On Thu, Feb 13, 2020 at 4:28 AM Richard Owlett <rowl...@cloud85.net> wrote:
> On 02/12/2020 05:55 AM, Richard Owlett wrote: > > > > I wish to enter/store data while away from home. The data will then be > > transferred to my laptop via a USB cable. [think a Palm Pilot in a > > smartphone physical form factor] > > > > "Palm Pilot" was the not best visualization. > A better image would be the pocket protector full of 3x5 cards a fellow > engineering student used in the early 60's. He had it organized for > quick retrieval of notes on a specific topic. > > Everything I wish to do accomplish has a direct analog to how he did > things. > > An inverse is frequently also true. > E.G. A frequent "must have" feature of a smartphone is a cell modem. The > analog would be my friend viewing someone-else's set of cards. > > Many smartphone features are of no value or are detrimental to my > intended use. Prime examples include Android OS and any graphical browser. > > What I could envision using would be Debian with a minimal MATE Desktop > and a single custom Tcl/Tk app. The bottom of the screen would have a > 4x15 character array emulating a QWERTY keyboard for input of arbitrary > alphanumeric data. Display of "retrieved data" or "data being entered" > would be handled by the Tcl/Tk app. > > > > > I think you might be a little quick to dismiss Android. It is just an OS, like Linux or Windows. It just runs the basic computer and I/O functions. Things like a cell modem are hardware controlled by apps. Just because a device uses Android as its OS, does not mean it has all the junk a typical smartphone has. Consider a handheld unit like the Zebra MC9300. A great little unit with a color touchscreen and a full keyboard. Yes, it has WiFi, but it would seem that is much more convenient that having to hook up a USB cable any time toy want to transfer data. You only load the apps you want, it comes with nothing preinstalled. It has several relatives in various physical formats. I think your desire is doable, but you might have to open your mind a bit and consider other options to accomplish what you want. As others have mentioned, it will be tough to find a production device that is opened enough to change operating systems without voiding the warranty. Michael _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
