Re: familiar on something other than iPAQ?

On Fri 08 Jun, Dan Stromberg wrote:

> I feel pretty strongly that I can't buy a PDA or PC or much of any
> other device with[out] a microsoft license. If I don't vote with my
> dollars, how can I possibly expect there to be any positive change? I
> can code the best stuff in the world, but if people don't change how
> they buy, and what vendors preinstall or don't preinstall, it really
> just makes things worse.

I've come in a little late on this discussion so forgive me if I'm repeating
stuff. You can of course buy plenty of PDAs without microsoft licenses
(Psion's EPOC devices, palms etc, and even as of last week an Agenda VR3).
Some of these run Linux too, but few yet do much useful as a Linux PDA. They
are fine for specific vertical applications (which is what I'm currently
using my ipaq for), but apps are needed to make a decent free PDA os.
Familiar seems to be the free PDA OS with the biggest mindshare at the moment
so I'm happy to muck in there if that's the best way of getting things done,
and I'd like to see the familiar work made available on these other
platforms. So much so that I'll do my damndest to make that happen for the
Psion5, for example.

As I've just joined this list (I should no doubt have joined a while back,
but you know how things are), I'll just introduce myself. I'm a Debian
developer working on the ARM port, and work profesionally doing ARMLinux
porting work, making open hardware ARM development hardware (LART) and have
written a book 'Guide to ARMLinux for Developers'.

Most of my work is in embedded systems (as opposed to PDAs) where only a few
specifc apps are needed, but I am personally very interested in the PDA
aspect of this too. I want to see genuinely free distributions used in this
area. There are plenty of expensive ones from Lineo, Lynuxworks and the like,
but I think there needs to be something like Debian for small systems. I'm
particularly interested in the infrastructure of this - ie packaging, kernel+
base filesystem configurations etc. I've been invoved with emdebian since
shortly after it started, but that seems to have largely stalled due to lack
of people actually doing any work (pity, and I'm as much to blame as the next
man), so I'm hoping familiar can take up the flame.

A lot of people need a neat kernel+ramdisk configuration system (which is
what CML2+OS from emdebian is, but it never really got quite finished), and
for systems that change you need packaging and package management, and ipkg
seems to be that very thing (Carl, you didn't reply to my emdebian-list post
about this yet...). It seems to me that the various parts to fill people's
needs are around and just need bringing together to make something pretty
nifty.

Before I shoot my mouth off any more I'd like to know more about the
infrastructure you guys are using to generate the system. I gather it
relies on Debian's. I'd like to see a debian-embedded or debian-PDA variant
which was sufficiently integrated to get distributed on Debian's huge
infrastructure. If that would help you guys then I'd be pleased to try and
help make that happen. I know there are several important Debian people who
would also like to see this (I don't count myself as an important Debianite
:-), so it ought to be do-able.

Now if you think that's a dumb idea for either ideaological or technical
reasons then say so...anyway - that's kind of where I'm coming from - I hope
I can help out in some useful way.

(I'm away for three weeks starting tomorrow, so I won't be able to read any
responses till I get back)

Wookey

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