User:Graziano
From Openmoko
About me
My name is Graziano Sorbaioli and I am a free software activist.
My Neo:
- Neo Freerunner A7+ bought from Golden delicious (highly recommended! Shipment to Italy in 3 working days)
- SHR LITE Testing
My goals:
I want to hack on the Freerunner in the fields of usability and User Interface.
I own an HTC Dream with Android 1.6 and CyanogenMod-4.2.14 rom.
Since the stability and maturity of the Dream and Android I am going to compare it to the Freerunner to see differences and where we can improve.
Neo Accessories
When I bought my Neo the traveller pouche was not included in the package so I had to buy one separately. In Italy I was able to find a good one called "Tucano Rapida Camera Bag extra small". It's made for cameras but the Neo fits good in it.
How to obtain longer battery duration
If you own a Freerunner A7+ you can enhance the battery duration.
Ssh into your phone then:
nano /etc/frameworkd.conf
change
ti_calypso_deep_sleep = never
to
ti_calypso_deep_sleep = always
SHR Speed Comparison
Boot Time
How long do both phones take to be up and running? (aka cold start) I will try to keep this section updated.
- HTC Dream (Android 1.6 + CyanogenMod-4.2.14)
~ 2 minutes
- Neo Freerunner A7+ (SHR LITE Testing - 2010 25th January)
1,40 minutes
Normal Use
During normal use, SHR Testing is a bit slow.
I suspect it is because of spinlock and other debugging options enabled in the kernel.
I will try using the one with those options disabled made by gnutoo and will report the difference here.
SHR LITE image content suggestions
SHR lite image should have some software included which is missing right now:
- omnewrotate or another rotate software
- Mokonnect to manage connections
FEEDBACK:
<spaetz> graziano: I agree that mokonnect could go into the -lite image btw
SHR User Interface Brainstorming
- Browsing apps inside home windows
I think we should follow mac os x mobile way of browsing instead of the android one. This means that when the default *visible* home screen is full, the next app installed should go to another page.
Scrolling should be done by different pages instead of scrolling vertically one big window.
- Closing current app
BRAINSTORM:
(graziano) We should have two ways to do this: close the current app by pressing an hardware key or the current X button in the upper bar.
(nick) There pretty much is that now. If you press the power button when an application is open a menu comes up, one of the buttons being close.
(graziano) yes but I was thinking more like mac os mobile behaviour: one button push immediately closes the app and returns you to the home screen.
- notifications
currently I see them only when I wake up the phone pressing the power button. I don't think it's a good place. We should have them on the upper bar (as android) or in the lower buttons (as mac os mobile)
Finger Friendly
All apps in android are finger friendly, what about SHR testing?
NOT OK
- small keyboard and keys
possible solutions
see next paragraph
- scrolling the screen
Two problems here:
a) it requires more pressure than usual (hardware problem, can't be fixed)
Gnutoo says it can't be fixed because it is related to the type of touchscreen display used.
b) scrolling is not smooth (software problem, it may be fixed)
(Robin) I am running the current RC of android on my freerunner and scrolling is very smooth. Generally speaking Android on Freerunner behaves much more responsive and shows that the freerunner is indeed a nice Smartphone, with the only handicap of the screen edges which would call for a new CAD design.
(Graziano) This makes me think it is *not* an hardware problem and so it can be solved by hacking on software.
Any thoughts? Is it possible that this issue is related to the spinlock etc. enabled in the kernel? (graziano)
OK
- slide
- opening apps in home screen
- making a call
- phone log
- alarm setting
- calculator
- mokonnect scanning wifi networks
- SHR Settings
- browsing with Ventura
Different Default Keyboard
SHR has two preinstalled keyboard: illume-default and terminal.
Both have too small keys and are not finger friendly.
Possible solutions:
- BEST SOLUTION IMHO: phone-keypad keyboard see here
CONS: you have to touch many times a single key to obtain the desired letter or number.
- omnewrotate and literki
NOTE:
none of these keyboards is able to rotate correctly using omnewrotate.
