On 29 Jun 2009, at 13:53, dhk wrote:
...
What do I do at this point to communicate with the device?
Are you sure the device should appear as a mass storage device? That
appears to be what you're expecting, but I don't find that clear at
all.
No, I'm not sure how the device should appear. However, I thought it
should look like any other disk or usb stick since it currently has a
Microsoft CE on it, which I want to change to Gentoo.
I don't think that's a reasonable conclusion _at all_.
If the scanner plugs into a Windows PC and appears as a disk drive
then, sure, I'd expect to be able to treat it the same under Linux.
But, assuming it plugs into a Windows PC at all, it's more likely that
the manufacturer's software (which you'll need on the PC anyway, to
handle barcode & stock-control data?) talks to it over in some
proprietary-over-serial format.
Finally, can you even install Linux on this scanner? Chances are its
processor is ARM - Linux will run on that architecture, but you won't
be able to chroot in from your x86 box & install GRUB.
Chances are that this scanner is some kind of rebadged HP iPaq or
something, onto which Linux has been / can be cludged onto, but you
seem to be making a lot of assumptions ahead of time.
Stroller.
