Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Thu, 22 Mar 2001, Jim Richardson wrote: >On Thu, Mar 22, 2001 at 07:54:42AM +0100, Jonathan Gift wrote: >> Jim Richardson wrote: >> >> > the older IIIX(E) series, the new m100 is smaller) If all you are going >> > to do is take notes, then you can get the cheaper 2MB visor, but if you >> >> Yes, just notes. I assume Visor uses the Palm OS and apps/applets? Would >> it be better to get more ram, if so, why? > > >Yes, the visor uses PalmOS, as a licencee from the Palm folks. > as an aside, the visor is produced by the folks who originally did the >palm itself, they split off to form Handspring inc and build the visor. > >> >> > Ipaq, (expensive and hard to get) can use linux, I don't know how well >> > they work as a pda though. Anyway, for price and convenience, go with a >> > visor or palm. >> >> How does it use Linux. If it's to present the same front end as the >> others, then it's of limited interest. If it's to give you a command >> prompt and run vi, that's another story... > >you get a cmd line, or the gui front end, or both, your choice. /me imagines a pilot 5000 with X.:) > -- There is no problem so great that it cannot be solved with suitable application of High Explosives. Who is John Galt? [EMAIL PROTECTED], that's who!
Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Thu, Mar 22, 2001 at 07:54:42AM +0100, Jonathan Gift wrote: > Jim Richardson wrote: > > > the older IIIX(E) series, the new m100 is smaller) If all you are going > > to do is take notes, then you can get the cheaper 2MB visor, but if you > > Yes, just notes. I assume Visor uses the Palm OS and apps/applets? Would > it be better to get more ram, if so, why? Yes, the visor uses PalmOS, as a licencee from the Palm folks. as an aside, the visor is produced by the folks who originally did the palm itself, they split off to form Handspring inc and build the visor. > > > Ipaq, (expensive and hard to get) can use linux, I don't know how well > > they work as a pda though. Anyway, for price and convenience, go with a > > visor or palm. > > How does it use Linux. If it's to present the same front end as the > others, then it's of limited interest. If it's to give you a command > prompt and run vi, that's another story... you get a cmd line, or the gui front end, or both, your choice. -- Jim Richardson Anarchist, pagan and proud of it WWW.eskimo.com/~warlock Linux, because life's too short for a buggy OS.
Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Thu, Mar 22, 2001 at 07:56:42AM +0100, Jonathan Gift wrote: > > This sounds very interesting. Does it run Linux default and I can > install Vim? I'll pop on the url. > Vim is a pita with a stylus, using a kbd (external, via telnet or something) is fine, but with a stylus, it's just not as useful imho. -- Jim Richardson Anarchist, pagan and proud of it WWW.eskimo.com/~warlock Linux, because life's too short for a buggy OS.
Re: OT: Best PDA?
Jonathan Gift <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > The nice thing about the Agenda is that it is really a pretty standard > > Linux system in a small package. The VR3d has a 66 MHz MIPS > > This sounds very interesting. Does it run Linux default and I can > install Vim? I'll pop on the url. Linux is its only operating system. Vim is not included in the software supplied by Agenda Computing, but someone has already ported it (see the Applications section of http://supermegamulti.com/agenda/). Ed
Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Thu, 22 Mar 2001 07:59:40 +0100, Jonathan Gift writes: >The Palm comes with a keyboard? No, but you can purchase an add-on keyboard, which IMHO is *quite* worth the bucks if you´re gonna type more than the occasional note. cheers, &rw -- / Ing. Robert Waldner | Network Engineer | T: +43 1 89933 F: x533 \ \ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> |KPNQwest/AT | DSA key ID: C33A2BC0 /
Re: OT: Best PDA?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > (www.agendacomputing.com and dev.agendacomputing.com). I find it > quite usable for note taking if I use the on-screen keyboard instead > of the hand writing recognition, which needs more work. Ok, thanks. I'll pop on the site and have a look. > > The nice thing about the Agenda is that it is really a pretty standard > Linux system in a small package. The VR3d has a 66 MHz MIPS This sounds very interesting. Does it run Linux default and I can install Vim? I'll pop on the url. Thanks. Jonathan -- \\ (0)~~\ |_) Jonathan Gift [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: OT: Best PDA?
