Crazy idea: CE 4.2 on a Jornada 728?

Well I DID say to include a custom bootloader, but to also stick CE 4.2 on the ROMs to give it a bootable OS that's non corruptable, can be used by all current Jornada owners, and is an improvement worth the effort. Not all of us see linux as the ultimate OS for the Jornada. While I have great respect for linux in general, I honestly can't stand it.

Yes, I know that. All I care about is getting custom roms with a custom bootloader. The CE 4.2 thing is up to you.

Anyways, Linux in burned rom cannot become corrupted. Just like CE, you could hard reset and wipe it all, if we made it that way.

You're right, but I'm okay with that. My long winded comment landed ten new posts in 36 hours on a dying, negative thread. I'll take all the tounge lashings I can get.

I want my 728 to be a 742.

me too!!!!

As far as I know, the current linux distros wouldnt fit within 24 megs. And due to their ever changing nature and current glaring problems, it seems unwise to burn them to a ROM. I think keeping them on CF would be a better idea.

Oh the contrary! Considering that the kernel is only 700kb (Linux itself), and can be on a separate card, quite a bit could fit in those 24mb. But all I want is a custom bootloader that selects loading from either the cf, or rom. Rom would be H/PC 2000, the CE OS I prefer, and cf would run Linux or other systems that might run on the 720 in the future. Armdos?

...rom would be ce.net 4.2

Again, a lot of people won't want to run linux. Or at least, not as the primary OS. I'm trying to make this worthwhile for everyone. If the effort's going into new ROMs and writing a bootloader and all that, a newer version of CE should come with it.
Don't forget, I want one of these boards for myself. And I'm tired of CE 3.
What's not to like about CE 4.2?

Two reasons that i wouldnt want it...

1) My Nokia D211 wont work with CE 4.2 (even if you try to 'hack' the driver), and Nokia has no plans to support it for newer CE operating systems. This means i would lose my GPRS internet, which is my primary use for the Jornada...

2) You lose the built in Office applications, which while far from perfect are all i have to use.

Other people may disagree, but CE 4.2 is not for my Jornada...

Edited by chazco 2006-07-10 4:16 PM

i disagree. i use gprs with a bluetooth card. do have a nokia d211, its disadvantages: sticking out too much from the slot, my bluetooth card doesn't at all , and that i have tto put my SIM card into it. i have a separate bt phone for gprs only, with its own SIM card, but use it for several devices. so i usually keep the SIM in the phone...

about the office, again this crap...??? it does have as many office editors as hpc2000. pocketword and an excel editor. the powerpoint is a viewer on hpc2000 too. so where is the big difference?! i fail to see it!
(except for pocket access. have you ever used it? )

Edited by cmonex 2006-07-10 5:00 PM

Yes, but for that i'd need to buy a bluetooth adapter and a bluetooth enabled phone, which as a student would cost too much. Plus the D211 can achieve 115kbps speed, and i've never seen a UK mobile phone that could get that. It would also mean taking a charger with me when i'm out. Thats why i like the D211, its simple, its fast and it uses surprisingly little power (when wifi is off).


I used a 900C when it was in a local store before being released. I could only find a Word viewer. If it does have Pocket Word then i stand corrected . I couldnt find Excel either, but it seems the Mobilepros have their own version now.


Yes, quite a bit.

Anyway, i suppose it all comes down to how you use the Jornada.

Edited by chazco 2006-07-11 3:00 AM

So, let's get some actual feedback, from you, Jax, or anyone else. The idea of building a bootloader that would bring up CE.net on a Jornada has been presented. We know it can be done, the guys at Jlime (the Jornada Linux build) have been doing for a while. Using platform builder, could we do it with 4.2?


Edited by oflash 2006-11-02 3:20 PM

This project is 100% workable. It would need some people familier with low level programming and driver development, as well as a bit of trial and error. It would also require the equipment to unsolder and solder delicate surface mount ROM chips. It could be done in a month or three. I even offered to mail Jornada 728s to the people who would be working on the project, so they could see what they had to work with and all that.
But as you can see, no one is willing to try it. So I've officially given up on trying to get the project started.

I would prefer an upgrade on the CF card, rather than having to play around with a ROM chip for the upgrade.

Well you won't get either at this point.
The Jornada 720/728 stores it's ROM on a little removable card. The idea was to have a person buy an upgrade, recieve the new ROM card in the mail, install it, and then mail back their old one for a refund of most of the purchase price. Total downtime of 10 minutes.