Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 15:52:32 +0100 From: Gunnar Flygt <gunnar.flygt@SR.SE> To: freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG, Gunnar Flygt <flygt@SR.SE> Subject: Re: Sharp Zaurus sync Message-ID: <20030113145232.GE51087@sr.se> In-Reply-To: <200301111027.h0BAR1qx061010@lurza.secnetix.de> References: <20021013081738.GA33907@sr.se> <200301111027.h0BAR1qx061010@lurza.secnetix.de>
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On Sat, Jan 11, 2003 at 11:27:01AM +0100, Oliver Fromme wrote: > Hi, > > Sorry for this very late reply of mine in this thread, but > I think this information might be worth ending up in the > archives, in case someone else searches for it, too ... Thanks for all the info. have you succeeded to get the Qtopia for Linux running on FreeBSD? > > Gunnar Flygt <gunnar@oldie.sr.se> wrote: > > Is there any work going on, to sync Sharp Zaurus 5500 to FreeBSD via usb? > > It currently is not supported, and won't be (at least not > soon). > > Here's some background information. The Zaurus' USB port > can work in two different modes: > > - In network mode. This works exactly like one of those > PC-to-PC USB cables (except that Sharp modified the > protocol slightly), running TCP/IP directly on top of > the protocol. This is the default mode. > > In Linux, the "usbnet" driver supports such PC-to-PC > USB cables, but because of Sharp's modifications, a > newer version called "usbdnet" is required. > > As far as I know, FreeBSD does not support any of those > PC-to-PC USB cables, so a driver would have to be > written from scratch. > > - In serial mode. This, in fact, emulates an ucom device. > It then runs PPP over the serial connection over USB, > and then TCP/IP on top of that. This is _not_ the same > as a native serial connection (which the Zaurus also > supports, but you have to buy a special serial cable > first, because it's not included). > > Linux supports that with the "usbserial" driver in > generic mode. > > FreeBSD supports serial USB adapters, too, however, we > have got a small problem here. In FreeBSD, the drivers > are separated in the frontend driver "ucom" which makes > the actual serial tty devices, and several backend > drivers (uplcom, uvscon, uftdi) which support specific > variants of serial-over-USB protocols by different chip > vendors. We do not have a "generic mode" like the Linux > folks do. However, I _think_ that one of those backend > drivers could be talked into accepting the Zaurus' USB > serial protocol, without too much trouble. (Or maybe, > one of them could be even cloned and converted into a > generic USB-serial driver, like Linux has.) > > You can switch the Zaurus between those two modes using the > /etc/usbcontrol script. There's no GUI for it, so you have > to open a terminal (I recommend installing OpenSSH on the > Zaurus and then make an ssh connection to it, because it's > more convenient). > > "/etc/usbcontrol serial" switches to serial/PPP mode, > "/etc/usbcontrol net" switches back to network mode. > > So, the bottom line is, it does not work with FreeBSD, > unless someone knowledgeable writes a driver or modifies > an existing one. > > HOWEVER -- There are _so_ many ways to connect the Zaurus > to a network or to a PC, that you really should not worry > much about it. Most of them require buying additional > hardware, though, such as a serial cable, a WaveLAN CF > card, or an Ethernet CF card. If you've got a notebook > with infrared port, you can also sync via IrDA (you can > use /usr/ports/comms/birda), although that won't be very > fast, I guess. I haven't tried this. > > Personally I decided to buy a FastEthernet CF card for my > Zaurus, which isn't terribly expensive (I found one for > 50 Euro at a German online shop). It's plug&play at its > finest: Insert the card, connect to switch, configure IP > with the GUI "Internet Wizard", and there you are. I got > 20 MBit/s raw throughput from/to my fileserver at home, > which isn't really bad for a PDA. ;-) > > For more information, I have created a small web page > which lists some of the Zaurus connectivity possibilities, > and which contains some more information: > http://www.secnetix.de/~olli/Zaurus/CF/FE/ > > Hope that helps. > > Oh, by the way, the Sharp Zaurus is a _really_ cool PDA. > I would recommend it to everyone who is looking for a PDA. > Well, it doesn't run BSD, but a Linux-variant known as > Embedix, but it runs quite smoothly, and _much_ better > than WinCE. > > Because it's Linux-based, you can run almost any UNIX > software on it (I've installed ssh, sshd, a VNC server, > Python for writing scripts, DooM and Quake and a bunch > of other games, and more). I _really_ like it. There's > also a gcc package which runs on the Zaurus, so you can > compile stuff yourself. And there's a crosscompiler > for Linux/i386 with complete development environment, > but I haven't figured out yet how to run that under > FreeBSD. (Has anyone tried?) > > Regards > Oliver > > -- > Oliver Fromme, secnetix GmbH & Co KG, Oettingenstr. 2, 80538 München > Any opinions expressed in this message may be personal to the author > and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of secnetix in any way. > > "All that we see or seem is just a dream within a dream" (E. A. Poe) > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message -- Gunnar Flygt, Postmaster SR To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message
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