On Tuesday 03 September 2002 12:22 am, Scott Oakes wrote:
I have installed the updated kernel for SuSE 8.0 and am still unable to get the Zaurus PDA to sync with Qtopia 1.6. I am using usb to sync. Has anyone successfully done this?
By "updated kernel" I presume you mean the steps in the SDB article: http://sdb.suselinux.hu/en/sdb/html/jreuter_zaurus_usb.html This boils down the howto in: http://www.ruault.com/Zaurus/ethernet-over-usb-howto.html into a very easy-to-follow set of steps to take with SuSE 8.0. Given that this was put up in June, I'm really impressed with SuSE being so far ahead of the game. The only thing to check before following the article is that /usr/src/linux is linked to linux2.4.18-SuSE, and NOT 2.4.18 (dumbo here spent a good while wondering why I got a kernel-version mismatch message, since I haven't really messed with patches/kernel before). Once the usbdnet.o module is compiled, and you have copied it to the right place, set up the IP address for the new usb0 interface as 192.168.129.200 (the Zaurus is by default 192.168.129.201). Put the Z in the cradle, and turn it on, and then plug the USB cradle in - you should hear at least one beep. Try pinging from the desktop PC to the Z, and then open a terminal on the Z and ping the PC (hint: to get Control-C without having access to the keyboard, use the UNI(code) virtual keyboard on the Z, and click the 4th square in from the top left corner). If this doesn't work, there is a basic connectivity problem that needs to be addressed: module not properly compiled, module not loading in response to hotplug (use lsmod to check it is loaded - if not, do modprobe usbdnet or insmod usbdnet to see what messages that gives you), IP addresses not properly assigned (use ifconfig -a to check). If you can ping OK, open the QTopia Desktop - like you, I used the 1.6.0beta1. Under File > Settings > General, tick USB, and check that 192.168.129.201 is entered as the PDA IP Address. Note that there seems to be a little bugette with this - if, out of curiosity, you tick the serial box, which is set to 192.168.130.101, that seems to reset the USB entry to that too, and changing the serial entry doesn't seem to "take". So, change the USB entry, and then click OK straight away. That was all I had to do to get it to work. The only issue I have found is that entries on the desktop calendar get postponed by one hour when they are synced to the Z (ie a 9.00 meeting gets listed as being at 10.00). I suspect this is something to do with summer time, but if anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. It should be said that the QTopia Desktop has not received rave reviews, but I'm willing to put up with it, since I don't use Outlook anyway. It would have been nice if they had included an FTP app in the package, since that would have simplified file transfer. If you want a slightly more powerful PIM engine, you should probably check out theKompany.com's range of Z stuff. This is very good, and under heavy development, but it is not GPL, and it costs money. They do a very nice editor and FTP client, and their tkcPlayer app makes the Z the first portable Ogg player (on Sunday I was lounging on the beach in the sun - pretty rare in Wales - soaking up the rays and listening to some favourite tracks - I felt very smug). They also do a complete replacement set of PIM stuff, and this is slated to work with Outlook (for Windows users) and Aethera (their own app for Linux users). They will not be supporting Evolution, but there is a perl script somewhere that syncs at least some of Evolution, so it may not be long before someone sorts that out. The Z is by no means perfect, but it is the first PDA I've ever bought, and I'm pretty impressed with what it can do. There is a bit of a learning curve, though, partly because of the hardware limitations, partly because of design decisions by Sharp (eg to use usbdnet instead of usbnet, and the ridiculous amount of symlinking in the filetree - I'm still trying to map it out) - vist www.zauruszone.com to imbibe knowledge from their forums. But it is actually quite powerful - if I'd wanted to, I could also have been editing a PHP/MySQL website on the beach! Best wishes Kevin