Fw: new message

[brian]

Hello!

 

New message, please read 

 

br...@derocher.org

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Fw: new message

[brian]

Hello!

 

New message, please read 

 

br...@derocher.org

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Please keep the discussions on this list on a positive note

[Brian]

Hi All,

It's been a very long time since I've used my Freerunner as phone. I
still have it and it still works of course. It would be nice if when I
did get new emails in my inbox from this list they didn't rehash old
arguments that detract from what OM originally stood for.

I had a lot of fun using mine and I'd hate for anyone to research the
hardware only to find the mailing list had devolved into a troll
succeeding in reeling in a catch. I'm happy to hear about new
developments without any drama thanks and I expect that anyone else
that has a serious interest in the software or hardware will feel the
same.

B

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Re: [ANNOUNCE] openmoko.org server move

[Brian]

On Mon, 13 May 2013 20:24:12 +0200
matteo sanvito  wrote:

> Thank you very much! I would have done a backup somehow as soon
> because I was afraid of losing all that knowledge! And thank you too
> Sean!!

+1 Matteo

I'd like to add my thanks to Harald, Sean, and the rest of the people
responsible for the wealth of information provided on the wiki, mailing
lists, irc, etc. You made my Neo FR a very fun device to own and use.
It doesn't get the same amount of use as it did a few years ago but it's
still something I won't ever part with; like my 486DX2 I simply can't
bear the thought of not having it around to play with.

Before you condemn me for such a disparate example just remember that
if it wasn't for lower level access to hardware back in the emergent
and heady days of 'PC' hardware we'd be a lot worse off on the whole.
OpenMoko and OpenPhoenux are prime examples of the spirit behind
innovation even if some of it is constrained by NDAs at least the
effort will always be there.

B 

> 
> 
> 2013/5/13 Harald Welte 
> 
> > Dear all,
> >
> > during the next weeks I'm going to move *.openmoko.org to a new much
> > simplified infrastructure on one physical server, rather than a
> > dozen of virtual machines over three physical machines.  As part of
> > that, there will be occasional outages, without any additional
> > announcements.  The IP addresses for all of openmoko.org services
> > will also change as part of that process.
> >
> > I will start step-by-step with
> > web/wiki/dcs/svn/trac/git/people/bugzilla, while e-mail and mailing
> > lists will be running on the old machines until the very last
> > step.  So this (and other) mailing lists are going to work.  I'll
> > send another announcement before touching anything e-mail related.
> >
> > Once the move to the new server is completed, I will finalyl be
> > able to do the long overdue step and accept other volunteers from
> > the community for system administration.
> >
> > Thanks to Sean Moss-Pultz for paying for the server hosting until
> > today out of his personal pocket.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Harald
> > --
> > - Harald Welte 
> > http://laforge.gnumonks.org/
> >
> > 
> > "Privacy in residential applications is a desirable marketing
> > option." (ETSI EN 300 175-7 Ch.
> > A6)
> >
> > ___
> > Openmoko community mailing list
> > community@lists.openmoko.org
> > http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
> >

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Re: Bitcoin Client

[Brian]

On Sun, 05 May 2013 14:43:57 +0200
Ed Kapitein  wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> Doest anyone know of a bitcoin client that will run on our beloved FR?
> 
> Kind regards,
> Ed

Nope, and it's probably not worth the effort since it's become
exponentially harder to mine them. The FR simply doesn't have the
processing power to make it a useful platform for bitcoin mining. It
would probably be an excellent way to shorten the lifespan of one
however.

I don't use mine as a regular phone any longer but it still gets
limited use performing other duties that aren't too taxing.

B

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Re: Take a look at these stupid people...

[Brian]

On Wed, 3 Apr 2013 10:16:20 +0800
Paul Wise  wrote:

> On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 8:04 AM, Sebastian Reinhardt wrote:
> 
> > They said: "There is no fair smartphone on market, so we have to
> > invent it"
> >
> > Nothing about GTA04 or OpenMoko! Stupid people! A new example for
> > bad journalism...
> 
> It probably isn't a good idea to start calling potential allies
> "stupid", especially on twitter and thus on their website.
> 
> If you read their website, they are less about software freedom and
> more about not contributing to civil war, genocide, environmental
> destruction etc by buying minerals from warlords mined using
> slavery-like conditions with zero consideration for the environment.
> 
> http://www.fairphone.com/about/
> http://www.fairphone.com/faq/#q1
> http://www.fairphone.com/faq/#q6
> 
> To me, the OpenMoko community seemed to be by geeks, for geeks. That
> the Fairphone folks haven't heard about OpenMoko/OpenPhoenux says more
> about the publicity and outreach done by our community than about the
> Fairphone people. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think OpenMoko
> Inc scrutinized (or had the resources to) their supply chain for
> conflict minerals, poor working conditions or environmental
> destruction either. Not sure about Goldelico, it would be interesting
> to hear about this.
> 
> There is a potential partnership here, I'd encourage Goldelico to make
> some connections.
> 
> > "FairPhone" on arte (here I have seen it first):
> >
> > http://wp.arte.tv/yourope-de/?p=8490
> 
> Could someone do an English transcription of that?
> 

Well Said Paul.

B

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Re: [off-topic] smartphone alternatives?

[Brian]

On Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:50:31 +0100
Ed Kapitein  wrote:

> On 12/17/2012 05:59 PM, francesco.dev...@mailoo.org wrote:
> > Hi list
> > Sadly to say, my GTA02 is going to retire. It is having too much
> > troubles to be used as a daily phone and I'm thinking to replace it.
> > The perfect candidate is the GTA04 but I can't afford its cost
> > right now. I didn't follow with attention the evolution of the
> > smartphones market, so I'm asking you: what alternatives do I have?
> > Is there something with a recent hardware but somehow "open" and
> > that costs no more than 200€?
> > I have to say that I'm not a big fan of android and for now I would
> > prefer to go with a 30€ nokia in the pocket and a gnu/linux friendly
> > tablet/netbook on the shoulders waiting for better times...
> >
> > Best regards
> > Joif
> >
> Hi Joif/Brian,
> 
> Sad to see you go. I am curious on why the Freerunner did not meet
> your expectations?
> Not to try to convince you to reconsider, but because it might be
> important for future phones (like the gta04)
> What distro did you try? what are the things that you missed in the
> FR? What made you finally decided to look for another phone?
> 
> I hope you are willing to tell us about your experience, i think there
> are much more people who gave up on the FR and i am wondering why.
> 
> Kind regards and the best of luck with your quest for a new phone.
> 
> Ed

Hi Ed,

I didn't mean to imply that I'm not still using my GTA02 because I
most certainly do! Mainly as an ebook reader, for streaming internet
news radio, and a few other things. In the future I may use it as a SIP
handset or for GPS in the car. Pretty much anywhere I can keep it
plugged in. I had no illusions regarding expectations when I got mine.
I knew exactly what to expect and can't really complain. I just had to
have one "warts and all." :)

I retired it from phone duties because too often the signal would drop
and reconnecting usually meant rebooting. Spotty carrier reception in my
area didn't help and there were some complaints about call quality on
both ends. Battery life was an issue when used heavily so carrying a usb
cable, spares, and wall charger seemed a bit impractical.

Getting a GTA04 is tempting but I just can't afford one right now. That
doesn't rule out one in the future though. I really do appreciate the
efforts that went into both the Neo 1973 and FreeRunner as well as the
GTA04 but I've yet to experience one of those first hand. It's important
to me to encourage handheld mobile devices that are as open as possible
in both hardware and software.

I'm a hobbyist and love to tinker with gadgets so I've tried just about
every distro on the wiki or mentioned on the mailing list. My favorite
for phone duties is QtMoko, for e-reader AoF. When I got the urge to
try "bleeding edge" and break stuff it was SHR. Current setup is QtMoko
on NAND and AoF on SD.

My biggest complaint about the FR is that it probably came out too
early, suffered from some production delays which hurt development
imho. Thus hurting the chances that a lot of others (read consumers,
manufacturers, and devs) would follow in the much more open footsteps of
OpenMoko than say IOS or Android. The smaller complaint would be having
a real keyboard on a mobile device is awesome, but those are usually
poorly done and hard to find.

So the landscape of mobile devices isn't quite as open as most of us on
the list would like but it could be a lot worse right? In closing you
can have my FreeRunner when you pry it from my cold dead hands...

Cheers,

Brian

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Re: [off-topic] smartphone alternatives?

[Brian]

On Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:59:46 +0100
francesco.dev...@mailoo.org wrote:

> Hi list
> Sadly to say, my GTA02 is going to retire. It is having too much 
> troubles to be used as a daily phone and I'm thinking to replace it.
> The perfect candidate is the GTA04 but I can't afford its cost right
> now. I didn't follow with attention the evolution of the smartphones
> market, so I'm asking you: what alternatives do I have? Is there
> something with a recent hardware but somehow "open" and that costs no
> more than 200€? I have to say that I'm not a big fan of android and
> for now I would prefer to go with a 30€ nokia in the pocket and a
> gnu/linux friendly tablet/netbook on the shoulders waiting for better
> times...
> 
> Best regards
> Joif

Same applies to me. I love the GTA02 but wanted something a bit more
robust while still remaining affordable. So earlier this year I
purchased a used Nokia N900. It's still a bit on the slow side compared
to newer offerings but it does offer a good user experience. It gives
you a linux phone with a real shell and there's a ton of software in the
repos. I'd recommend using Opera instead of the standard browser
though because it's much faster. You should be able to find one in that
price range and be able to get an extra battery and a large mSD card
while still staying in budget.

Brian

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Re: Ten general QtMoko and Debian questions

[Brian]

On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:00:12 +1100
"Liz"  wrote:

> Harry Prevor wrote:
> > I just aquired a Freerunner, and after checking out the list of
> > distributions on the wiki I've narrowed it down to Debian and
> > QtMoko. I'm leaning toward QtMoko but I'm unsure about a few things:
> >
> > 1. What are the advantages to using QTMoko over Debian on a
> > Freerunner?
> 
> snip
> >
> > Thanks ahead of time for the answers.
> >
> All I would say is that trying to read the screen running lxde is
> difficult, and aiming a stylus at the right spot is even more
> difficult. Frankly QtMoko is beautiful - just a lovely interface to
> look at.
> 

I agree, you won't be too happy choosing Debian as it's simply too hard
to read. What you can do however is install QtMoko or another distro of
your choice to NAND and then install a second distro to an mSD card.

It can be a bit tricky to boot from either since it requires timing
button presses just right. I've honestly forgotten which one boots by
default, I've been using an N900 as my primary phone for some
months now, but iirc it will boot to mSD first.

On my FreeRunner I've got both QtMoko on NAND and AoF on mSD. Both work
pretty well but imho QtMoko is the better choice for use as a phone and
AoF works well with Moonreader as an ebook reader. SHR was okay last I
tried it but the 'stable' branch was old and the only other option is
the bleeding edge not always fully working branch. SHR also requires an
immediate change of power consumption settings to make it usable imho.
Since they're far too aggressive by default.

Brian

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Re: QtMoko v48 neofreerunner

[Brian DeRocher]

Dave and all,

If qtopiamail uses libssl, we should brace ourselves for crappy error 
messages :)


I forgot to mention that my IMAP server uses a certificate signed by 
cacert.org.  The signing certificate cert is in the ca-certificates 
package.  I verified the certificate using a command like "openssl 
verify -cafile /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt my-imap-cert.pem".  I 
did that on my imap server.  I should try again on the freerunner.


I can dive into some source code.  Can someone point me to some 
directions on getting a qtmoko environment set up to compile packages?  
If qtmoko follows normal debian conventions, i should be able to 
diagnose some stuff.


As a side note.  When i select TLS, i'm not sure it's being saved.  If i 
recall correctly, the qtopiamail config file just said encryption type = 
2, whatever that means.  When i edit account information it just shows 
up blank.  When i select SSL, and save, then edit account info, the form 
appears with SSL picked.


The lack of ca-certificates package may be intentional.  After all, how 
do we know it is securely delivered to us.  On the other hand, if i 
download Firefox and it comes with n cert signing certificates, how do i 
know they are secure?  But i digress.


I haven't tried SMTP yet, but when i do, i'll post results here.

Brian

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Re: QtMoko v48 neofreerunner

[Brian DeRocher]

Neil,

I wanted to share my email issues, even if they are semi-related to this 
thread.


On 10/24/2012 08:05 AM, Neil Jerram wrote:

It would be good to have some more data points.  Can anyone else report
success/failure with QtMoko v48 email, on

- Freerunner
- GTA04 on 2G-only  (the default)
- GTA04 on 3G   (requires patching to change "AT_OPSYS=0,2"
  to "AT_OPSYS=3,2")


GTA04 over wifi, connecting to my IMAP server with TLS.  Thunderbird on 
my laptop works, and Mutt on the gta04 works, but qtopiamail doesn't.  I 
get this error message:


new Qtopia: socketError: 13 : "Error during SSL handshake: 
error:14094410:SSL routines:SSL3_READ_BYTES:sslv3 alert handshake failure"


I've install ca-certificates, but that doesn't help.

Brian

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Re: problems with qtmoko continuously re-starting

[Brian]

On Thu, 17 May 2012 10:55:13 +1200
Robin Paulson  wrote:

> On 16 May 2012 22:28, Radek Polak  wrote:
> > You can try to start qtmoko from ssh:
> >
> > ssh root@192.168.0.202
> >
> > /etc/init.d/qtmoko-neo stop
> >
> > . /opt/qtmoko/qpe.env
> >
> > qpe
> >
> > It should print something useful.
> 
> it printed this, i'm not sure what it means:
> QDBusObjectPath: invalid path ""
> Method call  "/->DefaultAdapter()"  failed:
> QDBusError("org.bluez.Error.NoSuchAdapter", "No such adapter")
> 

That's suggesting a bluetooth device error because of an empty path.
I don't think that's likely to be the cause of your trouble. It's
probably indicative of something you may have missed during
reassembly perhaps which may be the root cause.

This is also assuming you've already attempted trying other distros on
known to work media of course.


Brian

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Re: QtMoko v44 for Freerunner now available

[Brian]

On Wed, 02 May 2012 18:04:42 +0200
francesco.dev...@mailoo.org wrote:

> Hi
> Thanks for the new version Radek, fresh installed on my GTA02! It's
> ok on the NAND, but on SD I'm unable to boot it. Qi apparently skips
> the card and it boots from NAND instead. Is it because of the issue
> with the v44 kernel for the GTA02? Thanks.
> 
> Joif

I'd be willing to bet it's something to do with your Qi setup or the SD
card setup as IIRC Qi polls the SD card first for a bootable partition
and only then boots from NAND.

HTH,

Brian

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Re: [ANN] GTA04 Keyboard prototype

[Brian]

On Tue, 1 May 2012 18:06:23 +0200
Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller  wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> we have developed a prototype for a 80 button QWERTY keyboard PCB
> that could eventually be connected/integrated into the GTA04. It
> should fit into a specially designed battery cover so that you can
> easily stow it away if not needed. Such battery covers could be
> produced individually through 3D printing solving the issue of
> manageing and stocking 20 different key layouts.
> 
> But watch yourself how we think it can look like:
> 
>   http://youtu.be/WM94%5fR5eKcc
> 
> There is also a new video showing a comparison with some other
> keyboards:
> 
>   http://youtu.be/wGASnE1zGh4
> 
> Pleas tell us if you like this idea and what you would like to pay
> for such an extension unit through the Wishlist function of our shop:
> 
>   http://www.handheld-linux.com/wiki.php?page=GTA04%3AKeyboard
> 

This looks like quite an ingenious solution for adding a real keyboard
to the both the GTA04 (and possibly the GTA02 as well?). Kudos!
 
