mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
315 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
315 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
<!doctype linuxdoc system>
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<article>
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<title>Linux and Psion HOWTO</title>
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<author>Hans Kugler, <tt>der.hans@LuftHans.com</tt></author>
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<date>v0.0.6, Nov 1999</date>
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<abstract>
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This document describes how to use Psion palmtops with Linux, but does not cover running Linux on a Psion palmtop. See <url url="http://www.calcaria.net/" name="the Linux 7k project"> for that.
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</abstract>
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<toc>
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<sect>About this HOWTO
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<p>
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<sect1>Introduction<label id="intro">
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<p>
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Psion has been making PDA's for years. This document will initially concentrate on the newer Series 5* models, e.g. Series 5, Series 5mx and Series 5mx PRO, but I hope to eventually include info about using older models such as the Series 3* with Linux.
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<sect1>This Document<label id="thisDoc">
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<p>
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The latest version of this document can be found at <url url="http://home.pages.de/~lufthans/unix/docs/HOWTO/psion-HOWTO.html"> and will hopefully be included in the Linux Documentation Project (<url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/" name="LDP">).
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Please send updates, corrections or suggestions to <htmlurl url="mailto:psion@LuftHans.com" name="psion@LuftHans.com">.
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<sect1>Mailing List<label id="maillist">
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<p>
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There is a mailing list dedicated to using Psions with Linux and developing tools to enhance communication between them.
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To subscribe, send a message to <htmlurl url="mailto:majordomo@geekstuff.co.uk" name="majordomo@geekstuff.co.uk">, containing the message "subscribe Linux-Psion".
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There is also a mailing list dedicated to porting Linux to the Psion 5* models at <htmlurl url="mailto:linux-7110@redhat.com" name="linux-7110@redhat.com">
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<sect1>Copyright notice and disclaimer
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<p>
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(c) 1999 Hans Kugler
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This document may be distributed under the terms set forth in the LDP license at <url url="http://www.linuxdoc.org/COPYRIGHT.html" name="http://www.linuxdoc.org/COPYRIGHT.html">.
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This document is provided ``AS IS'', with no express or implied warranties. Use the information in this document at your own risk.
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<sect>General Information<label id="geninfo">
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<p>
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<sect1>What is a Psion<label id="whatispsion">
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<p>
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Psion is a powerful Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with pen-based touch screen as well as keyboard. There are several models. This HOWTO currently only covers the Series 5* models, e.g. Series 5, Series 5mx and Series 5mxPro.
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<sect1> Psion models<label id="models">
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<p>
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There are several models of Psion PDAs. All have a foldout case where the screen is in the cover and opening the Psion causes the keyboard to jut out to a more usable position. They also feature the instant on and instant off capabilities of the EPOC operating system.
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Psion 3* are older PDAs that still have a lot of functionality and still get sold new due to their meeting needs and being lower cost. This HOWTO doesn't currently cover the Psion 3* series.
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Psion 5* has two main product lines with each having two models. The Psion series 5 has a green limited edition counterpart with no functional difference between itself and the standard Series 5. The series 5mxPro, however, has some fundamental differences from the Series 5mx.
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All four of the Series 5* products have: compact flash, serial port, keyboard and stylus (for the touchscreen). They all operate on 2 AA batteries and have a backup battery to maintain state when changing out the main batteries. Check out <url url="http://www.aha.ru/~akaev/english/indexe.htm"> to take a tour of a dissected Series 5 classic.
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Both of the Series 5 models as well as the Series 5mx have system ROMs where the EPOC operating system is stored. After boot they operate out of the RAM (8MB for the Series 5 models and 16MB for the Series 5mx). The Series 5mxPro, however, has no ROM and operates entirely out of its 24MB of RAM. This enables software upgrades to the Series 5mxPro, whereas the other 3 models must exchange hardware to update EPOC.
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Psion recently released the Series 7, which is set to compete against the subnotebook class of PC, but running EPOC.
