While Chris Pirillo (of TechTV and lockergnome fame - Wikipedia bio) was talking to Robert Scoble about his iPhones, I recorded a portion of his live feed playing on the N800 and sent it in video mail to him. He and I then talked about it for a while but then I had to sign out. The next morning, I found the following video in his video blog this morning:



He and I chatted a bit since and he's trying to get one to play with through his contacts at Nokia. I hope he does and that he has some fun with it.

If there's anyone in Europe who wants to call my cell phone and wake me wherever I am to tell me when the new firmware is posted, let me know. I've been reloading the repositories like crazy. The Tableteer catalog shows some Skype UI .deb packages in the Bora tree, but of course these don't install all of Skype.

In any event - I was involved in a conversation about Skype on InterentTabletTalk forums about WHY Skype is so important to the N800. Since Gizmo Project and Google Talk are already there for VOIP, why is Skype needed?

I am replicating some of response below:

It's not because it offers so much - it's because it offers something TO so MANY. There are tons of Skype users out there. More than you expect. If you don't use it yourself, you can find a few friends who do and will be glad you have it on your tablet.

Consider the iPhone's YouTube module. They SHOULD have put a real Flash implementation on their web browser, but since they were probably too stingy to cough up the license deal with Macromedia over Flash, they went right to YouTube for a partnership. Apple's implentation doesn't give the full experience, but it gives a big partnership to an in-demand service.

Skype does the same on the N800.

Software Edition 2007 version 4.2007.26-8 for Nokia N800 is official.
Time to fire up those firmware updaters.

Thanks for the overwhelming positive feedback on my Liveblogging of the N800/Skype/Firmware upgrade. One commenter suggested that the text field and browser rendering issue can be solved by changing the theme, then changing it back and rebooting. This must be some kind of glitch from the backup/restore functionality. It worked!

Thanks again to those who Digg me, too.

The long awaited upgrade has finally arrived. Nokia just announced the new Internet Tablet 2007 update v4.2007.26-8. Nokia N800 owners can now enjoy three new much anticipated features: Skype client support, Adobe Flash 9 browser plug-in, and 8GB SD memory card support. Battery life has also been improved on this update, as well as a better touchscreen sensitivity. Nokia however decided to end the beta version of the Call Invitation app by August of this year.

Read more at Maemo.org.
Download the new Firmware.

From maemo.org:

Nokia has just announced an update to the Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition, feature upgrade release is now available for download. The update (version number 4.2007.26-8) includes Skype client support, Adobe® Flash® 9 browser plug-in, improvements in online use times and single memory card support up to 8 GB.

I’m at work and haven’t had opportunity to flash the new OS.

But I read this comment from TabulaRasa in the thread about the new release with Skype and Flash9:

When I run Gtalk and open the webcam, the camera shows up within Gtalk.

Well, I know there’s a Google Talk plugin for PC’s with a webcam that allow you to use video and even have video calls with Skype users. It’s called Festoon. It came out last year, and I have no idea why I can’t reach the festooninc.com website now. Out of business? Bought by somebody bigger? Just a bad day on the internet?

At any rate, maybe someone with the new OS could let us know more about the interplay between webcam, Google Talk and video calls with PC’s using a Festooned Google Talk.

Updated: Read the comments to this post to see that now cam calling is possible from N800 to N800 with Google Talk.

*     *     *

Second update:

After some back-and-forth with Thoughtfix, I think I understand this a little better now.

We’ve had a cam-call app, and I guess we’ve been able to connect to other N800’s using either Google Talk or Nokia’s service. And Nokia’s service was also potentially connecting you to a PC with a webcam.

I don’t know; I never connected to someone with a PC and webcam using Nokia’s invite.

And, gee, I guess the only video internet calls I made were to people with gmail addresses and they went through Google Talk. But when people said they were making calls through GTalk, I thought it was through the IM app — and not the webcam app I’ve been using all along. (Well, sometimes using. This is a terribly under-utilized feature right now.)

Once the Skype service adds video, gee, maybe it will be activated through the Skype app. Or maybe it will use the same app we already have and use Skype’s network (is that the right word?).

And since I don’t know of any way to get webcams connected through Google Talk other than from N800 to N800, we’re still on the outside, waiting to join the larger community of cam callers, while still participating fully in the walkaround web.

A long awaited firmware is out today … Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition>

Offering Skype support and Flash 9 as well as general system improvements it’s a welcome update and something suggested for all N800 users. There’s no word on whether this works on the 770 running the hacker edition, though there may be device specific requirements for both skype and the latest Flash.

You’ll also be able to use larger SD cards up to 8GB including those with SDHC support! I”m looking forward to carrying 16GB of multimedia in my pocket!

I have yet to update mine, but am looking forward to getting the new OS running soon.

Technorati Tags:
Nokia, Internet Tablet, Maemo, N800, Skype

As discussed in forums already and briefly in my megapost a day ago, YouTube behaves strangely on the N800. During the video downloading, the playback is choppy but audio is pretty stable. When the download is complete, video is smooth. Take a look.

I also ran the same video through Orb (as can be seen later in the video) and playback is much nicer still. A little wiggle-room for improvement, but still on the right track! You can see my N800/YouTube/Orb article here.

Finally, I mention uktube briefly. Expect more about that in the near future. In the meantime, watch this video of it in action and subscribe to his channel for more.

The video used is a piece of artistic brilliance: Such Great Heights by The Postal Service.

As discussed in my liveblogging of the last firmware update, Skype is now included on the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. I already covered the application installation, launching, and posted a video of the first call, but a more in-depth view of Skype is deserved.

Thoughtfix tells us there are 100 million registered Skype users.

So when people wonder what the advantage of having Skype is, it’s to take advantage of the network effect.

Walkaround internet calls, to lots of people, anywhere, at no cost and anybody at all for a low cost.

Will the Nokia N800 work on Sprint? Verizon? AT&T? T-Mobile? Does it have EV-DO? Does it have UMTS or HSDPA?

People ask me this over and over. With the recent jump in traffic to this site, I've had no fewer than 30 people ask me directly through comments here, YouTube comments, YouTube mail, Skype, or regular Email. Finally I lay it all out and explain it in Volume 4 of Coffee with ThoughtFix. Watch the video below.

I’m not sure what the deal is but my framerate performace is pretty bad when viewing YouTube still. I’m connected on WiFi and it’s better, but not great. Do we think this is a CPU, Memory or Opera issue?

I was also able to view Viddler for the first time as it only supports Flash 9 but the same low refresh issues exist. Not to be a downer here, but why do we have the support when the experience is less than ideal?

