Lycoris will ship a version of its desktop Linux operating system (OS)
designed specifically for handheld devices in Q2, 2004. The OS, dubbed
Desktop/LX Pocket PC Edition (DL-PPC), will provide a
"commercial-ready" and user-friendly OS that Lycoris hopes to license
to device designers as well as market directly to consumers.
DL-PPC will initially support ARM-based PDAs such as the Sharp Zaurus
and HP iPaq. However, it uses a standard Linux kernel -- version 2.4.18
initially, with updates planned soon -- making it relatively easy to
port to other architectures, according to Lycoris Founder Joseph Cheek.
According to Cheek, DL-PPC adds customizations to the OpenZaurus, Opie,
and other open source project code bases that improve usability. Cheek
has worked to improve Linux usability on the desktop since founding the
Redmond Linux project -- which later became Lycoris -- in 1999.
DL-PPC will include the Samba-based Lycoris "Network Browser," enabling
it to share files and printers with Windows networks via wired,
wireless, USB, and infrared networks. Its Opie-based PIMs will support
synchronization with Lycoris's Desktop operating systems, including
Desktop/LX Personal, Professional, and Tablet Editions.
DL-PPC will support a variety of text-input methods, including
gesture-based handwriting recognition, on-screen keyboard, pickboard,
built-in touchscreen, and, on select devices, a physical keyboard.
The OS will also come equipped to play back popular audio, video, and
streaming media formats, and will include a Web browser and email
reader supporting HTML, CSS4, and POP3.
The Microsoft connection
Joseph Cheek, a former Microsoft employee, says Lycoris performed
extensive trademark research before choosing the "Pocket PC" name. "We
couldn't find anything at the Office of Patents and Trademarks, and we
couldn't find anything at Microsoft," he said.
Cheek, who formerly worked for Microsoft, says that he renamed his
Redmond Linux Project "pre-emptively," and was not put under any legal
pressure to do so by Microsoft, which, being based in Redmond, Wash.,
is sometimes referred to metaphorically as "Redmond."
More details about Desktop/LX Pocket PC Edition will be available at
the Lycoris Website when the OS is officially launched on Monday,
February 2.
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