Windows OS?

[mikst]

Hi does anyone know if these laptops would be able to run any version of windows OS or run it using a SD card or via the USB ports on a USB stick?

[LeHancock]

No, is uses a RISC cpu not x86.

[rmotters]

You can probably get a version of Windows CE v5.0 to work, not sure where you would source that from, though,

[RockDoctor]

Hi does anyone know if these laptops would be able to run any version of windows OS or run it using a SD card or via the USB ports on a USB stick?

TFM says it can't be done. Which is probably true to a pretty good approximation.
If a member of the same processor family is used with WinCE, then you might be able to grab an image from that. But you'll still be at the mercy of, for example, needing a different driver for the network card or keyboard.
It might not be impossible, but whether it's worth it is another question. The performance hit from running Windows is often severe. The performance of the ONEt+ under X (which is what is running in the background) is broadly comparable to my old 386, which would run Windows 3 perfectly fine, but wouldn't run the Windows 9x  family at all.

[womble]

There is a identical machine to the Onet that is sold with WinCE installed on it.

[bafni]

"Ingenic has successfully ported Windows CE 5.0 On various JZ SoC series. Customers can download the document, tools and source code from this page."

http://www.ingenic.cn/eng/productServ/kfyd/WinCE/pfCustomPage.aspx

Though whether it would work on the 1T I don't know as compiling and installing it is beyond me

[genericname1]

yeah i've looked at it, if the documentation  was in english i'd be a bit easier too

[oldgrumpyman]

Adobe don't list a plugin for linux mipsel
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/alternates/

and Mozilla PluginDoc doesn't list any plugins for Linux_mipsel
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/linux.html

it may have to be a cross-compile job


You will have to look at an open-source implementation of the flash protocol, called gnash. It is still not perfect but it is a damn site better then the xipflash software we have at the moment.


I can't get cross compilation to work at the moment. I'll keep trying.

Flash 9 nears ubiquity - but gets updated on a very regular basis.
I've tried to keep pace with the Linux alternatives (I dual boot laptops and PCs with Linux and Windows) but none is satisfactory.
I can't even view the special offers at my supermarkets without Flash 9, and they don't even offer alternatives to using Flash 9 these days.
It appears to me that the better solution to the Flash 9 problem in the long term might simply be to install Windows CE as the OS.
The 3K RazorBook 400 Windows CE -is being shipped with Windows CE and Flash 9 installed.

http://www.3kcomputers.com/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=63

Although there is something odd about that web-page, I'm sure it started out by having 512MB specified as the main memory.
It's now got 128MB, but their internal SSD is still at 4GB.
There's a video on YouTube, demonstrating Windows CE running, with Flash 9 installed.
3k must have some sort of sweetheart deal with Adobe, because there is no listing of Flash 9 for any Windows CE 5/6.

There's also little in the way of support, in the 3k support forum.

http://www.3kcomputers.com/support/

One person complaining, lacking a recovery image 22nd September, a tech reply is to cold reset, and then the complainant observing that cold-reset didn't work 23rd September.  No further response from 3k.

Windows CE does compile for MIPS, so that is not the problem, and although it will undoubtedly require more memory than Linux, that also is not a problem.
Windows CE might look like cut-down Windows XP at GUI, but is nothing like it, because it is a real time operating system, running JIT.
So it can use main memory, the SSD disk, and an SD/SDHC disk for application programs, almost as if it is all one block of memory.
Keep a 4GB SDHC plugged in and a ONEt would be more than equal to the Razorbook CE for running Windows CE.

The problem is Adobe - they're not going to give me or any other individual the Flash 9 source code for Windows CE compilation (or better still for Linux MIPSEL cross-compilation)  to use with the ONEt.
But as Flash 9 has been provided for the 3K RazorBook 400 Windows CE, there's got to be competition law of some sort that should require Adobe to supply that version for the other generic computers, that include the ONEt.
One trouble appears to be that the other Western importers aren't putting much money into support, and haven't had the idea yet of selling with Windows CE pre-installed.  It's not a deal breaker at an additional cost of $3 per licence.  Big difference seems to be that 3k are a specialist developer/supplier who program and build in-house, as well as getting an own third party build.

I've tried to buy a 3K RazorBook 400 Windows CE, but couldn't find anyone with stock to ship to me directly, and then ran into the problem of notarised authorisation required by the United States Postal Service before I can use an USA based shipping/forwarding agent. Getting help from hands on examination, is out for the moment.

But, Ingenic supply the full BSP image for compiling Windows CE for the JZ4730 - so installing and running the Windows CE SDK and producing a Windows CE for the ONEt is not an overwhelming problem (without the BSP it would be!).  For personal use you wouldn't even have to pay Microsoft the $3.

http://www.ingenic.cn/eng/productServ/kfyd/WinCE/pfCustomPage.aspx

But even after doing that, there remains the problem of getting hold of the Flash-9 that 3k have got for their Razorbook.
Given my experience with Elonex (I had to explain to their Indian service centre how to get the recovery image to work) I hold out no hope of getting help from them.

Has anyone got a relationship with their company supplier, or a Windows CE developer, who might help?

I am quoting myself in reply - as I haven't got administrator privileges to move the topic to an existing one.

It should be relatively straightforward to get Windows CE 5.0 working on the ONEt - I've other things to do but will have a go in about a week, because in addition I've exceeded my download limits, so I'm on limited broadband speeds for another week.

In addition to the above BSP image and the SDK from Ingenic, you need a legal XP Professional (or server 2003 etc) into which you can install the Windows CE development tools, that are freely downloadable from Microsoft for use up to six months, but otherwise cost about a thousand of dollars.   
The real problem, is getting hold of Flash 9 that 3k has installed in their Razorbook - and without that there doesn't seem to be much point in doing it. 

I already use Windows CE 5.0, and there really isn't as much available for it as there is for the full version Windows Embedded Standard 6.0.