There are two types of people in the world: people who use Linux and people who don't, and rarely the twain shall meet. Until a few days ago, I was with the latter group of the twain. That is, until I thought it would be a good idea to throw caution to the wind and try to install Linux on my innocent Handspring Visor. The results, as you shall see, were mixed.

uClinux

A word of warning: replacing your existing PalmOS with uClinux is still in the testing stage. There are no guarantees that this will work with your setup, and there are

very few applications that will run in this environment. With that said, you must first decide which build of Linux you want to install.

There are quite a few distributions of Linux currently available for mobile devices, but the distro to be used in the experiment is called uClinux (pronounced “you see Linux”). This tiny build is derived from the Linux 2.0 kernel and is intended for a wide variety of microprocessors.

The microprocessor in question belongs to my Handspring Visor Deluxe with 8M of RAM using a USB Hot Sync cradle. This is not the appropriate combination. If you want to perform this yourself, you will need the following:

• either a Palm III, VII, m100 or Visor Deluxe
• a serial cradle (USB will not work)
• PC with telnet application
• the appropriate source files (available at the end of this article)
• a paperclip to reset your device
• a lot of time

Installation

We will present two different methods of installing uClinux. Regardless of which method you choose, you will need to back up the contents of your device before

proceeding. The bootloader application required to start Linux completely erases the contents of your RAM. Your ROM and factory OS will remain untouched, so in a worst-case scenario you can perform a system reset to return the device back to its original state.

Easy Method

The first and easiest way of replacing your Palm OS is by downloading and installing a pre-made .prc file that contains the bootloader and minimal uClinux kernel and file system. Several versions are available, and you can download the latest pre-alpha version from SourceForge.

After you have downloaded the file, sync it to your device. If you are using a serial cradle, you will be able to communicate to your PDA through telnet. You will need to disable your Hot-Sync software before the device can communicate with your host PC.

Not-So-Easy Method

The other method involves creating your own .prc file with the downloaded Linux source files. Craig Comstock has posted the instructions for this method at the SourceForge site listed at the bottom.

In a nutshell, the process listed by Mr. Comstock involves the following steps:

• download the source files
• install an m68k-elf tool chain
• install the Prc-Tools application (this is freely available from Palm's site)
• create and install your prc file
• execute the file on your device and watch through the terminal window on your host PC

Only those who have prior Linux experience should attempt this method.

Other Distros and Reference Files

uClinux is not the only choice for aspiring handheld Linux users. LinuxDevices.com has a listing of PDAs that ship with Linux, as well as a few alternative methods of installing it yourself. Check out the links below for mor information:

Source Files

• uClinux-dist-20011112.tar.gz
• m68k-elf tool chain
• Prc-Tools
• uClinuxPalm.prc

Further information . . .

• uClinux.org
• uClinux.com
• Windstone Linux Distribution
• Linux DA Distribution

Copyright © 2000-2002 AnywhereYouGo.com. All rights reserved. Reproduced by LinuxDevices.com with permission.

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About the author: Jay Staton works as a Staff Writer for AnywhereYouGo.com, a wireless technology community portal website operated by Hewlett-Packard. Staton has been a WAP developer for the past 2 years, and spends his free time trying to convince his wife how much he needs the latest and greatest wireless devices.

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This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.