WHY LINUX?  The case for using LINUX on a handheld... 2

Familiar:  Handheld LINUX 3

Install: Hyper-terminal via serial. 5

The Interface:  A brand new handheld… 9

The Today Screen and UI:  A more integrated approach… 10

PIM applications:  Mail, Calender and Contacts 11

Entertainment:  Multi-media and games 13

Drawpad:  A clear standout application 14

System Monitor:  Everything but the kitchen sink… 15

Network Connections:  …One screen to bind them! 17

CMD LINE:  the UNIX shell and working with Opie terminal 18

MISCELLANEOUS APPS:  The odds and ends... 20

CONCLUSION:  My overall impressions/recommendations... 21

WHY LINUX?  The case for using LINUX on a handheld...

Why run LINIX or any “NIX” OS?  It’s cool?  No, not just that, but it does seem to look cooler than most of the standard Microsoft UI’s (User Interface) that come pre-installed on handhelds (though MS is getting better, most assuredly). The open-source NIX distributions available for PC’s and handhelds greatly benefit from the world-wide community of developers that are constantly enhancing and updating the code-base.  The interface is only one aspect of how an open development environment benefits a platform such as LINUX.  The application flexibility and feature set also clearly demonstrate this point. UNIX is built by developers with further development in mind, typically with stability and robust performance considered as key aspects. This concept is extended to the user environment, which translates to more power to manage and use your system, without a bunch of additional add-ons.  There are many advantages and disadvantages to running an open-source distribution on your PC or device, and it is important for the un-initiated user to note that most UNIX flavors will require an increased level of knowledge about your computer’s core functionality. At least to configure, and maintain the full range of features requires a basic learning curve that should be undertaken prior to installation.  The current NIX packages are typically supported by script or installer UI that is much like a Window’s install procedure.  Having pointed out the strengths, it is also important to note that there are many warts.  Obviously, NIX is designed by engineers mainly for use by other computer savvy people, and many distributions are free, so making the product idiot-proof is not exactly the highest priority. Oh yeah, did I mention it’s free…?

More and more people are turning to UNIX for their home operating systems as open-source software becomes more ubiquitous.    One of the biggest complaints from the UNIX-user community is regarding device drivers and compatibility issues, as well as making the install process less complex and/or painful.  Having said that, installing most NIX versions is not rocket science either, but if you really want to do this the right way, you will go to a bookstore or on-line reference and learn some basics first (I like any O’Reilly resources for reference).  Most importantly, realize that if you want to run any flavor of NIX at home, and plan on connecting to the internet, it is imperative that you learn to properly update and secure your installation, which is definitely not like buying a Window’s firewall application and allowing it to configure itself.  I use Solaris 10 on one of my home PCs (see link photos of my old Sun Sparc 10 on my home page).  I use the ipfilter module (which is an application firewall) included with Solaris 10 to block most of the common vectors that could be problematic, but I also do a lot of active log monitoring when on-line.  I’m still not convinced I’m totally secure or that my firewall is configured properly.  The configuration of ipfilter required me to learn more about network packet filtering, and of course I needed the pre-requisite skills of how to set up a network first and to work with configuration files in UNIX.  It is important to remind the reader of these issues in advance of attempting to use these procedures, especially when connecting your device to the internet.  For total peace-of-mind, I recommend the non-system administrator purchase a separate, hardware firewall solution as part of their home network setup, which can now be had for a reasonable amount of money.  I don’t use one, but like I said, I’m pretty vigilant about monitoring my network.  My daughter recently downloaded and installed a P2P music sharing application on her PC, and I caught it by plain old log-file monitoring, and promptly shut it down (she didn’t know how to configure it to not broadcast her computer information to everyone in the world).

