Palm and Treo Hacks

Run Linux on Your Palm

Although it’s not the Palm version of Linux that will no doubt blow our socks off when it eventually arrives, uClinux is a good way to play around with an alternative operating system on your Palm.

If you haven’t heard already, Palm is switching operating systems, and in the not-so-distant future, Palm-Powered will mean Linux-Powered, but with all the elegance and grace of the current Palm OS. It’s going to take a while, though. If you want to give Linux a whirl on a Palm right now, it’s quick and easy. You won’t get any of the graphical goodness you’ll eventually get with the future version of Palm OS, but you will have a chance to play around a bit and run this powerful operating system right on your little handheld.

Unfortunately, Linux doesn’t run on a lot of Palms. The good news is that it runs on a lot of older popular models, such as the IIIe, IIIx, V, Vx, and even some of the m series. You can usually find these Palms very cheaply [Hack #50] , so you can play around with this on the cheap. In fact, when I bought a used Palm Vx for $30, it included a USB-to-serial adapter, which was worth nearly the price I paid for both items!

Boot Linux on Your Palm

The simplest way to get Linux running on a Palm is to pick a well-supported Palm, such as the Vx, and download a binary release of Linux from http://palm-linux.sourceforge.net/. At the time of this writing, they had versions that worked with the m500 as well as a bunch of older models. What you’ll get is ...