Matt M reports on collaborative effort that might just put the Penguin into the original Pocket PC Phone ...

More Linux for Pocket PC

Is Linux on the Pocket PC a viable alternative? Matt M hopes so ...

In spite of all my work with Microsoft software, including the Pocket PC, I have a real soft spot for Linux. I'm excited about the XDA Developers Xanadux project , and it's actually from there that I heard about this one .

According to LinuxDevices.com, a Linux OS company, Lycoris, plans to ship a version of its desktop Linux operating system (OS) designed specifically for handheld devices in Q2.

" The OS, dubbed Desktop/LX Pocket PC Edition (DL-PPC), will provide a "commercial-ready" and user-friendly OS that Lycoris hopes to license to device designers as well as market directly to consumers.

DL-PPC will initially support ARM-based PDAs such as the Sharp Zaurus and HP iPaq. However, it uses a standard Linux kernel -- version 2.4.18 initially, with updates planned soon -- making it relatively easy to port to other architectures, according to Lycoris Founder Joseph Cheek. "

Will Linux on the Pocket PC be a viable alternative to Windows Mobile 2003? Only time will tell. It's been suggested at XDA Developers that this could perhaps be used as a basis for the Xanadux project. I'm a little dubious about the viability of this, since the Lycoria OS is a commercial product and the purpose of Xanadux is not to produce a commercial distribution. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see more news on the Linux Pocket PC front. Innovation for the Pocket PC can only help the platform!

Read the story in full here . The link referring to the Lycoris website currently does not work, but you can visit the main Lycoris website here .