Linux coming to a Visor near you?

I'm about to order a Handspring as soon as I can, and I think
that the idea of having linux on a handspring is a wonderful idea.
I am a hardcore Linux user, and PalmOS is great, but Linux
is even BETTER. Good luck to whoever might be producing
that module, and make sure to make it RIGHT.
Thanks

Not only is the Springboards revolutionary in the "Palm Economy" but, that ability to over-ride the PalmOS is fantastic. Imagine a Linux "shell" specifically designed for a Visor. I hope RedHat or some other Linux distro sees this opportunity and makes a linux module asap.

linux on a handheld would be great... efficient OS, open sourced, and a large base of basic applications. Make a clean linux kernel, give it killer power management, and throw a simple gui and you could make a killing.

On the other hand; BEos could make a incredible handheld too. They have ATTRACTIVE INTERFACES down to an art. palmOS is fast and functional; but it could look so much better, with little to no performance cost.

I think if everyone gives the handheld OS a shot; and we have an enviroment which supports swapping our OS like candy, we could all prove the best for it. Maybe there should be a directive established to standardise the way these different OS's store there databases. That would allow us to go from OS to OS without the headaches we have as PC users.

What might be better still would be to make thin linux machine on a springboard. Give it a hardrrive cable. Give it a network card. and a power supply. make a tiny WEB SERVER. or File Server! and plug it into a visor to control it. Who says a springboard is supposed to be a slave to a visor; why not make the visor a slave to the springboard.

Check out http://www.uclinux.org/ for work already done getting Linux to run on a Pilot.

If I could get Linux on a springboard module, I'd buy it tomorrow. This would be a great option, in particular if the drivers/modules were optimized for the Visor hardware.

Okay, I'm into Linux. I'm into OS/2. I'm into basically anything non-Microsoft. I've used the Newton, I'm a long Palm user. But I utterly, completely, and totally fail to see any _tangible_ benefit to running Linux on a Palm? Frankly, it reeks of Windows CE. Is this thing a portable PC, or a digital organizer? Jeff Hawkins got it right the first time; be a PDA, not a PPC. PPC's are basically laptops, only smaller and more limited. If people wanted them, Palm would be long dead. We (people) don't want itty-bitty computers. We want human-sized computers with portable data-entry tools (ie. PDA's). Hence Palm's popularity. That is the _one_ thing that's truly right about Palm. And having Linux (which most mainstream users don't understand anyway) on a Palm is about the stupidest anti-The_Whole_Point_Of_Palm thing I've ever heard. Flame away.

gazo@mnsi.net

The OS on a handheld is not the be-all and end-all. It's all about what the device is useful for, and how well it fits its target uses.
At the moment, Palm OS devices are the best on the market: the OS is the fastest and most efficient, but the applications are streamlined, easy to use and well designed. It targets exactly what the vast majority of users want, in a simple, no-brainer format.

Where Windows CE has fallen down is that it doesn't recognise this, and tries to duplicate a PC. This is actually a good idea from a marketer's point of view, but lousy for the user.
EPOC is little more efficient, and has very powerful apps. One of its key advantages, especially to the mobile phone companies that have gotten into bed with Symbian, is that it is modular. These companies realise that the user interface is all the user will care about, and are happy to let someone else (Psion) take care of the backend.

I can see the how some people would get excited over having Linux on a Palm system, but I fail to really see the point. If you put the full complexity of a PC-targetted app onto a Palm form factor, you get a mess.
If you just want simple programs, why redesign the wheel?

Frankly, Handspring has made a major promise to the community with Springboard. Because of the way that the software for a Springboard is included on the module, even if it is a GPS or MP3 player or what have you, Springboard virtually _requires_ the Palm OS. So if Handspring is planning to release alternative OS handhelds, they'd better make _damn_ sure that these are Springboard compatible, meaning that alt OS devices can emulate the Palm OS. If Springboard turns out to be a one-trick poney for Visor only, and is abandoned as soon as the Palm OS is out dated, Handspring is going to have some very irate customers and vendors. If they tried to pull this, they'd have a hard time getting anyone to trust them again.

So it looks like Handspring is stuck with Palm OS and things that emulate it for the forseeable future.

I think it's an intriguing idea.. but, right now, a Visor owner cant even hotsync from linux.

Further, linux support for USB (which is what the Visor cradle uses) is non-existent. Therefore to be able to hotsync on linux would require a new kernel with the Visor specifically in mind.

Lets prioritize first!

-Yursil

Ok, but it should be able to run PalmOS software.

It is so great to hear such a direction. I just wonder when it is available

There already is a version of Linux that will run on an 8MB palm. How difficult would it be to recompile the kernel for a Visor?

Sweet, gimme.

I see no benefit. Linux would bring its own desktop legacy down to a PDA, much like Windows CE. Linux is a UNIX clone, and UNIX designers never even thought about handheld computers.

What does Linux bring to the table? Certainly not a large PDA application base or PDA-scale efficiency. Keep it clean and simple!

If Linux is made available most of the world will need RedGlove(as in Hat) support to use it. Keep it simple and keep it open.

I'm a Palm III oner and a long-time BeOS user. I just ordered a Visor Deluxe. You are all overlooking the logistics of the issue. Any alternate OS would have to run off of a Springboard module or somehow be loaded in to RAM as a patch to the PalmOS. If it runs via Springboard, it means no Springboard modules while running the Alt OS. Visors don't have Flash RAM which means that replacing the OS is out of the question. Also, as sad as it is, virtually no software for either BeOS or Linux is structured to support _every_ architecture. It would be almost useless to run any of the existing apps. Sad...but true.

WOW! wouldn't THAT be awesome!?!

so far, i think the PalmOS-powered devices are great. i went and bought a IIIx before i knew that Handspring even existed. had i known, i would have waited for the Visor and ordered one of THOSE.... hmmmm....

i'm impressed with what i've heard about the Visor so far, and i've been recommending it to everyone i know.

What you have to ask yourself is why you would like
to have linux on a device; if it is only to the same
thing palmOs is already doing, it is probably not
worth it; PalmOS is very well designed, usabilitywise.

If, on the other hand, you want linux to be able to run
all kinds of linux software (which I do), then you really
need to address the need for a keyboard of some kind,
working with many applications simply demand a quicker
way to enter data than handwriting can accomplish (and
I do want to use a real shell, which is a pain with hand-
writing). Give me a way to connect a one-hand keyboarsd
and I'll be happy.

BeOS makes more sense than Linux on the Visor. Linux is complex enough for the average user. The only advantage that Linux brings is that it is open source. I don't think that most users care about this. BeOS is just as powerful as Linux, plus it is 10x easier to use. Not to mention it doesn't contain the legacy baggage.

Although I am a current user of a Palm III I would have no qualms whatsoever about jumping ship onto the Handspring Linux Palm device bandwagon. No thanks on the BeOS or Apple oferings. Not interested. I have seen the future and the future is free OS's.