Linux on a PDA

[DoubleG]

Does anyone here use Linux on a PDA for regular usage? I am really interested in creating a small system that I can use as an alarm clock, MP3 player, GPS, etc. I know it's possible to do all these things with a desktop machine running some distro of Linux, but I want to make it work with something a little easier to carry on my person than a laptop. If I could get it to run WindowMaker as the front interface, that would be icing on the cake (although I don't mind if I have to use something else due to the limited screen size or lack of right-click).

Has anyone on this forum pulled off Linux on a PDA by any chance?

[mlau]

Originally Posted by DoubleG

Does anyone here use Linux on a PDA for regular usage? I am really interested in creating a small system that I can use as an alarm clock, MP3 player, GPS, etc. I know it's possible to do all these things with a desktop machine running some distro of Linux, but I want to make it work with something a little easier to carry on my person than a laptop. If I could get it to run WindowMaker as the front interface, that would be icing on the cake (although I don't mind if I have to use something else due to the limited screen size or lack of right-click).

Has anyone on this forum pulled off Linux on a PDA by any chance?

I used to run Familiar Linux on my (now dead) iPaq a few years
ago. (Man do I miss it... the Opie GUIwas so much better than WinCE,
even CE6 can't touch it IMHO)

What device are you referring to? Most PDA's are "unique", in
that you have to add explicit board support to the kernel, as
well as find out device addresses/irq hierarchy, etc

[DoubleG]

Originally Posted by mlau

What device are you referring to? Most PDA's are "unique", in
that you have to add explicit board support to the kernel, as
well as find out device addresses/irq hierarchy, etc

Didn't really have a device in mind (my level of knowledge of PDAs is rather small) -- if I were to purchase a PDA to do a project like this, would there be a certain type I'd want to buy to ensure maximum Linux compatibility (kinda like the *BSD folks recommend Thinkpad X-series notebooks to run their OS mobile)?

[mlau]

Originally Posted by DoubleG

Didn't really have a device in mind (my level of knowledge of PDAs is rather small) -- if I were to purchase a PDA to do a project like this, would there be a certain type I'd want to buy to ensure maximum Linux compatibility (kinda like the *BSD folks recommend Thinkpad X-series notebooks to run their OS mobile)?

Have a look around at http://www.handhelds.org . The pople there do a lot
of reverse-engineering work on most iPaq and HTC devices (my HTC magician
is going to get the linux treatment soon )

The Jornada 6xx (SH-3 based) and 7xx (ARM based) are supported by the
JLime distro (http://www.jlime.org). I myself run Jlime on a SH-4 board
the company I work for produces.