Re: Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 (linux-based PDA) rumor

On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 11:54:15 +0600, Sergei Pokrovsky wrote:
[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
>>>>>> "Robin" == Robin Parkinson <robin@troutmag.org> writes:[/color][/color]
>
> [...]
>
> Robin> Consequently when I need
> Robin> to type serious amounts of text into my Zaurus SL-5500 I use
> Robin> a Pocketop IR keyboard which isn't bad at all:
>
> A two-pocket computer, so to speak :)[/color]

Not for me, but perhaps I have big pockets. :-)
[color=blue]
> Robin> I wish Psion still made pocket computers
>
> Yes, it was extremely disloyal of Psion Plc managers to betray their
> customers. But I still see no acceptable alternative.[/color]

Symbian for mobile 'phones is coming on nicely, and some of them are well
on the way to being full-fledged PDAs, so who knows what the future may
bring?
[color=blue]
> Look, I am interested in Unix, I use it most time on my desktops; but I
> am not sure it is well suited for a PDA. E.g. it should load every
> program into RAM (I guess), it is not optimized as far as the power
> consumption is concerned; and the most important -- I do not see how one
> could reconcile the zoom capability (so convenient on Psion) with most
> of the normal Unix applications, which use plain text and require 80
> columns (console, emacs, vi, program files ...).[/color]

The state-of-the-art of Linux-based handhelds is rather more advanced than
that. If you want to learn more I'd recommend you visited
[url]http://www.handhelds.org[/url] and followed a few of the links.

And some devices zoom: for instance, the latest Zaurus, only officially
available in Japan although available as a grey import in the US and
Europe, is a clamshell device with a reasonable keyboard and a zoom
facility. Have a look at [url]http://www.dynamism.com/zaurus7xx/index.shtml[/url]

Anyway, let's not turn this into another tedious 'my PDA is better than
your PDA' thread. You're happy with your Psion, which is good. I'm happy
with my Zaurus, which is also good. Other people are happy with their
Palms, Pocket PCs, Yopys, whatevers. Some people are even happy with a
filofax, a dog-eared diary or *gasp* nothing at all! Wouldn't life be
boring if we all had the same preferences?

- Robin.

--
Trout: Slightly fishy but never coarse. [url]http://www.troutmag.org[/url]

>>>>> "Robin" == Robin Parkinson <robin@troutmag.org> writes:

[...]

Robin> Anyway, let's not turn this into another tedious 'my PDA is
Robin> better than your PDA' thread. You're happy with your Psion,
Robin> which is good. I'm happy with my Zaurus, which is also
Robin> good. Other people are happy with their Palms, Pocket PCs,
Robin> Yopys, whatevers. Some people are even happy with a filofax,
Robin> a dog-eared diary or *gasp* nothing at all! Wouldn't life be
Robin> boring if we all had the same preferences?

I am happy with my Psions (I have 2 of them :) but I am not sure, how
long they shall last. And the platform is aging, even though it
remains better suited for my needs than anything available on the
market.

That's why I am concerned: the market does not meet my needs, it
produces stupid things with lots of functionality I do not need, and
poor functionality in what I do need -- and all that at high price.
The market does not care for a marginal fraction of users like me
(roughly, the vacant ex-Psion niche) -- and this is sad.

[...]

--
Sergei

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:48:36 +0600, Sergei Pokrovsky
<pok@none.nowhere.invalid> wrote:
[color=blue]
>That's why I am concerned: the market does not meet my needs, it
>produces stupid things with lots of functionality I do not need, and
>poor functionality in what I do need -- and all that at high price.
>The market does not care for a marginal fraction of users like me
>(roughly, the vacant ex-Psion niche) -- and this is sad.[/color]

I feel exactly the same. I made sure I had enough spare Psion
systems on hand to be able to continue to use them, so I'm not
desperate, and I'm in the lucky situation of being able to do a
limited range of repairs myself. However my main Psion PDAs (5mx
and 7) are now nearly four years old. I was really hoping for a
potential replacement by now. After all, we all complained
enough about the things we thought Psion was weak on when they
appeared, and didn't really see a lot of change or support. I
thought someone would bring out something substantially better
for business use long ago.

Linux based ones still look like the most likely replacement
path, but to a casual observer, they don't seem there as yet. At
least, not as an "out of the box, just switch it on and use it"
replacement. I don't doubt that with some effort and a lot of
knowledge you can get a lot of good results out of some of the
excellent hardware now available.

I guess there is also some potential in the Nokia 7700 phone,
when it is released, but a lot of the features seem frivolous,
and not very business oriented, which I assume will add to the
cost without really increasing functionality in areas I'd be
likely to use. I'm not surprised about that, given Nokia are a
phone company, but I'm really looking for a PDA that can (often
and comprehensively) replace a desktop computer, as my Psion does
whenever I travel. Obviously Linux looks more like filling that
niche than do PalmOS or PocketPC.

--
Eric Lindsay [url]http://www.ericlindsay.com/guff[/url]
Airlie Beach Qld Australia - Great Barrier Reef entry
Psion & Epoc site [url]http://www.ericlindsay.com/epoc[/url]
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