steven n fettig's Jitterin' Thoughts

Gizmodo has a short post on the newly released Sharp Zaurus SL-C3200. I really like the Zaurus. I have two SL-5500's and another model that is like the 5500, but I can't remember which rev. I even figured out how to run apache and mysql on the device for testing when I installed new Anywhere Technology clients (before selling my wireless ISP in January of this year) - of course, this setup was achieved with the help of many different tutorials around the net. When OpenBSD first announced that a number of developers were working on OpenBSD for the SL-C3XXX series, I got excited. One of the things missing from my tech arsenal was a small machine that I could use to troubleshoot equipment on the go. Since I rely mostly on a terminal connection to anything to do my work, OpenBSD on a device of this size would have been extremely convenient. I did my research and found, however, that while I could do what I needed with the device, I would have to schlep around different CF adapters for wireless and wired testing. I finally convinced myself that it wasn't worth the work and effort to get it going. I also figured, however, that my reservations weren't unique to me. I read on a good number of message boards that people were hoping for at least one type of networking connection built-in. Being an OpenBSD advocate, I recognize the drawback of Sharp including wifi and bluetooth on the device due to the ridiculous maze of licensing and sell-your-soul-to-me agreements required to get a good number of wireless NICs out there to work. So, even if Sharp did include a wireless NIC, it wouldn't necessarily work with some of the *nix platforms that many people might want the device for (i.e. even if what I wanted happened, it wouldn't necessarily work the way I wanted. That being said, I'm still disappointed that Sharp didn't at least include a wired NIC into the device in this latest iteration. The irony is that in comparison with my OQO, this device still looks interesting especially considering the price difference. I am happy with the OQO, though, primarily because it runs Windows XP well - and I have yet to have bought a laptop in the past few years that runs XP well (even my X40 ThinkPad tends to dislike certain Windows operations like waking up from sleep). I really, really, really dislike using Windows, but since I don't use it much and it provides me the interfaces I need (and has come in very handy on a number of occasions), I'm happy. (The drawback continues to be the miserable 2-3 hr. battery life.) I've found how to get OpenBSD running on the OQO, but frankly, it's too much work and the device still isn't as interesting as the Zaurus. So, Sharp, you had a chance to gain a few extra customers with what would be an inexpensive interface to add to the device (considering prices have dropped dramatically over the years on wireless chipsets - or, again, wired). I wanted so badly this iteration to have the above...