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Om 2008.8 is one of the many distributions that currently work on the Openmoko phones. You can compare a distribution with an Operating System on normal computers. It gives the phone all the software needed for operating. For more information about the different flavors, see distributions.

Summary

Om 2008.8 is the successor to Om 2007.2 and had ASU as a codename. It was released on August 08, 2008. Om 2008.8 uses EFL for the launcher, custom UI applications and Qtopia on X11 for telephony. The distribution is the first step from GTK+ on x11 to using multiple toolkits in combination.

What's New ?

Compared to 2007.2 that has a longer development history, Om 2008.8 is definitely a .0 major release. So think KDE 4.0 vs. 3.5, not Linux 2.6.23 vs. 2.6.22.

The main user-visible changes:

• The user interface has been fully revised with a new windows manager illume. It is visually much richer, and can be customized further by using your own Edje files.
• A graphical installer allows to add easily new applications, themes and functionalities.
• A new Locations application is provided, to save your favorite spots and share them with friends via sms.
• Power management has been improved: The Aux button now locks the screen, the Power button suspends and the red LED behind the Aux button lights up when charging.
• The keyboard is now the Qtopia one (wether this is an improvement has been hotly debated).

For developers, the main changes are:

• Multiple toolkits: Om 2008.8 supports EFL, Qtopia and GTK+ applications.
• A Community Repository has been set up, it is integrated in the (Installer).
• Source Codes are publicly available, allowing for customization all the way down to low level systems.

For more details, see the Om 2008.8 Guide and the Om 2008.8 Feature Plan.

Installation

To install the Om2008.8 distribution on the Neo FreeRunner:

• As explained in the Downloads page, download the Root Filesystem (Om2008.8-gta02-20080808.rootfs.jffs2, 68M) and the Kernel (Om2008.8-gta02-20080808.uImage.bin, 1.8M) image files.
• Download and install the dfu-util software for your architecture.
• It's backup time !
• Using dfu-util, flash the two images in the appropriate partitions of the Neo FreeRunner. Alternatively, you may test the distribution by installing it on the microSD card and boot from microSD card.
• Since you just wiped out /etc, /root and /users, you may want to reconfigure a few things, like /etc/resolv.conf (see below). For security, you may want to set a root password, add a non-root user and transfer ~/.ssh/authorized_keys and so on.
• Reinstall your favorite applications.

Known Issues

This is only a subset. See all tickets with 2008.8 in the bug tracker.

GSM

• Cannot make calls or receive SMS messages
• GSM not working properly after x hours
• No Pin-Dialog is showing up and so GSM is not usable at all

WiFi

• WiFi can only connect once
• WiFi shows up unknown is caused by hald not running, which can be fixed by removing /etc/volatile.cache and rebooting

Audio quality

• QT-Dialer Sometimes can not hear anything durring connecting call
• Improve overall audio

System Software

• Boot screen goes into sleep and never wake up if not touch during booting
• After long suspend, kernel thread events
• xglamo: performance decreases after a while
• Neo turns off before reaching x

Networking

• No Updates/Installation are possible or pings to domains because DNS is not working. This problem occurs because the /etc/resolv.conf is empty by default.

Add these lines in /etc/network/interfaces:

up echo nameserver 208.67.222.222 > /etc/resolv.conf
up echo nameserver 208.67.220.220 >> /etc/resolv.conf

This is to be inserted below gateway address and above the bluetooth networking. After this it will be set on every reboot.

For resolving DNS without restarting, run the following command:

echo nameserver 208.67.222.222 > /etc/resolv.conf
echo nameserver 208.67.220.220 >> /etc/resolv.conf

This should solve most of your moko side networking issues. If you need any other help please refer to USB Networking

   dns-nameservers 192.168.0.200
   dns-search example.com

• Usb-networking will not work until rebooted after initial boot.

Usability

• The Pin-Dialog by default just shows letters. You have to slide your finger up/down over the keyboard to make the numbers/uppercase/special characters appear.
• The installer app doesn't release administrative rights which results in not being able to use opkg. Solution: run "killall packagekitd" (on the freerunner or when ssh'ed in).
• The installer app doesn't release administrative rights which results in not being able to use opkg. Alternate Solution: On the FreeRunner, use the drop-down menu to close all open applications.

Future updates

Posterior to the Om2008.8 release, in August 2008 development is switching to a Debian-like model with three branches: stable, testing and unstable. To minimize chaos, breakage and confusion, official updates for 2008.8 will be made available only when the move is complete (see this message for more details.)

In the meantime, you may try at your own risk Download#Unofficial_builds_by_zecke or Raster's builds.

Dedication

From: OpenMoko
To: openmoko-community mailing list

Om 2008.8 was designed to be empty, for the very purpose of showcasing your ideas.

Think of our products as galleries. We're building the environment.
Each one different from the next. You'll get all the free art supplies
you could imagine because we want you to add your own meaning.
You choose: consume, create, or both.

Either way you create your own meaning. It's about you.