I have been looking for a Sylvania #SmartBook for some time & finally got one!
These are such interesting devices. One part 90's H/PC, one part 2000's #PocketPC & thrown into a #NetBook form factor.
It's a strange hybrid device of form and function.
I can't wait to tinker around with this. Since it runs on ARM and #WindowsCE I have heard there are ways to load pocket PC programs on it, though they may be unoptimized.
@rootcompute No, but It should be able to load any jpeg screenshots that one has taken of crysis. Maybe... 😂
However, the age-old question "but can it run Doom?" Is absolutely, yes!
Thanks. These are pretty hard to find in great condition and especially with the original box.
@james From what I heard the Android version had a much better processor. I think it was 800 MHz whereas this Win CE is something like 300 MHz.
And yeah, the mouse buttons on the side of the trackpad are horrible. The entire thing feels like cheap hollow plastic. 😂
I really wanted this one because it ran Windows CE and I can put a bunch of pocket PC PDA programs on it.
That's awesome that you had Linux up and running on yours. Do you remember what distro it was?
@Judeau I can't find the Linux distro, although I think it was some form of Debian. I did find an old RemixOS install tool I had for it.
Looks like it's on Archive.org as well https://archive.org/details/RemixOSForPC64B2015123002.7z
@james That's interesting and thanks for the link. I just was more curious than anything.
I'm definitely going to keep this as a Windows CE device. I'm a huge fan of #PocketPC PDAs and #WindowsCE devices.
However, it's always neat to see what other OS's people are able to successfully boot on devices.
@Judeau I like WindowsCE as well. I wish it was easier to install software on many of the devices, but that's part of what makes them useful for me. Instant on, get right to Word and start working.
My favorite #WindowsCE device is the Vadem Clio. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadem_Clio). I have two of these. I used to have a very nice third one, but they're very picky about power and I fried it using a voltage adapter.
@james Woah! That thing looks nice! I've never heard of these but that keyboard looks great and the rotating screen is such a slick design.
I'm sorry to hear one of yours got fried, but I'm glad you have a couple of backups.
I don't know what these cost but I'm going to have to keep a lookout. I wouldn't mind picking one of these up at some point If I can manage to find one that is both affordable and in good shape. 👍
@BobTop I'm not sure. I would be happy to try if you wanted me to.
I don't have any experience of doing this beyond basic copy and paste but I can give it a shot sometime this week.
@BobTop Well, it doesn't look promising. I tried running it from the SD card and it would give an error that it "could not initialize the ROM extractor."
So then I copied it to the smartbook itself and tried running it from there and it gave the same error.
Is there anything else I should try?
@BobTop I have not actually "installed" anything on it yet but I did download a collection of Windows CE software that runs without having to install it. That's how I played The Quest.
I'm busy the next couple of days but Monday I will try to install some Pocket PC/ Win Mobile stuff on it and see if it works.
@BobTop Okay, so I tried installing some Pocket PC stuff on the Smartbook. It was hit and miss.
-WinRAR pocket installed and worked perfectly. No issues.
-Foxit Reader for pocket warned me that it was not compatible but still let me install it. It would not run after installing.
-Freda, an ebook reader, also warned me that it was not compatible but it installed and worked perfectly.
Total Commander pocket and MSReader refused to install.
Maybe it's up to how the .cab is packaged?
@BobTop Also, something interesting to note is that this OS handles .cab files like pre-Windows mobile 5.0.
Earlier pocket devices would delete your .cab files once you installed them from an SD card. It was really annoying.
Windows mobile 5 and 6 stopped doing this. They would let you install the .cab file from an SD card, but the .cab file would remain on the SD card.
This smartbook deletes the .cab file once you have installed it. That's strange since it came out much later than WM 5.
Judeau (EatTheRich)
rootCompute:\
James Stegall
BobTop