2008/9/11 martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > What are the advantages of running Angstrom on Pocket PC over Windows > > Mobile(some sort of program which has no alternative on Windows Mobile > > etc)? > > I mean is there anything particular what Angstrom is capable of > > and Windows Mobile is not?
I've been using Angstrom for all of 5 days, and have found it to be a brilliant but very uncut gem. So far, Angstrom in its current state feels like linux distros of the mid to late 1990s - the vast abundance of free software, hampered by heaps of end-user usability problems. Lots of script hacking needed for even basic tasks, such as networking through a cellphone. For PDA end users, PocketPC is way superior - its office apps PocketWord, PocketExcel, the PIM apps and the 3rd party Acrobat Reader make a ridiculous and humiliating embarrassment out of AbiWord, Gnumeric, GPE PIM apps and Evince, respectively. And for PocketPC, there are heaps of 3rd party apps available, most of which are similarly polished - at a price. Visually, PocketPC is clean, fast and attractive. Nearly all configuration tasks can be accomplished through reasonably coherent dialogs. On the other hand, Angstrom is slow, cluttered and ugly. Many or most configuration tasks require in-depth knowledge and script-hacking, even porting of code not yet present in the OE tree. But for developers seeking a liberating platform with vast resources of free code available on-tap, Angstrom shines brilliantly. On Thu, 2008-09-11 at 02:43 +0200, Ian Bonham wrote: > I don't think so mate. > > Angstrom has devolved into a mess, destroying OZ, and evolution on many > devices. OpenZaurus had a target for Zaurus machines. Then Angstrom came > along, pretending to be everything and delivering nothing. Not quite true - Angstrom has delivered a good foundation - and is the only free OS which currently supports iPaq 4000 series. For someone willing to get their hands dirty cutting a bit of code, it's a dream. > The OE devs are so up themselves they have totally forgotten the people that > came to the project in the first place. > > I'm signing off this list on sat, as I'm just so bored of Koen and his > attitude to people he may bring in to help develop OE. > > TBH, stick with Windows if u want a working device. It's sad when a promising development triggers negative feeling like this. There are signs that end-user usability may have dropped in the overall project priorities - I do hope I'm wrong here. But from what I can see, GPE as the officially supported application platform is full of holes. Major areas of configuration can not be performed through the dialogs, and there are some big annoyances, such as /etc/resolv.conf getting truncated on reboot. I'll be spending some more time on Angstrom to see if I can come up with an application software mix - my own code and code from others - that results in a usable PDA that beats PocketPC. But if I hit too many pot-holes along the way, I just might be forced to eventually grit my teeth, put on the gas-mask and learn the MS EVC tools. Cheers David _______________________________________________ Angstrom-distro-users mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxtogo.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/angstrom-distro-users
