DeforaOS Project - News

New snapshot of the DeforaOS smartphone

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:03:30 +0200

A new snapshot of the DeforaOS smartphone environment [1], as featured in the Debian-based hackable:1 distribution [2], is now available for tests. Many fixes and improvements made it into this snapshot since the last one [3], some of which were already listed yesterday [4].

All in all, this is getting closer to something useful for tests. Unfortunately, an annoying registration bug remains, but it is the last blocker before focusing again on user experience:

adding icons to the home screen;
completing the settings menus;
handling hardware buttons;
improving the finger keyboard;
letting the telephony software be more convenient;
supporting power management;
updating the artwork...

The list is shortening though: feel free to check it by yourself with the direct link [5]! It is, of course, also listed in the "Download" wiki page [6].

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/news/3363/Introducing-the-DeforaOS-smartphone
[2] http://trac.hackable1.org/
[3] http://www.defora.org/os/news/3380/Snapshot-of-the-DeforaOS-smartphone-available-for-tests
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/news/3390/New-software-releases-for-the-DeforaOS-smartphone-project
[5] http://www.defora.org/download/snapshots/hackable1/Hackable1-Openmoko-Freerunner-user-2010.08a-rootfs.jffs2
[6] http://www.defora.org/os/wiki/display/2131/Download

New software releases for the DeforaOS smartphone project

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:45:43 +0200

A number of projects were released with newer versions yesterday. Together, they should already significantly improve the usability and candiness of the DeforaOS smartphone [1]:

preferences support for the telephony application
new virtual keyboard based on Gtk+ (themed)
updated panel applets for telephony, keyboard...
new panel applet to track wpa_supplicant's status
bugfixes as deserved...

The full list of software revisions follows:

libSystem 0.1.4 [2]
Keyboard 0.0.2 [3]
Panel 0.1.1 [4]
Phone 0.2.0 [5]

They are all packaged within hackable:1 [6] already; you may expect new snapshots of the environment soon.

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/news/3363/Introducing-the-DeforaOS-smartphone
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3384/libSystem-0.1.4.tar.gz
[3] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3387/Keyboard-0.0.2.tar.gz
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3388/Panel-0.1.1.tar.gz
[5] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3389/Phone-0.2.0.tar.gz
[6] http://trac.hackable1.org/

Snapshot of the DeforaOS smartphone available for tests

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:48:16 +0200

The downloads page [1] is now linking to a development snapshot [2] of the DeforaOS smartphone software stack, running in the hackable:1 distribution [3]. You are all welcome to try it out, and report tons of bugs in either DeforaOS or hackable:1 tracking systems.

Of course, the kernel can be obtained directly from hackable:1 [4], and an optional splash screen replacement for u-boot can be flashed too [5].

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/wiki/2131/Download
[2] http://www.defora.org/download/snapshots/hackable1/Hackable1-Openmoko-Freerunner-user-2010.07a-rootfs.jffs2
[3] http://trac.hackable1.org/
[4] http://www.defora.org/download/snapshots/hackable1/Hackable1-Openmoko-Freerunner-user-2010.07a-uImage.bin
[5] http://www.defora.org/download/snapshots/hackable1/Hackable1-Openmoko-Freerunner-user-2010.07a-splash.gz

New release of the Phone project as version 0.1.0

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:31:49 +0200

Having just worked again on the Phone project [1], it was considered to be time for a new release [2]:

support for adding, editing and deleting contacts
re-implemention of the panel applet as a dedicated, optional plug-in
first release with the monitor mode plug-in for the Openmoko Freerunner
some fixes this and there (AT error handling...)

As usual, packages for pkgsrc [3] and hackable:1 [4] are already available.

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/project/display/3343/Phone
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3373/Phone-0.1.0.tar.gz
[3] http://pkgsrc-wip.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/pkgsrc-wip/wip/deforaos-phone/
[4] http://trac.hackable1.org/trac/browser/trunk/packages/phone/phone.diff

Addition of a disassembler for as 0.1.1

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:26:36 +0200

After minor additions, the as project [1] also supports disassembly of object files [2]. While this alone could justify a major version bump, for some reason I have found the motivation to add a new, unexpected architecture to the project: Java [3][4].

Yet, I am well aware of the current limitations of the project: not only is it currently unable to provide useful ELF objects, but it also still lacks some syntax many instructions to properly support x86 in the first place.