Familiar:  Handheld LINUX

Familiar is a LINUX distribution (distribution/version if you haven’t figured that out already) available for free download/install to Compaq or HP iPAQ models and a few other handhelds (sorry anyone who has non-iPAQ PPC).  Handhelds.org has other LINUX distributions for other handhelds, so check out their site for a list of current distributions.  The current version of Familiar is at release v0.8.2 (type Linux Familiar in your favorite search engine to find the home page).  This is the kernel version, or what would be referred to as the ROM in PocketPC speak, and is the basic OS that everything else depends on.  The user environments available are GPE and Opie.  Separating the UI and environment from the machine OS is a cornerstone of UNIX, and the UI of choice is usually configured later by the administrator.  Note the flexibility to choose the look and feel, as well as the functionality in this approach, which is not available for a typical WM or Windows OS.  Both GPE and Opie are open-source derivatives of environments that are common to LINUX on handhelds.  The Familiar web-site has links to both packages, and screen shots are available.  I have experience with Opie, and will concentrate on that version for this article.  I may decide to try and run GPE on my next build.  The right package is probably a user preference consideration, but I have found the overall Opie package adequate for most common handheld tasks without too many tweaks, and the v0.8.1 version to be fairly stable.  Buggy behaviour was apparent in some cases, but overall it wasn’t much worse than applications that came pre-installed with the Microsoft OS.  The features and functionality of the Opie applications that are available, however, in many cases far outstrip similar applications on the Pocket PC 2003 OS. See some screen shots below.  It is apparent, especially in the area of PIM applications, book reader, picture editing software, and system monitor that the developers put a lot of thought and time into creating very well-engineered applications.

 

STOP!!  THIS PART OF THE ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE VERY GENERAL STEPS THAT SUMMARIZE THE INSTALL PROCEDURE.  YOU SHOULD FULLY BACK UP YOUR CURRENT WINDOWS ROM AS PART OF THE INSTALL, OR RISK NOT BEING ABLE TO RESTORE IT LATER.  YOU ARE NOW GETTING INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORY AS A SIMPLE USER.  UNDERSTAND THAT RUNNING THESE PROCEDURES IMPROPERLY MAY TURN YOUR DEVICE INTO A HOCKEY PUCK, FOR WHICH I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE.  FOLLOW ALL INSTALL PROCEDURES ON THE FAMILIAR SITE PRECISELY, AND PRAY…A LOT!! I’M SORT OF KIDDING…

 

Install: Hyper-terminal via serial.

 

What I love about UNIX over almost any MS OS version hands down is the native ability to remotely connect via a login shell and monitor and control the system. The Familiar system install procedure will include the set up and use of a terminal emulation program like Hyper-terminal (Start>>Programs>>Accessories>>Communications>>HyperTerminal) to connect to the IPAQ and start the actual install/transfer of the ROM image. This is the Windows built-in terminal emulator, which can be used for connecting to and setting up serial devices, and subsequently to connect to your LINUX-loaded IPAQ even after it’s fully configured.

Figure: Connecting via Hyper-Terminal

 

 

The handhelds.org website has a Linux-On-IPAQ FAQ, and under that link a “Getting Started with LINUX on iPAQ” that you must read before proceeding (especially the section on using terminal programs and transferring files).This site has all the information required to install, configure, and use LINUX on your device. The Familiar project home has an install guide that walks you through the install, but basically you will perform the following:

 

First you download the Familiar distribution tar file to your Window’s PC. The web site will walk you through the options to select the proper package for download.

 

Extract the files needed for the install from the downloaded tar file on your PC. You may need Power Archiver or similar extraction utility to unpack this file type. The file that will be transferred during the terminal session is a *.jffs2 file.

 

Copy the bootloader and bootblaster files to your device and run the bootblaster program which prepares the system for booting to LINUX. If you have a current internet connected device, you can download and run directly from the device.

 

Next you will copy your current ROM image to your device and then subsequently to your PC via the bootblaster program and Active Sync.

 

Connect to your serial cable connected IPAQ (must be a serial connection) via HyperTerminal, and transfer the .jffs2 file. In HyperTerminal, there is a “Transfer >> Send File” option on the top menu. style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  See setup shots below:

 

Figure: Initial connection dialog…enter name for connection

 

Figure: Select Connect Pull-down and select COM1 for the first com port

 

Figure: Properties…Select the following settings

 

Figure: Send File dialog…

You should see something like this when connecting, after typing load root and transferring:

boot> load root loading flash region root ready for YMODEM download.. Erasing sector 00140000 Erasing sector 00180000 Erasing sector 001C0000 Erasing sector 00200000 . . . addr: 00360000 data: 781590DB addr: 00370000 data: 642637AE addr: 00380000 data: E0021985 addr: 00390000 data: 15DA97EC Erasing sector 00FC0000 writing flash.. addr: 00100000 data: E0021985 addr: 00110000 data: E3BAD617 addr: 00120000 data: 0FA1F57B addr: 00130000 data: 9343AEEB . . . addr: 00600000 data: E0021985 addr: 00610000 data: FFFFFFFF addr: 00620000 data: FFFFFFFF addr: 00630000 data: FFFFFFFF verifying ... formatting ... done. boot>

 

 

Boot LINUX on your handheld and use it.

