Re: XyWrite on an iPOD (was Re: new pc finally arrived and have to make decisions-help)

["Stephen A. Carter" scarter@xxxxxxxx]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 13:32:08 -0800 (PST), Lisa Kleinholz wrote:
>Can we get XyWrite to run on an iPOD? Now, that's my idea of heaven.

I've managed to launch XyWrite III+ under dosbox 0.6.3 on a Zaurus
SL-C3000, a linux-based PDA from Sharp. It wasn't usable as-is (for
one thing, the Zaurus has no F1-F12 keys, though the "Home" key seems
to work like "F5"; for another, the "BackSpace" key sometimes get
stuck in the "on" position, merrily deleting text until frantic
random key-pressing stops it; for yet another, the specially compiled
version of dosbox I tried is unstable and necessitates a machine
reboot on quitting the app), but it was a genuine kick to see the
familiar Xy window on the Z's 7.5 cm x 5.75 cm screen.

With time, gumption, and access to the Zaurus's keyboard mappings,
it's probably possible to create a *.kbd file to use available keys
on the Z for the stuff assigned to F1-F12. I have no idea how to
correct the stuck "BackSpace" key, though -- and that's a problem
I've also encountered running Xy under dosbox on regular PCs.

If anyone else has an SL-C3x Zaurus and wants to try it out, there's
a how-to on installing dosbox here:

http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/custom.html#emulators

The version of dosbox I used is here:

http://www.users.on.net/~hluc/myZaurus/stuff/dosbox_0.6.3_arm.zip

The person who wrote the how-to notes that "the screen flickers a bit
when you launch dosbox," which is a bit of an understatement. Caveat
experimentor.


-- Stephen Carter
  scarter@xxxxxxxx
  Nagoya, Japan