On Saturday 23 February 2002 10:13 am, Chris Johnson Bidler wrote: > Joel Rosenberg wrote: > >On Friday 22 February 2002 09:23 pm, you wrote: > >>My original Palm Pilot just bit the dust, and I want to replace it > >>with something that will interface well with Linux. I'm interested in > >>hearing about what kinds of handhelds people in the Linux world are > >>using, and how well they interface with Linux. > >> > >>So I'd appreciate anyone responding with stories about what you have > >>and what you like or don't like about it. > >> > >>In particular, I've been considering one of the Handspring Visor > >>models. Does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, with > >>them? > > > >I finally got my Visor, with USB port, working with Linux, but it only > > works -- for me -- with jpilot and coldsync, as opposed to kpilot. > > Didn't do anything special -- the upgrade to Mandrake 8.1 was what did > > it. > > > >I haven't yet spent the time or trouble to try to get the Avantgo-type > >clients working. > > > >Not nearly as neat as the integration with Outlook -- and I can't get it > > to sync with Evolution -- but jpilot, while fairly primitive, does have > > the essential functions. > > > >I'd give it a B-. > > As a fellow Visor/USB user, I'd just like to note how *weird* the Visor > system setup is. The reason it won't work with kpilot, for example, is > that the Visor USB device doesn't "exist" from your kernel's point of > view except for the brief window of time when the Visor is actively > attempting to sync with the box. I have actually gotten kpilot to grab > some backup data, but it's an exercise in hand-eye coordination, as you > have to hit the hotsync button, then start kpilotd *and* kpilot, and > order kpilot to start a backup, all before the Visor kernel module > decides there's nobody home (which takes about 3 seconds, long before > the Visor itself times out). Even with jpilot, which I find to be a > reasonable replacement for the Palm Desktop software, one must 1)fire up > jpilot and position the mouse pointer over the 'sync' button, 2)hit the > hotsync button on the cradle, and 3)hit 'sync' in the 3-second window > while the device exists, and before the connection gets wonky! > Yup. > I love my Visor, would love an iPaq running Linux on a microdrive or one > of the new Sharp Zauruses more. But, if you go with a Visor, I would > humbly suggest getting an extra serial-port hotsync cradle. The data > transfer may be slower, but the number of headaches you avoid by having > a /dev/pilot that is actually present on the system at all times might > be worth it. > Yup. I thought about doing that, but decided against it -- I don't actually have a serial port configured on my Linux box (my mouse and printer are USB), and I'm concerned that the hassle involved in getting it configured (probably not a big deal) and then trying to get kpilot and the Visor to talk together wouldn't be worth it. But jpilot does work, and is good enough. Coldsync also works, and I've no objection at all to command line stuff, but there isn't -- as far as I know -- an obvious way to get Korganizer data into Palm/visor format, so all I can really do with coldsync is backup the Visor, and jpilot does that, too. But good enough is Good Enough. ------------------------------------- There's a widow in sleepy Chester Who weeps for her only son; There's a grave on the Pabeng River, A grave that the Burmans shun, And there's Subadar Prag Tewarri Who tells how the work was done. -------------------------------------