[kdepim-users] SURVEY: PDA with Embedded Linux?

[Homo ludens]

On Tuesday 29 January 2008 20:00:32 kdepim-users-request at kde.org wrote:
> Message: 9
> Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:37:29 -0600
> From: Jonathan Wilson <jw at mailsw.com>
> Subject: Re: [kdepim-users] SURVEY: PDA with Embedded Linux?
> To: kdepim-users at kde.org
> Message-ID: <200801282337.30130.jw at mailsw.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
>

> Hey! Why are you asking, I'm very curious to know? :-)
> You did not give any details.
>
> I've been lurking on this list for EIGHT YEARS waiting for consistent PIM
> Synchronization support in KDE. Yes, there are things that work from time
> to time, but it's always ebbing and tiding. Some KDE releases things work,
> and the next one everything is broken and "Oh, we're writing a new
> framework" or "Oh, yeah, we're waiting on the next KDE Libs release so we
> can gut the core code and rewrite it".
>
> I'm nearly dying for the Synch stuff to be given priority. I mean, realy,
> dedicated, important priority. Kontact/KMail works great, please, give some
> attention to these other needs :-)
>
> I've had several iPaqs runnign Linux. Right now for daily use I have an
> iPaq rx3115 still running Windows Mobile 5 (for shame ;-) because it just
> works better and at least I can get reliable backups of it.
>
> But! I have a iPaq 3870 series with SD card slot and Bluetooth. It has
> Familiar/OPIE installed. I have the CF card sleeve (which makes it
> wonderfully easy to install Linux on) and all the rest.  I don't really use
> it, it's been sitting around awaiting the great day for testing. If it had
> 100% compatible, reliable KDE sync that REALLY worked and didn't
> change/dissappear between releases I would dance a jig.
>
> Old iPaqs for testing can be had pretty cheap:
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-IPAQ-3800-H3835_W0QQitemZ200195469178QQihZ010QQc
>ategoryZ38331QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
>
> For Question B: Not right now, I'vemade it work with old-old-Kitchensync
> (which is not at all the same as the app that goes by that name now) and
> alsi with . . . I think it was called OpenSync.
>
> Oh, that some dedicated developer would make this work for good. And
> Windows Mobile support too - there are many business people who will use
> Linux on their workstations that might never get up the gumption to install
> Linux on their handheld. Also, in some cases they wont' want to - for
> example I own several PocketPC applications that are wonderful, and there
> is just no Familiar/OPIE equivalent.
>
> Once again I ask: why are you asking? Are you going to start development?
>
>         JW

JW:

I wish I had any programming knowledge so that I could contribute to improving 
the synchronization issue, but alas I'm just a humble end-user ... :(

The reason I was asking about handhelds is simply: I tried a couple of sync 
applications, but am not too happy with them (KPilot works with Kontact but 
has flaws; JPilot works flawless but is not integrated; and I haven't been 
able yet to get Multi/Kitchen/OpenSync working, although I intend to check 
them out next). I do love Kontact though and would like to stay within a 
Linux environment, so I was thinking perhaps I should simply ditch my Palm 
and switch to a Linux-embedded-based PDA. I suspected that running the same 
applications on both the desktop & the PDA might make synchronization 
simpler.

Thanks for your feedback! Hm, iPaq sems to be the way to go, hm? You don't 
find them too large / unwieldy? (I've just gotten so used to my Clie ...)

I sincerely hope, too, that the synchronization framework will be improved in 
the near future; without doubt it would make Linux more attractive to 
business users, and would therefore help spread it (most people I know are 
hooked on their Blackberry, though, and I don't think there is much work done 
on integrating that, is there?)

Cheers,

homo ludens

PS: Hm, just wondering: What kind of skills  would you actually need to be 
able to work in development? Familiarity with Qt, C, and Perl, or something 
like that?

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