> Two issues are still to be developed:
> 
> a) how to reliably connect it to the GTA04 PCB (soldering copper
> wires or a FFCs is a little difficult so it should have a tiny,
> flexible but robust B2B cable).
> 
> Maybe, we can use a micro-USB socket or similar (we need to
> connect 6 wires). This may also need a redesign of the GTA04 board
> (for a nice plug)
>

I see a few issues with the way the design is showcased in the videos.
Mainly from durability and practicality standpoints. I love the concept
but I think it could be improved with a few tweaks. 

It appears from the videos as if your current method of operation would
act like an inverted laptop hinge. Is this assumption correct?
Hopefully this would still allow access to the battery compartment
while attached but it would require a very robust detent to support the
weight of the phone especially during use. This also appears to be a
weak point for durability as well.

I'm glad you're thinking about expanding the phone and you've clearly
given thought to being able to detach the keyboard/battery cover easily
by incorporating a plug.

> b) design a 3D printable case with key-caps that is robust enough
> 

I suggest using a scissor mechanism where the keyboard slides out
instead.

> If you want to support us for developing this idea, please give us a
> kickstart donation.
> 
> 
> Nikolaus
> 
> PS: the keyboard driver for the TCA8418 is already part of Linux 3.3
> - and has been backported to the 2.6.32-kernel. This has been tested
> to work on a BeagleBoard XM.
> 
> http://git.goldelico.com/?p=gta04-kernel.git;a=commit;h=f19d5c430458bbce8955bc9e04dd161f6a80347d
> 
> It just needs platform data in the board file:
> 
> http://git.goldelico.com/?p=gta04-kernel.git;a=blobdiff;f=arch/arm/mach-omap2/board-omap3gta04.c;h=8a7e4b0803920f635e7101bfbd5a60b6b84b1107;hp=3e49efef2de0b42cd419a46a9cd45448fd04a44c;hb=4b2de3db742abce9212c1af2cc576e2a3a64b0d9;hpb=1d7c6b5f043661621ec374d96c3c4a4454f9bb7b


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Re: what to with 02 when upgrading to 04? was: Re: How to bring forward the community?

[Brian]

I'm not even going to bother with the good netiquette of not top-posting
on this one so sorry if that offends you all.

Michael,

Whether you realize it or not you're giving open culture and this
community specifically a 'black eye' by posting such inflammatory
rhetoric. I, and probably most others on the list appreciate the hard
work that went into the Neo 1973, Neo FreeRunner, and the latest
iteration from Golden Delicious, the GTA04. I think you do as well, but
you have a funny way of showing it.

In a perfect world we would already have open standards that would
allow for the devices we envision. We don't live in a perfect world.
There are rules that need to be followed if we hope to change the
devices we're growing ever more accustomed to, and you're not helping
the process.

In point of fact public posts like yours will be used as ammunition
against what most of us on the list are working towards. I share your
sense of frustration in regards to hardware specs not being more open
but I won't resort to threats like you do. Instead I'll keep trying to
educate people about the dangers involved in walled gardens and closed
systems. At least that's a positive endeavour to engage in and it's
likely to eventually take hold once we have saner patent laws.

I think it's shameful for the open culture community on the whole to
have it's reputation sullied by your threatening comments. I can't tell
if you're a troll, an agent provocateur, or just a misguided soul who
really does mean what he says. In any case welcome to my 'plonk' file
pal as this will be the only response you'll ever get from me.

Hal 



On Sun, 4 Mar 2012 23:07:32 GMT
msoko...@ivan.harhan.org (Michael Sokolov) wrote:

> "Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli"  wrote:
>   
> > That points nowhere.  
> 
> For you maybe, but not for me.
>   
> > I think you should instead try to go the legal way,   
> 
> I disagree.  Man-made law of every kind is my arch-enemy, and the
> purpose of my life is to break those laws.  Without law-breaking life
> becomes devoid of meaning.
>   
> > so you can't be attacked in court,  
> 
> That is irrelevant to me: I can never be "attacked in court" because
> I WILL NEVER SHOW UP TO COURT.
>   
> > because it's way too easy to attack you if you do something
> > illegal.  
> 
> No, it isn't easy.
>   
> > Theses companies have a lot of lawyers and spend a lot on it.  
> 
> So what are they going to do?  Send me threats?  How?  By email?  I'll
> laugh at them, then hit delete.  By postal mail to my PO box?  There's
> a paper recycle bin conveniently located right next to it.  Look up
> one of the addresses I've used for receiving shipments, addresses that
> look like real physical ones?  Well, they only *look* like real
> physical addresses - in reality they are mailbox services.
> 
> So GOOD LUCK on trying to force me to show up in court...
>   
> > The way to go is to improve nuttx port on calypso phones.
> > it's not that complicated.  
> 
> It may not be that complicated, but it is morally wrong.  It is
> morally wrong to help or support someone who is guilty of hoarding the
> good code and denying it to the public.
> 
> Harald Welte is the leader of the entire Osmocom family of projects.
> He is a former employee of Om-Inc and I have every reason to suspect
> that he is hoarding a personal copy of the good code, although he'll
> obviously never admit to it.  That makes Osmocom morally tainted,
> i.e., it is morally wrong to contribute in any way to any of the
> projects under that umbrella, particularly OsmocomBB.
> 
> Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with merely *using* what
> those projects have already produced: Leninist philosophy states that
> any and all means are acceptable, so we can use whatever tool or
> resource does the job.  But it *is* wrong to help them with
> contributions.  Therefore, if I ever feel like making enhancements to
> the OsmocomBB code base, I'll be sure to make them non-GPL-compatible
> so that my work benefits only the illegal community and not the legal
> one.
>   
> > so please instead of attacking the openmoko people which points
> > nowhere( they won't give you the source, they could have given it
> > to you already if they wished but they didn't. so I guess they
> > don't want to and will never give you theses sources),  
> 
> I can still kidnap one of them and do the thermorectal procedure.  And
> the prospect of going to prison for kidnapping/assault/battery/
> whatever they call it doesn't scare me one bit - I am very confident
> of my ability to upload the seized code to some warez site *before*
> the cops arrive and get me.  Then I could spend the rest of my life in
> prison or perhaps die in a gunfire exchange with the police while
> resisting arrest, but the deed will be done: the code will be FREE -
> once it hits a public warez site, it'll get copied by all the other
> warez sites and the copyright/NDA police will never be able to take
> all of those copies down.
>   
> > do so

Re: help me get my FR working

[Brian]

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:15:10 -0700
"Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn"  wrote:

> Folks:
> 
> I've decided I do need to own a cell-phone after all. It has been a
> delightful few years of cell-phone-free life. How long as it been?
> Maybe ten years? Anyway, I've decided I need to own a cell-phone, and
> I would much rather it be my Neo FreeRunner than anything else.
> 
> So, please help me get it working. It almost always stays in the state
> where it says "Registering..." and therefore is never able to use the
> cellular network to make or receive calls. A couple of times it
> instead went into the registered state soon after bootup, and those
> times I was able to make or receive calls, but it almost never does
> that. I'm using whatever firmware came with it when I bought it. I
> should probably start by upgrading the GSM modem firmware or the FR
> firmware, right? What's the best-supported firmware available
> nowadays? And where are the best instructions in how to upgrade? Thank
> you very much for taking the time to help me out.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Zooko
> 
Yes, for starters you'll want to update the modem firmware[1]. Which
distro are you running currently? OM2008.x? The openmoko wiki may be a
bit dated but it is still a viable resource for learning how to flash a
newer OS via dfu-util. There are quite a number of options for OS and
you can easily dual boot as well.

Currently I am using AoF on SD[2] and QtMoko v39 in NAND[3]. I find
that Android is a bit on the slow side performance wise to use the Neo
as a phone but MoonReader+ is miles ahead of FBReader for e-books.
QtMoko is my preferred distro for phone usage. I almost exclusively use
AoF as a bookreader. There is also SHR[4] but the last time I tried it
(shr-core) it still had unreasonable power settings which are set in
stone unless or until you edit something(been to long for me to recall
what) via a terminal it will shut down while waiting to configure it. I
was also unable to use my Neo as phone while it was installed. Sorry
SHR fans, I'm simply disappointed in the the usability factors but some
of the UI improvements are very nice.

Brian

[1]http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/GSM/Flashing
[2]https://code.google.com/p/android-on-freerunner/
[3]http://qtmoko.sourceforge.net/
[4]http://trac.shr-project.org/trac

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Fw: [Lugor-discuss] Remember the Neo Freerunner smart-phone? Updated hardware is now available!

[Brian]

Hi all,

I'm trying to do my part in helping to promote the GTA04 iteration of
the Neo FreeRunner/1973. I don't do marketing very well so it's not a
ringing endorsement of either platform. I love my Neo though and would
like to see the GTA04 become a reality. Getting the word out as
honestly as I can and hope to be able to purchase a GTA04 when I can
afford to.

Brian




Begin forwarded message:

Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 15:58:14 -0500
From: Brian 
To: LUGOR discussion list 
Subject: [Lugor-discuss] Remember the Neo Freerunner smart-phone?
Updated hardware is now available!


Hi All,

Just wanted to spread the word that updated hardware is now available
for the Neo Freerunner[1]. For those of you that aren't familiar with
the phone[2] it came out at the same time as the first iPhone in the
form of it's precursor, the Neo1973, by an upstart company called
OpenMoko[3]. Their goal was to introduce a new type of phone/portable
computer that was open in as many ways as was possible at the time.

It wasn't popular for a number of reasons, chief among them reliability
(mostly software related), cost, and a warning that it was not yet a
consumer device. There were other issues like poor battery performance,
echo/distortion on calls, which have been solved, for the most part, by
both software and kernel improvements. 

Fast forward to 2012 and a dizzying array smart-phones have now become
ubiquitous devices. None of which offer the same freedoms as the Neo
Freerunner does. There have been a few offerings from Nokia which were
promising but the salad days appear to be over now that the Elopaclypse
(offensive perhaps?) is in effect.

Yes, there are a lot of choices but they either consist of 'walled
gardens' like Apple offers, or a myriad of Android devices which may or
may not be rootable (read modified to run what you desire), or other
proprietary offerings from RIM and of course the upstart WP7. All of
which are beholden to the whims and fancies of their prospective
Intellectual Property owners.

I'm not really keen on delving into the whole IP thing. Suffice it to
say that if we don't fight for our rights as consumers in this regard
it will likely mean the death of open phones especially in the US.
Every time I read the latest news in patent fights it only justifies my
perspective on the issues.

I am fortunate enough to have a Neo Freerunner (thanks Justin!) and
despite it's shortcomings I find it reliable enough to use as my
primary cellphone. Granted it's not perfect and the hardware is a bit
dated compared to recent offerings but it does offer the one thing
nothing else does: The ability to run a real linux distro on it with
full control over the hardware out of the box!

The latest Iteration, which is a replacement MoBo which fits inside of
a Neo 1973/Freerunner case, uses some of the existing hardware and is a
big step in the right direction. It's faster, has improved memory, and
is being actively developed by an active community that won't give up
on the ideal of having a phone that is truly free of the constraints
currently imposed by all other manufacturers.

The cost of said freedoms are steep but should eventually go down. I'd
like to see the latest iteration in free phones not flounder so please
have a look at the links provided and pass it on if you think the
idea of free phones deserves more attention.

Brian

[1]http://www.handheld-linux.com/wiki.php?page=GTA04%20Group%20Tour&referer=Neo%20Freerunner
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_FreeRunner
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openmoko
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Re: [Marketing] Ideas / Plan

[Brian]

On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:22:55 +0100
Ed Kapitein  wrote:

> On 12/30/2011 06:59 PM, Gerald A wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:12 AM, Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller
> > mailto:h...@goldelico.com>> wrote:
> >
> >
> > The other strategy is the one taken by Apple. They have a very
> > low marketing budget compared to other companies. And the media are
> > still happy to report every small move at no cost...
> >
> >
> > ... which is because Apple is super secretive, so even "rumors"
> > become big news.
> >
> > While this is a great strategy, it becomes difficult to achieve if
> > you are trying to have everything "open".
> >
> > What I think is lost in all of this is the question: Who is the
> > intended customer?
> >
> > I've seen some people talk about linux geeks, etc etc. However, at
> > least for the first rev of the GTA04,
> > it's _hardware_ geeks, and hardcore ones at that, which is the
> > focus.
> >
> > There are lots of unix-heads that would love a phone that is
> > "free-er" then Android or Apple let you be.
> > But having to buy a phone, then cannibalize it with another kit you
> > buy? It's definitely outside the
> > mainstream.
> >
> > Now, it's not that I don't want this project to succeed. I think
> > it's a great cause -- I was one of the early
> > GTA01 (neo) buyers.
> >
> > For me, I don't have time right now to assemble a Freerunner and a
> > GTA04 to get a working phone
> > "with possibilities". I want the completed package, then end result.
> > The neo was shipped with the slogan
> > "some assembly required", which gave you the right idea. I thought
> > that it just needed a good software
> > stack to make things great. (I still do).
> >
> > What might work is having people invest, rather then "buy"
> > something. That's something I could wrap
> > my head around. "Make the open phone happen -- Invest now". Don't
> > make it complicated or expensive.
> > "$10 in one 'block'" kind of thing. Maybe 40 blocks would allow the
> > "investor" to see a completed phone,
> > if one was to ever be produced. Make the risks clear -- the "open
> > phone" might never come to market,
> > but if we get 5000 blocks sold, we then have the muscle to negotiate
> > with the big boys.
> >
> > The issue here is what is in it for the "little guy", and I'd be a
> > bit fuzzy. 40 blocks gets a phone, but
> > what if I buy 2? Do I get the use of a phone for a week? :P I also
> > don't know the legal side of calling
> > it an "investment" (rather then a donation or a purchase). But this
> > would be simpler to "market", and
> > would have better funding potential then selling the kit.
> >
> > As an aside -- if I have extra cash, I might be willing to buy a kit
> > or two -- but they would either end up
> > as donations to others, or as a dust collector. So it's not that I'm
> > not willing to put money into it. But 
> > I also realize that one or two more kits won't make this happen in
> > isolation.
> >
> > Thanks
> 
> My thoughts too, set up a kind of micro credit, where people can lent
> money, lets say 100 euro, and  with that money build the phones.
> Once the phones are made, more developers can develop different
> aspects of the phone and people will see the GTA04 become more mature.
> I think success stories with video clips on youtube will convince more
> people to buy a GTA04 then good stories on paper.
> And the microcreditters can either get their money back once all
> phones are sold, or can get a 110 euro discount when they buy a GTA04.
> 
> Just my thoughts..
> 
> Kind regards,
> Ed
> 
> PS
> i guess you must be Dutch to come up with a micro credit plan in
> west-europe ;-)
> 
> 

Perhaps Kickstarter[1] would be an option here. It's a crowdsource
funded site where creative projects of many kinds, including open
hardware[2], can get the funding needed to keep them alive. I'm not
suggesting it's a panacea for all the hurdles involved but there are
quite a few success stories.