Technorati Tags:
Nokia, Internet Tablet, mobile, Maemo, N800, Firmware, Flash

Posts that contain IPhone per day for the last 30 days:

Posts that contain N800 per day for the last 30 days:

How about posts that contain Nokia per day for the last 30 days:

Amazing. I wonder how much Apple spent on the marketing for iPhone launch?

Speaking of the iPhone, I've been happily using mine since release and I've been able to do what I wanted to for the past few years: use a PDA sized device to browse my favorite websites and have them render on the device in an acceptable time frame. Using the iPhone for browsing is a delight and is many times faster than my n770. The cpu in the iPhone is a screamer. I can listen to music via the iPod functions and browse (with multiple 'tabs') with ease- as long as I'm in wifi range. Edge is pokey, but the majority of my browsing is a work and at home, where there is plentiful wifi. Nothing else near this size can render pages this fast- it's faster than some older laptops I've used.

And having a real working phone to boot is just one less thing I have to carry around. I'm sure there is a place for the Internet Tablets, but the 770 was never so useful as this iPhone has been in just a few days of using it. My 770 is fun to hack around with for a few hours at a time, but I've never been able to use it like i can the iPhone. And just imagine what is going to spill out once Apple gets a SDK out. Ebook readers alone will be a killer app. A lot of possibilities.

I proudly announce that on the 6th of July I became father for the second time! Nokia has in fact announced the Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition feature upgrade release. This release, which can be downloaded for free by all the N800 owners, features several interesting updates:

1. Adobe Flash Player 9 browser plug-in
   
2. Up to 8Gb (SDHC) memory card support. And, since there are 2 memory slots, this adds up to 16GB of memory storage space
3. Use time and miscellaneous improvements

And let's rolls the drums...

Full fledged Skype client!!!



Skype is the thing I'd like to talk most, as it's where my efforts most concentrated. It is an almost full functional version of the desktop version, only video and conference call hosting is not functional. SkypeOut works like a beauty. I called my mother today after having bought credit directly from the device browser! You gotta buy it! Cheaper than any iPhone!

Annuncio con orgoglio che lo scorso venerdi 6 Luglio sono diventato papa' per la seconda volta. La Nokia ha infatti pubblicato la Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition feature upgrade release. Questa nuova versione del Sistema Operativo per l'N800, che i proprietari di N800 potranno installare gratuitamente, puo' contare su molte interessanti novita':

1. (Inutile la sorpresa, avete visto la foto) Skype client, full-optional!!!
2. Flash 9 per il browser
3. Supporto per schede di memoria fino a 8Gb (e visto che ci sono due slot, la memoria viene estesa fino a 16Gb, non male affatto)
4. Miglioramenti della durata della batteria e altri generali migliorie

Skype e' la parte dove io ho lavorato particolarmente. Il client e' un piccolo gioiellino, ed e' completamente simile in funzionalita' ad un desktop client, eccetto la video chiamata e la possibilita' di ospitare conference calls. Chiamate a numeri di telefono con SkypeOut funzionano che e' una meraviglia. Ho appena acquistato dal browser del device credito Skype e chiamato mia madre al telefono fisso. Accatativillo! Altro che iPhone! E' anche molto meno caro!

First, a big shout and thanks to Engadget for giving me permission to reproduce these photos spotted by their tipster. Check out their post on the subject to see how they obtained them and their own commentary. After viewing that, come back and read this picture-by-picture commentary.

Photo 1: Top view - overview of the device. So far, the only things this has in common with the N800 is the silver face, presence of a user-facing camera, D pad, and a large-ish screen - possibly touch. There are some serious departures from the N800 in this design: No stereo speakers, bezel buttons, or zoom/maximize keys.

Photo 2: The back certainly has a Nokia logo and is matte black like the N800 but there is no stylus slot to be found.

Photo 3: The zoomed in view emphasizes that there are no hardware buttons optimized for internet use: Just a decent slider keyboard, D pad, and menu button. The 770 and N800 had dedicated zoom, maximize, reload/escape, and home buttons specifically to enhance internet browsing.

What does this all mean? We've seen what it does not have. Let's look at what it HAS:

• Large screen - possibly touch.
• Full keyboard and D pad.
• Slim, sliding form factor.
• Nseries Logo
  

That sounds to me like a good solid business phone. I'm guessing this will be a sort of the Nseries answer to the E61i or E90. The Nseries, however, is known for multimedia capability and lifestyle integration, so it may be a chat and Email device more than a web browser. Could this be the next Nokia Internet Tablet? Not likely. It's probably a phone with mail, media, and messaging features. Could it possibly cut into the N800's market share? Yes - for those who value messaging over browsing.

This story is developing, of course, so I will post more as it comes. I dug through Nokia's latest FCC filings and didn't find anything yet.

Engadget has some very interesting images…

I had been thinking the next unit would be a modified design with WiMax to support the Sprint partnership, but this looks like a redesign… much more like the MID Platform.

I guess the competition is heating up in the mobile tablet space. iPhone, Ubuntu and MID are all coming on … I know the iPhone is not really in the same class of device, but it’s impossible to keep it out of the comparison - especially for average consumer.

Technorati Tags:
Nokia, Internet Tablet, WiMax, Intel, MID, Ubuntu

I took some pictures showing the size difference between the 770 and iPhone. iPhone is really is smaller than you'd first think. Unfortunately, it also has a lower resolution screen than the 770. The zoom feature makes up for that somewhat (see the last picture in this post for an example of a zoom). It is nice that Safari always renders the whole page, so there is not any horizontal scrolling (unless you pinch-zoom). On the 770, boing-boing was wider than the screen and so it used a horizontal scroll. You can see that Safari didn't render the flash banner add on the top of boing-boing. You can also notice in the first picture that Safari does a better job of using larger fonts- the smaller screen is more readable than on the 770.

The touch-screen on iPhone is remarkably different than what is on the 770- it only requires the lightest touch of a finger, not physical pressure. Using a stylus on iPhone doesn't work- the screen is using the conductivity of your flesh to make contact, more like a touch pad on a laptop than a traditional touch-screen.

You can click on each of these to load a larger version in a new window.

The iPhone and the 770 both rendering boingboing.

Size comparison- stacked up.

The iPhone's tabs - multiple windows open. You slide the windows left and right to go to each one.

Safari zoomed for the main column of text on boing-boing.

Il 9-7-2007, e' stato un giorno triste. Si é chiuso un capitolo della mia vita iniziato esattamente 10 anni fa, un afoso giorno di giugno 1997, quando mi sedetti al tavolo della cucina di casa mia a Catania a preparare l'esame di Fisica 1.