Jonathan Markevich wrote: > > I have a Palm and it's awesome with Linux, provided you get the right tools. > jpilot is very good, and the mail plugin works 95% (you have to manually > delete sent items). Which model and if you use email, then do you have to purchase any add-ins? > minutes), but if you really really don't like it, there are several > keyboards available, I use (and love) the GoType! from Landware, though the > Palm portable keyboard is full-size. For editors, most agree that pedit is The Palm comes with a keyboard? > If you want full word-processing features (but less text-manipulation No, straight text is enough... Thanks for the feedback. Jonathan -- \\ (0)~~\ |_) Jonathan Gift [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: OT: Best PDA?
Jim Richardson wrote: > > Take the time and learn graffiti, it's fast, and accurate. Most of the > handwriting recog programs suck, they are either too slow, or It's what I wanted to know, thanks. > the older IIIX(E) series, the new m100 is smaller) If all you are going > to do is take notes, then you can get the cheaper 2MB visor, but if you Yes, just notes. I assume Visor uses the Palm OS and apps/applets? Would it be better to get more ram, if so, why? > Ipaq, (expensive and hard to get) can use linux, I don't know how well > they work as a pda though. Anyway, for price and convenience, go with a > visor or palm. How does it use Linux. If it's to present the same front end as the others, then it's of limited interest. If it's to give you a command prompt and run vi, that's another story... Thanks. Jonathan -- \\ (0)~~\ |_) Jonathan Gift [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Wed, Mar 21, 2001 at 12:13:16PM +0100, Jonathan Gift wrote: > Hi, > > I'm looking to make my debian more mobile by hooking up a PDA. Last I > looked, the Palm OS dominated, only I didn't like learning its language. > Is there anything else or is it worth learning after all? My primary > use will be for making text notes. Or, let's say, adapting text notes > made on the desktop and moved over. > > Thanks, > > Jonathan > > Take the time and learn graffiti, it's fast, and accurate. Most of the handwriting recog programs suck, they are either too slow, or inaccurate, or both. Get a visor instead of the palm. I have the palm, bought my wife the visor, and wish I could trade. The palm is not as sturdy as the visor, and is slightly wider than the visor. (this is for the older IIIX(E) series, the new m100 is smaller) If all you are going to do is take notes, then you can get the cheaper 2MB visor, but if you are like me, you'll wind up installing stuff and would miss the extra ram. Although with the visor you can add a ram expansion via the springboard slot. Anyway. I prefer the visor enough that I will be replacing my palm with one in a month or less. Another option is the Agenda (www.agendacomputing.com) if you want to be linuxised, but frankly, I have one, and it's no replacement for a pilot or visor. It's cool, and it has promise (it's in developement now) Pocket PC is another option, but I have little experience with them. Ipaq, (expensive and hard to get) can use linux, I don't know how well they work as a pda though. Anyway, for price and convenience, go with a visor or palm. Just my $0.02 worth. -- Jim Richardson Anarchist, pagan and proud of it WWW.eskimo.com/~warlock Linux, because life's too short for a buggy OS.
Re: OT: Best PDA?
On Wed, Mar 21, 2001 at 02:23:10PM +0100, Andre Berger wrote: * Jonathan Gift <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 20010321 12:20 +0100: > I'm looking to make my debian more mobile by hooking up a PDA. Last I > looked, the Palm OS dominated, only I didn't like learning its language. > Is there anything else or is it worth learning after all? My primary > use will be for making text notes. Or, let's say, adapting text notes > made on the desktop and moved over. I have a Palm and it's awesome with Linux, provided you get the right tools. jpilot is very good, and the mail plugin works 95% (you have to manually delete sent items). As far as its "language" it's not hard (most people master it in 20 minutes), but if you really really don't like it, there are several keyboards available, I use (and love) the GoType! from Landware, though the Palm portable keyboard is full-size. For editors, most agree that pedit is second to none in power, and his companion LapTopHack allows quite a bit of power to be available from the keyboard. If you want full word-processing features (but less text-manipulation features) WordSmith is very nice, and they have a Linux doc converter (although closed source). I'm on them to improve it -- they insist there is no standard for Linux conduits (I've told them 'ever heard of libpisock?') The third-party software availability for Palm machines is incredible, and although the $10-15 shareware is common, freeware is just as common. GPL stuff is out there, and growing, but it's hard to break GPL into a whole new platform, it seems. -- Jonathan Markevich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.geocities.com/jmarkevich Well, O.K. I'll compromise with my principles because of EXISTENTIAL DESPAIR!
