Linux on the Road

Abstract

Mobile computer devices (laptops, notebooks, PDAs, mobile cell phones, portable audio and video players, digital cameras, calculators, wearables, ...) are different from desktop/tower computers. They use certain hardware such as PCMCIA cards, infrared and BlueTooth ports, wireless LAN, LCD displays, batteries, docking stations. Hardware parts cannot be changed as easily as in a desktops, e.g. the graphics card. Often their hardware is more limited (e.g. disk space, CPU speed). Though the performance gap to desktops is becoming smaller, e.g. in many instances, laptops or notebooks can become a desktop replacement.

Hardware support for Linux (and other operating systems) and mobile computer devices is sometimes more limited (e.g. graphics chips, internal modems). They often use specialized hardware, hence finding a driver can be more difficult. Many times they are used in changing environments, so there is a need for multiple configurations and additional security strategies.

Though there are laptop, notebook, PDA and mobile phone related HOWTOs available already, this guide contains a concise survey of documents related to mobile computer devices. Also Linux features, such as installation methods for laptops, notebooks and PDAs as well as configurations for different (network) environments are described.

Despite some caveats Linux, is a better choice for mobile computer devices than most other operating systems, because it supports numerous installation methods, works in many heterogeneous environments and needs smaller resources.