I think the OM community probably has an edge in competing for funding
due to it's age and the fact that the new hardware already exists. It
would be nice to see at the very least a 'hardware hacker kit' with the
basics as suggested here by Neal:

> I suspect that people who are buying a GTA04 at thi

Re: QtMoko UBIFS problem

[Brian]

On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:58:38 +
Radek Polak  wrote:

> On Sunday 18 December 2011 22:49:00 Ivan Matveev wrote:
> 
> > Hello,
> > I can't boot QtMoko v36 fom NAND.
> > Here is the screen of kernel panic.
> > http://file.qip.ru/photo/NTlrXV05/uboot_gena2x-qtmoko_v36-kernel.html
> 
> This is well known problem. V36 is just experiment ;-)
> 
> > Actually my problem started long time ago.
> > http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2010-December/063993.html
> > Some early UBI QtMoko versions
> > worked OK. Then I tried SHR and Debian. After that no UBI image
> > boots. Now my FR is a good platform to test UBIFS improvements :).
> > Thanks for any ideas.
> 
> Have you tried v35? I UBIFS in this version should work - i have
> tested it on my FR and IIRC nobody else had any problems with it.
> Also please make sure to use qi-v35.udfu.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Radek

Radek,

Can you please add some checksums for releases? I'll be happy to mirror
them all if you provide checksums and links to all the previous
releases and apps as SourceForge doesn't have them all available.
Without checksums I can still mirror what I have but they will always
be suspect because of a lack of checksums.

If you're happy to do this I'll gladly post to the list where they are
mirrored.

Brian

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Re: Navit for QT Moko

[Brian]

On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:18:43 -0500
Brian  wrote:

> On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:51:26 +
> Radek Polak  wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> > if all goes right i will have new Freerunner donated to me by Christ
> > van Willegen.

I'm such an IDIOT, I forogt to thank our benefactor! Thank you Christ
Van Willigen!!!

Sincerly,

Brian

> > I will try to make navit working with GPS out of the
> > box and do v38 when it's done.
> > 
> > Regards
> > 
> > Radek
> 
> You sir, deserve the highest praise for your efforts to keep a forlorn
> hardware platform from perpetual stagnation. I'm pretty tapped right
> now for cash and you would have to pry my Neo-FR from my dead cold
> hands before I gave it up but I would have gifted you a case or a new
> one if I could have.
> 
> Happy Holidays,
> 
> Brian
> 
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Re: Navit for QT Moko

[Brian]

On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:51:26 +
Radek Polak  wrote:

> Hi,
> if all goes right i will have new Freerunner donated to me by Christ
> van Willegen. I will try to make navit working with GPS out of the
> box and do v38 when it's done.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Radek

You sir, deserve the highest praise for your efforts to keep a forlorn
hardware platform from perpetual stagnation. I'm pretty tapped right
now for cash and you would have to pry my Neo-FR from my dead cold
hands before I gave it up but I would have gifted you a case or a new
one if I could have.

Happy Holidays,

Brian

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Re: QtMoko UBIFS problem

[Brian]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:49:00 +0300
Ivan Matveev  wrote:

> Hello,
> I can't boot QtMoko v36 fom NAND.
> Here is the screen of kernel panic.
> http://file.qip.ru/photo/NTlrXV05/uboot_gena2x-qtmoko_v36-kernel.html
> 

This probably won't be too helpful since I'm not using ubifs but I've
experienced a couple of kernel panics recently. Albeit with far less
verbose results than yours, perhaps ubifs is more verbose(?), but I get
similar results as in not being able to mount the FS; jffs2 on
NAND(qtmoko v31) and ext3 on sd(AoF Froyo [ran sd card build]).

I blame that particular sd card for the AoF failure since it's the
original that shipped with the phone and this isn't the first time it's
given me trouble. I was at least able to backup what was left of the
data after attempting to repair the FS. It booted afterwards but too
much was missing to make it usable.

It's been quite frustrating dealing with the NAND failure as I loved
that install (~1yr old) and spent quite a bit of time tweaking it. So
far I can't figure out a way to copy what's left of the data I haven't
backed up. Even after using the latest dfu-util, compiled from source,
uploading from the phone to another machine is *sigh* still broken.

Using neocon via the U-boot prompt hasn't been too much help either
(great tool though). There apparently are bad blocks on NAND but only 4
if I recall correctly. I copied that session to another box so I can't
share the info from it right now. Perhaps you might fare better
checking your NAND partitions.

> Actually my problem started long time ago. 
> http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2010-December/063993.html
> Some early UBI QtMoko versions
> worked OK. Then I tried SHR and Debian. After that no UBI image boots.
> Now my FR is a good platform to test UBIFS improvements :).
> Thanks for any ideas.
I apologize for not having any good advice. Perhaps Radek could see fit
to adding checksums for the releases/packages so we could at least rule
out bad files.

Good Luck,

Brian

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Re: what do I install now?

[Brian]

On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:55:58 +0100
Matthias Apitz  wrote:

> 
> Hello,
> 
> I'm thinking in a fresh install of my FR GTA02 (at the moment
> Om2008.9); what I would need at least are:

> Any recommendation for a distribution I should install?
> 

Like a few others I'd recommend giving QtMoko a try. I've been pretty
happy with it myself and it works fairly well when using the FR
primarily as a phone. I've been using v31 on NAND and playing with v36
on an SD card. I find it the easiest distro to live with.

I've just spent the morning trying out the Android SD card only install
for Froyo. It's a bit quirky and prone to crashing but I'll chalk that
up to using a bad SD card as QtMoko locked up on the same card. My
previous experience with Cupcake on NAND was better. But you're already
familiar with Android on FR.

I haven't used SHR in a very long time and I was initially pleased with
it. Using a distro that runs X has it's advantages and it's easier to
work with in a number of ways. SHR used to stand for Stable Hybrid
Release but there have only ever been testing and unstable branches. No
disrespect to the devs but I gave up on using it when it wiped all the
contacts from my SIM card. Which wouldn't have been a big deal back
when I used to be able to recall names and the numbers associated with
them from memory but those days are long gone. For the younger folks
this is how PIM worked before we had the term and we used dead tree
media as a backup! The testing branch images are looking pretty stale
(27-Sep-2010 23:55) but the unstable branch is newer (22-Aug-2011
14:33).

I'd probably try it again but unless someone can confirm it won't wipe
my SIM contacts I'm only willing to dip my toes in the water sans SIM
card. Since I use my FR as a phone this is an unrealistic situation.
It's a shame really since I miss X native apps a lot. :(


> - GPS && OpenstreetMap (tango)
On QTMoko Navit is the non X GPS app and it uses OSM data. You can run
TangoGPS and FoxtrotGPS using QX. SHR opens up more options but I'm
afraid I can't say how good they are now.
> - TCP over USB and SSH into the FR
This will work as expected for USB regardless of distro excluding
android as it only allows ADB see [1] and [2].
> - Terminal with Stardict
You get QTerminal on QtMoko and can run an xterm in QX. SHR offers the
best experience for a CLI junkie. Android offers the worst; you have to
use ADB to install busybox. Stardict in a terminal?
> - PIM, SMS, call
SMS and calling worked fine for me in all 3 distros albeit some mic
tweaking was required in the past (lowering the mic volume). PIM is
supported in all 3 but syncing on QtMoko isn't possible for me as it
only supports syncing with a Windows machine running software that
needs to be compiled. I don't have experience syncing with the other 2
distros .
> - X11vnc server
I've never had a use for this although I recall getting it working in
the past for kicks on SHR and QtMoko.
> Btw: I own another GTA02 with Android installed on. I feel that it
> reacts much faster on the screen while moving around through the
> applications or menus. How they do this, as well with X11?
Android doesn't use X[3], Neither does QtMoko, SHR does. Any of the 3
are bound to offer a better user experience compared to Om2008.9. Out of
those 3 I consider android to be the slowest, especially Froyo, but
Cupcake is very usable and the UI is quite nice. I love a lot of the
stuff that Android does well and wished it was easier to customize but
it appears to be outgrowing the hardware.
> 
> Thanks
> 
>   matthias

You're Welcome,

Brian

[1]http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/USB_Networking
[2]http://code.google.com/p/android-on-freerunner/wiki/AndroidDebugBridge
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#Linux

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Re: Recommendations for a data-only GSM/UMTS device in USB stick ff

[Brian]

On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:51:33 +
David Pottage  wrote:

> On 15/11/11 01:24, Michael Sokolov wrote:

> > * I need this device to be capable of placing old-fashioned data
> > calls, not just Internet access.  By old-fashioned data calls I
> > mean the arrangement where one dials a number from the mobile
> > device with ATD (no semicolon at the end, making it a data
> > rather than voice call), and the number being dialed is a POTS land
> > line with a plain old analog modem answering the call.  I want to
> > be able to connect to my personal data center from remote locations
> > bypassing the Internet.
> I think you will find that it is imposible to make data calls to an
> analoge modem. The reason is that GSM and it's sucessor standards are
> inherently digital, and are derived from ISDN telephone standards, so
> nothing in your phone or in the phone network will create tones that
> will be understood by an analogue modem.
> 

I don't know about doing that with GSM but it 'sort of works' over VoIP
which is also inherently digital. I had occasion to help a guy out with
transitioning from Windows Vista to Ubuntu (iirc) and he only had
Dial-Up. I only have VoIP and have done for years but did manage to
figure out the proper methods to use for him to be able to use his ISP
when they wouldn't support it.

I had a friend who also uses VoIP test a kermit connection with me. It
worked but it wasn't very reliable or error free. That wasn't the goal
though, initially I just wanted to verify that the hardware modem would
work.

After verifying it worked I did manage to surf the web albeit at lower
than the 56k speeds the modem is capable of but it did work. I probably
could have fiddled around with asterisk a bit more and utilized fax
instead of voice but I was only interested in determining the proper
login procedure for his ISP.

> Having said that, there should be no problem making data calls to
> another GSM device or a digital trancever on the end of an ISDN phone
> line.
> 
> Given your other requirements for off the shelf hardware, I think your
> simplest solution would be to buy a mobile phone with a data port, and
> learn how to use that port as a GSM modem. For example I used to work
> for Nokia, and I know that with their phones, if you put them into "PC
> Suite mode" they will respond to AT commands on their serial/usb ports
> and let you do dial up internet to your ISP, or any other phone
> number. You may find that your current phone does what you need.
> 

Good luck in your endeavors.


Brian

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Re: GTA-02 Replacement Battery

[Brian]

On Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:54:34 -0400
"Iain B. Findleton"  wrote:

> Is the BL-5C still the best replacement for the battery on the
> GTA-02? Does the BL-6C also work?
Yes both of them work the BL-5C is slightly thinner than the BL-6C and
offers less capacity[1]. I've used BL-4/5/6C and all work fine with a
the caveat of needing to use the dumb battery kernel module for
charging[2] while in a Freerunner. 

> Anything better or more current easily available?
Not that I'm aware of, maybe someone else on the list has suggestions
though.

Brian

[1]http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Battery_Questions_and_Answers#What_batteries_can_be_used_with_gta01_and_gta02.3F
 
[2]http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Battery_Questions_and_Answers#Using_compatible_batteries_with_gta02

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Re: GTA02 fails to charge

[Brian]

On Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:50:33 -0500
Cristian Gómez  wrote:

> I have a doubt about this because my FreeRunner only lasts 1 day
> charged and I want to use it more now, I read this thread and like
> Ivan, the first thing that comes to my mind is: new battery, do you
> know what models of batteries works fine with FreeRunner (let's say
> Nokia's 1100 or so)??
> 
> Thanks in advance
>
 
You can use some of the common Nokia batteries with caveats.
Details can be found here:

http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Battery_Questions_and_Answers#Hardware_capabilities

You'll need to use the dumb battery kernel module as well. Instructions
for that are on the same page. I've used BL-6C/5C/4C Nokia batteries
without problems but as the wiki suggests don't trust the capacity
when it starts getting low.

I get ~4-5 days out of a battery when the phone is sleeping and that's
with little to no usage and ~24-36hrs if I keep it awake without using
bt/gps/gprs/wifi. Currently using QtMoko v31 if memory serves me right.

> 2011/9/28 Ivan Matveev 
> 
> > On Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:46:11 -0400
> > Phil Vandry  wrote:
> >
> > > I have 2 GTA02v6 Freerunners which don't charge their batteries
> > > anymore. The symptoms on both are the same, but it started
> > > happening on both phones in different locations and times. The
> > > battery state is "Charging" whether the phone is plugged in to a
> > > computer or wall charger, but the battery slowly goes down
> > > instead of charging.
> >
> > Had a similar problem. New battery helped.
> >

If you have a compatible Nokia battery give one a shot and see if it
fares better. Before buying another battery you should also verify the
charge rate. I haven't experienced any issues charging off of usb ports
on laptops or desktops and using the original wallwart always works. I
do have a mobile charger (rocketfish model rf-rzr55) that only charges
@ 100mA which isn't enough to keep the battery from discharging. You can
force fast charge (500mA or 1000mA) for non "smart" usb connections.
Details here:

http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Forcing_fast_charge_mode

I think the paths differ for more recent kernels so maybe someone on
the list has the correct paths to use and can update the wiki or post
to the list.

HTH and good luck!

Brian

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Re: TSM30 source found!

[Brian Wilson]

My 2 cents: If you don't want the software, don't download it.
Michael, thanks for making it available. I will probably download it
and look at it because I am curious, I am very busy so that's probably
all I will do.

I have been in the situation Michael described - I had a copy of
source for a nice paint program that I wrote, but it was owned by a
former employer. The company changed hands a couple times, the product
was discontinued, but technically the software was not mine. I ended
up throwing it all away. So much human creativity and effort just goes
into the waste bin because it is "intellectual property".  If I had a
religion this would be a sin.

Excuse me, Michael did you say "VAX" server? :-) Once you replace it
what will you do with the extra floor space? The savings on your
electric bill would pay for a virtual server in the Cloud.

-- 
Brian Wilson
Corvallis Oregon

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Re: sd card not unmounting?

[Brian]

On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 16:46:45 +
"dmatthews.org"  wrote:

> Brian  wrote:
> 
> > This worked for me on qtmoko, I was using a bluetooth headset most
> > of the time but there are some issues with that approach. Here's a
> > link from a previous ml posting about audio settings:
> > 
> > http://hnet.endofinternet.net/elektro/Freerunner/ALSA/sound_setting.html
> 
> That article solves my sound problems! - thanks for posting it.
> 

Glad it helped but the real thanks goes here:

http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2011-January/064233.html

> I automount a sd card partition (ext2); the system does not seem to
> unmount it cleanly. It makes no difference whether I halt or reboot
> either from the gui or commandline; when the neo comes back up if I
> fsck the card it reports that it was not unmounted cleanly.
>

Perhaps there's an open file on the mounted partition? You might try
using lsof and fuser to diagnose this.
 
> I've just updated to v33 after sticking for some time with v26 - I'm
> pretty certain this behaviour did not happen in that older version.
> Certainly the card would need a fsck after a crash, but not after a
> clean shut down.
>

I used v26 for a long time as well and am currently using v31. Neither
of them has exhibited the behavior you're reporting.
 
> Would someone check this - it looks like a bug to me.

I might try upgrading to v33 soon but probably not for a couple of
weeks. Good luck in diagnosing the problem though. You might want to
start a new thread so this one doesn't get convoluted with two very
different topics.

Brian

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Re: Buzz Fix

[Brian]

On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 09:19:13 +0100
Thomas  HOCEDEZ  wrote:

> le Wed, 9 Mar 2011 08:55:47 +0100
> Alfa21  a écrit:
> 
> > 2011-03-08@21:04 Wesley Frazier
> > 
> > > Anybody have any tips on mitigating the buzz?
> > > 
> > > If I have a model with the buzz, will grabbing the GTA04
> > > motherboard when it comes out correct it?
> > 
> > try to low the gain of your mic with alsamixer during a call and if
> > you like the result save the status in the "scenario" file(s) the
> > drawback is you have to speak loud
> > 

This worked for me on qtmoko, I was using a bluetooth headset most of
the time but there are some issues with that approach. Here's a link
from a previous ml posting about audio settings:

http://hnet.endofinternet.net/elektro/Freerunner/ALSA/sound_setting.html


Good luck Wesley!

