Starting out mobile, with a PDA (IPAQ H2200)

[blackbelt_jones]

For a long time I've been dreaming of getting a laptop so I could write and take notes away from home, but when I started to look into mobile computing, the idea of using a PDA just seemed to make more sense. You can't really carry a laptop with you everywhere, but a PDA could fit in my pocket.

And a little research tells me that there's at least one linux distro designed for PDAs, Angstrom. I know nothing about PDAs, but it seemed to me that if I don't spend too much money, I can jump in and make my mistakes.

So I'm bidding on an ipaq h2200 at EBAY. I know that there's a version of Angstrom designed for this particular model, so it seemed like a reasonable place to start. The bidding ends Saturday, and right now I'm only on the hook for about 19 dollars, including shipping. If I win the item, I'm going to also order a tiny little keyboard.

I'm interested in using emacs to edit text, using wifi to upload text to my blog and surf the web, and using usb to transfer text back and forth to and from my desktop computers. Is there anything I should know? Cause right now I'm just flying blind.

[blackbelt_jones]

Well I won the HP IPAQ (bidding went up to sixty dollars, not bad) and it arrived yesterday. It came with some sort of Windows OS, a docking cradle, and a disk of software for synching with my PC. But I don't have Windows on the PC, so that's no good. I did try running the synching software with Wine. It didn't work, but that's no matter. I didn't buy this thing so I could run Windows on it.

There are several methods for running Linux on an IPAQ H2200, but what they all have in common is that I don't understand any of them. One method that seems interesting to me is to boot the OS from a Compact Flash Card, since that doesn't seem to require networking a windows PDA with a Linux computer. So I bought one off EBAY. Actually, I bought two, but the first one was the wrong type. In my opinion, buying CF cards online can be pretty confusing. I can't be the first person who thought that this

http://i15.ebayimg.com/06/i/001/0d/ed/7965_2.JPG

was a type 2 CF card. Hopefully I can install the flash card reader that I have, and it will handle this format.

There's a lot to work out. My long term goal is to use the pda to write, read and edit text using emacs and less. Anything else will be gravy.

[glasdave]

Cool, glad you got it. I just recently bought a ipaq 3835 and as soon as I can get abit more time, will try using it with Raki,which I got from the k/unbuntu repositories. Good luck and keep us posted, I'll do the same.

[blackbelt_jones]

Cool, glad you got it. I just recently bought a ipaq 3835 and as soon as I can get abit more time, will try using it with Raki,which I got from the k/unbuntu repositories. Good luck and keep us posted, I'll do the same.


Thanks., and please do. I have a lot of questions, and it's hard to find current answers. I'm making a lot of mistakes, and I mean hardware mistakes. Mistakes that cost money! I don't know anything about wi-fi, bluetooth, SD and CF memeory cards. Will fill in the details later.

[klackenfus]

I've tried them all:

Palm

Windows Mobile

Three Blackberries

I can't live without my Blackberry 8820.

[blackbelt_jones]

Here's where I am now, and it isn't very far along. It appears that you can boot Linux from a secure digital (SD) card, which fits my IPAQ. Before I was only aware that you could boot Linux from a compact flash CF card, which doesn't fit my machine (there must be some kind of avaliable reader for the CF cards, but I'd like to not spend any more money for a while. I've spent 40 bucks on flash cards that didn't fit, and I bought a keyboard for 30 dollars that I seem to have actually broken when I opened the package! :(
Why, yes, I am an idiot, thanks for asking!:rolleyes:

But I do have a couple of SD cards that work, and if I could use them to boot Linux that would be awesome.

There's so much that I haven't really had to learn in my insular desktop PC world. Stuff like WIFI and bluetooth, and I've never really had a chance to notice the difference between SD and CF cards.

All I'm doing right now with the IPAQ is using it offline with Windows. I installed XP on my computer in a dual boot, and I'm using the Windows software to uplaod to the Unit. It's great for studying computer books in HTML format, because it keeps my place for me. I'm using it to study the RUTE (http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz). Three or four of those little screens exhaust my attention span, and so I turn it off, but when I turn it back on, I don't have to search for the same spot, I'm right there! This alone may be worth the 150 dollars I've invested so far.

[psych-major]

I've tried them all:

Palm

Windows Mobile

Three Blackberries

I can't live without my Blackberry 8820.I'm really happy with my Palm Centro, but I do miss the slightly more comfortable keyboard that my Treo 650 had.

Palm is allegedly porting their time tested OS to a native Linux platform. It should be released in 2007, um 2008, err 2009...well, who knows anymore...

[psych-major]

Before I was only aware that you could boot Linux from a compact flash CF card, which doesn't fit my machine (there must be some kind of available reader for the CF cards, but I'd like to not spend any more money for a while. SD cards, Sony memory sticks, Compact Flash cards are all essentially the same thing, just different physical formats.

SD cards are ridiculously cheap now, I got my 4 gig one for $25.00, and they've come down more since then even.

[trilarian]

I can't live without my Blackberry 8820.

I have to agree here...

Initially work gave me a BB so I could keep in touch through email while out of office. They also had a SSH program I could remote into the servers with (very small screen for lengthy remote sessions though...).

I'm currently using a 8330 and love it. It is still small enough to fit into my pocket, but has a full qwerty and near seamless integration with my groupwise email accounts. The 3G is nice, but I really wish Verizon would stop stripping wi-fi from their models. I mean I already pay for an unlimited data package, can't they stomach me connecting to the local wi-fi for faster browsing?

The only drawback I see with the BB's (other than Verizon's stripping of wi-fi) is Internet browsing is no where as easy and nice as the larger touch screens out now. The BB Storm is a joke, and I have never like Apple's policies on software distribution.

The G1 (http://www.google-phone.com/) looks very interesting, but again... no model for Verizon (which IF they ever do they'll probably strip the wi-fi). AT&T around here just plain sucks. It doesn't matter how nice the phone is, if you drop 90% of your calls, get all your text for the weekend on Monday in one massive shipment, and lose signal on a clear day standing on a roof with an antenna in your hand while wrapped in tin foil... well yea you get the idea.

SD cards are ridiculously cheap now, I got my 4 gig one for $25.00

You payed too much! Ha ha... I have an 8GB chip now and it ran me $19.99 with 3-day shipping.

@blackbelt_jones: Congrats on your new toy and welcome to the modern world! Laptops are a thing of the past. I have two sitting at home collecting dust that haven't been turned on in over two years. Back when I was in college it was nice to have, as I spent a lot of time in the lab and it was nice to have the easy reference of the Internet. Now-a-days, either a computer is easily found (how many friends/family do you have left that don't have a computer?), you're at work (where there is a computer), or your phone is advanced enough to use while in the car in between the above mentioned places. :)

[psych-major]

I have to agree here...
You payed too much! Ha ha... I have an 8GB chip now and it ran me $19.99 with 3-day shipping.I actually bought it almost a year ago, and was in a hurry so got it local. It's a micro-SD so that's probably part of the cost too.

[trilarian]

I bought mine about 4-6 months ago now. I just did a google search and picked the top one. Never ceases to amaze me... 8GB on such a small chip (micro also - came with an encasing for standard size)... I still remember the idiot salesman who told me I would never be able to fill the drive up and was wasting my money when I bought my first storage upgrade - a 100MB hard drive...:eek: