Can you compare Gizmo vs Skype for voice calls for me?
Thanks

Both are great for voice calls. Gizmo is more stable and the call quality is better.

Also: Gizmo uses open protocols, while Skype is proprietary. So, with Gizmo, you can use the built-in SIP client on the NITs and on any other device with SIP support without having to wait for Gizmo to port their application.

I give two thumbs up for my N800 in general, and one thumb up for OS2008.

N800: 2TU! I have had more fun with my N800 than with any other computing device since my Commodore 64 in the mid-80s. I love all the software available for it, I love being able to watch mid-70s Doctor Who episodes on the bus, I love being able to take notes at the office using my bluetooth keyboard and MaemoPad+, I like being able to connect to my cheap bluetooth GPS unit and plot my position with Maemo Mapper on a satellite image, then import that plot into Google Earth, I love that I can update my Facebook, check my GMail, listen to Internet radio, and make an Internet call anywhere I can get wireless Internet... The N800 is, for me, the best hand-held device. Ever.

OS2008: 1TU. I like how OS2008 looks (transparency rocks!) and I like being able to ditch Pidgin and move all of my contacts (ICQ, MSN, GTalk) into the built-in system (I was always forgetting to turn on Pidgin), I like the video-to-PC functionality of the new Gizmo 4, I like how you can back up your application settings (because I have managed to toast my system once already trying dangerous things).

I don't like the fact that they included a poor implementation of SMB (Windows) shares with no password capability. I don't like the fact that OS2008 broke a bunch of the OS2007 apps, and nobody's ported them to OS2008. I miss my smbfs, vlc video stream broadcasting from the N800's camera (part of the Peekaboo project), and my panelclock, to name a few. Gizmo can video call to desktop PCs, but the video quality is really hit-and-miss at the moment. Sometimes the quality is acceptible, sometimes it is terrible. I don't like the fact that there's no Skype video yet. Skype Linux video exists, it is time for Skype IT video!

Nokia's support, generally: 1TU. I like that they built the IT architecture on Linux, so that community developers could build and port all sorts of great stuff for the Tablets. I like the look and feel of what they've done with Linux, much more than the cramped-desktop look of other mobile Linux ports (such as the Eee). I like the fact they've pushed much of the Hildon stuff upstream, into the Gnome project, so that the Tablet's look and feel can become a standard on mobile devices. I don't like the fact that there is core IT software that is not open source, and that Nokia hasn't been forthcoming with API and specs for some of the core system stuff.

So overall, I'm pleased with my N800. I'm still waiting for the platform to mature, though.

I hope that the great sales of the N810 will encourage Nokia to put some more resources into polishing the operating system.

Eh, the GTK break was necessary. The good news now is that porting is going to be a whole lot easier (see Transmission).

I'm impatient, that's all. I'm not a developer, and so I have to wait until one comes along and picks up an abandoned project and moves it to OS2008. In some cases that may not happen for a long time, if at all.

Update 5

Well after a week of effort I have finally succeeded in creating a dual boot
setup using a 16gb class 6 sdhc card. I also reactivated my USB Host hub
with four sdhc cards.

It took so much time to create a dual boot setup because I'm new to linux and had no clue what I was
attempting to do. The other major headache was that every method I tried(6 x)
lacked enough info to complete in full on a n800 using os2008 with 16gb cards.

I used the following three resources. The first two I combined and the third
gave me lots of detailed explanations of what I was attempting to do and it gave me
a great way to check the other two sources for accuracy.

A lot of thanks goes to Fanoush, Milhouse, Pronuke, Schmots and Bunanson for their contributions to the project,
their articles, apps and support.

The resources

http://www.thisweekinnuclear.com/KDEonN800.html

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=8631

http://schmots.blogspot.com/

I had a lot of apps installed that I had to remove temporarily because they interferred with the process. Shutdown all unnecessary apps.
I preloaded the following apps before I began the process.
xterm, becomeroot, e2fsprogs, bzip2, wget, Fanoush bootmenu and tar. I found that I could not load some through apt-get so I located them on maemo.org site and downloaded their catalog and went into red pill mode to activate. Do not use red pill mode if you are not familiar with it. I used it as a last resort because I could not load apps via apt-get. I learned by reading and re-reading each of the sources listed above until I understood what I was doing. I also went very slowly and did one step at a time. The first three steps can be redone over and over. The fourth will be permanent as well as the two steps in part 7. Reboot after each of the first four steps. Reboot only after completing the entire 7th step. Make sure in Step 4 that you have already put Fanoush app. in document and nowhere else.
I used the first 4 steps of Pronuke stopping at VFat Partition.
Then doing Milhouse step 7.1 and 7.2. and rebooting.