FEEDBACK:
it is a known bug that will be fixed when we move to illume2.
Best connections manager for SHR
It's not easy to use WiFi with the freerunner.
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/WiFi_Managers
There are many applications but we still lack a polished functioning one.
Here is a non comprehensive list:
installation ok
use: ok but sometimes it fails to connect and you have to retry. Still it seems the most functioning one
FEEDBACK
[10:45] <spaetz> I really want to replace mokonnect with something that is more stable... sigh [10:45] <spaetz> pressing "scan" wifi and no feedback at all... [10:45] <JaMa> spaetz: have you tried that nwa? qt based?
I have still to test this one
installation ok
use: it opens, detects my wpa2 wifi network, I am able to insert the wifi network key, but when I press ok it hangs.
installation failed: Segmentation fault
installation failed: "Segmentation fault"
installation failed
Collected errors:
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for zenity: * gtk+-fastscaling (>= 2.10.14) * * Cannot find package zenity. * ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for wlan: * dhcp-client * * Cannot find package wlan.
installation failed. It immediately returns to shell and doesn't download
ONE REPOSITORY TO RULE THEM ALL
Apple situation:
users buy an iphone and they can install all working apps from the App store. Google situation:
users buy an android phone and they can install all working apps from Google Market
Free mobile phone community situation:
users buy a Freerunner, install e.g.SHR and
a) they lack an out-of-the-box application to install and manage apps
b) they lack ONE unique place where they can find apps that works out of the box in their phone.
Currently we have:
- openembedded
- SHR unstable repo
- SHR testing repo
- Opkg.org
In the future we will also have an SHR stable repo.
This situation has to change if we want to provide a good user experience.
BRAINSTORM!
When SHR Stable will be released it will have its own repository.
People tell me that usually developers try to maintain their apps in openembedded because they feel their app will be available in a major number of devices this way (and not only openmoko distros).
Then we have opkg.org which is a good website with a wonderful infrastructure that will be a pity to not put to good use.
What could it be its "good use"?
Something like market.android.com?
A showroom for apps where developers can put screenshots, users can comment, vote, and so on?
Please add your thoughts and suggestions here, I want to hear from you.
Opkg.org Games
I tried installing all opkg.org games using SHR Testing and opkg.
Here is the result:
installation ok
playing: it fails to start
installation ok
playing ok but it lacks a desktop icon and requires you to launch games from the terminal
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing ok
installation: ok
playing not good. Some virtual buttons don't work.
installation ok
playing: error: "xboard: no fonts match pattern -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* "
installation ok
playing ok but, is this a game after all?
installation failed:
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for linball-openmoko:
* libvorbis *
* Cannot find package linball-openmoko.
installation ok
playing ok
installation: "Segmentation fault"
installation failed
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for moko-eightball:
* libecore-evas * libecore0 * libevas0 * libedje0 * libevas-engine-software-16-x11
* libevas-loader-eet * libevas-loader-png * * Cannot find package moko-eightball.
installation ok
playing is a bit slow (maybe due to mutex / spinlock debug etc. activated in the kernel)
installation ok
playing: it starts but then it doesn't work.
"Downloading http://www.opkg.org/packages/nethack_3.4.3-10.1-0.4_armv4t.ipk" and then it returns to shell
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok playing: it starts but resolution is low. Touching the screen brings on and off the menu. Even using the stylus is impossible to select a menu entry. At the end it crashed.
installation: "Segmentation fault" while downloading
installation failed because of missing dependencies
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for openmiaocat: * python-pygame * * Cannot find package openmiaocat.
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing: it doesn't start by default. You have to give the following commands in a terminal:
xrandr -o 1
pingus.bin -w -g 640x434 --disable-music --disable-sound
(it's slow, maybe same reason as mokomaze?)
FEEDBACK from Pingus Developer:
"Yes I saw this happening a while ago, and it affects all fullscreen SDL applications. It has something to do with the new xrandr support (max dimensions not correct after xrandr rotate). Only solution right now is, as you found out, to run in windowed mode...