Brian

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Re: GPRS and QTMoko

[Brian]

On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 04:14:42 -0800 (PST)
"W. B. Kranendonk"  wrote:

> --- On Wed, 3/9/11, W. B. Kranendonk  wrote:
> > --- On Tue, 3/8/11, Wesley Frazier
> > 
> > wrote:
> > > If I boot my freerunner up from a
> > > cold boot and manually start GPRS it
> > > works fine. (...) it seems to
> > > stop
> > I got the same issue on QTMoko 0.33. 
> > A while back GPRS came up as well; 
> came up on the list, that is.
> 
> > run anything in the background 
> I tried one of the suggestions, run ping in the background as keep
> alive.
> 
> For the last one and a half hour (or something), ping has been
> running happily with about 750ms for an answer; count of icmp_req is
> 2800 at the moment. 
> 

I left an irssi session running for ~12 hours which never PTO'd. I did
and still do have problems with GPRS staying connected whether using on
demand or always on unless I background something.

> The usefulness of the connection seems to have dropped though: the
> first minutes NeronGPS would receive tiles relatively fast, and
> browsing websites mostly filled with text would be OK. 
> 
> At the moment, downloading four tiles for one screen of NeronGPS
> takes close to half a minute (increasing icmp answers to about 2
> seconds).

My provider (T-Mobile) has an "unlimited" $1.49 data day pass which
slows to a crawl once it hits >30Mb of data. Does your provider do
something similar?

I hadn't noticed any slowdowns until hitting this limit while running
irssi to keep the connection alive. Once it does slow down it stays
slow until I buy another day pass. Does your connection speed ever
increase again?

Perhaps using mtr-tiny instead of ping might shed some light on what's
happening with your GPRS connection.

> 
> All of this is symptom description of course, I still have to find
> out whether I am able to do anything useful with the underlying code.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Boudewijn 

This reminds me of the old days when AOL used to drop connections which
usually happened in the middle of a rather large software update of
course.

Brian

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Re: faenqo

[Brian]

On Fri, 4 Feb 2011 17:42:08 +0100
cyberesprit  wrote:

> Hello everyone!
> (sorry, i'am french and i use google traduct ..)
>   
> I am the "French" who worked on the theme Faenqo.
> You can visit the site here (fr + en languages):
> https://cyberesprit.fr/faenqo/ 
>   
> 1. Accept the certificate even if it seems bogus (certificate home)
> 2. I host the site at home and my connection can be unstable at
> times, thank you for your understanding.
>   
> Hoping you like it ^^ 
>   
> Regards!
> cyberesprit
>

Tried it out today (full version) and was impressed by how clean it
looks and how crisp the icons and wallpaper are compared to the
default theme. There are some issues:

* keyboard switching icon in top shelf is the default one.
http://scap.linuxtogo.org/files/431ca35f6c484492de8a968699c06b01.png

That's a top shelf button I wish was always there anyway. I find when
I'm switching between apps sometimes the kb behavior doesn't work as
expected.

* I miss the clock being in the top shelf

On the whole I love it and I'll be using it from now on. Thanks for
the hard work you put in on this it's very much appreciated.

Brian 

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Re: qtmoko, new contacts deleted on reboot

[Brian Kemp]

On Mon, 2011-01-10 at 21:24 +0100, Alfa21 wrote:
> hello,
> when I add contacts to my address-book from a received sms or voice call, 
> it's highly probable I loose them after a reboot.
> that happens not always but in 90% of cases.

In my experience w/ qtmoko v26 (haven't tested v31 yet) your contacts
aren't deleted - it's that loading contacts from SIM is best measured in
minutes rather than seconds. It is quite slow.

This is not unique to the FreeRunner - I have a Motorola C155 (it has
the same GSM chipset) and it can take about a minute for my contacts to
load on that phone.

This is why SHR (and Android) import contacts and store them in a local
database.

> my sim card is half free for new contacts.

Mine is quite full.

> also, I see if I do not enter my pin code for a while after a new boot, few 
> contacts are loaded in "read only"... maybe from the sqlight file, but the 
> sim is ignored.
> this kind of contacts are lost if I change the qtmoko installation (pristine 
> installation) probably because they are not in the sim too.

QtMoko stores contacts in a local database as well, but in my experience
only if I entered them into QtMoko - booting w/o SIM only gives me my
most recent contacts (since last flash).

> also, I can't see anymore the "copy contact to the sim" menu (or similar 
> caption)... but I'm probably confused now.
> 

Where is that option? I've never seen it. I thought it was automatic.

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Re: which os for the freerunner

[Brian Kemp]

On Fri, 2010-12-31 at 09:28 -0500, tom wrote:
> hi,
> 
> i bought the freerunner a while ago only because of android, but got
> quickly disapointed by the lack of speed. is qtmoto faster?
> 
> thx

Hi Tom.  Android on FreeRunner is pretty new, as is Replicant on
FreeRunner.

QtMoko is fairly stable and responsive. It improves every release. I've
been using v26 for a while and was planning to install v31 later today.
One thing of note: qtmoko leaves contacts on the SIM which can be slow
(there is some local storage for numbers you have added on the phone
itself).

If you don't find QtMoko to your liking you can try out SHR or
Hackable::1, etc. There's some choice here - an amount that's very odd
for a phone. :)

I've been using my FreeRunner daily for about a year. The one that
drives me nuts is Bluetooth Disconnecting on Suspend, but the easiest
workaround for me is to leave the phone on the charger in the car (where
I actually need Bluetooth.)


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Bluetooth Profile selection on Resume from Suspend (QtMoko v26)

[Brian Kemp]

Hello all:

No clue if this is a known issue or not. I can file a bug if it is not.
(I'm not sure which tracker.)

I have a Plantronics Explorer 220 bluetooth headset. It supports Headset
and Handsfree BT profiles.

When I try to connect w/ Headset Profile in qtmoko v26, the connection
fails.
When I try to connect w/ Handsfree Profile, connection succeeds.

When I suspend the phone, and resume it, I must reconnect manually. I
assume that the phone is trying to reconnect to the plantronics headset
using the Headset profile.

Is the connected profile of my device saved on suspend, or simply that
it was connected?

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A lead on the bluetooth audio suspend problem (QtMoko v26)

[Brian Kemp]

As far as I can remember there is an issue with bluetooth audio, where
the FreeRunner user cannot hear audio over the bluetooth
headset/handsfree device on outgoing calls until one incoming call has
been received.

I'm using QtMoko v26 and once in a while I can get this to happen.

I have found a workaround, by accident:

After pairing / connecting your bluetooth headset (handsfree in my
case), go to the Profile Editor and play your selected ringtone or alarm
tone (go to select a new ringtone, and let it play once.)

Bluetooth audio then works for me for outgoing calls.

I'm guessing the fact that the phone rings for incoming calls is what is
making it work. :)

Hypothesis: Some sort of initialization routine is taking place when
audio is played over the sidetone.

I don't have the skills to patch, but if this helps anyone, you're
welcome. :)

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GSM buzz fix and freebeer brewing party in Washington, DC

[Brian DeRocher]

Hello,

I'd like to announce again a GSM buzz fix party in the DC metro area.  There 
are 5 people interested so far.

When we have a sufficient number of people, i'll announce the date and place.  
Please mark your interest on this wiki page or email me directly.

http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/BuzzFixParty#Washington.2C_DC_-_United_States

Even if you don't have the buzz issue, stop by.  We can try my batch of 
http://freebeer.org and brew some more (of course modifying and improving the 
recipe).

Having no idea what the level of interest is, i'd like to reserve the right to 
limit the number of people attending.

Brian

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Re: Another so suitable for freeruner?

[Brian Kemp]

Hello urodelo.

If I recall correctly, Replicant folk are quite familiar w/ FreeRunner &
the OpenMoko phones.

They are already using the GSM interface library written by OpenMoko. It
should be fairly easy to port back & collaborate.

On Mon, 2010-11-08 at 15:55 +0100, urodelo wrote:
> Helo community.
> Today I've read an article about a "new" so for mobile phones with android  
> installed. Its name is Replicant (http://replicant.us/). It comes from  
> android, and the intention of the developers is to clean android from  
> closed source code and provide a completely free/open environment. They  
> say, now they support HTC Dream / ADP1 and Google Nexus One, and are  
> willing to port Replicant to other devices. I've written a post on their  
> website to let them know about the freerunner.
> What do you think?
> 
> urodelo
> 
> 
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community@lists.openmoko.org

[Brian Kemp]

A while back I inquired about how to set up GPRS for AT&T in the US.
These are the settings I can't make head nor tail of. Comments after #

#I'm fairly sure I don't need these two lines
Name: MEdia Net
Homepage: http://device.home

Service Type 1: WAP
Gateway IP: 66.209.11.61
Port 1: 9201
Domain 1: Blank

#Guessing this means it's not in use
Service Type 2: WAP
Gateway IP 2: 000.000.000.000
Port 2: 9201
Domain 2: blank

DNS 1: 000.000.000.000
DNS 2: 000.000.000.000
Timeout: 15 minutes.

#unsure as to what a CSD is. The numbers look like US phone numbers
CSD No 1: 14152441012 or 18472549271
Username: w...@cingular.com (required for CSD use only)
Password CINGULAR1 (required for CSD use only)
Speed (Bps) 1: 9600
Linetype 1: ISDN

#again, guessing not used
CSD 2: Blank
Username 2: Blank
Password 2: Blank
Speed (Bps): 9600
Line Type 2: ISDN

#what makes this u/p combo different from the one above?
GPRS APN: wap.cingular
Username: 
Password: 

#boilerplate chat disclaimer I got from the tech support guy
"Please be aware that unlocked phones are not guaranteed to work on the
ATT network.
When you use an unlocked phone you are running a chance that your
internet and picture messages will not work.
This is because the phone does not have the pre programmed network
settings inside the phone.
The downside is that there is no way to get these settings into the
phone.
The only way to ensure that you can use these features is to use a ATT
phone on the ATT network."

#I'm not even sure HOW to translate these into GPRS settings Qtmoko can
make sense of. I will try & respond w/ /var/log/messages

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Re: busted moko, anyone want it?

[Brian]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:49:33 -0700
jeremy jozwik  wrote:

> On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 3:48 PM, Brian  wrote:
> > I've been itching to get a spare one myself (I use mine heavily as a
> > regular phone). Ideally I'd prefer one that can be fixed but I'd
> > appreciate one that's only good for spare parts. Are you looking for
> > anything other than shipping covered? Let me know off list if you
> > like I'd be happy to try and give it a good home.
> 
> shipping only. everything /was/ in working order prior to my attempt
> at removing the screen. i can give you photos of current condition if
> you are interested
> 

I'm interested and replied off list check your email and get back to me
when convenient.

Brian

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Re: busted moko, anyone want it?

[Brian]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:07:16 -0700
jeremy jozwik  wrote:

> so. my moko is broko. screen has a nick in it, usb connector broke off
> and was poorly soldered back on, a switch to the micro sd is broken
> off and it will not boot.
> 
> right now it is in a box next to my computer. anyone want it for
> something other then collecting dust?
> 
> location is los angeles.
> 

I've been itching to get a spare one myself (I use mine heavily as a
regular phone). Ideally I'd prefer one that can be fixed but I'd
appreciate one that's only good for spare parts. Are you looking for
anything other than shipping covered? Let me know off list if you like
I'd be happy to try and give it a good home.

Brian

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Re: GSM buzz fix and freebeer brewing party in Washington, DC

[Brian Kemp]

I'm all for it, esp. if 1024-fix or headset-bass-fix is possible.

On Sat, 2010-10-09 at 11:01 -0400, Brian DeRocher wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'd like to announce a GSM buzz fix party in the DC metro area.  At this time 
> i'm just gathering interest.  When we have a sufficient number of people, 
> i'll announce the date and place.  Please mark your interest on this wiki 
> page or email me directly.
> 
> http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/BuzzFixParty#Washington.2C_DC_-_United_States
> 
> Even if you don't have the buzz issue, stop by.  We can try my batch of 
> http://freebeer.org and brew some more (of course modifying and improving the 
> recipe).
> 
> Having no idea what the level of interest is, i'd like to reserve the right 
> to limit the number of people attending.
> 
> Brian
> 
> --
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> http://brian.derocher.org
> 
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Re: GSM buzz fix and freebeer brewing party in Washington, DC

[Brian DeRocher]

Martin,

On Saturday 09 October 2010 11:19:49 Martin Hagwall wrote:
> Will it be possible to send in two Freerunners to have them Buzz-fixed?

The way i'll handle this is, people attending may offer to fix mailed in 
devices.  And people needing fixes by mail may request a sponsor to work on 
their devices.  So it's up to your sponsor.

> How much would it cost?

Hard to say.  Probably this is best left to an arrangement between people 
needing fixes and people offering to work on them.  People with the skills and 
equipment to perform this procedure are hard to find.

People needing fixes would pay for parts and shipping the device of course.

Brian

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GSM buzz fix and freebeer brewing party in Washington, DC

[Brian DeRocher]

Hello,

I'd like to announce a GSM buzz fix party in the DC metro area.  At this time 
i'm just gathering interest.  When we have a sufficient number of people, i'll 
announce the date and place.  Please mark your interest on this wiki page or 
email me directly.

http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/BuzzFixParty#Washington.2C_DC_-_United_States

Even if you don't have the buzz issue, stop by.  We can try my batch of 
http://freebeer.org and brew some more (of course modifying and improving the 
recipe).

Having no idea what the level of interest is, i'd like to reserve the right to 
limit the number of people attending.

Brian

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[QtMoko v26] online via GPRS

[Brian Kemp]

> P.S. I believe that some of the problem are related to openmoko 
> multiplexer, but a lot of them - to the ancient modem with first 
> generation gprs. I`m now trying to get qtmoko running with external 
> demuxer, to see if it will improve the situation.

I wonder if that may explain why I have never been able to authenticate
successfully to AT&T's GPRS network here in the states (maybe they're
blacklisting older hardware?)

I'm also having trouble translating their network settings information
to what QtMoko accepts.

If anyone's gotten it to work, I'd love to know what you did. I can
supply the connection settings if that helps.

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Re: [wikireader] There are updates!

[Brian]

On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:41:25 -0500
Jeff  wrote:

 
> Also, I was able to flash a new boot rom that gives me a Hitchhikers
> Guide Dont Panic splash screen.
> 

I'd consider buying one just for that feature alone.

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Re: When is the next and more powerful openmoko releasing

[Brian]

On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:22:02 +0200
"Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller"  wrote:

> 
> Am 12.08.2010 um 14:12 schrieb RANJAN:
> 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > When is the next and more powerful openmoko (capable of seamless 3D
> > video and faster processor) is going to be released???
> 
> Assume, you could get a motherboard upgrade board that fits into the
> Freerunner (or Neo1973) case. Based on the TI OMAP3 SoC (OMAP3530 or
> DM3730) and UMTS.
> 
> Let me ask two questions to everybody:
> * How long could you be willing to wait for it to really become
> available?

As long as it takes for one to become available. I prefer the concept
of using something that is as open as possible by design.

> * How much would you think you could afford to pay for such a board?
> 

People have been tossing the 500 euro (~$638 USD) benchmark around and
that's a bit steep for me. Depending on the capabilities of the board
and provided it's a drop in replacement I'd say ~$300-350 USD would be
my limit.