Quel giorno ha segnato l'inizio di un'incredibile amicizia con due ragazzi, che ci ha portati attraverso le peripezie accademiche fino a qui in Finlandia a preparare la nostra tesi. Il primo di loro e' tornato subito in Italia, nel marzo 2002, dove ora vive con la moglie. Ancora ricordo quel giorno, come se fosse ieri, ero sicuro che non ci saremmo mai piu' rivisti con una certa frequenza, e cosi' e' stato purtroppo.

Con l'altro amico ho continuato a dividere gioie e dolori per altri 5 anni e oltre. Sono stati 5 anni eccezionali, che ricordero' sempre, ma ora sono finiti. Da oggi lui e' andato a vivere in un'altra nazione, trasferendosi dalla Finlandia.

E' un giorno triste, perche' molto probabilmente le nostre strade, che gia' avevano iniziato a divergere leggermente qui in Finlandia, non convergeranno mai piu' di nuovo. La
mia speranza e' che questo non sia un addio, come nel 2002, ma soltanto un arrivederci, e che presto potremo tornare a condividere altri momenti di amicizia insieme.

A lui auguro tutto il bene, e faccio un grande in bocca al lupo per l'avventura che per lui e' iniziata oggi. Vai e spacca tutti!

It is best to click on that image to see what I did there. I took the Engadget post of the rumored N800 successor and added my own thoughts. If I was wrong in the last post and the prototype IS the next generation internet tablet, I decided I'd throw in my own thoughts while it's theoretically still in development. Here goes:

• Keep the front design. It's simply beautiful and elegant.
  
• Keep the stereo speakers. They're quite nice.
• Keep the stand. VERY handy.
  
• Keep the camera internal, retractable, and rotating.
• Raise it to 2 megapixels or more.
• Add video capture like other Nseries devices
• Add direct YouTube upload.
  
• Keep connectivity but do not add a phone.
• Boost CPU power, as always.
• Boost RAM to 256M.
  
• Increase internal storage to at least 10 GB either by flash or tiny hard drive.
• Add a fingerprint reader to the right side. This will do two things:
• Operate as a security device.
• Operate as a scroll wheel. Fingerprint scanners often do this on tablet PCs
• Keep it in the N8xx series. Maybe call it the N850

That'd make it a ripe expensive device. $700, I'd guess. Still, while I'm dreaming I'd like it.

I’ll be attending GUADEC this year in Birmingham. During the tutorial day (Friday) I’ll be giving a practical introduction to the maemo UI and showing some key differences from the full-blown desktop GNOME interface. If you’re an application developer and you'd like to learn few new quirks about making your software feel responsive and look good on the mobile — please do come.

There is quite a bunch of us from nokia coming to the event including a strong representation of our magnificent three-letter tookit team starring luc, tko, fer, xan and mdk. Great chance to poke us about our future plans regarding hildon, bitch about sardine and discuss some revolutionary UI ideas you might have for the internet tablets. “Hildon — now open more than ever!”. Ehm.

See you in the UK.

The N800 is only seven months old, but with the release of the recent firmware and the the rumors (however dubious) of a next-generation tablet already in prototype, we cannot help but speculate on what we want out of an internet tablet.

That being the case, I solicited others in InternetTabletTalk forums to comment on my last mock-up post for suggestions on what they want out of a next-generation internet tablet. I got some good responses. Some agreed with my desires and others disagreed. Now I am inviting every reader of this blog to do the same: Comment on my mock-up post and tell me what YOU want in a third-generation internet tablet. If you have picture mock-ups, Email them to my Gmail (subject: N800 mockup) along with your name and, if you'd like, link to your own site. I will post them in a follow-up post or simply add them to that post.

What do you want? A slider like the mock-up? A clamshell like the Nokia Communicator? A slate like the N800? Built-in Flash or just dual SD card slots? A hard shell cover like on the 770? Smaller screen so it's more pocketable or bigger bezel so it's more comfortable in the hands? There are so many potential ways to develop this. My design would have been EXPENSIVE but perfect for me. What's your perfect tablet?

At the 2007 Worldwide Newton Conference in Tokyo on July 8th, Paul Guyot announced that his most excellent Newton Emulator for ARM, Einstein, was now open source and available immediately on Google Code. His announcement to the NewtonTalk mailing list is worth the read. One improvement that sounds enticing:

"the heavy work done these past weeks allowed me to design a new experimental module where NewtonOS instructions are executed natively on ARM PDAs. "

There have been other improvements to Einstein since last year- the biggest (to me) is the ability to cross-compile and build Einstein on your Mac while targeting the Nokia 770. No more waiting for binaries to be released. The 800 was tested and the binary didn't run-- ITOS2007 has some different libraries (from ITOS 2005 and 2006), which probably caused issues. I'm attempting to roll a build for my 770 this weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Here are my screen shots of my 770 from the release of Einstein last year.

Also announced was the release of Driver Labo, the wifi drivers for Newton by Hiroshi Noguchi. AFAIK, these are the only available drivers in the world that support WEP on the Newton. I had purchased licenses back when they were available, but since 2005 Hiroshi hadn't ever responded to requests and pleas to accept payment for new licenses. As a result many Newtons can't participate in locked-down Wifi networks. The release of these drivers as Open Source is a welcome event.

There is an overview of the WWNC '07 with some pictures of course.

Dear readers,

ThoughtFix is now ThoughtFix LLC.

That's right - I am now a real company. My commitment to writing, helping others, sharing knowledge, and promoting this platform justifies the need to turn this into a small business with all the responsibilities (and eventual rewards) thereof.

I want to thank other mobile tech bloggers for inspiring and readers for encouraging me to keep writing. A special thanks to all the PR reps for answering so many Emails on products. I've come this far and will continue to grow. I want this to include informal gatherings, user conference calls (with Skype,) more conferences, and maybe one day some international travel.

In the near future, I will be soliciting sponsors and advertisers to help pay normal business operation costs. Even if I still have no sponsors, the blogging will continue. I will try to keep advertising to a minimum but my current ad method is not exactly paying the expenses. If I can get a sponsor willing to entertain the idea, I may slip a bit of advertising into some of my videos but in no other event will the content of an article be interrupted by ads. No pop-ups. Nothing to ever install. NEVER spam. Just a guy trying to run a business in blogging. I still have a PayPal donate button over to the right, but have yet to receive a donation. That's OK with me - the information I provide should be free.

