backlight device, suspend/resume... [RANT]

[Mike (mwester)]

Sean McNeil wrote:
>... A user shouldn't get
> his/her hands on things until suspend/resume has been ironed out and is
> working properly. They shouldn't be getting things in this state. Only
> developers should.  Alternatively, does it make sense for a user to have
> a device where the screen is constantly blinking on as it is doing now?

There are several thousand GTA01's in the wild right now.  I have no
idea how many GTA02's have been delivered to users by now, how many are
in transit, and how many are waiting to ship in warehouses somewhere --
but I am on the #openmoko IRC channel, and it's pretty clear that there
are numerous users with the devices, in exactly this state.

So my point is exactly this, that users have the device in this state,
and given this reality we need to make compromises.

>>   
> We are not asking to leave the screen off. We are saying the application
> layer is suppose to control it. If you sleep with display on, wakes up
> on. Sleep with display off, wake with display off. If you think it is
> important to always wake up with display on, then always suspend with it
> turned on. Doesn't that work for you?

Oh it works for me _personally_ just fine - I have a complete
development environment for every image available for the gta01 and
gta02 (with the exception of Qtopia; I don't currently build that).  I
can change anything I want.

But that doesn't work for Joe User, who flashed an image he downloaded
from the OM build host.  That's the person who needs to be given what
help we can, because that's the person who's going to influence others
to buy the device, and possibly buy the gta03 or gta04 in the future.

Mike (mwester)