what do get & what do you lose

If one would go for Linux let's say on a J720, what do you get and what do you lose?

Good question, I've always wondered that as well. If I were to guess, I'd say you lose everything. And you gain alternative replacements to what you lost, except it is all open source.

Can Linux on an HPC run any HPC 3.0 applications? I know there is software on desktop Linux that allows you to run various Windows software.

Rich

Edited by Rich Hawley 2006-11-08 6:07 PM

Rich: Unfortunately, no. Though it should be totally possible, and would not take as long to perfect as Wine (we do have all the required files in rom, after all), it would take a team of rather advanced programmers..

Currently, I do not recommend Linux as a CE replacement, especially if you want to use it in all the situations. It just is not practical to expect an open source system with rather few developers (as far as the 720 goes) to work with all the existing, commercial software you have. It is more of an alternative, and would obviously work better for a regular Linux user. Of course, this will eventually change, but this is a fact that new, inexperienced users have got to understand.

That would be in all of the same situations - bah typos.

I should probably also mention that the 720 is a great way to learn Linux - there is little to break.

You forget about 'sanity' PS

From my point of view here's how it goes.

You lose true suspend. You lose multimedia video ( even the trimmed up opieplayer is unusable on 206mhz ). You lose some applications as they werent meant for a 620x240 screen ( too big ). You lose a decent web browser, well firefox works, but isnt perfect on the 720, not that hpc2k has a decent browser yet either.

You gain free applications = no shareware/trialware/payware. You gain file sharing clients ( which hpc2k doesnt have ). You gain multiprotocol messenger clients like Gaim or CenterICQ ( not hacked up pocket pc messengers ). You gain the ability to install development tools right on the 720 and build applications without the need for a win32 based platformbuilder. You gain the 'true geek' status from your friends for having linux on your 720.

There's more in favor of each and not in favor of each, but i'd be typing for hours. You cant delete hpc2k from rom so experiment. Install linux, if you like it, use it. If you dont, pull the CF, reset, and you're back to win ce. If you havent seen what linux on the 720 can/could look like have a look at my 720. http://720.b0x.com click the linux link at the bottom.

Cheers

Edited by RTFM 2006-11-10 8:30 PM

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

C:Amie - you are a couple of years too late.