The Internet started as a military backup communication line but then rapidly was adopted by scientists and researchers to create a hub of shared ideas. The 90's and early 2000s took the Internet into a massive commercial endeavor run by advertising, commerce, and entertainment. In the last couple years, Web 2.0 driven "user created content" sites took back some of that hive mind Internet. My ideal 21st century will have a massive collection of wisdom at the fingertips and instant communication of ideas on a global scale in pockets worldwide. I hope others share this dream. I will keep writing to evangelize this platform and related technology until that happens and beyond. That is the mission of ThoughtFix LLC.

And to you, the reader of this: Thank you again.

Daniel Gentleman
Editor
ThoughtFix LLC

http://tabletblog.com
http://ultramobilegeek.com

Update 06/17/07: Here is the link to the original post over at atmaspheric. The blog is worth reading.

I found a cool video over at umpcportal.com, filmed by Jonathan Greene. He puts an iPhone, Nokia 800 and the N95 thru their paces while browsing the web. The video is nicely done and well narrated. It shows a lot more than my pictorial essay from a few days back. Worth a look at only 22 min long. You'll certainly get a sense of the various levels of ease-of-use for these devices when browsing the web.

Some points that stuck me as I watched it:

The stylus mode of input just stinks for truly mobile device (cumbersome)

The iPhone is fast

The N95 is useless if you want to browse anything real on it

Apple really put a lot effort and technology into making finger browsing possible and easy (and fun)

After much messing around I have build some .deb packages for my Exaile for Maemo port and the mutagen library (one of its dependencies):

python2.5-mutagen_1.11_armel.deb

exaile_0.2.9-1_armel.deb

There’s lots of work still to be done, but if your desperate for a nicer sound player on the N800 then this should do the job. If there are any features that you would like to be fixed/added sooner rather than later then leave a comment and I’ll push it higher on my todo list.

State of the Map, the OpenStreetMap conference was held this weekend in Manchester University, with about 100 attendees.

After some trial and error, and some help from Paul G, I managed to build Open Einstein for both my Intel Mac and for my Nokia 770, using just my Macbook. I followed the directions to build at the Google Code site. I'll have more explicit directions soon, but the code does build and run on the 770. And you don't need scratchbox to build it! Excellent work Paul.

Here are some screen shots (click for bigger versions):

After Einstein was built, the directions for starting it are the same as before. The easiest way to control einstein is via SSH into the 770, so that you can shutdown all the Hildon interfaces.

Full directions to build this will be up soon.

Update: There is a new Einstein Platform 2007.7 User Manual at Paul's Einstein Page.

The title of this post is misleading - It's probably one of the most informal posts you'll see from me. The above image is of unknown origin, but I hope my readers find it a amusing as I do. I am being very productive in the business management side of ThoughtFix LLC. I am not looking forward to tax season next year, however.

I want to send a very extra special thanks to the first and only person to send me $10 in support to my PayPal donation box. Every little bit helps when starting a new business.

Now for amusement: Sunday morning, I went over to the latest Apple store to play with the iPhone. I promised myself I would and I did. I have to say that the touch screen is the most finger-optimized display I've ever touched. It's smooth and tracks perfectly. It's too bad they put too many weaknesses in it (AT&T, No 3G data, no Flash browser, no memory card slot, no Bluetooth DUN and no A2DP) or I'd have purchased it.

The responses and discussion on what users want in their next tablet are still fascinating. It seems a lot of people agree with me: Don't make it a phone. Hey Nokia: Are you reading?

Hey - who is up for an open Skype chat on Internet Tablets as a platform? If I can get at least 8 people on the call, I'll schedule it.

While not N770- or N800-related, these contests might be interesting for anybody developing for Nokia platforms.

2008 Mobile Rules Annual Business Plan and Application Competition will open its gates on August 1st, and right now you can upload your picture to appear on a back seat of a limo in a company of two faithful mobile software engineering fans, supposedly users of your great wireless application. You can read the competition rules here.

Nokia Open C Challenge has the deadline of August 31, 2007: “Entries to the Open C Challenge are mobile applications created for the S60 3rd Edition platform. Each application must include at least one open source software component that is ported to the S60 platform using the Open C libraries or a new application developed in the Open C environment. Feel free to port components that you have written yourself, or code that is freely available in an open source community.”

The maemo team has just released a development version of a new browser engine, built on open source and Mozilla technologies. Testers and contributors are welcome. This version is functional, safe and available for download. It works on the Nokia N800 with the latest Internet Tablet OS 2007. Try it out!

A new Mozilla-based browser (developer version) is now available for the Nokia N800. The new features are as follows:

1. Mozilla Engine - provides support for the latest web standards and is flexible and extensible, and is based on mozilla.org’s current Gecko layout engine which will be version 1.9 when it is released with Firefox 3.0

2. AJAX Support - allows rendering of modern sites that use AJAX (e.g. Google Maps, Google Docs, Meebo, etc.)

3. RSS Previews - takes advantage of native support for XML to render RSS feeds

4. Add-ons - support for a number of Firefox and Mozilla add-ons allows you to enhance and personalize your browsing experience

5. Certificate Details - view certificate details for secure connections by pressing the lock button

To install, click on this link from your Nokia N800.
Visit Maemo’s Mozilla browser Offical Page.

It is well worth mentioning that a Mozilla engine powered browser (called microb-browser, as per the installer) is in progress on the Nokia Internet Tablets. Don't expect it to work like Firefox yet, but check it out and report bugs. I was going to write much more, but UMPCPortal wrote a few good paragraphs on it already and it makes no sense to say the same thing over. Check out their post.

Here are some more detailed instructions on getting Open Einstein built on MacOSX Intel, using the JAM complier and targeting the Nokia 770. I also built it for MacOSX, to run locally on my macbook.

The published directions are here, and you should read them first and familiarize yourself with them.

Install MacPorts

* MacPorts-1.5.0-10.4.dmg

Open a terminal and then use macports to install the following packages:

$ sudo port install gettext
$ sudo port installlibffi
$ sudo port install jam
$ sudo port install arm-none-linux-gnueabi-gcc

Then you must add

/opt/local/bin

to your $PATH on the Mac (edit .bash_login in your home directory), then restart your terminal or read in the new bash_profile.

Pull down Klibs and Build

K is located at SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/projects/KLibs/)

$ cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@klibs.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/klibs login
[Enter] for password

$ cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@klibs.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/klibs co -P K

$ cd $PATH_TO_KLibs/_Build_/Jam

$ jam -starget=nokia2006

Klibs should build with out problems. If you want to build for the Mac, just leave off the -starget parameter.

Pull down Open Einstein and Build

$ svn checkout http://einstein.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ einstein

$ cd einstein/Einstein/_Build_/Jam

$ jam -sK=$PATH_TO_KLibs -starget=nokia2006 -sjittarget=GENERIC

Now there is a new folder in the /_Build_/Jam directory called build.ARM-LINUX-Nokia2006. This folder will contain the einstein binary for the Nokia 770.

