This week, Linux Online interviews Bradley LaRonde, President and CTO of Agenda Computing, makers of the Agenda VR3 hand-held computer, the first such device that was designed and developed with Linux in mind from the start. Agenda will make the VR3 available to the public this week and Linux Online wanted to talk to him about the release, his company and the future of hand-held devices running Linux.

Linux Online: How did the VR3 project get started?

Brad LaRonde: I guess it has its root in the Linux VR project, which I started with Mike Klar back in July of 1999. We wanted to run Linux on our handheld computers and nobody was doing it back then. So, we decided to start working on it!

Linux Online: How many people are involved in the project, not including the people who signed up through the pre-release developer project?

Brad LaRonde: I must get a hundred messages a day from the Agenda User and Developer lists.

Linux Online: Agenda is the first company to release a Linux-only hand-held, you must be proud to be a pioneer in this.

Brad LaRonde: Proud or humbled? First of all, it's an awful lot of work. Secondly, a lot of it is pulling together the brilliance of so many other Linux developers who have contributed -- wittingly or unwittingly. : )

Linux Online: In our networked and increasingly mobile world, it must be exiting to be releasing a product like this. Are there long-term plans now to upgrade the VR3 and release other similar devices?

Brad LaRonde: Absolutely. I envision a wide array of devices that we are calling "Mindtools"(tm) -any device that connects you with information or together with people or the world around you. That includes local area and wide area wireless networking and a variety of form factors.

Linux Online: The VR3 has created a lot of expectation, not only in the Linux community, but in the computing world in general. What's the environment like at Agenda on the eve of its official release?

Brad LaRonde: Frantic! : ) No really, the team here has been pouring themselves into the project. There is a lot of passion and a lot of energy.

Linux Online: There's an opportunity for people to purchase a pre-release of the VR3 through the developer project.The goal here is to get some good developer input I'm sure. How is this working out?

Brad LaRonde: I think it 's working out great. It's really defining the Agenda VR3 as a true open source PDA. We didn't wait until everything was perfect until we got it into the hands of the developers. We wanted to include the Linux community in the development process, allowing them to actually help shape the product. As a result, people in the community have created some of the features that are currently in the product. Also, there is a bunch of cool software already available for the VR3 that we wouldn't have had if we had waited until we had a polished product.

Linux Online: Did you think of any risks involved in a pre-release to developers? I mean, the open source world is just that, 'open'. But, I was thinking that, for example, I've already read a review for the VR3 in a magazine the other day. It talks about the device's strengths and weakness. Is it a problem for Agenda for reviewers to be already passing judgment on a product that isn't officially released yet?

Brad LaRonde: I think that's a great question. Yes, there are risks, no question about that. We base our decision on our belief that the benefits outweigh the risks. For example with reviewers, we try to inform them about the unfinished nature of the product and that it is a pre-release version. Now, obviously, we don't have control over what they publish. However, I think overall the reviewers have done an excellent job and have been very fair in their reporting.

Linux Online: The reviewer in this particular piece I read talked about its "futuristic" look, and it really is a cool looking device. Is that what you were aiming at in the design- kind of get people thinking about the future of things.

Brad LaRonde: Actually, no, we weren't going for a futuristic look. We actually had some very clear goals that drove the design of the unit. We wanted a device that felt very comfortable to hold in your hand, very ergonomic. Also, we were going for lightweight and not a lot of extra bulk - almost like you're holding a screen in your hand. Our industrial designers took those goals and came up with what I think is the coolest PDA out there.

Linux Online: It's a device that fills a need in the Linux world and at a price that's affordable for everyone. This obviously proves that Linux is the way to go to get hand-held computing into more hands. (pardon the pun) Was this your intention?

Brad LaRonde: I chose Linux for a number of reasons, one of the reasons is that it does help reduce the cost of the device, enabling us to sell PDAs for less, and hopefully as a result sell more PDAs. And I like the idea that as a result, we are promoting Linux and we are putting Linux into the hands (no pun intended) of more people. There is a business side and a personal side, and because of that, this has been a very satisfying project all around.

Linux Online: You have also been quoted that a major factor in choosing Linux to be the OS behind the VR3 was because it was 'easier' programming with it. Why was it easier?

Brad LaRonde: Because it's a real OS. You don't have to dance around with it. You can use the same set of skills and almost identical tools that you use programming desktop PCs. That means faster application development cycles, more robust software products, and it doesn't require specialized skills in a proprietary toolkit.

Linux Online: We're pretty close to the official release. Have there been a lot of advance orders for the finished product, apart from the development model?

Brad LaRonde: We stopped taking advance orders months ago. We had received thousands of advance orders when we realized that we were still months away from a consumer product. We hope to start taking real orders for the consumer version very soon.

Linux Online: Of the three colors you're offering, which one is your favorite?

Brad LaRonde: Well my personal favorite is H20, our completely transparent PDA. Maybe it's because I helped engineer the electronics and I like to see the insides of the unit, or maybe it's because of the tie-in between a perfectly transparent case and a truly open source PDA. But I also think the black unit, the one we call Matrix, has a very cool and classic appeal. I've heard that people are holding out for Shark (slate blue) units, too.

You can find out more information about the Agenda VR3 at Agenda's website: www.agendacomputing.com