Brian

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Re: When is the next and more powerful openmoko releasing

[Brian]

On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:02:35 +0200
"Dr. Michael Lauer"  wrote:

> 
> Am 13.08.2010 um 03:45 schrieb Joshua Judson Rosen:
> 
> > Brian  writes:
> >> 
> >> On Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:55:21 +0200
> >> "Dr. Michael Lauer"  wrote:
> >>> 
> >>> Unfortunately the freedom loving people are doomed to either work
> >>> on anti-vendor-ports (such as HTC devices etc.) or live with one
> >>> of the semi-free alternatives (Palm Pre, Nokia N900). Right now
> >>> there is no device rivaling the FreeRunner's openness, nothing
> >>> comes close.
> >> 
> >> I wouldn't necessarily color all ports of FOSS as anti-vendor. In
> >> fact don't they demonstrate the versatility and adaptability of
> >> FOSS in relation to all hardware, especially hardware that isn't
> >> open? That's a good thing if the goal is to strive towards choice
> >> for consumers. Granted it's not the ideal situation but it is a
> >> step in the right direction.
> > 
> > The term "anti-vendor port" initially struck me as a little odd, as
> > well, but now I think that Mickey is using a fairly strict
> > definition of "anti-", meaning "contrary to"--with "anti-vendor"
> > meaning "contrary to the vendor" or (more clearly) "contrary to the
> > wishes or actions of the vendor".
> 
> Correct. This is exactly what I mean – the vendor is not going to
> help you and chances are it has taken measures to make your job
> really hard (such as using completely undocumented custom silicon,
> let alone e-fuses or nightmares alike).
> 
> :M:

It seems I got the wrong impression from the term anti-vendor. The
context seems more obvious to me now than when I initially read your
post. Sorry about the confusion.

I think Openmoko was ahead of the curve in offering a device like the
Freerunner. In a subsequent post you mention that the cost of R&D isn't
as prohibitive as one would think. Perhaps someone will pick up where
Openmoko left off. It's a niche market but I find the phone quite
usable even if it is a bit quirky at times. 

Brian

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Re: When is the next and more powerful openmoko releasing

[Brian]

On Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:55:21 +0200
"Dr. Michael Lauer"  wrote:

> Hi Sriranjan,
> 
> as far as i know, openmoko is no longer working on phones.
> 

That does seem to be the case and it is a shame.

> Unfortunately the freedom loving people are doomed to either work on
> anti-vendor-ports (such as HTC devices etc.) or live with one of the
> semi-free alternatives (Palm Pre, Nokia N900). Right now there is no 
> device rivaling the FreeRunner's openness, nothing comes close.
> 

I wouldn't necessarily color all ports of FOSS as anti-vendor. In fact
don't they demonstrate the versatility and adaptability of FOSS in
relation to all hardware, especially hardware that isn't open? That's a
good thing if the goal is to strive towards choice for consumers.
Granted it's not the ideal situation but it is a step in the right
direction.
 
> I don't see that changing soon.
> 

Call me a glass half-full person but I have to disagree with you here.
The fact that more ARM based mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous is
going to drive prices down and will also drive innovation and quality up
right? That's a good thing in my book, just as MS-DOS and Windows drove
down the cost of hardware in the PC field. I do not however use or
endorse Microsoft products but I do give them credit for helping to
accelerate hardware development and make it more affordable.

I'm not a lawyer and I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy but the
international maze of patent and trade agreements must cost an absolute
fortune to feed. It's ironic in a way, since the whole concept behind
patents is to protect the inventor and allow them to recoup R&D costs.
It certainly wasn't envisioned as a means to create an unlimited cash
cow that stifles innovation by threat of lawsuits which lead to
bankruptcy. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's the sort of thing people
like us that champion openness argue against right?

The only reason why FOSS exists and will continue to exist is because
there's nobody to bankrupt or buy out. We already know FOSS pays in
spades just ask Google, IBM, Redhat etc. So why haven't the hardware
manufacturers figured this out yet? I think they've come to the
conclusion that the status quo suits them just fine.

Too bad, it's stories like this one that illustrate what open hardware
can accomplish that inspire me:

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/vietnam804/video/video_index.html

Industrial collusion can be dangerous; it isn't always a bad thing
provided it's monitored, sanctioned, and most of all open. That story
is inspiring mainly due to it's human interest aspect. I'd like to see
this sort of collusion in industry especially in aspects that affect
all of us like pollution, food production, medicine etc. It's still
baffling to me that industry just doesn't get it yet.

Brian

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Re: [QTMoko] Getting online

[Brian]

On Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:03:16 +0100
nl...@bitte-wenden.de wrote:

> Hello dear folks,
> 
> I'm struggling with getting online running v19.
> 
> In the past (and on othre distros) safest way seemed to be
> net-via-usb.
> 
> Following the instructions at 
> http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/USB_Networking#For_devices_showing_as_usb0
> I set up on a Debian Sid host which identifies the device as usb0:
> 
> # /etc/udev/rules.d/80-freerunner.rules
> 
> KERNEL=="usb[0-9]*", DRIVERS=="cdc_ether", ACTION=="add",  
> RUN+="/usr/local/sbin/freerunner-usbusb-add.sh %k"
> 
> ##
> 
> # /usr/local/sbin/freerunner-usbusb-add.sh
> 
> 
> #!/bin/sh
> (
> busNum=$( printf %.2d $( expr match "$1" "usb\([0-9]*\)") )
> ip link set "$1" address de:8b:f4:79:0b:$busNum &> /dev/null
> iptables -A POSTROUTING -t nat -j MASQUERADE -s 192.168.0.0/24
> echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
> iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT
> ) &
> exit 0
> 
> ##
> 
> 
> On executing freerunner-usbusb-add.sh I get the following error msg:
> 
> Cannot find device "de:8b:f4:79:0b:00"
> 
> 
> The accurate bus-id extracted from /var/log/messages is
> de:8b:f4:79:0b:b1 I also tried replacing the 2d in the third line of
> freerunner-usbusb-add.sh with b1, leaving the whole $busNum variable
> out and supplying the complete bus-id with $busNum attached, but
> always end up with the above error message. Any ideas? Sadly I don't
> really know what this script does exactly. 
> 
The script you're using is meant to be used in conjunction w/
network-manager the default for gnome in Ubuntu and possibly default on
debian. But it's not needed to get usb networking functioning. You can
use something like this as sudo or root:

ip addr add 192.168.0.200/24 dev usb0;iptables -A POSTROUTING -t nat -j 
MASQUERADE -s 192.168.0.0/24;sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

This essentially does the same thing as the script does. It creates an
IP address of 192.168.0.200 on the host for device usb0 and then using
iptables sets up masquerading (routes the device to your host machines
net connection) the last bit insures that traffic meant for your
freerunner gets forwarded to it.

There are a couple of caveats for the above to work. You should check
to be sure your current route doesn't conflict w/ the lan setup you're
on. That is to say if your lan already uses 192.168.0.x you'll need to
change the neo to use a different address or change the lan to use a
different address. The second is that you need to have iptables
installed and the proper kernel modules loaded. 

Because you mention that other distros have worked for you in the past
then this is probably a given unless the host/lan configuration has
changed.
> 
> 
> Second attempt: WiFi
> 
> When trying to ifup eth0 I get a bunch of the following errors:
> 
> ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: Operation not supported
> 
> 
> udhcpc sends a few discoveries but exits with "lease failed".
> 
> When reproducing this for this message it worked out of the sudden
> and I got an IP and a gateway address. I couldn't ping anything out
> there, ifdowned and ifup again and am back to the prior problem again.
>

Did you try pinging the gateway? If you can't ping the gateway then
something is very wrong, if you can't ping a known good url like
www.google.com then it's probably a bad dns server in /etc/resolv.conf
 
> 
> 
> I hope someone can make sense of any of the above, being able to get
> online for some additional packages, eg mplayer would be highly
> appreaciated and making this wonderful distribution amazing. (:
> 
> 
> Thanks a lot,
> renilgh

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Re: [QTMOKO] Dead UI

[Brian]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:13:39 +0200
"Risto H. Kurppa"  wrote:

> Hi there!
> 
> qtmoko v19, debug -kernel, qi, freerunner
> 
> Most of the things were fine until noon today, when something
> happened. No, I didn't install anything, didn't upgrade, update,
> change any config, nothing. Something just happened.
> 
> qtmoko starts normally
> When I touch the touch screen, the screen light comes on, but no menu
> or icon reacts.
> AUX & POWER work as expected.
> 
> hexdump -C /dev/input/event1 showed that touch is recognized, so it
> shouldn't be hardware. Being able to run Debian normally confirms
> this.
> 
> Have been rebooting wishing this'd disappear, but no.
> Ran apt-get dist-upgrade and dpkg-reconfigure -a with no success.
> 
> Someone suggested that I should recalibrate the screen - how do I
> start the calibration software from command line?
> Someone suggested I should try xev. How do I start X from command
> line?
> 
> Someone, please help... :/
> 
> 
> 
> r
> 
> 
Well X won't help since you're not running an X server. I am running
the same setup as you are and it's working okay but so far I can't
figure out how to fire up the recalibrate app. I'll post if I do though.

Brian

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Re: Serious problems after failed upgrade

[Brian]

> > On Wed, 2010-03-17 at 08:28 -0800, vancel35 wrote:
> > > Unfortunately I cannot get into the boot menu, and my desktop
> > > computers don't see the FR.  Not only that, but last night I tried
> > > the 1 amp wall charger to see if the higher output would get it to
> > > recognize the USB/power cable, and it didn't.
> > > 

This is probably a stupid question but have you tried removing the
battery and leaving the FR unplugged for ~15 minutes and then see if
you can get the NOR boot menu? I only ask because I've had a similar
issue and this solved my problem.

As far as the desktops not seeing the device via USB do you get any
useful info from doing an lsusb or lsusb -vv as superuser ? What does
ifconfig say ? I recommend trying this on both the FR and your
desktop. Perhaps the device name is different from what it normally is.
I use the following on my desktop to get networking up:

ip addr add 192.168.0.200/24 dev eth4;iptables -A POSTROUTING -t nat -j 
MASQUERADE -s 192.168.0.0/24;sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

Your device may vary in the above example the FR is eth4. 

> > > The interesting thing about the USB port is that if I plug the
> > > adapter into the FR while it's turned off, it recognizes the
> > > connection and boots (as expected) but somewhere along the way the
> > > USB port is completely disabled. I don't know if it's a mokonnect
> > > failure or what, but something is completely hosed.  So much that
> > > I used to be able to take the battery out as long as it was
> > > connected to the charger, but now it turns off as if it wasn't.
> > > 

It sounds like the USB port is okay but since Qi doesn't initialize
USB you have to rely on the kernel to do it and it sounds like your
install isn't.
 
> > > Would I be able to fix it if I had a debug board?
> > > 

I don't see how NOR could be broken since this is an FR we're talking
about.

> > > I also need the buzz fix done on my phone, so if there were a US
> > > company that I could send the phone to that would do that work,
> > > maybe they could reinstall the bootloader so that I could at least
> > > get to the boot menu. That's really all I need is to get to the
> > > boot menu and I can do the rest from there.
> > > 

I hope you get the issue resolved I have an A5 without the buzzfix and
so far I haven't had any buzzfix related issues. Just some minor tweaks
to the mic volume have sorted out the noise issues on SHR for me.

> > > The FreeRunner was my first smart phone, and I've gotten used to
> > > it.  I don't want to tether myself to either Apple or Google, and
> > > I definitely don't want a Microsoft smart phone, so that leaves
> > > the FR, or some other smart phone that I haven't found yet.

There's always the Nokia N900 which is really pricey but a very nice toy
indeed. I'm a cheapskate but the friends I know that own the N900 are
pretty happy with it so far. 

Good luck Laura ;-)

Brian

On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:55:34 +0800
William Kenworthy  wrote:

> Why dont you reflash? (you do know that the FR has two boot options
> for flashing - one being read only so it cant be easily trashed? -
> see the wiki)
> 

She can't reflash according to the original post. She hasn't been able
to get the NOR boot menu to come up while pressing AUX.

> Your description implies that the upgrade left you with a missmatched
> kernel and modules, or no modules - can you flash your original kernel
> back (you do keep backups/versions? :)
> 

She apparently can boot into SHR but the only app that works is the
terminal app. Since the USB device doesn't see either a charger or a
USB cable connected to it she doesn't have too many options.

> Put a distro on an SD card, boot and install the matching modules
> package.
> 

Trying an SD card install probably isn't a bad idea. I haven't
successfully tried an SD card install myself but from what I've read Qi
polls the SD card for a kernel first and this kernel can be skipped by
holding AUX in to boot from the NAND install correct?

> Just depends how much you lose with whats on the phone - easier just
> to reflash and start again if nothing valuable.
> 
> BillK
> 


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Re: [Debian] Installation failed

[Brian Wilson]

On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 1:05 PM,
ueli.pe...@bluewin.ch wrote:
> Dear Community
>
> the last tree days i tryed to install Debian "over" SHR.
> Everytime endig with:
>
>
> P: Configuring package debian-archive-keyring
> P: Configuring package apt
> P: Configuring helper cdebootstrap-helper-apt
> E: Internal error: install
> r...@om-gta02 ~ $
>
> Full Log is appended
>
> Any hints?

Well Ueli -- you are not alone. I think that error is pretty generic
and that you really have to look in this file --
/mnt/debian/var/log/bootstrap.log  -- to see useful messges.

I am surprised that a standard piece of hardware with a completely
standard OM distro can't run this Debian installer script. It's also a
drag that I can't restart it once it's failed to try again -- well, I
can -- "./install.sh debian" but it starts over again and that step
takes a long long time. Well it even says "might take a while". :-)
That's true! Takes FOREVER actually since it never completes.

Today I tried flashing each of these to the phone to use as a starting point.

OM2009
OM2008.12
OM2008.9

backing off to an older distro each time figuring maybe THIS time it would work.
Same results every time

P: Configuring helper cdebootstrap-helper-apt
E: Internal error: install

Checking the log file in /mnt/debian/var/log/bootstrap.log I see this

> O: Failed to fetch bootstrap:/pool/main/t/texinfo/install 
> info_4.13a.dfsg.1-4_armel.deb
> O: E:
> O: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with 
> --fix-missing?
> O:
> E: Internal error: install

This looks pretty bad -- missing archive -- It's a different error
than I got with OM2009 - which I did not note. Reading the wiki page
at http://wiki.debian.org/DebianOnFreeRunner I just figured OM2009 was
too new.

I wonder where it's going for the archive.
I wonder why it can't get there.

I googled for the error and found this

http://www.mail-archive.com/smartphones-userl...@linuxtogo.org/msg01501.html

Trying that now-- manually wget the deb file and put it in
/mnt/debian/var/cache/bootstrap/
Maybe this will help...

Brian

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Re: [debian] sid/squeeze on freerunner

[Brian C]

Robin Paulson wrote:
> yes, but the packages i need require a long chain of dependencies from
> sid/squeeze, and i don't want to do that - i'll get a broken system
> very quickly. i'd rather get the whole OS
> 
> is there way in lenny to reliably upgrade to sid/squeeze?
> 
> i've heard the idea of changing all instances of 'lenny' to 'sid' in
> the sources.list file, but that sounds very flaky

Yes, if you just change lenny to sid, you should expect a lot of things
to break.  What you want to learn about is apt-pinning.  Google that.
You need to change your /etc/apt/sources.list to include both lenny and
sid and have an /etc/apt/preferences file that tells apt which packages
to pull from lenny and which from sid.

The problem will be this "long chain of dependencies."  Before you even
begin, you should investigate exactly what versions of each package will
be needed, then in your /etc/apt/preferences file, you can pin each of
those packages to sid, keeping lenny as the default for everything else.
 I assume by "long chain" you understand that when sid package A
requires sid package B you should also check the dependencies of sid
package B as it may require further upgrades (and so on...this is what
makes it a "chain.")  In looking into this you may learn that a required
dependency isn't in the arm sid repository that freerunner uses and then
you will be stuck, but better to learn that in advance than once you
have a broken system.

