(Cellular) Phones, Pagers, Calculators, Digital Cameras, Wearable Computing
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Linux on the Road Linux with Laptops, Notebooks, PDAs, Mobile Phones and Other Portable Devices Werner Heuser <wehe[AT]tuxmobil.org> Linux Mobile Edition Edition Version 3.21 TuxMobil Berlin Copyright © 2000−2005 Werner Heuser 2005−11−14 Revision History Revision 3.21 2005−11−14 Revised by: wh Some more typos have been fixed. Revision 3.20 2005−11−14 Revised by: wh Some typos have been fixed. Revision 3.19 2005−11−14 Revised by: wh A link to keytouch has been added, minor changes have been made. Revision 3.18 2005−10−10 Revised by: wh Some URLs have been updated, spelling has been corrected, minor changes have been made. Revision 3.17.1 2005−09−28 Revised by: sh A technical and a language review have been performed by Sebastian Henschel. Numerous bugs have been fixed and many URLs have been updated. Revision 3.17 2005−08−28 Revised by: wh Some more tools added to external monitor/projector section, link to Zaurus Development with Damn Small Linux added to cross−compile section, some additions about acoustic management for hard disks added, references to X.org added to X11 sections, link to laptop−mode−tools added, some URLs updated, spelling cleaned, minor changes. Revision 3.16 2005−07−15 Revised by: wh Added some information about pcmciautils, link to SoftwareSuspend2 added, localepurge for small HDDs, added chapter about FingerPrint Readers, added chapter about ExpressCards, link to Smart Battery System utils added to Batteries chapter, some additions to External Monitors chapter, links and descriptions added for: IBAM − the Intelligent Battery Monitor, lcdtest, DDCcontrol updated Credits section, minor changes. Mobile computer devices (laptops, notebooks, PDAs, mobile cell phones, portable audio and video players, digital cameras, calculators, wearables, ...) are different from desktop/tower computers. They use certain hardware such as PCMCIA cards, infrared and BlueTooth ports, wireless LAN, LCD displays, batteries, docking stations. Hardware parts cannot be changed as easily as in a desktops, e.g. the graphics card. Often their hardware is more limited (e.g. disk space, CPU speed). Though the performance gap to desktops is becoming smaller, e.g. in many instances, laptops or notebooks can become a desktop replacement. Hardware support for Linux (and other operating systems) and mobile computer devices is sometimes more limited (e.g. graphics chips, internal modems). They often use specialized hardware, hence finding a driver can be more difficult. Many times they are used in changing environments, so there is a need for multiple configurations and additional security strategies. Though there are laptop, notebook, PDA and mobile phone related HOWTOs available already, this guide contains a concise survey of documents related to mobile computer devices. Also Linux features, such as installation methods for laptops, notebooks and PDAs as well as configurations for different (network) environments are described. Although there are some caveats, Linux is a better choice for mobile computer devices than most other operating systems, because it supports numerous installation methods, works in many heterogeneous environments and needs smaller resources. Copyright (c) 2000−2005 Werner Heuser. For all chapters except "Lectures, Presentations, Animations and Slideshows" permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant Sections being "Preface" and "Credits", with the Front−Cover Texts being "Linux on the Road − the First Book on Mobile Linux", and with the Back−Cover Texts being the section "About the Author". A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". Linux on the Road Table of Contents Preface..................................................................................................................................................................1 1. About the Author.................................................................................................................................1 2. Sponsoring...........................................................................................................................................1 2.1. How to and Why Sponsor?.........................................................................................................1 2.2. Table of Sponsors.......................................................................................................................1 3. About the Document............................................................................................................................2 3.1. URLs in this Document..............................................................................................................2 3.2. Latest Version, Mirrors..............................................................................................................2 3.3. Proposed Translations................................................................................................................2 4. Contact.................................................................................................................................................2 5. Disclaimer and Trademarks.................................................................................................................3 I. Laptops and Notebooks...................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy?....................................................................................................................5 1.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................5 1.2. Portables, Laptops/Notebooks, Sub/Mini−Notebooks, Palmtops, PDAs/HPCs...............................5 1.2.1. Portables..................................................................................................................................5 1.2.2. Laptops/Notebooks..................................................................................................................5 1.2.3. Sub−Notebooks/Mini−Notebooks...........................................................................................5 1.2.4. Palmtops..................................................................................................................................5 1.2.5. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)/Handheld PCs (HPCs)....................................................6 1.2.6. Wearables................................................................................................................................6 1.3. Linux Features..................................................................................................................................6 1.4. Main Hardware Features...................................................................................................................6 1.4.1. Weight.....................................................................................................................................6 1.4.2. Display.....................................................................................................................................6 1.4.3. Batteries...................................................................................................................................7 1.4.4. CPU.........................................................................................................................................7 1.4.5. Number of Spindles.................................................................................................................9 1.4.6. Cooling....................................................................................................................................9 1.4.7. Keyboard Quality....................................................................................................................9 1.4.8. Price.........................................................................................................................................9 1.4.9. Power Supply..........................................................................................................................9 1.5. Sources of More Information..........................................................................................................10 1.6. Linux Compatibility Check............................................................................................................10 1.6.1. Related Documentation.........................................................................................................10 1.6.2. Check Methods in General....................................................................................................10 1.7. Writing a Device Driver..................................................................................................................11 1.8. Buying a Second Hand Laptop.......................................................................................................11 1.9. No Hardware Recommendations....................................................................................................12 1.10. Linux Laptop and PDA Vendor Survey........................................................................................12 Chapter 2.