This is a nifty little box! Kind of like a "Linux iMac", but probably not for beginners. An auxiliary server with nfs and tftp is pretty much a must for these things, with no floppy or cdrom they are tough nuts to crack!
The way to "recover" a pre-owned netwinder without a root password involves net-booting a debian rescue image. It is non-trivial, but I managed to get the job done, and maybe learned a bit in the process.
I think I am going to retire the HP9000 715/80 as my Hurd debugger box and go with the new guy instead. The Netwinder has the fascinating possibility of being the second host platform for the GNU OS. You can bet I'll be trying to compile gnumach and oskit on this little thing.
It seems kind of strange, but if it worked, you could run the Hurd on a Compaq iPaq and all kinds of SA1110 PDA's. Why you would want to do this is beyond me, but it does seem intriguing.
Party on Hurdsters!