Brian

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Re: Why one cannot recommend the freerunner as a daily phone (was Re: Is a FreeRunner sufficient for me?)

[Brian C]

I've had my Freerunner since day 1 and sadly have to agree with almost
everything Joerg has said.  The surprising thing to me is that we
haven't seen more significant improvement on the software side in the
last year.  I'm not saying things haven't improved, I've just had the
following in the back of my mind this whole time:

I can buy a $20 pay-as-you go phone that has reliable SMS and voice
calls, audible call volume, decent battery life, a fast boot process,
reliable input method, a working calendar, and a few silly games.  This
made me believe that the software side of things was relatively easy.
("If that cheapo phone can do it, the Freerunner developers will have
these kinks worked out in no time" I thought.)  Maybe, as Joerg
acknowledges too, all these little things ARE working on some distro or
other or can be fixed by someone willing to tweak it "for three months"
but in all this time I haven't been able to just flash the thing and get
everything to work as reliably as my $20 junk phone.  This has surprised
me.

I keep hoping that Koolu is going to release a version of Android that
accomplishes this, but that seems at least a few more weeks (months?)
off as well.

Every couple of weeks I take the time to install what appears to be the
"best" distro and fiddle with it for a day or so before being confounded
by an array of things that still don't work.  Then I set it aside and
wait another couple of weeks and repeat.

I couldn't advise even very experienced GNU/Linux users like our
original poster who want the FR to replace a capable smartphone to try
it right now.  As I see it, only two results are possible: he'll give up
disappointed or he'll spend way too much time ("3 months") trying to
tweak the FR to do that list of things he wants it to do and ultimately
succeed, but will have spent 3 months without a usable daily phone.

If those of us who feel like this are missing a great FR experience that
the rest of you daily users are having, then perhaps the wiki needs a
new section "Daily Users" where each person who is completely satisfied
with their FR setup can describe in excruciating detail (command by
command) how they got to that point so that the rest of us could
cut-and-paste their HOWTO and have the same experiences.  Without
something like that, I don't expect to be a daily user any time soon.

Brian

Joerg Lippmann wrote:
> Am Montag 22 Juni 2009 schrieb Ben Wong:
> 
>> I want to thank Joerg for taking the time to give a clear list of
>> reasons why a person might consider the Freerunner unsuitable as a
>> phone.  I think it'd be helpful if these and other points were put on
>> the wiki so that potential buyers can see the arguments against the
>> Freerunner, and what the community response is.  (E.g., Solved?
>> Kludged?  In progress?  Unfixable?)
> 
> Good starting point!
> 
> I'd like to thank everyone who answered my disgruntled mail in a constructive 
> manner. You all made a good case for the freerunner/openmoko and I appreciate 
> that. I think I see clearer, why I'm so unhappy with it now and maybe that's 
> the case for other people, too. 
> 
> I think, most of the technical answers totally missed my point. 
> 
> The guy wanted a smartphone. He didn't ask for an exiting piece of hardware 
> experimentation lab and developer paradise. If you recommend to tweak this 
> mixer-setting and install that tool and use that kernel-fix, then you prove, 
> that it's not for him. 
> 
> I listed a lot of points, where I got stuck or where I got frustrated with 
> the 
> Freerunner to show, where he might get stuck, too.
> 
> Granted, most of my points may be solved in distro A or fixed in Kernel B, or 
> fixable by tweaking settings in illume. but the point is, that there is (to 
> my 
> knowledge) not a single distro out there, that works perfectly out of the box 
> and has all the fixes already installed. Thats whats needed, if you want to 
> recommened it to the end-user.
> 
> You are offering me and this guy single proofs-of-concept, and that is great 
> for further development, but thats not a working everyday smartphone.
> 
> let me cite another mail (from Vasco Nevoa):
> 
> "Yes, it needs A LOT of attention and tweaking for about 3 months until 
> you get it "just right" for yourself, but after that it's "good enough" 
> as a phone and GPS, and a pretty good PDA."
> 
> See my point? 
> 
> Best wishes!
> j�...@home
> 
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Re: Openmoko Neo FreeRunner GTA02 versions A5 & A6 Audio Buzz - Quality Enhancement Service

[Brian Fuller]

Hi Dan.

We are glad to be able to help with the resolution of this issue.   
Regarding the invisible shield, if it's not easily removed we will  
carefully work around it but cannot guarantee that it will not be  
damaged during the repair.

In regard to the other fixes you mentioned, since we do not have the  
specs for those fixes, we will not be able to complete them for you.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,
Brian

On Jun 5, 2009, at 1:16 AM, Staley, Daniel L wrote:

> Thank you for doing this!
> I have a full body invisible shield on my freerunner, is this okay  
> to send in?  It can still be opened per usual, but I just wanted to  
> make sure it was okay first.
>
> Is there any way we could perhaps pay extra and get the GPS  
> capacitor, Bass Fix, and Recamping fix as well?
> If not, thats finethe buzz fix is really the only one that  
> mattersthe others have good enough software work-arounds.
>
> Thanks again!
> -Dan Staley
>
>
> 
> From: Brian Fuller [bful...@sdgsystems.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 5:07 PM
> To: community@lists.openmoko.org
> Subject: Openmoko Neo FreeRunner GTA02 versions A5 & A6 Audio Buzz -  
> QualityEnhancement Service
>
> Hello Openmoko Community!
>
> As users of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner GTA02 versions A5 & A6, you
> may have experienced an audio buzz while making a phone call.
> Openmoko has identified the issue and upgraded the hardware to fix
> this issue.  The GTA02 version A7 phones are now available and include
> this fix.
>
> In response to this audio buzz issue, Openmoko has implemented a
> program by which owners of GTA02 version A5 & A6 FreeRunners can have
> their phones reworked to an electrical revision similar to version
> A7.  All owners of version A5 & A6 FreeRunners are eligible for this
> program. SDG Systems (SDG), the US Master Distributor of the
> FreeRunner, will be performing the necessary revision work.
>
> To review the details of this program and to participate, please go to
> the SDG online store located at www.sdgsystems.com, select Openmoko on
> the Catalog page, select "Buy Now" for the Neo FreeRunner versions A5
> & A6 Audio Buzz - Quality Enhancement Service, and complete the
> registration and checkout process.  For each phone returned for
> rework, you will receive a complimentary FreeRunner replacement
> battery to offset your shipping fees.  For those interested in
> purchasing additional phones, coupon code 5CZ8HT54, redeemable only at
> the SDG online store, is available for $30 off the retail price of
> $389 for the version A7 FreeRunner.  The coupon code has no quantity
> restrictions and expires on 7/31/09.
>
> Participants' phones needing reworked MUST be returned to SDG by
> Wednesday, July 15, 2009, to qualify for this program.
>
> For any additional assistance or questions, please email 
> buzz...@sdgsystems.com
> .
>
> We appreciate your cooperation as we work to resolve this matter.
>
> Sincerely,
> SDG Systems & Koolu, Inc.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


Brian Fuller
SDG Systems (http://sdgsystems.com/)
Main:  1-724-452-9366
Direct:  1-724-647-0119 Ext. 107






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Openmoko Neo FreeRunner GTA02 versions A5 & A6 Audio Buzz - Quality Enhancement Service

[Brian Fuller]

Hello Openmoko Community!

As users of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner GTA02 versions A5 & A6, you  
may have experienced an audio buzz while making a phone call.   
Openmoko has identified the issue and upgraded the hardware to fix  
this issue.  The GTA02 version A7 phones are now available and include  
this fix.

In response to this audio buzz issue, Openmoko has implemented a  
program by which owners of GTA02 version A5 & A6 FreeRunners can have  
their phones reworked to an electrical revision similar to version  
A7.  All owners of version A5 & A6 FreeRunners are eligible for this  
program. SDG Systems (SDG), the US Master Distributor of the  
FreeRunner, will be performing the necessary revision work.

To review the details of this program and to participate, please go to  
the SDG online store located at www.sdgsystems.com, select Openmoko on  
the Catalog page, select "Buy Now" for the Neo FreeRunner versions A5  
& A6 Audio Buzz - Quality Enhancement Service, and complete the  
registration and checkout process.  For each phone returned for  
rework, you will receive a complimentary FreeRunner replacement  
battery to offset your shipping fees.  For those interested in  
purchasing additional phones, coupon code 5CZ8HT54, redeemable only at  
the SDG online store, is available for $30 off the retail price of  
$389 for the version A7 FreeRunner.  The coupon code has no quantity  
restrictions and expires on 7/31/09.

Participants' phones needing reworked MUST be returned to SDG by  
Wednesday, July 15, 2009, to qualify for this program.

For any additional assistance or questions, please email buzz...@sdgsystems.com 
.

We appreciate your cooperation as we work to resolve this matter.

Sincerely,
SDG Systems & Koolu, Inc.






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Koolu announces Beta 6 of Android on the Freerunner...

[Brian Code]

Greetings everyone!

Koolu is proud to announce Koolu-1.0 Beta 6 for the Android on  
Freerunner project. Release files, installation notes, and a change  
log can be found at: http://freerunner.android.koolu.com/release-files .


In addition, one can check out the exact code used for Beta 6 to build  
their own tree, or to provide patches and fixes.


repo init -u git://git.koolu.org/freerunner/platform/manifest.git -b  
koolu-beta-6

repo sync

Please see http://git.koolu.org/ for more details.

We have also created a suite of tools to make it easier to collect and  
submit patches to Koolu. You can view the git project at: http://git.koolu.org/?p=tools/koolu.git;a=summary


Those who are interested in asking live questions, we can be found on  
#freerunner-android on irc.freenode.net.


Regards,
Brian Code, Marcelo Magallon and
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Re: Best thing to run on Freerunner and Neo1973 machines today?

[Brian Code]

Hi David,

There is a how-to write-up for Linphone that I did a while ago that is  
now at http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Linphone .


In addition, there is a thread on this mailing list with the subject  
"VoIP on Freerunner working properly (using linphone and SIP)" that  
might be helpful.


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New Android Release and Resources...

[Brian Code]

Greetings All,

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a new release  
available at http://freerunner.android.koolu.com . In addition, the  
site contains the status of the project, where the project is headed  
as well as test lists and results.

As well as the new site, there are two other places for Android  
related information. An Android on Freerunner mailing list is now  
available at http://android.koolu.org/listinfo.cgi/android-freerunner-koolu.org 
  .

Lastly, there is a new IRC channel on Freenode.net where people are  
gathering to ask questions and provide peer support. #freerunner- 
android.

Regards,
Brian Code


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Android on Freerunner from Koolu...

[Brian Code]

Greetings all,

I just wanted to give a quick update on the status of Android on the
Freerunner as supported by Koolu. Currently we are looking at licensing
issues with respect to the global market with particular reference to the
media codecs included in Android, but are still making great progress on an
image for distribution. Ironically, this puts us in a situation where it
will be easier for us to release actual source code, build tools and
instructions, before actual binary images. We will be announcing everything
tomorrow from a telecommunications conference in Brazil.

In the last two years of working with Koolu, I have had the opportunity of
being in direct tutelage of Jon "Maddog" Hall, which has helped shape my
views on open source. With his permission, I am posting the message below on
his behalf to insure that it made it to the community list.

Best regards,
Brian Code



Greetings to the list,

First of all, I might say the the role of "Chief Advocate" for Openmoko was
the idea of the conference organizers, not me.  I was happy to be either the
CTO of Koolu or the Executive Director of Linux International, but since I
was at the conference at the request of Openmoko, and since I was on a panel
representing the "openness" of their philosophy, the organizers wanted a
title that reflected that...

Secondly, Koolu does "work" with Openmoko in many ways, so I did not
"indicate" that we were working together.  We are working together.

Third, I am an "open source advocate", actually leaning toward "Free
Software".  But I am also a pragmatist, and there are some times when you
have to tread lightly with "openness" until you  find out what is going on.

So a short time ago Google released a massive amount of code called
"Android".  Since Koolu was not part of the Open Handset Alliance we could
only look at it from the outside like a lot of other people.  Recently an
issue was brought up regarding patent royalties due on various codecs inside
of the code.  Even though the code itself is under the Apache license, in
various jursidictions royalties have to be paid on the distribution of that
code due to patents that are infringed.

Sometimes a lot of these royalties are bunded with the hardware, so software
people do not really have to recognize them.

Some distributions of Linux get around this by writing code that allows for
these royalty-bearing segments to be dynamically linked separately from a
code build.  Ubuntu and Debian both do this
as distributions.

Unfortunately we found that while the royalty bearing code for Android was
in a separate source code directory, the code could not be built without
that royalty bearing code being included in the binaries.

This created the issue of Openmoko removing the binaries from their server.
In my opinion they did the right thing.  Rather than jeoprodise Android,
Openmoko and Google, they temporarily removed the offending code.  I say
"temporarily" because I feel that once the issue is completely understood
there will be a work-around that will allow open source developers to move
ahead.

In the meantime our team of programmers is working on the issue.  We are
talking with the companies that originally wrote the code trying to
understand the exact use of it, and we are talking with the licensing
agencies to understand the implications.  I am encouraging the company that
first introduced the multimedia codecs to work with the Open Handset
Alliance to identify these areas and other potentially royalty-bearing areas
that might affect Android, and to make them more visible, so people can
understand and deal with them.

I can not speak entirely for the company of Koolu.  While I am the CTO, I am
not a major stockholder nor a director of the company.  I can tell you that
Andrew Greig, the CEO and Brian Code, the Technical Director both know,
understand and appreciate Open Source.  As far as I know it is the intention
of Koolu to contribute back the changes that we make to the Android code to
the community.  Koolu understands the leverage that is inherent in Open
Source.

Recently we made some announcements of timeframes for putting the code up on
the web.  Those were formulated before we knew about this royalty "issue",
but our intent is to proceed as fast as possible to meet those goals.

I hope this answers people's questions and issues around this.

Warmest regards,

maddog
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Re: GPS Antenna

[Brian Wilson]

On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 9:19 AM, Christian Weßel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> who has an external GPS antenna operating successfull with FR?
>
> Which brand? Where to get?
>
> I check the first one without success, so I need to look for a fit one.

I listed the one that I got from Semsons in the antenna wiki page
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/External_GPS_antennas#Semsons_external_antenna
(Please add your own information to this page)

Here is a direct link: http://www.semsons.com/gps90deexboa.html

I tested one from Semsons (in California) rather than Ebay so that
other people could get the same model if they wanted one. I have no
connection with Semsons other than being a satisfied customer. Semsons
has pretty good specs on their equipment so I was able to choose one
that worked on the first try and it was only US$11.

I don't know if Semsons ships out of US, If you don't want to order
from them I suggest that you look at the specs for that antenna and
then find a similar model from a reputable vendor closer to your home
instead of ordering something from random Ebay sellers. You aren't
saving any money buying equipment you can't use.

Brian

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Re: I bought the FR for what I did not have - freedom (was: Re: funny comment from a user, in response to the question of whether FR works as a daily phone:)

[Brian Wilson]

Paraphrasing Michael
> In what ways can you extend the FreeRunner...

I was looking at WiFi IP phones yesterday at Voipsupply.org and they
have some in the $300-$600 range.
They are targeted at "hospitality and healthcare" industry. They are
just WiFi phones, no GSM no Linux.
Both of these apps have staff that are constantly moving around and
don't have a desk phone.

Build an app that caters to these folks and adds together WiFi + GPS + GSM

For a hotel -- from the phone, check status of any room. Use the phone
as a master key for cleaning staff.

For medical staff that are on call, track their locations via GPS and
prioritize contacting staff that are closest to the hospital. Allow
staff to locate a patient from the phone -- eg not in room? might be
getting therapy.

