Familiar Linux is a discontinued

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

for

iPAQ The iPAQ is a discontinued Pocket PC and personal digital assistant which was first unveiled by Compaq in April 2000. HP's line-up of iPAQ devices included PDA-devices, smartphones and GPS-navigators. A substantial number of devices were ...

devices and other personal digital assistants (PDAs), intended as a replacement for

Windows CE Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

. It can use OPIE or

GPE Palmtop Environment GPE (a recursive acronym for GPE Palmtop Environment) is a graphical user interface environment for handheld computers, such as palmtops and personal digital assistants (PDAs), running some Linux kernel-based operating system. GPE is a complete e ...

as the graphical user interface.

Technical details

It is loosely based on the

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

ARM distribution, but uses the

ipkg ipkg, or the Itsy Package Management System, is a discontinued lightweight package management system designed for embedded devices that resembles Debian's dpkg. It was used in the Unslung operating system for the Linksys NSLU2 ( Optware), i ...

package manager. It contained Python and XFree86.

History

In May 2000, Alexander Guy took a kernel that had been worked on by Compaq programmers, built a complete Linux distribution around it, and released the first version of Familiar (v0.1). The first version was released in May 2000. It was developed as part of the Handhelds.org project.

Reception

According to a 2004 review by

IBM developerWorks IBM Developer is a global community of coders, developer advocates, and digital resources that help developers learn, build, and connect. The IBM Developer website (previously known as IBM developerWorks) hosts a wide range of resources, tools, a ...

, Familiar Linux needed more polish and "could gain mass acceptance if a

dual-boot Multi-booting is the act of installing multiple operating systems on a single computer, and being able to choose which one to boot. The term dual-booting refers to the common configuration of specifically two operating systems. Multi-booting may ...

procedure were made possible".

References

External links

*
Linux.com interview with the original author
{{Linux distributions Linux ARM Linux distributions Linux distributions