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
Thoughts about User Interface
- 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
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.
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
Finger Friendly
All apps in android are finger friendly, what about SHR testing?
NOT OK
- keyboard too small!
possible solutions
see next paragraph
- scrolling pages in all apps
it requires more pressure than usual, scrolling is not smooth
Gnutoo says it can't be fixed because it is related to the type of touchscreen display used.
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: New EasyTouch
- omnewrotate and literki
(i INSTALLED OMNEWROTATE BUT ILLUME KEYBOARD DISAPPEARS WHEN FREERUNNER IS IN LANDSCAPE MODE)
NOTE:
none of these keyboards is able to rotate correctly using omnewrotate.
I have yet to investigate if there are better rotation solution or it is better to fix omnewrotate.
Best connections manager for SHR
installation ok
use: ok but sometimes it fails to connect and you had to retry. Still it seems the most functioning one
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
installation ok
use:
Suggestions for SHR
- 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)
- automatically detect wifi networks and login to a chosen default one (via mokonnect?)
- clock shows wrong time after reboot (you set it, save, reboot and it shows the wrong time)
- tab menu to switch between dialer, contacts and call logs
- "copy to sim" button inside the contact details window
- SHR FULL should have ventura browser, calendar, email, music, vocal recorder apps preinstalled
- SHR LITE should have at least the calendar app preinstalled
- long press in home screen = background choice
Feedback from developers
- opkg graphic application (om-showroom app?)
The current maintained GUI for opkg is called "shr-installer" but it failed to install.
Its maintainer, dos1, is fixing it.
- SIM application Toolkit aka SAT support
<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
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?)
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.
Gnutoo should have already ported this afaik
- a Jewel clone
- pacman clone (Njam?)
- Checkers
- Brain Genius / Brain Training
- a tower defense game
Opkg.org Applications
installation ok
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
- App installer (shr-installer included by default?)
- Calendar
- Image viewer (Neon)
- Meteo