Winning with Ubuntu and Windows Mobile.

06-17-07, 06:40 AM

I like the idea of Linux, and when I look at costs of moving to Windows Vista it looks like a very good idea. However there is a stumbling block for this Linux Newbie when it comes to fully embracing the penguin. And that's Windows Mobile.
My Pocket PC and my Phone both run WM5.. and between them my life is now run by Outlook. So any OS that won't play nice with my digital life isn't going to work for me.
So when Ben Stanley wrote his excellent article over at Smartphone and Pocket PC he really got my interest. Outlook obviously isn't going to play ball BUT Evolution will.. and that's a major plus for me.
For full details have a look here
So now all I need is some time to do it. If anyone has found a way to get a Outlook to Sync with a Tardis I might be on to a winner

Technorati Tags: Wm5, Windows Mobile, Ubuntu, psionandy

Source: Smartphone and Pocket PC

View Original Blog Post

06-17-07, 10:31 AM

Psionandy: juts for the record, my Samsung SCH-i730 runs WM2003SE. In other words, you may have to do things differently to get it working for WM2005. I'm new to Ubuntu but one thing I've learned relatively quickly is that even the tiniest differences between hardware or software can require vastly different procedures.

Also, I've since discovered another annoyance with syncing in Ubuntu...I've edited the original article to mention it.

Amamba · 06-17-07, 10:59 AM

I used to run Ubuntu on two machines for a year. This really made me appreciate Windows XP. It just works.

Of course YMMV. I was never able to make SynCE, Multisync etc. work, no matter what I tried. There are some users for whom it works and some for whom it doesn't, and it seems to be more the matter of luck than anything else. This issue was just the tip of an iceberg, I spent so much time making things work that after a while it became obvious it just wasn't worth it.

This is just one user's perspective, as I said YMMV. To me, at least, the $90 upgrade cost to Win XP Home was more than offset by endless hours spent trying to accomplish tasks that I considered basic to any OS.

06-17-07, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by Amamba

I used to run Ubuntu on two machines for a year. This really made me appreciate Windows XP. It just works.

Of course YMMV. I was never able to make SynCE, Multisync etc. work, no matter what I tried. There are some users for whom it works and some for whom it doesn't, and it seems to be more the matter of luck than anything else. This issue was just the tip of an iceberg, I spent so much time making things work that after a while it became obvious it just wasn't worth it.

This is just one user's perspective, as I said YMMV. To me, at least, the $90 upgrade cost to Win XP Home was more than offset by endless hours spent trying to accomplish tasks that I considered basic to any OS.

Amamba: I understand completely when you say that XP just works. You're also right about SynCE/Multisync working for some people easily and not working at all for others. That seems to be true of a lot of things in Ubuntu. My own biggest issues were with getting my wireless card working.

My experience so far (I'm still new to Ubuntu) is that it can be pretty difficult to get one's hardware set up on Ubuntu. The other side of the coin, however, is that once things are running properly, Ubuntu beats XP in most areas hands down (of course, this is a matter of opinion).

Consider also the fact that Ubuntu has been around only since 2004. In the three years that have elapsed since then, it has matured at an incredible pace. New versions are released every six months so. Perhaps you'd have a better experience with one of them.

**ksong12** · 06-17-07, 09:26 PM

I like Ubuntu, but there are lots of things that are easy in XP, and well..... not so easy in Ubuntu.

Of course, there are things in Ubuntu that are easy that are difficult in XP, for example, keeping it running for more than a week.

As for the mobile device problem, thats why I still use Windows Vista/XP as my primary OS, and only use Ubuntu on a dual boot basis.

Amamba · 06-17-07, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Of course, there are things in Ubuntu that are easy that are difficult in XP, for example, keeping it running for more than a week.

Actually, I had a completely opposite experience with XP / Ubuntu - I didn't have problems forcing me to shut down / reboot XP in months, whereas with Ubuntu I'd be rebooting 3-5 times a week. It was also slower - I don't recall seeing too many hourglass icons in XP, but in Ubuntu starting Firefox or Open Office definitely took longer. I have a fairly old PC with 2.3 Ghz Pentium and 1 GB of RAM and really old graphic card, that I put together myself.

The two things that I really liked were the easy partition management and automatic updates for all installed software. However, it was far overshadowed by problems. And, of course, it din't like WM devices. And let's not forget the zealots, turning even the smallest problem you post about into a whitch hunt. I don't care to remember how many times I was called a liar and a "wintroll" because I said that "fix" somebody suggested to me didn't really fix the problem.

I got rid of U/b on my desktop in about 6 months. I kept it on my inlaws PC for about a year, it was a really old & slow machine that wouldn't be able to run XP efficiently. However it was very unstable, and they ended up getting a brand new PC with XP.

I do agree that Linux holds a strong promise, but it seems to me they're not really willing to deliver on it. The biggest problem is the attitude towards an average computer user, who just wants his "box" to work and has neither time nor the skill to tinker for hours with it.

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I wish great luck to anybody willing to try and run their PPC with Linux. Just be sure to see through all the hype.