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There are rumors of a Series 6 coming out before the end of 1999. No formal indication of what type of product the Series 6 will be.
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<sect1>Psion Availability<label id="availability">
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<p>
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Psion products are no longer available at retail stores in the US. They are available from retail shops in Europe as well as through mail order. Psion maintains a list of <url url="http://www.psion.com/resellers/index.html" name="mail order"> firms by country on their web site.
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<sect>Sharing data between the Psion and Linux<label id="datasharing">
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<p>
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<sect1>Hardware connectivity options<label id="hwconn">
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<p>
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The Psions have both serial and infra red ports. Either can be used for connectivity, but most connectivity programs currently only have features for the serial port connection.
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<sect2>Serial cable<label id="serial">
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<p>
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Armin Podtschaske x-rayed the "honda" connector. His <url url="http://home.t-online.de/home/armin.podtschaske/pocci.htm" name="page"> has an explanation of the pin out in German.
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Here it is for those who don't speak German :).
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Pin 1 is on the top and pin 15 is on the bottom. Only pins 2 through 8 and 15 are connected.
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<itemize>
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<item>Pin 2: RTS
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<item>Pin 3: DTR
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<item>Pin 4: TXD
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<item>Pin 5: DSR
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<item>Pin 6: DCD
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<item>Pin 7: CTS
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<item>Pin 8: RXD
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<item>Pin 15: GND - Signal and Power ground
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<item>Frame: GND - Shield frame ground
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</itemize>
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<sect2>IrDA<label id="irda">
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<p>
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See the <url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/HOWTO/IR-HOWTO-6.html#ss6.6" name="IrDA HOWTO"> for information about using the Linux IrDA driver with a Psion. It is possible to beam files from Psion 5 (mx) via Linux-IrDA to a Linux System.
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The irda-utils include a special client psion5.c which can beam files
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between them.
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<sect2>Builtin programs<label id="builtin">
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<p>
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There are two builtin software methods to use the communications ports. The first is the <em>remote link</em>, <tt><ctrl>-l</tt> from the main file menu, which can be set to serial, infrared or off.
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EPOC also provides the program comms. The remote link must be set to off for the <tt>comms</tt> program to have access to the serial port.
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<sect1>Programs for connectivity<label id="swconn">
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<p>
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<sect2>plptools<label id="plptools">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.gumbley.demon.co.uk/plptools.html" name="plptools"> (current releases from Matt Gumbley) was originally developed by Fritz Elfert, who had merged plp and <ref id="pxnfs" name="p3nfs/p5nfs">. plptools is currently being worked on by members of the <url url="linux-psion@geekstuff.co.uk" name="Linux-Psion"> mailing list.
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plptools comprises of 3 different programs. ncpd provides a socket connection to the Psion. plpnfsd provides mounted filesystem access to the Psion and plpftp provides ftp access to the Psion.
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See <url url="ftp://ftp.to.com/pub/psion/"> for Fritz' original releases.
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<tag>Usage</tag>
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ncpd [-V] [-v logclass] [-d] [-p <port>] [-s <device>] [-b <baudrate>]
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plpnfsd [-v] [-V] [-p port] [-d mountdir] [-u user]
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First start ncpd get it to listen on a port (7501 by default) for connection requests. Then, start either plpnfsd or plpftp. plpnfsd defaults to mount the Psion under /mnt/psion.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>kpsion<label id="kpsion">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="ftp://ftp.cs.unm.edu/mirrors/kde/unstable/apps/utils/kpsion-0.1.tar.gz" name="kpsion"> is available under <url url="ftp://ftp.cs.unm.edu/mirrors/kde/unstable/apps/utils/" name="unstable/apps/utils/"> at your favorite KDE mirror.
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It provides a method to use kfm (KDE File Manager) to directly access files on the Psion via a serial link. Psion files can be opened by using 'psion:' or 'epoc:' URLs. It uses ncpd from the plptools package, which must be running to use kpsion, to handle the serial connection.
