I’ve had a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 for probably four years now. It’s mostly been a doorstop because Sharp broke its ability to synchronize with Linux and stopped software development on it long ago. I’ve been keeping it around as Geek Bling though I found my older, less sophisticated Palm Pilot IIIxe far more useful. Today I decided I had nothing to lose by giving an alternate OS a spin, so I successfully flashed OpenZaurus onto my Z.
Wow! Why didn’t I do that years ago? OpenZaurus (OZ) is phenomenal. It’s light-years ahead of Sharp’s tired old ROM. It’s snappier and smaller, too. The calendar PIM app doesn’t blow up when I switch to a monthy view, as Sharp’s did. The WiFi can handle WPA keys, unlike Sharp’s. Also I have the ability to play oggs and mp3s, something the old Sharp could do only occasionally without blowing up. And hey, it’s been updated within the past 10 months. What’s not to like?
I still don’t have a good sync solution for Linux, but mostly I don’t need it now. With built-in SSH daemon and client tools, I can connect to just about anything I want. The PIM databases are XML, making them easy to manipulate. OpenZaurus is definitely the way to go.
Now all I have to do it pull my Opera web browser over to it and I’ll be all set. Perhaps I’ll retire my old, taped-together Palm Pilot after all.