Re: OT: Best PDA?
If you are willing to work with a PDA that is still under development (e.g., you will have to flash new software), consider the Agenda VR3d (www.agendacomputing.com and dev.agendacomputing.com). I find it quite usable for note taking if I use the on-screen keyboard instead of the hand writing recognition, which needs more work. The nice thing about the Agenda is that it is really a pretty standard Linux system in a small package. The VR3d has a 66 MHz MIPS processor, 8 MB of RAM, and 16 MB of flash. When the PDA is in its cradle (or connected via IRDA when that software is finished), it runs PPP, so from your Linux PC you can telnet, NFS mount, or synchronize files. It uses X11 with the Fast Light Tool Kit (www.fltk.org), which is available for both Linux and Windows. You can run a xterm with ash or bash. A very nice feature is usage of a journaling file system with storage in flash memory, so saved files are not vulnerable to batteries failing. There are GCC-based cross-compilation tools, and most Linux applications build directly (e.g., run autoconfig) other than changes needed to use FLTK. The web page http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~acedil1/agenda/ has a lot of practical detail. Ed
Re: OT: Best PDA?
Andre Berger wrote: > > I bought a Psion S5 second-hand a year ago. It has a keyboard, which is > very useful for taking notes, such as bibliography entries. Talking of > which, I write ASCII texts for LaTeX, same for the database (I use > "addressbook" on Linux). The database is rather poor but useable, 250 > chars/field max., limited field number per database (less than 30 IIRC, > only if you limit the fields to a very small number of characters). They > say it's easy to do programming in OPL, I can't verify this 'cause I'm > no programmer. Thanks for taking the time for a reply, including specific models. I hadn't considered them and so it's particularly useful. I'll pop on their web pages and have a look around. It looks like a whole new field out there... Jonathan -- \\ (0)~~\ |_) Jonathan Gift [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: OT: Best PDA?
* Jonathan Gift <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 20010321 12:20 +0100:
> I'm looking to make my debian more mobile by hooking up a PDA. Last I
> looked, the Palm OS dominated, only I didn't like learning its language.
> Is there anything else or is it worth learning after all? My primary
> use will be for making text notes. Or, let's say, adapting text notes
> made on the desktop and moved over.
I bought a Psion S5 second-hand a year ago. It has a keyboard, which is
very useful for taking notes, such as bibliography entries. Talking of
which, I write ASCII texts for LaTeX, same for the database (I use
"addressbook" on Linux). The database is rather poor but useable, 250
chars/field max., limited field number per database (less than 30 IIRC,
only if you limit the fields to a very small number of characters). They
say it's easy to do programming in OPL, I can't verify this 'cause I'm
no programmer.
If you decide for a Psion, my advice is to take either a S3{c,mx} --
there's an elvis port, so you can use the a vi clone! (The S5 port of
Vim is not really useable) -- or an S5{mx,mxpro), not the plain S5 I
have. The S3 has a better display, and you have Java on the S5* (not the
plain S5 I have). There's an ssh port for Java, that's why I mention it.
Do not buy a Revo, their built-in Akku has a design flaw. S5 machine
sooner or later all suffer from a "peeling" effect, meaning they're
loosing their color step by step. This is not vital, one would buy or
sell such a machine for less though. The same effect for the letters on
the keyboard. I've put transparent nail polish on the keyboard to avoid
this as soon as I bought the machine; it would be harder to sell now...
Though they say it's possible to mount the Psion (FAT16) on Linux
(there's even a .deb for the "plptools"), but I haven't managed to set
it up, the documentation is very poor. So I use minicom (Y-modem, batch)
to transfer files I've converted to plain text from the Psion to my
potato boxes (PC, Mac). Nice, high ASCII chars are converted on the fly.
You need a special cable, for modem connections also a special null
modem adapter.
Andre Berger[EMAIL PROTECTED]
OT: Best PDA?
Hi, I'm looking to make my debian more mobile by hooking up a PDA. Last I looked, the Palm OS dominated, only I didn't like learning its language. Is there anything else or is it worth learning after all? My primary use will be for making text notes. Or, let's say, adapting text notes made on the desktop and moved over. Thanks, Jonathan -- \\ (0)~~\ |_) Jonathan Gift [EMAIL PROTECTED]
