Alternative operating systems on your PDA

If you're using a PDA, most probably you'd be using a Palm- or a Pocket PC-powered handheld. A few of you may even be using an EPOC machine like the Revo. But did you know that your handheld can actually run other operating systems? In fact, various developers are working on alternatives to the Palm and Pocket PC OS, and the best thing is they can run on your Palm and Compaq iPaq!

However, getting these alternative OSes to work on your Palm or iPaq is not as simple as installing Windows on your PC (although that may sometimes be a harrowing experience). To get your PDAs to run a different OS, you need to get under the hood (sometimes literally) of your PDA. In other words, unless you're a self-profess "hacker", you may not want to tinker with your handheld.

But for those willing to try something new and who have the technical know-how, there's a whole new world of other OSes you can load onto your Palm or iPaq.

Put the Penguin on your Palm

In fact, in March, Agenda Computing Inc. became possibly the first company to ship a Linux PDA called the VR3. Bradley LaRonde, CEO of the company and a staunch open-source advocate, even boldly proclaimed that Palm is stuck with an OS technology that was out-of-date when the company wrote it. Japan's Sharp is also expected to launch a Java/Linux PDA in the US this October.

For those who love D.I.Y. or "Do-it-Yourself", a US-based company called Empower Technologies Inc. has released a Linux-based OS for the Palm called the Linux DA OS. Who'd be interested in such an OS? Well, you'd be surprise! When the company offered the trial version of the OS for download in July, the whole server went down in just a few seconds.

Essentially, Linux DA replaces the Palm OS and is currently compatible with the Palm IIIx, IIIxe, and Vx. Empower also claims that the OS is faster, more powerful and robust than the original Palm OS. The OS features PIM applications, games, input via a virtual keyboard or stylus, support for third-party apps and also desktop components.