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kpsion also has a Psion Word->HTML/Text viewer/ converter built from psiconv to allow viewing documentation created with Psion Word under Linux.
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kpsion is currently ALPHA support for connecting to a Psion Series 5*. It is only available in source and only builds against KDE 1.1 and KDE 1.2. Please read the README and INSTALL files that come with the tarball.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>p3nfs/p5nfs<label id="pxnfs">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<!-- previous url="http://www.ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/psion3/local/utilities/" -->
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<url url="http://www.koeniglich.de/" name="p3nfs"> mounts the psion drives over the serial cable at /psion.stand/mnt, by default.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>ncp<label id="ncp">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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Matt Gumbley originally started <url url="http://www.gumbley.demon.co.uk/ncp.html" name="ncp"> for use with his Psion Series 3. Now that he's working on <ref id="plptools" name="plptools">, you should use that :). However, ncp might still be of interest to users of a Psion Series 3, which this HOWTO doesn't cover :). Matt's ncp page also has information about the plp protocol.
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</descrip>
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<!--
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<sect2>plp<label id="plp">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.proudman51.freeserve.co.uk/psion/ncp.html" name="plp">
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</descrip>
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-->
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<sect1>Linux utilities<label id="linutils">
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<p>
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<sect2>Psiconv<label id="psiconv">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://huizen.dds.nl/~frodol/psiconv/" name="Psiconv"> translates Psion Word documents to HTML (3.2 or 4.0) or plain text.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>Psion SDK<label id="psisdk">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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The EPOC SDK works on Linux via WINE, see Olaf Flebbe's <url url="http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/sdk/" name="web page"> for instructions on how to get it working.
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</descrip>
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<sect1>Psion utilities<label id="psiutils">
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<p>
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<sect2>hermes<label id="hermes">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.iota.demon.co.uk/psion/hermes/hermes.html" name="hermes"> is a fully featured vt100 emulator.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>perl<label id="perl">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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Olaf Flebbe has <url url="http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/perl/perl5.html" name="perl"> running under EPOC.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>python<label id="python">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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Duncan Booth has <url url="http://dales.rmplc.co.uk/Duncan/" name="python"> running under EPOC.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>E_Shell<label id="e_shell">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.epocworld.com/downloads/progs/e-shell.html" name="E_Shell"> is a DOS-like shell environment. It provides ways to launch programs from a command line; to check for file system corruption; to create, edit and display plain text files; to check on currently active processes and threads.
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</descrip>
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<sect2>c2f<label id="c2f">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://home.pages.de/~lufthans/unix/packages/" name="c2f"> converts the Psion contact file to a comma delimited format.
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</descrip>
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<sect>Series 3
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<p>
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<sect1>Further Information
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<p>
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As I said earlier, this HOWTO doesn't cover the Series 3 ( e.g. 3/3a/3c/3mx/Sienna ), however, as I run into information, I will try to place it here anyway. This section will probably never be organized (unless someone else keeps it uptodate), but it still might contain useful information.
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<sect1>Programs for connectivity<label id="3swconn">
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<p>
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<sect2>p3nfs/p5nfs<label id="3pxnfs">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.koeniglich.de/" name="p3nfs">, referenced <ref id="pxnfs" name="above"> mounts the psion drives over the serial cable at /psion.stand/mnt, by default.
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</descrip>
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<sect1>Psion utilities<label id="3psiutils">
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<p>
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<sect2>nfsc<label id="3nfsc">
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<p>
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<descrip>
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<tag>Description</tag>
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<url url="http://www.koeniglich.de/" name="nfsc"> is a vt100 emulator.
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</descrip>
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<sect1>Informational Web Pages
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<p>
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<sect2>Disassembling a Series 3a (in German only)
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<p>
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<url url="http://www.home.unix-ag.org/fionn/d/Psion/Inside.html" name="Zerlegeanleitung Psion Serie 3a">
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</article>
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