 

The Interface:  A brand new handheld…

 

 

LINUX on your handheld is a beauty to behold (see above).  On my HP5555, it takes it a while to boot up, and sometimes requires more than a single reset to get it completely booted to where you can see the interface.  Luckily, it doesn’t need to be rebooted that often.  There’s also a problem with booting it while in the cradle and on AC power, which hangs the unit, so I usually take it off AC to boot.  Initially the penguin icon will display without the backlight during boot (unless you put it under a light source, you may not realize it’s doing something).  Eventually the penguin is displayed with backlight and you will note it’s actually starting.  Be patient.  The user interface will eventually display and you should be able to setup and use the environment.  There are some important post-install steps and FAQs for problems on various devices, as well as the release notes indicating isssues/changes, which you should read.  I had some problems with certain screen orientation settings, and using the built-in WLAN start/stop and setup as well (which required an additional reboot).  Opie has native support for rotating the screen, something that has only become available on the latest versions of Window’s Mobile. This may require tweaking on your device, so don’t freak out if some dialogs and stuff don’t display properly in landscape mode.  The FAQs will help troubleshoot issues like these.  Remember you’re using LINUX now, so many things can be tweaked with a configuration file change, and this OS will run on older IPAQs, making them new again!

 

First things first, try to get your device connected to the internet and run the following commands from the command line (see below). The Familiar web-site has some FAQs on setting up your network connections. Select O item on bottom left corner of the screen, and select Applications >> Opie Terminal to get to the command line:

 

Type the following at the command prompt:

·  ntpdate -b time.handhelds.org

·  ipkg update

·  ipkg upgrade

 

More on the command prompt later…

 

The Today Screen and UI:  A more integrated approach…

 

Admittedly there are a number of plug-ins for WM that greatly enhance the today screen application and interface.  Users who have experience with KDE and GNOME will appreciate the overall UI of Opie, as it provides for many of the same customization options for buttons and menu items they already have on the desktop versions of LINUX.  These go well beyond the limited nature of the WM today options which have a hard-wired look and feel, and constrict changes to adding color schemes or background images only.  For instance, a glassy look can be added to sliders and buttons, or a marble texture can be added to menus and backgrounds.  There are many KDE/GNOME-style themes available.  The overall layout for application grouping is a tabbed approach that is logical from the standpoint of quickly accessing stuff, and the start menu is cascading by default.  Of course, it wouldn’t be LINUX without a user logout function.  Admittedly, the weather plug-in indicated on the screenshot above is an add-on, but it’s a freeware module that can be downloaded and installed via the package manager utility with little to no fuss at all, and the mail client also has a today screen plug-in.  There is support for using different fonts throughout the interface, and contact events like birthdays and anniversaries are automatically flagged in the contacts plug-in on the today screen. All system and start menu options are displayed at the bottom of the screen including important items like battery level, memory card status, volume, SIP menu options, etc.

 

Figure 8:  Main apps, and System Log Sreenshot: showing buttons, tabs and icons…

  

Another honorable mention for general user file organization is the Documents tab that provides shortcuts to your documents automatically (last tab on the right with the document icon on it)...

 

PIM applications:  Mail, Calender and Contacts

 

Mail is again another area where Opie excels having many features that the pre-installed WM OS lacked.  The views and options for the mail client are all available on the buttons at the top of the app window (which is the standard layout).  The various mail folders and folders for separate mail accounts are indicated as a folder tree in the top pane, while the currently selected mail list is previewed in a pane below.  Application buttons are prominent and functions are obvious on the e-mail button menu display for reply, forward, attach, contact and sending to trash button icons.

 

Figure 9:  Mail Main window and E-mail window

    

 

 

Calendar and Contacts offer a variety of views and like the mail windows are easy to navigate, and sort through using app buttons at the top of the pane.  Contact Views indicate different icons and color coding to differentiate between contact types.  One area where I didn’t do testing is in syncing contacts, mail items, tasks and calendar items with a desktop PC, which is a big consideration for users who will use these apps in a business environment.  There is a syncing module, and I did load it, but did not try it.  The Calendar and Contact apps have a search function (which pops a smaller window on top of the current app), which is obviously handy for users who have a large amount of entries.