Move files over to 770

You need three files:

einstein - the ARM binary of einstein.

Einstein.rex - the ROM extension for einstein (it has the NewTest app to test your emulation speed).

ROM file - the actual ROM file from a newton. Read the Open Einstein Manual on how to create one using your existing Newton and a Tcp/Ip connection.

[You should set up sshd on 770, change password of 'user' to something you know, change the ip address below to match your 770 local ip. Use ifconfig -a to check the local 770 ip.]

Now copy the files:

$ scp $PATH_TO_EINSTEIN/_Build_/Jam/build.ARM-LINUX-Nokia2006/einstein user@192.168.155.155:
$ scp $PATH_TO_EINSTEIN/_Data_/Einstein.rex user@192.168.155.155:
$ scp $NEWTON_ROM user@192.168.155.155:

Once they are copied over, you can start Open Einstein like this:

/home/user # ./einstein -l log2 -m 737041 .
Welcome to Einstein console.
This is Einstein Platform 2007.
Creating image...
Max units count = 986
Max units count = 1026
Booting...
Type help for help on available commands.
einstein> power

And you should see the Newton Start up on your device. Below is a screen shot of the Newton running on my MacBook, in Xwindows:

Apple iPhone: ARM CPU @ 667mhz [Samsung], 128Mb ram, 8GB Flash
Nokia N800: ARM CPU @ 320mhz [TI], 128Mb ram, 256Mb Flash

N800 has dual SD cards for more Flash, iPhone has no way to extend the 8Gb. N800 has a bigger screen, higher DPI but doesn't have the light-touch touch-screen like the iPhone. I'd still consider getting a N800 to replace my 770 if the price drops. I'd like to use ITOS2007 and have Flash 9 available for browsing-- especially now since Mozilla has just been released for ITOS2007. We'll probally never see Flash in the iPhone, but who knows. I just don't think Apple will do it.

If you are a reader in the greater Phoenix, AZ area or are going to be passing through, leave me a comment or send me an Email if you would be willing to get together for a little informal Tableteer meeting. We'll get together, play, try out accessories, discuss, etc.

I contacted ferenc (who manages the RSS feed, if I remember properly) and sent him this conversation I had with Ulisses. Thank you all for bringing it to my attention.

Here's the conversation that outlines the problem:

Ulisses: sorry to bother you, but it seems your feed has a problem and it's flooding planet.maemo.org.. me: When I visit http://maemo.org/news/planet-maemo/ I do not see this. Are you subscribed to their latest RSS at http://maemo.org/news/planet-maemo/rss.xml or to their old feed? Ulisses: hmm.. I'm subscribed to planet.maemo.org/rss20.xml..me: I will make a post to encourage users to switch. Ulisses: ok, I'll try that..thanksUlisses: a friend of mine is subscribed to that other feed and is having the same problem. me: How are you reading the feeds? Google? Some other reader? Ulisses: google readerand he's also using it.. hmm..me: OK I resubscribed using the latest feed and see a duplicate of my "Blogging - Serious Business" post as well. Ulisses: yeah, that's the problem we see..me: The direct feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/TabletblogcomByThoughtfix does not show duplicates. It must be how it is aggregated Ulisses: it must be it, thenme: I will contact Ferenc and ask himUlisses: ok, thank

I'm spending this week in Birmingham, UK, where the Gnome Users and Developers European Conference (GUADEC) is being held. The conference is the occasion to meet many people that are behind the very same things I have been working with everyday, which is good.

The conference has been the occasion to introduce new things for the N800, which bring my (and that of my team's of course) direct contribution. We have in fact published the long awaited open source SIP connection manager!!! Now you can use N800 to call to other SIP numbers, and most importantly, PSTN numbers at cheap prices! And hold your breath, SIP also does video!!


In addition, you get other cool features like a refresh of UI, with updated features, like Gtalk avatars. Work on Gtalk has also been extended to support relay, so that the success rate of N800 - N800 calls can increase!

The release is "development version". It's still work in progress and you can try it taking this into account. At some point it will be included in Maemo 4.0 Chinook release. You can download the software and get other info from Garage. Many thanks to all those who made this possible with their bug efforts.

Additionally, a development version of Mozilla browser for N800 has been announced in GUADEC. Try it out as well, open source browser for an open source platform!

In questa settimana sono a Birmingham (ahime', piove sempre! Altro che Finlandia!) ad assistere al GUADEC, la Conferenza Europea per gli utenti e sviluppatori di Gnome. L'evento e' l'occasione di incontrare gente che conosci solo di nome e che hanno contribuito a sviluppare il software che viene utilizzato ogni giorno per migliorare gli Internet Tablets. Molto bello, tempo a parte.

Soprattutto, durante GUADEC sono state annunciate diverse novita' interessanti. Una che riguarda direttamente me e il mio team e' la pubblicazione on-line dell'Internet Communications Software Development version. La release contiene il tanto atteso open source SIP connection manager, che permette di effettuare chiamate ad altri utenti SIP ma soprattutto a numeri di rete telefonica a prezzi stracciati!!!

E udite udite, c'e' anche la possibilita' di video chiamate con SIP (testato solo fra due N800 per il momento), come la foto sopra mostra. Oltre a SIP, la release comprende migliorie alla UI, sia grafiche che in termini di caratteristiche, infatti ora avatars per GTalk sono supportati. Infine, supporto del relay per Gtalk e' stato aggiunto, cosi' che sara' piu' facile chiamare con GTalk fra due N800. Provatelo, divertitevi e date feedback!! Un grazie a tutti coloro che hanno contribuito.

Istruzioni e piu' dettagli su Garage. Il software, ancora in fase di sviluppo, e assolutamente non bug-free, sara' migliorato e fara' parte della release 4.0 Chinook di Maemo.

In aggiunta, e' stato anche annunciato il rilascio (sempre development version) del browser Mozilla per N800. Un browser open source per un device open source!!! Provatelo!

Nokia must be responding internally to the iPhone mania. The question is, will it be a more advanced smartphone, or a phone enabled internet tablet? Scoble asked around and only got some smiles. Can Nokia really continue to push the Internet Tablet line, sans phone, now that the iPhone has set the bar so high? Nokia has some cool devices, good technology, mature development infrastructure and a lot of community based support and coding efforts. But relying only on wi-fi will not enable a truly mobile communications device. They have something ready to replace the N800. Will they strap a phone onto it? Will they dump Opera for Mozilla or build-out their Webkit browser? That would certainly be in the arena for an iPhone competitor.

