The K-Zone: Software converted for the PMA430

This page lists software that I have ported to the Archos PMA430, or repacked in order to better suit the PMA's file layout. None of this software was written by me, but all is non-commericial or open-source, so far as I know. I feel reasonably confident that the original authors would be happy for me to distribute their software this way but, if you are one of the original authors, and you aren't happy, please let me know. Most of this software is in daily use by myself, so I feel reasonably confident that it is basically functional on the PMA430.

QPSword

QPSword is a reader for versified texts in SWORD format. It is predominantly used for bibles, but the SWORD format is useful for any long text with numbered verses and cross-linked commentaries (e.g., classical Greek texts). Book modules are available from the CrossWire web site, and are generally distributed as PKZIP files.
The PMA version differs from the original Zaurus version in that it reads its documents from the `media' area of the device (i.e., from the hard disk). The Zaurus version reads from an area of memory which is read-only on the PMA, so it's impossible to install books. This version reads from the directory /media/System/sword (or /System/sword as it appears when the PMA is mounted as a USB drive. So, to install books you'll need to mount the PMA as an external drive, and then:

create the directory /System/sword, and
unzip the book modules into that directory

To download the installer, click here.

unikeyboard

unikeyboard is an `input method' (virtual keyboard) plug-in for Qtopia, which allows any unicode character to be selected from an on-screen list. It is useful if you don't want to change the overall layout of the standard virtual keyboard, but need occassionally to enter characters that are not on the standard keyboard. The unicode input method, once installed, can be selected from the same menu as the existing `keyboard', `handwriting', and `sms', input methods on the taskbar. unikeyboard is part of the standard Qtopia source code, and all I've done is compile it. It's not remotely clear why Archos did not include this plug-in as standard with the PMA430. However, the fact that they did not, and might have had a good reason for their choice, is something you should bear in mind before using it.
Unfortunately, the PMA provides no way to install a new plug-in through the graphical user interface, so you'll have to do it through the console. In addition, some of these steps are wiped out after a reboot, so you'll need to keep the plug-in it handy on the PMA's media storage area so you can re-install if necessary.

1. Download the plug-in from here here
2. Using the USB interface, transfer the plug-in to the PMA, into any handy directory. For example, create a directory /linux/lib on the PMA, and put it there. Do not change the name of the file.

3. Start the console application on the PMA, and copy the plug-in to the appropriate Qtopia directory like this:

# cd /opt/Qtopia/plugins/inputmethods
# cp /media/linux/lib/libqunikeyboard.so .
# chmod 755 liqunikeyboard.so

4. Restart Qtopia from the `Restart' icon in the launcher. Don't reboot!

You should find that the new input method is now available. If you have to reboot the PMA at some point in the future, you'll have to repeat steps 3 and 4, as the plugins directory is restored to default on reboot.
Most of the PMA's built-in applications are fully unicode-aware. They will accept, and store, any unicode character, even non-western ones such as kanji. However -- and this is important -- most of the PMAs built-in fonts do not have full unicode characters. You will just see boxes instead of characters. If you want to see non-western characters, as well as enter them, you must select the unifont font using the `Appearance' icon in the launcher.

QPE-ntpdate

This is a network time sync program for the PMA430; it sets the PMA's system time from a network time (NTP) server. A list of public NTP servers is hard-coded into the program (I can add others if I'm told about them).
      Note: the taskbar clock on the PMA does not respond immediately to changes in the system time. It only updates once a minute. So, although running this program will set the time immediately, it will take up to a minute for the change to be apparent in Qtopia.
      This is program is a PMA port of the Zaurus QPE-ntpdate application, and the ntpdate command-line utility it uses. The modifications I have made for the PMA include adjusting the user interface elements to fit the landscape screen, modifying the installer to install the binaries into a writeable directory (the original uses /usr/bin), and modifying the user interface code to find the ntpdate utility from PATH, not a hard-coded location.
      To download the installer, click here.

stupid-ftpd

The PMA430 has a built-in ftp server, but nobody seems to know how to get it to work. In the meantime, if you need ftp server functionality, and you are prepared to run the server at the command line, you can use this port of stupid-ftpd. `stupid' is a trivially-simple ftp server, the has no dependencies on anything except its own configuration file.

Here's how to install and run this software.

Download the stupid-ftpd executable and the stupid-ftpd configuration file.
If you want to be able to upload as well as download, edit the configuration file to create at least one user with upload rights. For example, below the line that begins user=anonymous..., add a line like:
```
 
user=admin mypassword / 10 DUOM
```
putting in whatever password you like.
Copy the executable and the configuration file to a convenient location on the PMA430. I will assume that you have created the directory /linux/bin (as it would appear when the PMA430 is mounted as a removeable drive), and you will put the files in there.

Start the console, and at the prompt type:

# cd /media/linux/bin
# ./stupid-ftpd -f stupid-ftp.conf

You should now be able to ftp to your pma430, using the user ID `anonymous' (which will give only download access), or `admin' (which will give upload access as well).
Please see the stupid-ftp documentation for more configuration options.