 

Figure 10:  Contacts and Calendar

    

 

Entertainment:  Multi-media and games

 

The games that I found on the ipkgfind site (type ipkgfind in your favorite search engine to locate this valuable site for getting packages) left a lot to be desired.  This is a major area where serious improvement would be required to compete with current WM games and entertainment options (see below for section on the package manager for more information on finding add-ons and installing packages).  See screen shot below of a simple version of Asteroids.  The Opie media player, which is also an additional package to be installed, did not behave well at all, playing back mp3 files in a choppy sounding manner that would be considered unusable, but that could have been due to my install or configuration (or lack thereof), or even the transferred files themselves.  More testing is probably required to make a better determination.  There are some shots of the media player at the end of the article in the misc apps section (throwing an error because I didn't have a certain codec, which is clearly my fault).

 

 

 

 

Drawpad:  A clear standout application

 

There were a couple of areas where Opie stands out clearly from anything MS WM has to offer out of the box, and this area was definitely one.  To remind the reader, I’m considering applications that are installed with the build, or available for download from the ROM CD (like bundled third party apps).  This is one installed by default with the ROM, and it is much like a beefed up version of MS paint for your handheld.  As I demonstrated with my scribbles below, this is a real paint program.  Most of the screenshots in this article were captured in this app, and it supports saving and editing all the major image formats (png, jpeg, gif, etc.).  Another nice feature is the thumbnail view shown on the right which displays a list of your saved files along with information about them. 

 

Figure 11:  Drawpad Screens

 

 

System Monitor:  Everything but the kitchen sink…

 

On any computer system, there are few things that are more important than good monitoring tools.  Without them it is almost beyond hopeless to troubleshoot problems, or optimize resource utilization.  The WM platform, much like most native Window’s OS versions, has always been sorely lacking in this area, which explains the cottage industry of plug-ins and utilities that have sprung up to fill this void.  Opie not only is strong in this category as in other OS versions of UNIX, it in fact probably goes beyond what the standard user will ever need.  The system info window includes multiple tabs that provide in-depth system displays and information to include CPU usage, running processes, storage, and memory stats as well as system logging, performance and comparison testing functionality.  See screen shots below:

Figure 12:  CPU Usage Window

 

Figure 13:  Storage Usage and Memory Usage

  

 

Figure 14:  Running Process List and Device Performance Testing

  

 

 

Network Connections:  …One screen to bind them!

 

This is an area that most will agree ranks up there or even ahead of PIM management in the current handheld market.  Years ago, synchronization was a major factor for handhelds. Now it’s more like, “where can I connect to the internet with my handheld”, and how do I “get it connected?”  Syncing stuff like e-mail from a wired PC is less important when you have direct access to the source.  The WM OS is a bit convoluted in the area of configuring and managing network connections.  Why a connect to “Work connection” vs. “ISP”?  Never understood that or used anything but the “connect to work” option?  The Opie network connection manager is refreshingly simple.  All devices (like network cards) are managed through a single screen called simply "network".  They can be started or stopped, disabled, configured, etc. through this singular magical listing of devices.  Selecting a device in the list brings you to the network interface configuration screen shown below, which is an integrated screen with tabs for setting up the various aspects of your network card (wireless security, IP address, etc.), and includes a wireless discovery feature.  Unfortunately, Opie doesn’t include a web browser, which probably just made the reader groan.  There was a package for an Opie browser indicated in the package manager, but I could never locate it at the familiar site.  There is support for installing versions of other browsers on Familiar, but is not a simple package install (in fact requires understanding of build issues and dependencies, etc.), and I did not include in this review.  There is a nice ftp client, but this is small consolation in today’s constantly-connected market, where you can watch live video and browse the web at will.

