A project to develop an open source operating system for PDAs compatible with MacOS X has renamed itself, and achieved a new developer beta release. The “QuantumSTEP” project (formerly “myPDA-Zaurus-Edition”) aims to replace Qtopia for Sharp Zaurus owners who use Mac desktops.

According to project leader Dr. Nikolaus Schaller, the new name alludes to “something small and inseparable,” while reverberating with the OpenSTEP, NextSTEP, and GNUstep projects that it is based on.

The QuantumSTEP environment is based on Linux, X11, and GNUstep/mGStep graphics libraries. It includes an application platform that aims toward compatibility with MacOS X, meaning that the same source code can be used to compile applications that run on either platform, or to compile “fat binaries” that run on both. To make this possible, QuantumSTEP includes versions of MacOS X compatible libraries such as libFoundation and libAppKit, and supports data compatibility with MacOS X formats for XML, .jpeg, .icns, RTF, and .bundle, Dr. Schaller says.

A more detailed description of the project is available in an Open Embedded project forum post. The project homepage is here, while downloads of the new developer beta release supporting several Zaurus models can be found here.

 
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