On Fri, 9 Nov 2001, Ohshima, Yoshiki wrote:

>   I'm just curious, but given that you're interested in
> Squeak'ing on iPAQ, what is the *practical* reason to avoid
> WinCE and to go for Linux (or SqueakNOS-ish) OS?  I don't
> like Microsoft too much, but so far I haven't find any good
> reason to justify to switch to Linux.

I have no particular affinity for Linux over anything else in this case.
My reasons for wanting to use Linux are such:

1. The ability to take advantage of C libraries that are already out
there.  This could be done with extra work with SqueakNOS, but using them
with either Linux or WinCE is pretty trivial.

2.  Bootloader, drivers and other low-level work has been done already.  I
have not the desire or the ability to do all of that work. (SqueakNOS is
disqualified here)  If someone is willing to do it, I'm totally for it-
but thus far, SqueakNOS only runs on x86 hardware- if someone does a
working port of SqueakNOS to the iPAQ, I'll gladly use it.

3.  I want to be able to put Squeak in ROM to save space.  If I want
pretty much only Squeak, but still want the above, I need to dump WinCE
and use a Linux+Squeak ROM image.

4. I have no Windows machines.  I'd like to have a setup that I can
communicate with from home.  While I have a spare 486 in the house on
which I could install Windows 95, that would be quite sub-optimal.

Unlike, for instance, the Slashdot crowd, I do not want a PDA that runs
Linux just for the "cool" factor.  My most basic desire in a PDA is a
device that has all the low-level and HWR work done, with a dynamic,
high-level language that I can program it in.  That way, I can never be
truly abandoned.

>   FYI, if you really interested in Linux PDA, Sharp's coming
> PDA for US market seems pretty impressive platform.  The
> hardware has two media slots and retractable keyboard in
> almost the same size of body as iPAQ and it uses Embedix as
> the OS and they seems to allow you to recompile the
> kernel. (I don't know how far they allow us to go, though.)
> Right now, you can order it with $399 dollars.
>
> http://developer.sharpsec.com

That is a really cool looking device.  And it runs QPE, which also runs on
the iPAQ.  Unfortunately, this new Sharp jobbie is more than twice the
price of a greyscale iPAQ.  Outside of my
lowly-student-and-ecology-researcher budget.


Regards,
Aaron

  Aaron Reichow  ::  UMD ACM Pres  ::  http://www.d.umn.edu/~reic0024/
"truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies." :: r. w. emerson