 

Figure 15:  Wireless Configuration Screen and Opie FTP client

 

 

CMD LINE:  the UNIX shell and working with Opie terminal

 

This is a valuable feature that can be had on WM5 by downloading a developer toy from microsoft, but the MS-DOS command line falls so short of UNIX in general, and especially on handhelds in particular, it's hardly worth comparing.  The UNIX command shell typically gives the user many features not available in Window's, like the ability to monitor resources, view command history, stop/start processes, and get complete help for commands using the "man" command, etc.  I find it interesting that the upcoming Windows command shell for Vista and next generation Windows version (called MONAD) has "man"-like help functionality and scripting elements eerily simlar to UNIX.  Opie terminal is much like other UNIX command shell environments, and this tool is so important for a UNIX user, that learning to use it is paramount. Application misbehaving?  Use the command "ps" to find it's PID and the "kill" command to stop it.  App won't start up?  Start it from the command line version, if possible and debug it. And remember, if Opie locks up on you, you can always connect using HyperTerminal from your PC like in the install procedure, to troubleshoot instead of blindly resetting your device.  Learning a few of the frequently used UNIX commands like ls (list), df (disk usage), ps (process list), cp (copy), mv (move), cd (change directory) will prove invaluable for performing basic functions on UNIX, and you just might find yourself using the UI less and less.  One great tip is using the up arrow to quickly re-enter your last command again (this depends on the shell used...and the vagaries of different UNIX shells are beyond the scope of this article).

 

Figure 16:  Opie Terminal and "ps" command

 

One of the great features of Opie that can be run from the UI or by using the command line is "ipkg", mentioned in the install procedure.  The command line version can be called by typing "ipkg" with options or without to learn which options are supported and the usage syntax.  The ipkg program will install your packages, check for dependencies and return errors if there are problems.  The package manager UI presents you a list of available packages for Opie, indicates which packages are installed, and will allow the user to select, download and install packages from the Familiar web site (if connected to the internet).

 

Figure 17:  IPKG command options

 

MISCELLANEOUS APPS:  The odds and ends...

 

These are items which I didn't fit into the sections above for brevity, or just wanted to show the interface, etc.  I threw in some shots for the settings menu (with actual shutdown button), media player (which as I mentioned before had some problems), test editor, city time, and todo list.  I will be adding more information on these items in a later version.

 

 

 

  

 

 

CONCLUSION:  My overall impressions/recommendations...

 

Is Familiar LINUX really ready for primetime, or should you use it?  Not sure there's a quantifiable answer to that question considering the diverse handheld user-community and their varying needs.  I would say for basic handheld use, it's quite ready, but the user should know ahead of time that this is not a WM or palm-like clone that can be purchased, turned on, given some basic input and away it goes.  UNIX is a robust and extensible system that allows a lot more freedom for tweaking and application development for the end-user, and by that same nature is vulnerable to a larger degree of problems (usually from not providing the necessary tweaks).  Did I have problems with using it? Yes, most definitely, but again I probably could have tweaked the problem areas with a little time and research.  One of the major areas I see as an eyesore is the startup scenario for booting the OS, which takes too long, and isn't always apparent.  Most LINUX distributions start up and provide a line-by-line description of each driver and process as it loads, which would be a better default for Familiar.  The package install UI features are great and work well, but modules like "ipkg" rely on other modules like "wget" (the code that actually fetches the packages) in order to download packages from the net.  You have to know where the packages are and be aware of dependencies in many cases, and when the site updates their packages with new versions or moves stuff around, the links break, which requires more config file tweaking or simply manually downloading them.  Things like this will probably be the cause of most of the frustration that the new user will experience, as there isn't a telepathic link available for gaining this kind of knowledge. You have to go out and dig for it usually, and if you don't have some basic UNIX skill, the changes or tweaks will seem daunting.  All-in-all it was a great experiment, as I did this for research in my job for an R&D project for an un-disclosed customer. We were looking for a specific functionality in UNIX that allows IP forwarding or connection sharing. Essentially, it's the ability to allow a multi-NIC enabled device to serve more or less as a router.  We also required a small form-factor to be used that was not easy to notice, so if you think your network is secure from prying outsiders because you have a firewall...  Well, think of all the hidden places where a small device could be hidden, secretly connected to your wired network and at the same time providing an unprotected wireless connection into that network.  Can't say more than that, but the upshot is that in the process, I found the other features of the device to be well executed, if maybe a bit rough in a few places.  Overall, it's a great undertaking on the part of the Familiar developers who contibute to bringing open-source as well as a choice to the palm of your hand.

 

Nate Adcock, Systems Engineer

 

 

WARNING…...I will not be responsible for any damage that is caused by running the above described procedure, or any variation thereof. Use this or anything remotely connected to me or my affiliates at your own peril…thanx, and have a nice day…Legal Notice concluded