When a phone leaves the building (loses WiFi VOIP registration) switch
to GSM and note it in the server.
This means you can run across the street to the bagel shop on a break
without being out of reach and you don't have to think about it. Just
go.

You might not be able to locate a smartphone accurately inside a
building with GPS but at a large facility you'd know which wifi access
point they were connected to so you'd know what building and possibly
what floor they were on.

There is lots of stuff that goes way beyond what a simple WiFi phone
could do and the hardware is in the same price range. All value added
most of it server based and relatively easy to protect private
information... so while I might not want someone I don't know tracking
my location via GPS if it's part of my job it could be very helpful to
me.

Brian

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Re: funny comment from a user, in response to the question of whether FR works as a daily phone:

[Brian Wilson]

I have so far avoided misery by restricting myself to just reading
(parts of) the mailing list and keeping the FreeRunner battery
charged.

On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 10:36 AM, Michael Shiloh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>> My old phone works as a daily phone. I bought the FR for what I did not
>> have - misery.

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VoIP on Freerunner working properly (using linphone and SIP)

[Brian Code]

All,

After reading through many postings and becoming increasingly  
frustrated, I buckled down and found a way to get the command line  
linphone working on OE based distros (tested on Qtopia, but should  
work on 200x.x and others). Ideally this could be interfaced with the  
dialer somehow.


Initial testing of this had the audio routed properly through the  
earpiece and good audio from the microphone. There was some echo on  
the non-Freerunner side, and on initial connection, a bit of a beeping  
sound. Otherwise, it's a go. Linphone uses only about 10-12% CPU (was  
using a PCM codec). Sound was decent to a cell phone in Canada using a  
Wifi connected Freerunner based in Costa Rica.


Here is a quick and dirty how-to. Enhancements can be made to both the  
voip-handset.state and asound.conf files (these were my initial  
working scripts). Thanks to Celtune for the excellent repository that  
is used below.


Regards,
Brian Code
Koolu

echo "src/gz celtune http://rabenfrost.net/celtune/ipk/armv4t"; >/etc/ 
opkg/general-feed.conf

opkg update
opkg install libmediastreamer0
opkg -nodeps install linphone
opkg -nodeps install liblinphone2 linphonec linphone-rings
opkg install libexosip2

cd /etc/
wget http://www.koolu.org/asound.conf
wget http://www.koolu.org/voip-handset.state

alsactl -f voip-handset.state restore (This step required to set  
proper audio parameters).


linphonec
soundcard use 0
proxy add
Enter proxy sip address: sip:sip.provider.com
Your identity for this proxy: sip:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Do you want to register on this proxy (yes/no): yes
Specify register expiration time in seconds (default is 600):
Expiration: 600 seconds or so

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Re: A mailing list for FLOSS-GPS community?

[Brian Wilson]

I asked the maintainer of the freegis.org site if he knew of a list
targeted at gps and he did not.

I tried to post to the "GPS Software Hub" google group and the posting
is being held in the moderation queue. (Moderation is fine but someone
has to do the moderating so that the messages go out in a timely
fashion.) I don't have a good feeling about how that group is being
used and maybe we should not be hijacking it for software development.
It's had more of an end-user focus.

I am not a big fan of Google but I suggest hosting the list there
because it actually works quite well. I especially like the RSS
feature.

On the other hand OSGEO is a really good group, I like there projects
and people.
Mapserver, GRASS, QGIs ..

Flip a coin. You decide.

But can we not use the word "FLOSS" in the group description? That
just makes me think of dental hygiene.

Brian

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Re: A mailing list for FLOSS-GPS community?

[Brian Wilson]

>> "Risto H. Kurppa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi!
>>>
>>> I suppose there are some tangogps/navit/other gps software users and
>>> developers here on this list who would be interested in getting
>>> together with the rest of the FLOSS GPS community
>>>
>>> see http://risto.kurppa.fi/blog/a-mailing-list-for-the-floss-gps-community/

There are existing groups that are relevant. They are both low traffic
right now and I think for the purposes you suggest the first one might
be appropriate. I am already a subscriber so I will ask how they feel
about it being used this way.

At Google Groups -- "GPS Software and Maps!!!
This is a global community for GPS users, researchers, geocatchers,
GPS manufacturers, GPS application developers, GIS people to share and
discuss their problems with each other and try to find possible
solutions."

This one is oriented towards creating maps for existing devices, such
as Garmin handhelds

At Yahoo! groups -- "GPS MAP AUTHORS is a consortium for those who use
GPS ( Global Positioning System ) hardware and software to create and
publish maps, charts, trail and tour guides."


Brian
in Corvallis Oregon

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Re: Get spare parts in NYC (batteries)

[Brian Wilson]

> Personally, I don't want to spend $50 when all I really want is one spare 
> Freerunner battery.

I am using the pouch that came with my FR for the spare inner tube on
my bicycle and I have not opened the baggie with the headset yet so I
don't want more of them.

Batteries should be available separately as should other replacement parts.

Brian

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Re: GPS logger / field data collection

[Brian Wilson]

> IMO, just use the raw Ublox binary format. It's rather simple to decode.
> I have already implemented a binary decoder for the Ublox binary format
> based on Ublox open documentation of the protocol. My plan is to release
> this code under the GPL at some point.

The only GPS receiver that I have that does u-blox binary format is
the one in the Freerunner, and the others are Trimble and Garmin and
SiRF and NMEA. So I'd be limited to using only one receiver out of my
collection. Especially I'd love to be able to use the fancy Trimble
ProXH via bluetooth and not be forced to use the Windows Mobile device
they expect you to use. (Trimble Recon) So I was looking for a more
general solution.

But it's a starting point anyway, and hey, I work on this about 10
minutes a day so I'd say dive in!

Brian

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Re: GPS logger / field data collection

[Brian Wilson]

On Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 6:02 AM, Timo Juhani Lindfors
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> For editing openstreetmap it is also useful to capture short audio
> comments. This can be easily done by starting recording when AUX is
> pressed and stopping it when it is released.

I think this is a good idea for any field data collector. I added it
to the wiki page.

Brian

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Re: which bootloader?

[Brian Wilson]

On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 8:22 AM, arne anka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> and I can guess that the vN refers to a revision of my phone. Which
>> phone do I have? Is it marked somewhere?
>
> this has been discussed several times and exhaustingly.
> wherever you look, mailinglist archives or wiki you should immediately
> find that the only gta02 revision currently in the wild is v5.

Yes, no doubt this morsel of information is buried deep within the
wiki but absent from the places I would expect to find it, such as the
Neo Freerunner page, the hardware pages, and the
the bootloader page. Thanks --and I have added it.

Brian

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which bootloader?

[Brian Wilson]

The wiki says "The latest bootloader binary builds can be found under
http://buildhost.openmoko.org/daily"; but when I go there I find 12
files. I can narrow it down to these 3 based on the "gta02"
and I can guess that the vN refers to a revision of my phone. Which
phone do I have? Is it marked somewhere?

uboot-gta02v2-latest.bin
22-Aug-2008 02:14  211K
uboot-gta02v4-latest.bin
22-Aug-2008 02:14  211K
uboot-gta02v5-latest.bin
22-Aug-2008 02:14  212K

I want to try Debian and first thing it says it to make sure my Uboot
is up to date.

Thanks Brian

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Re: GPS logger / field data collection

[Brian Wilson]

Jim wrote:
> I was kind of surprised that gpsd didn't give me a simple way to just get the 
> current location, I
> had to capture 5 sentences to do that simple thing

I tried to used gpsd with my GPS base station my recollection was that
it was totally useless for that. I assume that it will be useless for
this project too but it's a starting point.

> XML would be able to do that but I agree probably too verbose, how about 
> tokenized XML?

Very interesting idea, could be the way to go, I will look at it.

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 4:21 PM, Bert Hartmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> In my toyings with TangoGPS, I know it can produce logs, I don't know the 
> format
> at all, it may just be the raw GPS output or not. I do know it does all the
> pedometer functions you were asking about (maybe not min speed, but definitely
> max and avg.). Perhaps you should look into that project.

I will, thank you. I have no interest in inventing a new binary
format. There should be something out there that is open and compact.
("There should be", he said. Ha)

I've tried TangoGPS, it's a nice program.

Brian

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GPS logger / field data collection

[Brian Wilson]

One of the main reasons I got my Freerunner was to play with its GPS
features. I want to be able to use it as a replacement for
closed-source applications like TDS Solo Field and ESRI ArcPad.
Especially I want something that would facilitate my volunteer
"citizen scientist" work

At the rate I am going I will probably never have more than 15 minutes
a day to work towards this.
In spite of this I decided to spell out what I have been thinking
about in a wiki page because it would take too much space here and I
think the interest might not be high enough to clutter up this very
busy list with yet another very involved topic.

I have a GPS in my pocket most of the time. I use a Garmin on my
bicycles and on hikes. I have used various TDS and Trimble and ESRI
products. Being a software developer I want something that I can tweak
and tune and none of these commercial products even comes close to
what I have in mind.

Therefore I started this page:
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/GPS_Data_Logger to talk about it
and the intro there says this:
--
This page was created to address the use cases mentioned in GTA02 GPS, including

* I want to log GPS data for later analysis.
* I want to collect GPS data for scientific field work (forestry,
biology, etc)

The page was started on 17 August 2008 mostly as a thought exercise.
Please jump in and add to it.

Cheers,

Brian Wilson
Corvallis Oregon

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Re: /qtopia/ alarm clock drains battery

[Brian Wilson]

> smart arse answer. There is no BIOS. ;)

Not intentionally -- just drawing an analogy as a means of exposition

> Some time ago in any of the openmoko lists someone proposed a solution for 
> RTC wakeup.

I will try searching for it later. A block diagram of what's in the
phone would be nice for this beginner.
I wonder if one of those is around. I know they are talking of
releasing schematics.

Brian

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Re: /qtopia/ alarm clock drains battery

[Brian Wilson]

Is there an easy way to suspend for a time period (say 8 hours) or set
a realtime clock to it wake up? I set BIOS this way on my desktop -
cron shuts it down at midnight and BIOS wakes up every morning at 7.
Works quite well to save power.

On Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 10:54 AM, Lorn Potter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Yaroslav Halchenko wrote:
>> if you decide to use alarm clock in the qtopia -- it would drain the
>> battery much more rapidly.

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Re: How to see how full my battery is?

[Brian Wilson]

Yesterday when I was running ASU and had had the FR plugged in
overnight to its charger I looked at its screen and there was a popup
window was saying "your battery is really low, better recharge it
soon" (I paraphrase). I figured it was wrong. Since I was about to
reflash it with FSO  I checked the sysfs readings and found the entry
that said "this is probably most useful" and it said "91" which I took
to mean 91% so I figured it was okay. Maybe it meant 91% empty? I was
able to put it on USB and reflash without incident.

After putting FSO on it I now see an ambiguous battery picture. It
either shows almost full or almost empty. Then the FR started going to
sleep on me every 30 seconds or so. I would push the power button and
it would wake up again. It did not issue any kind of warning, it would
just fade to black. Eventually it seemed to die. So I plugged it back
in to the official charger and went to bed to recharge my own
batteries. I have not looked at it yet today.

I guess what I am saying is that I'd like to know what the sysfs
numbers mean  -- why did ASU think the battery was dead when the sysfs
said "91"?  I will try cat /proc/apm tonight but knowing how to
interpret it would be good too.

Can't I expect the FR to charge when it's plugged in to its own
charger or is there something else I have to do?

(I like the FSO image a lot more than ASU. But that would be a new topic.)

Brian


On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 8:23 AM, kazaam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:10:22 -0400
> Joe DiTommasso <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>> 'cat /proc/apm' in the terminal will show you the current charge level,
>> as well as the time to full charge or full discharge, depending on
>> whether the device is plugged in or not.
>
> This shows me:
>
> # cat /proc/apm
> 1.13 1.2 0x02 0x01 0x03 0x08 -1% -1 ?
>
> -1 % == battery_percentage
> -1 == battery_time
>
> is at least the description from here: 
> http://wiki.openmoko.org/images/3/37/Om-daemons.pdf
>
> But what shall those negative values mean??

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Re: GPS rework: Please test and report on software fix prior to attempting any hardware fix

[Brian Wilson]

When you are collecting data you might also keep in mind conditions
vary a lot according to the current satellite constellation. You
should include the count of satellites in view and the pdop number
with your results data.

You can do some planning to make sure you don't run one test when
conditions are good and then another tomorrow when conditions are bad
by using mission planning software.  See my comments here:

http://wildsong.biz/index.php?title=GPS_mission_planning_software

including a link to a Windows program that is available from Trimble for free.
(If anyone knows of an open source planning program do let me know!)

Brian

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Re: openmoko-agpsui

[Brian Wilson]

On Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 7:36 PM, Stephen Pape <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I can't find openmoko-agpsui in the repositories anymore, and the links to
> download it are broken on the wiki.
>
> I'm pretty sure that tangogps used to be in the repository too. I can't even
> install it from the ipk.
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]:~# opkg install tangogps_0.9.2-r1_armv4t.ipk
> Installing tangogps (0.9.2-r1) to root...
> Collected errors:
>  * ERROR: Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for tangogps:
>  *  gtk+-fastscaling (>= 2.10.14) *
>
> Anyone know what's going on ?

I don't know what's going on but I was getting that error when I tried
to install matchbox-keyboard-applet_0.0\+svnr1910-r10_armv4t.ipk on
ASU

I needed to change /etc/opkg/opkg/armv4t-feed.conf to say

src/gz daily-armv4t http://downloads.openmoko.org/openmoko-repository/ASU/armv4t

followed by 'opkg --force-overwrite upgrade' , and it installed the
gtk+-fastscaling package, whatever that is.

Brian

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Re: Warranty after fix for GTA02 GPS rework for SD card interferenceissue

[Brian Wilson]

> Besides the point that a small pocket-IMU would be great. To GPS jumts
> that big exist? As fas as i understand GPS it should have little jitter.

Trimble had a few GPS models out with dead reckoning. Not pocket
sized.  I think they are all off the market now. I got one off Ebay a
few weeks ago but have not had time to set it up yet. To me it's more
interesting reading the manuals and learning how it works since I
don't use my car more than once a month. Trimble was addressing loss
of signal in urban canyons not (ahem) antenna placement issues.

See  http://www.trimble.com/tms/placer450.aspx?dtID=overview

They use a small gyroscope. There are much smaller gyros available now
but my intuition from reading their materials is that it will work in
a car if you are going fast enough (they want you to go 22 mph) to
generate steady predictable g forces but if you are going at a walking
pace it would never work.

If you are walking around and want a reasonable position the Kalman
filter would probably be easier to deal with.
Is there a mathematician in the house?

Brian

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Re: WIKI still a POS

[Brian Wilson]

> I'd love to volunteer to tidy the wiki up.  Also, it might be better to just 
> fork the openmoko wiki and make another one (Since the GNU FDL allows it, and 
> the 'openmoko' URL isn't entirely appropriate if we're talking about 
> Debian+Android running on a Treo, as an example.)  How would all of you feel 
> about that?

I agree the front page needs help. I suggest you make a rough draft so
we could look at it and help polish it then swap it in if people think
it looks good. You could call it Draft Main Page or something like
that.

I started tidying it up a few days ago. Hopefully I will make
improvements and not just changes.
Personally this is the only device I am looking at right now so a fork
seems like a bad idea, it would just be another place I'd have to
look. If I felt a need to compare OM with Android I'd prefer to see
information in the OM wiki and links to the appropriate external
Android pages.

Brian

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Re: Where is FSO Milestone 2 for FreeRunner

[Brian Wilson]

On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 5:49 AM, Andreas Bogk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Maciej Piechotka schrieb:
>> 1. On http://downloads.openmoko.org/framework/milestone2/ there is no jffs2
>> image for FreeRunner. Is there any?
>
> There's a .jffs2.summary file, which is the one you're supposed to use.