For all the committed Nokia users out there, hating the iPhone buzz-- if you haven't seen this page yet, give it a look. Why? 'cause someone thinks that The iPhone is a piece of shit, and so is your face. Perhaps Nokia's answer to the iPhone is already here, it's just losing marketing game.

Mozilla engine integrated into N800 user interface

After many years of work, we're happy to announce a developer release of this developer preview.

What's different?

The N800 shipped with Opera 8.5 which is a web browser from 2005. It was already out of date in mid 2006. The Mozilla based browser for maemo (microb) is a current (well, one month old) build of Gecko. This is slightly bleeding edge, as Firefox 2.0 is based on a nearly 2 year old Gecko, and Firefox 3.0 will not be available for many months.

What's new in the UI?

The user interface will now show an RSS button occasionally, and the lock icon in the toolbar is now a button. [Both of these features are only supported for microb.] There should be a menu item at the bottom of the application menu that enables you to switch between engines.

What does Gecko offer?

1. Support for web applications built after 2005.
   1. Google Maps
   2. Google Docs and Spreadsheets
   3. Google Reader
2. Support for RSS
3. Support for XSLT
4. Third party addons
   1. wml

What's missing?

MicroB is configured without XUL and SVG. Cairo is included for use with <canvas>.

How can I play with these things?

1. /usr/bin/browser --url www.google.com will let you run the browser and start with a specific page.
2. /usr/bin/browser --engine=opera will let you switch to opera.
3. /usr/bin/browser --engine=microb will let you switch to microb.

Why can't I simply write browser in the command-line?

That's actually a bug/feature of maemo-summoner/maemo-invoker. You can patch them if you like.

How can I help?

1. Detailed bug reports are appreciated. Please use the guided template to report bugs.
2. Help triage bugs, search through our bug reports, suggest duplicates, attach testcases, compare with other browsers.
3. Check to see if the problem is reported in bugzilla.mozilla.org.

A problem inside Bora repository (libbluetooth1 was removed suddenly) led us to a new Python for Maemo-r0.4-12 (OS2007) release. This new version includes a recompiled pybluez and an upgrade in pyrex package (moved to v0.9.5.1 - thanks to Gustavo Barbieri for bug report)

Posting from the N800! I contacted ferenc at maemo and let him know of the problem. No response yet. I got the following from feedburner support:

I'm not currently seeing any duplicate content (or that specific headline) in your
FeedBurner feed and at this time there does not appear to be anything that needs to
be changed with your FeedBurner feed settings. If you are seeing specific duplicate
problems with Google Reader or another reader that others have been able to
reproduce, please let us know.

I subscribed to my feed directly with Google Reader, the N800's reader, and IE's RSS feed and did not see any duplication. This is certainly a problem with how the Planet feed aggregates my blog. Planet maemo admins: Please check this or contact me to suspend my rss feed until we can find a cure. not currently seeing any duplicate content (or that specific headline) in your FeedBurner feed and at this time there does not appear to be anything that needs to be changed with your FeedBurner feed settings. If you are seeing specific duplicate problems with Google Reader or another reader that others have been able to reproduce, please let us know.

The first ever non-apple application has been allegedly run on the iPhone. The people over at the iPhone DevWiki report. Watch out Nokia 770, soon the iPhone will be as hackable as you are!

At least, some day it will. This user, Nightwatch is using his own arm toolchain, so this isn't like we have a nice Scratchbox available to install onto debian. But as time moves on, our own apps on the iPhone draw closer and closer.

Last weekend and this week I've been off to State of the Map in Manchester and GUADEC in Birmingham to speak about the GeoClue project with Andrew Turner and Tuomas Kuosmanen.

GeoClue is a system for giving easy access to location information for applications over the D-BUS. Lots of people have shown interest in adding geographical awareness in their software, and I really think GeoClue is the right way to move forward, especially for mobile devices.

Consider the following Python code to get current location:

# Access the D-BUS session bus
bus = dbus.SessionBus()

# Get an interface for the GeoClue master (which will talk to appropriate backend)
proxy_obj = bus.get_object('org.foinse_project.geoclue.position.master', '/org/foinse_project/geoclue/position/master')
geoclue_iface = dbus.Interface(proxy_obj, 'org.foinse_project.geoclue.position')

# Get the coordinates from the service
coordinates = geoclue_iface.current_position()

Caveat: the code might not work exactly like this, but instead may need a bit of tweaking. I'm sorry but I'm currently without an N800 to test on. C code in any case is as easy as:

gdouble lat, lon;
geoclue_position_init ();
geoclue_position_current_position (&lat, &lon);

Traditional methods to get location would require a lot more code and would be hardcoded to just one position source, like GPS. GeoClue can provide lots of different back-ends, including Plazes and HostIP in addition to the common gpsd.

While we were talking to application developers, Jussi Kukkonen, the Google Summer of Code student I mentor was also busy. He made a new GeoClue release, which is the first one to give the system a real UI. Good stuff!

Thanks to Jussi for the hard work, and to Andreas Nilsson for the GeoClue icon featured earlier in the post!

BTW, When I upgraded my blog to new layout and structure last January I left commenting out pretty much for the same reasons as what Joel Spolsky outlined in his post. People who really want to discuss my post will anyway either contact me by email or comment on Jaiku.

Technorati Tags: geoclue, maemo

Since there's lots of talk of WiMAX in third generation Internet Tablets, I hope my readers get a kick out of this post at UltraMobileGeek: The Need for Mobile Broadband.

This kind of a flue I haven't got before which just sticks in me and gets worst everyday...
Have tried all kind of meds and voodoo but nothing seems to work.

Also last night I finally got the timezone support in to the calendar application.
Everyone in the community see the events according to their own timezone.
Next step is to attach the positioning library so if one travels with the calendar it automatically changes the view to the local timezone.

Also the Shelf -concept in moving/mass editing events proofed to be pretty nice.
With few clicks one moves the events to shelf from the current view and then is able to locate a new position for the event on any of the views (year,month,week,day), select the event from the shelf and click to the view on a position he wants the event to move to.

What still must be done in the calendar is the overlapping events and resource conflict checking. This was working in some level on older events which were created with datamanager1, but now when using datamanager2 I have some problems catching the errors on different situations...

I'll get some screenshots of the application next week, when it goes to larger testing before publishing.

Now back to bed and try to get some sleep.

I noticed this morning that my post from last night as well as several previous posts got republished when I updated the blog. This ONLY happened in the planet.maemo.org aggregation of my feed and not through direct subscription or through the actual maemo site at http://maemo.org/news/planet-maemo/

I went into Feedburner and turned off virtually all optional features so we will see if any of those are disagreeing with the Planet.