GnuChess/QBoard

I have put QBoard and GnuChess into a single package that is friendly to the PMA430's filesystem. The Zaurus GnuChess package tries to write to /usr, which is read-only on the PMA430.

I've tested the QBoard/GnuChess combination to the extent of being thrashed by the bloody thing several times. I don't know if every feature works on the PMA430. Ideally QBoard needs to be modified slightly to suit the landscape screen, but I don't have access to the source (it seems to have disappeared) so I can't do it. Anyway, it's playable if you choose an unpatterned board.

By the way, QBoard does not shut down GnuChess when it exits. This makes QBoard faster to get started next time, but if you're done with chess for a while, you may want to get rid of GnuChess. At the console, enter the command

# killall gnuchess

Click here to download installable package.

utelnetd

A simple telnet daemon put into the public domain by Penutronix. There is no installer for this, as it needs to be run from the command line. To install, mount the PMA430 as an external drive, and copy the executable into a convenient directory on the Archos, e.g, System. Then start the console application and run it, e.g.:

# /media/System/utelnetd -p [port]

You won't be able to use the default port (23), because the PMA430 is already listening on that port for something else.

Click here to download executable.

PortaBase

PortaBase is a general purpose, open source, database manager. It can handle databases with arbitrary contents, unlike the built-in addressbook, etc. For more information on PortaBase in general, click here.
I have recompiled the application to remove certain Zaurus-specific features. I've also compiled into the application certain dependencies that are unlikely to be found on the PMA430 (the MetaKit library, in particular). In general, doing this is a Bad Thing, because it prevents these libraries being used by other applications, but it makes installation a whole lot easier.

Click here to download installable package. Please be aware that this version has certain limitations, that follow from the way the PMA430 organizes its files. Most importantly, the installer cannot register PortaBase as handling files of a certain type. This is because the file types database is not editable on the PMA430 (well, it is, but the changes won't be persistent). The installer does not even attempt to register the file type, because it would be pointless to do so. What this means in practice is that you won't be able to launch databases from the Documents tab, even though you may be able to see them. You'll still be able to open databases from within the program itself, of course.
In addition, there will be difficulties in importing and exporting CSV (comma-separated value) files. The way CSV import is supposed to work is that the user should get the CSV files onto the PMA430 using qtopia-desktop. The problem is that, because the PMA430 doesn't know the MIME type of the incoming file, it stores it in the wrong place. So, before you upload a CSV file, you'll have to add the MIME type manually at the command line. Open the console application, and execute the command

qtopia-addmimetype text/x-csv csv

You may need to make a similar change on your qtopia-desktop software (and this will depend on which platform you are running).
Now, with luck, when you open the `file import' dialog in PortaBase, you'll be able to see the CSV file. Note that CSV files _must_ have names that end in .csv, or they won't be recognized when they come in from qtopia-desktop.
All this is a bit of a pain, but it does work or, at least, it works for me.

I've tested PortaBase on the PMA reasonably thoroughly, and the major functions, at least, seem to be working. I can't guarantee that everything works but, if you find something that doesn't work, let me know, and if it's my fault I'll try to fix it.

ZBEDic

ZBEDic is a viewer for dictionaries in BEDic format. This format supports definitional and translational dictionaries. A number of free translation dictionaries is available from freedict.
For more information about BEDic and ZBEDic, and links to other dictionaries, see the project page at SourceForge.
The good thing about running ZBEDic on the PMA430 is that the PMA's large disk makes it possible to store more dictionaries, and larger dictionaries, than is practicable on any other handheld device. In particular, the PMA version handles the enormous `Wikipedia' encyclopedia, which contains a staggering 76 million words of text.

I have made a number of minor changes to the PMA430 version. Most importantly, I've modified it to read dictionaries from the directory /System/dictionaries (as it appears from a PC) as well as the Documents directory. The problem with using the Documents directory is that Qtopia gets twitchy if you have large numbers of files in the Documents directory (because it tries to display them all in the Documents tab of the launcher). The use of a single directory to store a large collection of unrelated data is hardly appropriate on a machine with a 30GB hard disk. Nevertheless, the PMA430 version continues to read from the Documents directory as well as /System/dictionaries.
So, in short, my recommended strategy for installing dictionaries is to mount the PMA430 as a USB drive, create the directory /System/dictionaries, and dump the dictionaries in there. Then start the ZBEDic application, click the settings (spanner) icon, and chose `Search for dictionaries' from the `Dictionaries' tab. Then you should see the dictionaries you copied over.

Click here to download installable package.

ZIC IRC client

ZIC is a rudimentary, but perfectly functional, IRC client. It's not easy to use with the PMA430 virtual keyboard (which isn't a fault of ZIC -- it's just the way things are when you have a device with no keyboard), but it does work. With an external keyboard it's even better. For information about ZIC, see its project page at SourceForge.

To make this work with the PMA430, all I had to do was to juggle the file locations around. No code changes were necessary.