones
and remmeber to give right directories for includes and linking.
QT/C++
You need qtopia for that.
Follow
these instructions.
I failed since I do not want to go cback to gcc 2.95 that is
required.
Zaurus has evm Jeode virtual machine. It is best to
build first full .ipk file as it is suggested here:
http://www.zaurus.com/dev/support/jaav.htm in
Java Programming Guide and Jeode Runtime on the Zaurus.
Java on Zaurus is a an implementation of Personal Java described on
Sun pages
Get python and pyqt files (or any other you may need).
There is also an example you can try.
though example does not fully work (does not quit).
On Linux
qtpe is supported in recent versions of PyQt. But the trick is that
it is disabled by default so if you use rpm you need to make your own.
You need to apply these changes to spec file:
find where build.py is called: add -a tag to the command line
like this:
A very nice site with a lot of info.
Synchronization soft is supposed to be here:
http://www.trolltech.com/download/qtopia/
I got driver in 2.4.21-pre5 - does not work for me ... :(
Instructions:
Running 3.2 and OPIE 0.99 - I like it much more than original
ROM. The only complaint is that konqueror is inferior to Opera
- occasionally hangs. Though it does have tabbed browsing.
Installation is simple:
this