Community update, october 3rd 2008

[Michele Renda]

Thank you for this update. It is very nice to have a summary to get an
idea about what new there is on OM World.

Thank you
Michele Renda

2008/10/6 Minh Ha Duong <haduong at centre-cired.fr>:
> Contents
>
>    * 1 Distributions
>    * 2 Applications
>    * 3 Hardware
>    * 4 Wiki and community
>    * 5 From the stars
>    * 6 Outside Openmoko
>
> [edit] Distributions
>
>    * The big affair was the release of Om2008.9 Update on September 19th, the
> dot one ASU. Or was it a big non-event, because those who updated daily were
> already ahead when it was released ? Some users were surprised that the
> stable feeds do not update
> almoshttp://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Talk:Community_Updatest everything
> everyday anymore, but this is what stable is supposed to mean. You don't get
> the nice fixes in the latest kernel, but you don't get the nasty new bugs
> either.
>    * Another big point release: Qtopia 4.4. It's now called Qt Extended, we
> will need to update that string on about ~100 wiki pages!
>    * FSO repositories moved to http://downloads.freesmartphone.org. Thanks
> Beartech for the interim hosting.
>    * A startup announced NeoPwn, a distribution geared towards penetration
> testing. I am not sure if they are shipping yet. Their hat color is unclear
> to me, their slogan is Own it.. before it owns you.
>    * FDOM is really gearing up. They now have a mailing list, a code
> repository, and a mission.
>
> [edit] Applications
>
>    * Sephora, settings manager in PyGtk for XFCE started.
>    * Also, openmoko-panel-plugin went from 0.1 to 0.4. It is a gtk based
> plugin that draws the powerstate of some FR hardware devices(i.e. gsm, gps)
> to a gtk based panel. Theses panels are used i.e. in xfce4. so you can enable
> or disable the state of your gps receiver.
>    * Brian Code from Koolu documented how he made Linphone, that is voice
> over IP, work fine for him.
>    * A screen Rotate daemon was developed successfully.
>
> [edit] Hardware
>
>    * Battery#DIY external battery pack from a Minty case, or how to run the
> Neo from batteries (NB: a pair of AA cells will not provide as much as 1 amp
> of current.)
>    * Thanks to Claus and Lothar, the CAD files are now available in other
> formats (BRLCAD, IGES, STEP)
>    * Michael negociated with a custom-case making company, they could build
> something more rugged/waterproof if the demand was high enough.
>
> [edit] Wiki and community
>
>    * The Documentation Team recategorized everything using a two-levels
> scheme. Browsing should be is easier now, try it! Of course we now need to
> clean up the pages inside each subcategory, but at least the big POS is not
> many small pos. Divide-and-conquer.
>    * We also organized the list of applications. Now there is a master
> directory, then detailed lists by topic, and then application pages.
>    * Coming soon: "Use google search", "Add page in this category", "Site
> directory" extensions.
>    * Some nice artwork flew by on the community list. Raster is still with
> us. Following some advertisement, the Desktop wallpaper gallery grew from 1
> to 4 images. Keep them coming !
>    * We are having a defining hearts-to-hearts discussion on the community
> list in Risto's initiated thread The Lost Openmoko community. See also the
> Weeky Engineering News 38 for Om's plans to involve the community more in the
> release process.
>    * Good things are the pipeline for the Community Repository, including a
> submit by web interface (tickets 1518, 1543)
>
> [edit] From the stars
>
>    * There were many kernel patches about SD cards and bus speed. Confusion
> about which kernel version goes into which branch and about packaging
> strategies led to some module mismatch issues.
>    * There are still interesting discussions on the kernel mailing list on
> the state of the wlan driver. For the rest of us, it means that the Wifi
> driver is still being actively developed. In plain English: likely to be full
> of bugs.
>    * The alsa sound configuration still puzzle most users. I think that as
> long as alsa-mixer is based on a linear list of cryptic acronyms, we are in
> the dark. Internship idea: redo the mixer as a clickable image map based on
> the sound chip circuits. Make that work for all Linux distros.
>    * Developers should be aware that the Meta-toolchain was refreshed.
>    * The kernel guys have banged their heads together about how to send all
> their changes upstream. Conclusion: good luck, that is a tough job.
>
> [edit] Outside Openmoko
>
>    * The leading websearch company released their mobile OS called Android,
> nothing was said about an Openmoko port.
>    * Pandora pre-sells thousands of their handheld linux gaming console.
> Sorry if you missed it, the next batch will be for 2009.
>
> ==
>
> Thanks to all those who are helping to improve the wiki. As for the last
> issue, this page can be fixed at:
>  http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Community_Updates/October_3rd%2C_2008
>
> And interesting events can be posted real-time at:
>  http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Talk:Community_Updates
>
> Yours,
> Minh
>
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