These are the changes I had to make by trial and error to get my n800 with os2008 and two 16gb class 6 sdhc cards.

Step 1 of Pronuke:

sfdisk -uM /dev/mmcblk0

The -uM changes the numbers from cylinders to mb(Schmots explains). For my 16gb class 6 sdhc card I used the following partitions(go to memory in control panel and find out the exact size of your internal card before proceeding to partition, my 16gb card was really 15.29gb):

p1: 0,12200,0C
p2: ,,,

Had a bunch of questions, if you get them this is what worked for me by trial and error.

q1: backup? n
q2: remmove extra stuff? y
q3: do you want to aa to initfs? y
q4: ready for flashing this image? y
q5: telnet access? n
q6: install dropbear ssh server for adv. network recovery? n
asks when done - press enter to reboot device

Step 2 of Pronuke:

mkdosfs /dev/mmcblk0p1

That's it. The rest of the steps I had no problems with the directions. Go slow read and reread all three instructions before doing any step. Have fun. lol, Dan

I am still trying to work out how to dual boot 2007 and 2008.

I realise I need to set up a kernel and initfs for each OS, and when I'm in 2007 I have to flash the 2008 kernel and initfs then reboot, and when I'm in 2008 I have to flash the 2007 kernel and initfs and then reboot.

Problem is... I'm not sure how to do this!

The initfs I understand. BUt I'm not sure about the kernel, and I'm not sure where the 2008 initfs is on the SD card that is loaded with 2008.

I can of course dual boot now, but the wireless doesn't work. TO get it to work I have to do this flash before reboot, but I don't know where to look for what I need.

Anyone got any hints?

Zebee

The new VPNC client for Cisco VPN networks and the new KDE port has turned my Nokia from a simple web-browser to a full on work horse.

I'm on call 24/7/365 as a WebLogic administrator. Often times I'm out and away and lugging a laptop with me everywhere has been a pain.

Most of my work is done on *nix boxes. Now with the VPN connectivity, KDE and an iGo bluetooth stowaway keyboard, my life has literally changed when it comes to freedom to go anywhere.

If I get a call I just find an open WiFi and resolve the problem with the Nokia. Could NOT be happier.

Dude, you seriously need some anger management. If you're unhappy with the iT, don't use it. I'm getting insanely good mileage out of mine every day. Not because I have low expectations, but because I bought it for a specific set of use cases, and they work.

I'm not making it do stuff it wasn't supposed to do, like dual-boot (nice to have), video call to MSN/Yahoo users (nice to have, but a lot of my mates don't have webcams)

The Newton still gets my respect, but it too sucked in many aspects. In that sense, it's a blessing that we have such good support from the community.

I see myself as having bought hardware and a working OS. Everything else is a bonus. That was my point.

IMHO, I'm not missing out of the quality you speak of in 800x600 movies, probably because a lot of what I watch on the go is Japanese anime and TV shows. If I really wanted a proper PMP, I'd have gone with the latest Archos (but that costs a lot more and does a lot less for me than the iT does)

As for the gap between files, I trust you're referring to gapless playback? Good point, I listen to quite a bit of trance and sometimes wish it had gapless playback support. Guess Nokia didn't think of it -- maybe the guys at Canola could come up with something if there was enough demand for it?

Ultimately, products (hardware and softwa) and services are formed out of demand. If there is enough demand for a business case to look half-decent, it's worth investing time and effort to get it off the ground. Nice that Nokia got it off the ground, but sad that they have had limited success in getting it much higher on its own, but unless I'm hearing wrongly, there are a lot of users here who ARE *mostly* satisfied with their iTs.

When I wonder if all this is worth it, I ask myself, if I didn't buy an N800, what would I be using today. And I haven't got an answer. I don't want a notebook, and I don't want an eePC. I don't want a UMPC and I don't want a Windows Mobile device. Why? A mix of battery life, price and stability are what I am looking for, and that's why the N800 works for me.

I'm sorry it doesn't work the way you want it to work, and perhaps the device wasn't the right choice for you in the first place. Perhaps you would have been better off with a UMPC, Windows Mobile, laptop, eePC, a Newton or a Zaurus. I wouldn't know because your use scenarios and expectations are different from mine.

I have a list of activities that the N800 has to do right, and a list of nice-to-haves. The N800 isn't perfect, but it's gets the job done at the right price, that's why I'm happy with mine.

Could it be better? Certainly. Could I wish for more? Certainly. But in the absence of a viable alternative, this is the best choice for my needs - Internet device first / PMP second.

I'm not the enemy here. I'm just sharing a point of view, so no need to get angry about that. Nokia really isn't the enemy either.