Re: A question for gnome-pilot.

["David A. Desrosiers" <hacker gnu-designs com>]

> pilot-link 2.0.12 can bypass the usbserial visor module, by talking 
> directly to usb devices with libusb.  gnome-pilot hasn't been ported 
> to pilot-link 2.0.12 yet, so just changing the string from 
> /dev/ttyS0 to USB: will definitely not enable syncing...

	Great explanation, Matt!

	Just a minor clarification... I know all these version numbers 
can be confusing, so here's the current latest versions of the tools 
so far: 

	gnome-pilot 2.0.13
	gnome-pilot-conduits 2.0.13
	pilot-link 0.12.0-pre2

	The underlying API in pilot-link changed in a way that 
improves the robustness and feature set of pilot-link 
(more-specifically, the library subsystem in pilot-link that 
gnome-pilot relies upon; libpisock).

	In order to fully take advantage of this new API, gnome-pilot 
itself needs to be updated slightly to compensate. Since we've added 
the ability to talk to libusb directly with pilot-link 0.12.x, 
gnome-pilot would need to have some additional code added to the GUI 
and other pieces to handle that. 

	The reason libusb is disabled by default in pilot-link, is 
because there are some unresolved Linux kernel "inconsistencies" that 
are preventing it from working 100% on all USB host controllers. Using 
libusb allows us to completely bypass the use of the kernel's "visor" 
driver (and the whole /dev/pilot, /dev/ttyUSBx mess many are going 
through). It works great on OSX, and is the default on that platform, 
but on Linux, there are quite a few pieces to work with that seem to 
vary dramatically between Linux distribution versions (not to mention 
the distribution patches to the kernel and libusb that break, fix, or 
attempt to fix but break worse, the functionality provided).

	For some (including myself), it works great.. for others it 
doesn't work at all, and it appears to be due to some differences in 
how the specific kernel version being used communicates with the 
specific libusb version being used. We're working on that..

	If you try using libusb with pilot-link and it doesn't work, 
you are in the latter category, and it probably won't work for you 
right now.

	So for now, just use the standard /dev/ttyUSBx port to sync 
your Palm device with. If you try USB1 and it doesn't work, use USB0. 
Every vendor and every device can use a different port, so you'll have 
to know which one is right for your device (another thing libusb 
solves for us, no need to know which "port" is right). Check the "Palm 
Device Matrix"[1] if you get stuck (and add your device if its 
missing).

	Good luck. 


[1] http://www.pilot-link.org/DeviceMatrix

David A. Desrosiers
desrod gnu-designs com
http://gnu-designs.com