I’ve rebased the N800 port of Exaile to the latest upstream release. In the process, I tidied up my existing patches and it is marginally more stable now. Here are some of the more noticeable changes:

• the track position is now a progress bar and looks much nicer (upstream)
• the plugin loader works now (upstream)
• the volume slider works better (upstream)
• turned off a lot of my debug output from the previous release
• fixed a bug where a playing track would occasionally stop out of the blue

.debs are here:

• exaile_0.2.10-1_armel.deb
• python2.5-mutagen_1.11_armel.deb

Next, I’ll probably work on making the interface a bit prettier, starting with hildon-izing the menus. I’d also like to add Replay Gain support to Exaile at some stage. And of course there are still a few bugs to iron out. There is a TODO file tucked away somewhere in the package with more details on things that need to be done.

BTW, make sure you change the foreground color in the preferences for the OSD notifications. There is some problem setting the background color at the moment which results in the notifications appearing blank. I’ll fix this (at least the default setting) soon.

One of the most valuable things that that the user community can contribute to a platform is code. There are plenty of examples of code hacks that work, but would be better served by implementation directly into the firmware. Here are my three favorites - and I hope they eventually become standard maemo modules:

1. Bluetooth Sound - Here's the Bluetooth ALSA hack. There are two key profiles that would be of value to the Nokia Internet Tablets. The first, Bluetooth Handsfree, would allow people to use standard Bluetooth phone headsets for VOIP calls. The second, Bluetooth Headset (A2DP) will allow people to use their Bluetooth stereo headsets to listen to music wirelessly.
   
2. Bluetooth PAN - Here's the Bluetooth PAN hack. This has been widely discussed on this blog. I wrote a proposal for this.
3. MPlayer and Flash improvements - Here's UKTube. Konttori found a way to grab a Flash stream, pipe it through mplayer, and offer it up as smooth playback. I can see no reason why a browser plugin can't be made to override Flash player and do this translation - especially with the Mozilla browser underway.

Readers: Post your comments on what you think the best hacks are that should make it into firmware. If there's a related bugzilla feature request, link it too. I'm trying to organize as much as possible to help the maemo team with user demands. Only when they know what we want can they provide it to us in updates.

There's a nifty piece of software with an attached service called Devicescape. The concept is simple:

1. Install the Devicescape client on your Internet Tablet, laptop, or UMPC.
2. Connect to your encrypted or subscription (or browser-login) hotspot.
3. Surf as normally.

The next time you attempt to connect to the hotspot, Devicescape automatically logs you in. This is especially handy for devices that require fast internet access without tedious text input so it is perfect for the Nokia Internet Tablets, Skype phones, Wi-Fi equipped portable gaming devices, and the like.

There are more features too - like sharing your personal hotspot list with your buddies. While it's against the terms of service to share paid hotspots, it's not a bad practice to get your friends on Devicescape so they can come over and hop on your LAN party quickly.

The problem with reviewing this is that I do not have a subscription WiFi service like T-Mobile Hotspots or a municipal WLAN service like WAZ/KiteNetworks. WAZ has coverage in Tempe, Arizona so I will contact them to check out their service and see if Devicescape works on it. In the meantime, I invite others to discuss their experiences in this InternetTabletTalk thread.

Apple doesn’t sell iPhone here in Brazil, we wanted to evaluate its virtual keyboard usability… our solution here at INdT: write one using Python and Edje!

The plan was to do it in less than one week, it took a bit more since I had to work on other things, fix some bugs with the EFL itself and also implement new features (like pointer_mode: NOGRAB) and also did the initial graphics, later replaced with Ian’s nice work. It does no type prediction, word hint, cursor navigation or key composition (accents are not possible).

Summary is 230 lines of Python, 1110 lines of Edje, including comments and blank lines, and a really easy to type keyboard.

• N800 version: easy install, repository: http://www.gustavobarbieri.com.br/e17-n800/ bora free
• Keyboard code: SVN http://barbieri-playground.googlecode.com/svn/efl-tests/vkbd/

I've started working on a new Social News section for maemo.org. The idea of this area is to provide a centralized view on what is happening at the moment in the maemo community.

Every day brings dozens of maemo-related posts via various channels, and keeping up-to-date with them requires a lot of time. The new social news section aims to fix this by providing a somewhat Digg-like news aggregator that will bring only the most interesting items to the top.

Interestingly, a new service called AideRSS went live today with quite much publicity. AideRSS is a new breed of RSS aggregator that uses various metrics to determine the relevancy of new items. This is what AideRSS says about most interesting stuff now on Planet Maemo:

While I don't have access to their secret sauce, using a bit similar metrics I get quite similar results as well:

The way the new org.maemo.socialnews score calculator works is that it looks for number of votes or links from various sources, gives them configurable weight, and then builds a relevancy value out of that. This seems to work quite well, although I guess I will end up tuning it quite a bit when we start syndicating larger amounts of data.

In any case, the next challenge is to combine the relevancy data of items and their tagging/categorization to build a newspaper-like page. Actually, feeding this data to a proper newspaper generator could make interesting results as well.

Technorati Tags: digg, blogpaper, rss, technorati

Bruce Sterling is running a fictional geoblog Dispatches From the Hyperlocal Future on Wired. Much of it deals with the possibilities that the connection between GeoRSS, Microformats and neogeography with mobile devices will bring:

You see, the difference between the old-fashioned semantic Web and the new hyperlocal Web — that's hyper as in linked, and local as in location — is that the databases of the new Web are stuffed with geographic coordinates. Real positions. Real distances. So the bodyware I carry in my pockets and travel bag broadcasts its location to any device within earshot. (Of course, the RFID chips embedded in everything help the manufacturer get it out the door, but I programmed my own tags so I can't lose anything.) Roomware — that's houseware to you troglodytes who still live in houses — is the stuff that runs a hotel room. You know, the remotes that control temperature and unlock the liquor cabinet, plus the window overlay that displays the weather forecast and traffic conditions. Streetware is my mobile's navigator, plus social tags, ad filters, and all those black-and-white barcode blotches painted on walls like graffiti. Cityware is the next scale up. That's how the local government monitors traffic, chases down leaky water mains, and keeps tourists on the straight and narrow. Stateware, nationware, globalware — you get the idea.