This is interesting but does not tell me HOW to use it. From the
standpoint of flashing the GTA02, does it work exactly the same way
with dfu-util?

Thanks

Brian

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Re: external GSM antenna

[Brian Wilson]

Added wiki page

http://wiki.openmoko.org/index.php?title=External_GSM_Antenna

Brian

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 11:11 AM, Joerg Reisenweber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The GSM-connector to be found near one of the screws (see [disassembling Neo
> 1973] in wiki) is:
> MURATA MM8430-2610RB3 SMD RF TEST PORT
>
> For a nice fitting adapter see attached photo and:
> http://www.google.de/search?q=MXHS83QE3000
>
> Sorry folks, didn't find a page to add this to wiki.
> Hope someone else will... ;-

>
> HTH
> jOERG

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Re: minimo (browser on freerunner)

[Brian C]

henrikz wrote:
>> arne anka wrote:
>> does it happen with the charger only or everytime you connect usb?
>>
> It happens both with the AC charger and the usb-cable.
> 
> Intrestingly it doesn't freeze the keyboard when using i.e. the terminal,
> however it messes up the key-bindings e.g.:
> 
> With usb plugged in:
> the minus key "-" outputs a backslash "\"
> the "}" outputs a "∼"
> 
> with usb unplugged the signs are output correctly!
> 
> seems that the usb port/drivers are interfering with the matchbox-keyboard
> :) 

I experienced the - outputting \ a few days ago and didn't realize it
was related to the cable being connected, but I'm sure I had the cable
connected at the time.  Nice find.

Brian

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Re: mark a missed call as seen

[Brian C]

> On Tuesday 29 July 2008, reaper527 wrote:
>> is there any way to mark a missed call as seen?

> I've seen the same thing, and deleting the missed calls is the only thing
> that's worked for me. I should have checked for bug reports I suppose, or
> better yet dug out the source and patched it.

Ticket created for this bug/defect, which I also experience:
https://docs.openmoko.org/trac/ticket/1690

Brian

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Re: WIKI still a POS

[Brian Wilson]

Okay -- I see your perspective and I agree but I think people are
calling it "a phone" because that's a convenient handle. For my 10
minute test yesterday it worked just like a phone. I dialed, it
connected. It rang, I answered. Another 10 minutes and I'd probably
know how to answer on the first try! I might even get my own SIM now.

Sharp learning curves are always bad even for geeks.

I have a pile of GPS devices that need pretty extensive documentation.
For day to day use I get by but if I put one in a box for a couple
months I have to have the docs to refresh my memory.

Garmin has a new touch screen device now. The UI on my eTrex Vista is
well-thought out and implemented especially as a follow-on to having
already learned on their earlier eMap. I can usually figure things out
without docs. I wonder how they did on the new one.

Topic topic??? -- oh right -- the Wiki -- one of these days I will try
to work more on the Wiki.
I have several of my own and I know how rambling and disconnected they
can become.

My 2 cents is -- OM should work hard to try to make the text search
feature work better (then tell me how they did it). I have used
MediaWiki for several years and its built-in text search sucks.
Finding an alternative (SwishE or whatever) would be a big step in the
right direction but organizing the data is also vital (and quite
difficult).

If I figure out the magic Mediawiki search silver bullet first then I
will share it with OM.

Brian

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 8:36 AM, Steven ** <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> You misunderstand.  A PHONE should need no documentation.  The Neo is
> more than a phone.  So, some features may need some documentation.
> But the phone part of it should just work.
>
> But really, I'm having trouble thinking of a feature I would use
> regularly that would be acceptable to require documentation.  I hope I
> would only need documentation if I'm actually in the code making
> changes.
>
> -Steven

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Re: WIKI still a POS

[Brian Wilson]

Maybe you are not happy because you think it's just a phone. To me
it's a complete programmable handheld computer which happens to have a
GSM phone feature. The phone is a fairly insignificant feature for
some of us. If all you want is a phone, go to the supermarket, they
have really nice ones there that don't come with any significant
documentation. I use one myself.

I am trying to develop GPS software for the OM. I have had about 15
minutes a day to work on it so far but it's been fun. I don't really
care (much) about navigation features, I care about data collection.
The competition is not TangoGPS or Garmin or Tom-Tom or anything OM is
likely to come out with.

Therefore documentation is vitally important to me.

Incidentally I borrowed a friend's T-Mobile SIM card and tried the
phone feature yesterday. It worked fine (including the documentation).

Brian

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 7:20 AM, Steven ** <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> A phone that NEEDS documentation is a POS.
>
> In my mind, the Neo won't be ready for end-users unless I can give it
> to one of my co-workers and they can figure almost everything out
> without documentation.
>
> -Steven

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Re: Openmoko on Design

[Brian C]

e directly involved in working on the underlying framework on the
device; or 3) both.

It was this incident with the keyboard that made several people believe
option (2) was not available, and even after Sean's message, I still
don't believe that we know the answer.  So, I'll ask again: does
Openmoko intend to allow direct code contributions by community members
to core components of the ASU/FSO frameworks?  If so, will such
community members also have a voice in underlying design decisions that
guide that/those framework(s)?

Further, a number of developers have repeatedly asked with respect to
option (1): How do I design my application to work with so many
different stacks?  What should I be targeting?  Sometimes this gets
answered with: "Take your pick!  The ultimate goal is for all such
applications to work regardless, i.e., FSO is supposedly going to run
GTK, Qt, or whatever-based apps."  But most developers who ask this
question don't understand how that is supposed to work and need a little
more guidance on how to go about things so that they know that they
aren't wasting their time building something that won't end up working.
 That is, it sounds like these developers NEED some sort of design
document so that they better understand where things are headed so that
they can do their part.

Personally, I think the TODO list is SO large right now, and the
underlying framework so in need of development, that Openmoko would be
making a huge mistake to lock the community out of that core development
process.  If there are people willing to shut up and code, they should
be welcomed with open arms into each and every piece of code that runs
on the Freerunner so that we all get a functional platform faster.  But
if it makes sense to trust the community with that sort of contribution,
then it cannot make sense for an actual paid Openmoko developer to also
be in the position of saying, "we are paid by openmoko to do what  we
are told to do by the design department and that is what we then do."
If that's the state of things for paid developers, then community
contributors have even less hope. Openmoko has to trust those members of
the community, who prove themselves through actual contributions, to be
worthy to give input on larger design issues as well.  That would be the
truly open way.  However, if we're to have a benevolent dictatorship,
then at least we need to know that's what we have.  When people know
what to expect, they are less likely to get their feelings hurt.

Again: it's been less than a month that the device has been on sale.  I
believe the Openmoko team has clearly been working overtime and doing a
great job at an overwhelming-sized task.  Everyone take a deep breath
and let's find ways to work together.  (And, please: answers to some key
questions?)

Brian

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Re: Community contributions to core apps & features. (Was: Terminalfor ASU)

[Brian C]

steve wrote:
>If you want to start a wiki about OM. Sean is the CEO, I am the VP of
> marketing, Wolfgang is the VP of Engineering. we announced this a long
>while ago in the press.  

First attempt: http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Employees

Based on review of all press releases at openmoko.com and looking for
openmoko.org or openmoko.com email addresses in the June/July archives
of the community, support, and documentation email lists.

This first effort likely leaves out some people and even of those
listed, official titles are often not known.

It's a wiki: please contribute to make this more complete.

Brian

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Re: Public build host (proposal)

[Brian C]

Marek Lindner wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>> since it seems to be extremely difficult to build software for the
>> OpenMoko on my home machine, perhaps it would be usefull if someone
>> (within OpenMoko?) would set up a globally reachable build host with
>> an openembedded and toolchain environment on it.
> 
> could you describe what kind of problems you experience ? The only way to 
> improve the situation is by naming the issues at hand.  :-)
> 
> Marek
> 

I have yet to get a single application to build on my Ubuntu machine.
Everything I've tried ends up missing some library or other and the
instructions for adding libraries not in the toolchain are totally
unclear to me.  (Also, it seems like some extremely basic libraries are
not in the toolchain, so that makes no sense to me either.)  Finally,
there was discussion on this list, in another thread, I think, that much
of the toolchain's .la files still refer to gta01 or neo1973 directories
and that this causes a lot of problems.  I'm not sure if that's what is
causing my issues or something else, but I'll echo what another list
member said: One would think that a working toolchain would be a priority.

Brian

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Suggestion: default /etc/resolv.conf

[Brian C]

Suggestion:

The rootfs should contain a resolv.conf that lists some
publicly-available dns servers so that people with new FreeRunners would
have a chance of getting net access without editing that file first.

Despite clear instructions on the wiki, this issue continues to cause
people problems and so the question comes up constantly on the list.

Brian

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Re: Volume?

[Brian C]

Bastian Muck wrote:
> julien cubizolles schrieb:
> | Le jeudi 17 juillet 2008 à 17:53 +0200, papa-piet a écrit :
> |> Hi,
> |> I didn't tested it yet but maybe this will help:
> |>
> |> http://freeyourphone.de/portal_v1/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=170&start=75#p3277
> |
> | I thinks it's the original one. I adjusted this one (increased the Mic2
> | from 0 to 50) and nobody complains anymore when I call them...
> |
> No, it is not the original one. I adjusted the mono-volume, so everyone 
> can understand me but without echo. Before the adjustment, everyone 
> complained, that i was not loud enough.
> 
> Greetings Bastian

I've read this entire thread a couple of times and there are just so
many options in alsamixer that I cannot figure out how to turn up the
volume enough so that I can be heard by the person I'm calling.  Would
someone who has figured this out please place very simple instructions
on the wiki?  Thanks.

Brian

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Re: Has anyone tried the invisibleSHIELD on the freerunner?

[Brian C]

Søren Kristiansen wrote:
> Hello
> 
> As the subject says, has anyone tried the invisibleSHIELD on the
> freerunner?

I received the full-body invisibleSHIELD recently.  I don't have a lot
of patience for tasks like this, but I found the back cover useful and
the screen protector good.  The front cover piece is so flimsy that I
could never get it in the right position and when I came close, to me it
just made the FreeRunner look horrible, so I took it off.  I never even
bothered with the side pieces.  I'm going to have to try to re-apply the
screen piece a few more times because I couldn't get all the air bubbles
out the first time, so those spots will eventually drive me crazy, but I
don't think the glare issue is too bad.  I would prefer a little of that
to a scratched-up screen, anyway.

Brian

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Re: Terminal for ASU

[Brian C]

Ken Restivo wrote:
> Crap.
> 
> I was considering opening a bug report (enhancement, probably) on this-- the 
> ASU needs a terminal.
> 
> But I don't want to get smacked down with a "ASU will never have a terminal, 
> it's not a supported use case" closure for it.
> 
> *Will* the ASU have a terminal app that works with the Qtopia environment? Or 
> is that something I shouldn't expect to work?
> 
> -ken

1. It's an open platform, so it's inevitable that it will have a terminal.

2. If it were not possible to have a terminal on ASU, then OpenMoko
should just abandon ASU immediately.

Therefore, you should feel free to open the bug.

Brian

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Re: USB connector not Mini-AB?

[Brian C]

Joerg Reisenweber wrote:
> see:
> http://www.electronicproductonline.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1781
> /j

Yes, something like this should be added to the contents of the
FreeRunner box.  Would likely be cheap to buy in bulk, but amazingly
useful for users who could instantly connect a world of existing USB
devices to their FreeRunner.

Brian

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Re: pdf in openmoko?

[Brian C]

arne anka wrote:
> i put epdfview up to http://www.ginguppin.de/node/18

I installed epdfview (thank you!) but neither the openmoko-browser2 nor
minimo knows to hand off a pdf link to another program.  Neither even
gives a "Save As" option.  These results should probably be filed as
bugs unless someone can explain how to fix.

Brian


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Re: Reason for GPS problems found!

[Brian C]

Andy Green wrote:
> Yes GPS chip is very "sticky", even when depowered for some time it
> seems to hold state and not act in a deterministic way.  It makes it
> hard to know if the last thing you changed is responsible for the
> behaviour staying the same or changing, or if it was going to do that
> anyway.  That makes debugging it very confused.
> 
> -Andy

While the issue you mention may have affected my test, here's the results:

1. Upgraded to today's kernel:

[EMAIL PROTECTED]:/# uname -a
Linux om-gta02 2.6.24 #1 PREEMPT Fri Jul 18 02:16:41 CEST 2008 armv4tl
unknown

2. Tested GPS TTFF without SD card (from an indoor position not near a
window): 306s

3. Shutdown and insert SD card

4. Tested GPS TTFF with SD card (from same indoor position not near a
window): 484s

Previously from this same spot with SD card I could let it run all night
long and never get a fix, so maybe the fix in step 2 is helping the fix
in step 4, but the impression I get is that the most recent kernel has
improved things.

Brian

Note: I get much better TTFF times outdoors, but didn't have opportunity
to check.

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Re: Calendar events

[Brian C]

Curtis Vaughan wrote:
> I've noticed a strange issue with the calendar.
> So I created the same event again, but left it at it's default time of 
> 09:00. OK, it was there. So then I changed the time to 14:00 and closed 
> out it. It was still set at 09:00.
> Any clues on what's up?

Thank you for confirming the bug I reported here:
http://docs.openmoko.org/trac/ticket/1612

The calendar program does not allow one to edit the time of an event
once it is initially entered.  So, right now it's a great calendar for
people who never make mistakes...

In all seriousness, if you could add your experience to that bug perhaps
 someone would take a look at it.

Brian

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Re: Reason for GPS problems found!

[Brian C]

Jay Vaughan wrote:
[at least a dozen messages today alone]

Wow, Jay.  I think it may be time to step away from the computer and
calm down.  There may be a complete fix for this within a few days, so
there's little reason to write antagonistic messages to the very people
who are working hard to fix this.  It can't help their motivation to
work on an issue to know that they are working on it for people who seem
to have nothing but anger and complaints for them.  The phone has only
been on *sale* 12 days, only 7 of which were actual normal business
days.  For there to be numerous messages on this list today from
employees indicating that both a software and hardware fix are in the
works is pretty remarkable response time.  Let's see what the official
resolution is.  If it's somehow inadequate, then complain all you want,
but right now we don't even know what resolution will be provided.  I
tend to doubt that OpenMoko intends to begin this broader launch by
alienating its best customers by refusing to resolve this to people's
satisfaction.  Deep breaths...

Brian

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Re: NEWBIE : beginning development in openmoko

[Brian C]

Rahul Ramasubramanian wrote:
> hi
> hope this is the right place for this query.. i am a newbie as far as
> openmoko is concerned , but have abt 2 years of mobile handset dev
> expirience. i want to try my hand at openmoko development.. i have
> worked on Linux based phones and also on phones with Qualcomm's REX and
> Brew platforms , mainly on middleware (VM , FS porting etc)..My question
> is , is ther any doc , guide available to start off working on open-moko
> projects.. any help will be highly appriciated
> Kind Regards
> Rahul

You also may want to start or join a project at http://projects.openmoko.org

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Re: Can OM's wiki be used offline?

[Brian C]

john wrote:
> If there is an
> interest in this I could package it up for Openmoko. There is also
> potential for developing a native GUI local search tool using hyper
> estraier because it comes with a C API and other language bindings.
> This would remove the web server dependency.

Please do package this for Openmoko!  This would be a very nice project,
with or without its own GUI.  I could see it being used on downloaded
versions of wikipedia or the Openmoko wiki.

It also would be interesting if it could be integrated into the online
Openmoko wiki, whose current search functionality is often complained about.

Brian

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