I might update the ipk on my own server though, if I find time."
installation failed because of missing dependencies
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for pipes:
* python-pygame *
installation ok
playing: it exits immediately
error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "pysol.py", line 26, in <module> init() File "/usr/share/PySolFC-1.1/pysollib/init.py", line 118, in init root = Tkinter.Tk(className=settings.TITLE) File "/usr/lib/python2.6/lib-tk/Tkinter.py", line 1643, in __init__ self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, className, interactive, wantobjects, useTk, sync, use)
_tkinter.TclError: Can't find a usable init.tcl in the following directories:
/usr/lib/tcl8.4 /usr/lib/tcl8.4 /lib/tcl8.4 /usr/library /library /tcl8.4.19/library /usr/lib/tcl8.4
installation failed due to missing dependency
Collected errors:
* ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for scummvm:
* libvorbis *
* Cannot find package scummvm.
installation ok
playing: all puzzles play well
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing: it crashes
List of functioning roms
installation: it failed to download - "error detail: HTTP response code said error"
Downloading http://www.opkg.org/packages/0_xlogical_1.0-8-r0.4_armv4t.opk
installation ok
playing ok
installation ok
playing ok
Games it would be good to have
PLEASE NOTE:
I am not a developer (read it twice please). I am not aware of the technical skills needed to port these games or even if porting is possible on the Freerunner (maybe because of low device cpu, os libraries, dependencies, etc.).
I am writing this list because I think it would be good to have them.
So please, instead of useless critics, let's have a brainstorm about new Freerunner games, ok?
If you wish to start working on any of these, please put your nick / name under the game with your email.
Thank you.
- TORCS <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
- Neverball <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
- Frets On Fire <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
- TuxRacer <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
- VDrift <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
- a Jewel clone
- pacman clone (Njam?)
- Checkers
- Brain Genius / Brain Training
- a tower defense game
- Cube <- needs hardware 3d acceleration?
Gnutoo has ported some games to openembedded:
- Battle for wesnoth (he was helped a bit),last version in openembedded: 1.6.5,require a recent boost (1.41.0 works fine)
- Frozen bubble(he did that: 1.1.0->2.2.0): version 2.2.0
- xboard(require a command line startup)
and maybe other he has forgetten of.
Opkg.org Applications
installation ok
use:
installation ok
use:
- Ventura
installation ok (opkg install ventura)
use: opens and browse but when clicking on text box it doesn't display any keyboard to input text.
--Rakshat 17:02, 28 February 2010 (UTC) try clicking on the keyboard icon on illume shelf to manualy launch the keyboard whenever you need it
http://wiki.openmoko.org/images/thumb/b/bf/SHR-Top-Shelve.png/200px-SHR-Top-Shelve.png
Ok, to open a keyboard the user should click first on the top shelve and then on the right "alpha" writing. Then the keyboard will appear.
If I can suggest, it would be good that keyboard would appear automatically as soon as the user click on a text box (just as the way android and mac os handles this).
Apps it would be good to have
- SHR-installer included by default
installation ok
use: it failes to start.
FEEDBACK:
<dos1> graziano: i think it's just old package in repo - version from git should work
- Calendar
- Image viewer (Neon)
- Meteo
- SIM application Toolkit aka SAT support
FEEDBACK:
<DocScrutinizer> graziano: that SIM applications. Not supported by FSO <DocScrutinizer> it's complex, and most devels agree on we don't want to have to disable it, once FSO has implemented it <DocScrutinizer> as you don't have real control over that crap
Possible SHR Testing bugs
- (SOLVED) clock shows wrong time after reboot (you set it, save, reboot and it shows the wrong time)
Manually:
open a terminal
hwclock --systohc
FEEDBACK:
I already reported it to developers and it seems a bug. I think it will be fixed soon.
Suggestions for SHR
- tab menu to switch between dialer, contacts and call logs
- automatically detect wifi networks and login to a chosen default one (via mokonnect?)
- "copy to sim" button inside the contact details window
- SHR FULL should have ventura browser, calendar, email, music, vocal recorder apps preinstalled
- long press in home screen = background choice