Geopresence aggregation gets mentioned as well:

I'm dictating this entry — thank heaven for voice recognition — from the passenger seat of a Hyundai GPS-King careering along the Beltway. I downloaded a cool plug-in to block out the gas-food-lodging ads that hit my screen a quarter mile before each exit, so I'm free to concentrate. What do I care about lodging anyway? The best thing about being a top-tier geo blogger is that everyone knows where you are. When the buddy list tells folks you're in town, they ping to offer you dinner and invite you to sleep on the couch. They're my homies in a world where the entire planet is home. I love all you guys!

Much of the technology mentioned in the blog exists already today, but I guess it will be the blog's 2017 before the technologies are integrated and ubiquitous enough to really change our lives, cellphone-like.

Via Boing Boing.

I decided to get a Nokia internet tablet, when I found the basic Chinese support works.

Remember when I listed must-have applications then solicited others to post their responses?
InternetTabletTalk users did not let me down. This thread is worth reading both by N800 owners and for people thinking of purchasing one.

The iNdT team, thorough Marcelo Oliveira’s (aka handful) blog, posted some good news on the development of the next vesion of Canola. Expect an improved interface, new character input methods (ala the iPhone), and major optimizations.

UPDATE: Marcelo replies with more specifics!

“…this is just the tip of (I hope) our best iceberg =) we have a lot of improvements on multitask, gps, pvr, mplayer / other players support, web configuration going inside canola (at least the most usable part of it) and a lot more.”

Videos and more images after the jump.

Videos:

New keyboard similar to the iPhone (YouTube)
Exclusive Canola New Interface Sneak Peek (mov)

Images:

Interface sketches

Home screen sketches

New input method

Image Viewer

Pictures Menu

Audio Menu

Is this really a serious question?

Yes.

It's funny, everyone thinks that open sourcing just makes sense. I've been contributing to open source software for nearly a decade (which is nothing, I know). I've never been opposed to open sourcing, and in fact, I don't think I've ever really met anyone who was. But I decided to spend some time to write this article and point out some things that people might not have considered. So this blog is an interview with some of my coworkers who also work on the browser. Some of them should be blogging here eventually, for the time being, most articles will probably be mine. As with most blogs, the opinions expressed herein are not that of my employer. Unlike most blogs, I can't even guarantee that they represent my own views, or those of anyone else.

Why Open Source?

The first reaction was: well, why not? OK, fair enough.

Why Not [Open Source]?

1. It costs money. (It's true, everything costs money. Even writing for blogs costs money.)
2. It costs time. Time anyone spends open sourcing is time they aren't spending writing new features, looking for bugs, improving performance, etc.
3. It requires dealing with lawyers. Don't laugh, this is generally a big part of any open sourcing initiative. While the lawyers are actually very reasonable, it's still a time consuming process and most people don't understand enough about licenses, licensing, packaging and runtime interactions.
4. It exposes ugly code to the world.
5. It exposes engineers to customers. Sometimes it's bad enough that engineers can be reached by upper management. They have more than enough tasks to on their plate and getting additional demands adds stress and frustration.
6. It increases customer expectations. Engineers don't magically get better just because the code is open. They still are limited resources.
7. Lose the ability to make wow announcements.

OK, so I answered my engineers' question. Now so, I asked them again:

Why Open Source?

1. It aligns with upstream, reduces deltas and simplifies integrating changes from upstream.
2. It lets us talk about what we're doing instead of being shrouded in secrecy.
3. It highlights things that need to be improved in the long run so that we can fix them before they become problematic.
4. People can choose to participate in improving our code.
5. Allows people to make tweaks without waiting for us.
6. It makes the community happy (we hope).
7. It allows for faster adoption of new features. In closed processes, it can take somewhere between 18 and 30 months to get new features added. If a product life cycle is a year long and you miss it, it'll easily take the shorter number (18), and if the feature isn't valued highly enough, it can easily miss the first release cycle and have to wait for a second.

I've complied OpenEinstein 2007-07 build 48. Current as of today. You can download it below. It's about 1.8 megs, bzipped. It will expand into a 16 meg file.

Feel free to download the binary here. You'll need this file also: Einstein.rex. The last thing you need of course is a real Newton ROM, so please have that handy. Directions are in the manual-- it's worth the read if you are going to try and run this.

I'm still trying to figure the best way to make this run on the 770. I like killing the maemo_af_desktop, so that the OpenE isn't locked into it, but sometimes OpenE won't start. If someone has it going full screen on the 770, please add a comment for your exact startup line. I still haven't gotten it to go the full 800x480 on the 770.

hi,

after a long time without updates on this blog, I will give an overview on my current tasks involving the new ramp-up of Canola.

there is a lot of work going on around Canola, as you can see in various posts from Marcelo, Barbieri and Kenneth! That´s an exciting time for good changes and new features :)
Besides the adoption of evas and edje as the UI toolkit, Canola is being rewritten in python and being reviewed from an architectural and functional point of view.

in the first semester I have worked on a cache and download manager for providing easy access to offline content, such as podcast and images, etc. Now I am working together with Artur (MoRpHeUz) on a media-engine for Canola. The main purpose of this media-engine is to provide simple access to multiple backends, such as MPlayer, GStreamer, the current Osso media server and others.

we all know that the default media-player has a lot of restrictions to supported formats, that´s why we believe that multiple media-backends is the way to go for applications that want to maximize the features for the end user. The new media engine will be able to select the best backend automatically for each mime-type, combining MPlayer, for open formats, with GStreamer (we are still waiting for playbin2 to come out) or the current media-engine for proprietary formats and DRM protected content.

in addition to support a wide range of media formats, this new engine will also manage sessions, allowing applications to save/restore state, such as remembering the last url played along with the position. Moreover, the session architecture will end with today´s mess of various applications using and confusing the osso-media-server.

what all applications want is a simple and reliable method of managing the playback of their media and that is what we will do!

BR

There was a lot of excitement in the mobile device camp after the release of the apple iphone. Most people will agree, it has a wonderful 'looking' interface although its terribly lacking in the feature department. So what can other mobile devices take from this?

I finally had the time to build Aircrack-ng (0.9.1) for the N800. Many people were asking about it and I also wanted to play with some of the newer features. Some of the cooler features of aircrack-ng don't work on the N800: airreplay-ng requires a driver that is able to send raw frames as far as I know the N800's wifi driver doesn't support this (also airreplay-ng doesn't seem to compile out of the box); airtun-ng also didn't compile so I didn't include it in the package.

A few days ago I build a package for iodine (a IP-DNS tunnel). This little thing is really fun (best IP-DNS tunnel software I have seen so far).

OpenSolaris Draft DTS requirements Annotated BODY, P, DIV, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, ADDRESS, OL, UL, TITLE, TD, OPTION, SELECT { font-family: Verdana;