Therefore, even though it can be an interesting project to download already, it is only tagged as 0.1.1 [5]. Ironically, the Java disassembler is probably its most useful feature at the moment.

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/project/15/as
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/project/browse/15?file=/src/disas.c,v&revision=1.16
[3] http://www.defora.org/os/project/browse/15?file=/src/arch/java.c,v
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/project/browse/15?file=/src/format/java.c,v
[5] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3370/as-0.1.1.tar.gz

Re-design of the project's website

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:16:26 +0200

While sticking to its original look & feel, the website for the DeforaOS project is now rendered through a newer stylesheet [1]. This stylesheet, and the website as a whole can still be improved in many ways though, particularly when it comes to managing user accounts, or presenting screenshots for instance [2].

Still, it should improve readability a lot already, especially on tighter screens (like smartphones). But this is only a first step, thanks to thorough reviews from a good friend [3]. Work is continuously ongoing to improve the quality of the website.

And of course, feel free to propose your own themes [4]!

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/project/browse/12?file=/themes/DeforaOS.css,v
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/category/293/screenshot
[3] http://curlybracket.net/
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/news/reply/3371#edit

First release of the Todo project

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Sun, 6 Jun 2010 03:49:55 +0200

The Todo project [1], for the management of task lists, was recently described as being "young" [2]. This is less true now, as it was tagged as version 0.0.0 just minutes ago, and therefore released and available for download [3].

Even though not as complete as the average task list management application, it definitely can be useful already:

tasks are stored and restored when closing and opening the application;
their status is kept of course (eg whether they were completed)
they can be sorted by status, title or priority.

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/project/display/3299/Todo
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/news/3362/DeforaOS-as-an-embedded-desktop-environment
[3] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3366/Todo-0.0.0.tar.gz

Introducing the DeforaOS smartphone

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 01:51:02 +0200

There is an important piece of software that is (deliberately) missing from the precedent news item. About a month ago, it entered the list of projects [1] composing the DeforaOS project together, only being announced [2] on the developers' mailing-list [3]. It is, however, essential to bring the embedded desktop environment to a very specific range of devices: smartphones.

Indeed, it is called Phone [4], and has been under constant work for a month before reaching version 0.0.9 [5]. While its initial feature set is still limited to the essential parts (calling, being called and texting), the project already features a plug-in system, including:

profile management
hardware-specific support (eg for the Openmoko Freerunner [6])
additional security features, with SMS encryption being already implemented and functional

Needless to say, the intention is to bring it to be fully-functional and usable. Early screenshots are available already [7], and more will be proposed on this website as soon as likely.

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/project/list
[2] http://lists.defora.org/devel/2010/04/msg00030.html
[3] http://lists.defora.org/
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/project/display/3343/Phone
[5] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3360/Phone-0.0.9.tar.gz
[6] http://www.openmoko.org/
[7] http://people.defora.org/~khorben/temp/DeforaOS/

DeforaOS as an embedded desktop environment

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 01:30:46 +0200

As the project's homepage suggests for a few days now [0], a new milestone was reached. Its first consequence is the possibility to run the DeforaOS desktop on an embedded platform, given these tight requirements on such devices:

light and efficient, written in C for Gtk+, with fewer dependencies
user-friendly application launcher, file management and hardware monitoring
designed for small screen sizes alike
stylus- and finger-friendly (on-screen keyboard...)

Naturally, it provides a number of graphical applications as required; in alphabetical order:

Browser, taking care of the homescreen, desktop handling, file management [1]
Editor, a simple text editor [2]
Framer, the window manager [3]
Mailer, young e-mail and RSS client [4]
Mixer, handling the volume controls [5]
Panel, with an application launcher and many applets [6]
Player, a media player [7]
Surfer, fully-functional web browser [8]
Todo, a young task management application [9]

Summary of the project's software releases in May

khorben@defora.org (khorben) — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 00:55:50 +0200

Unlike what the news count of this past month of May could suggest, a lot of work was put into the project in the last few weeks. Before a couple other posts, each detailing a new direction where this project can now head to, here is a summary of each new released content since the last announcement:

[1] Panel 0.0.6

more parameters can be defined in the configuration file
the panel can be placed at the top of the screen instead
pop-up keyboard applet (using xkbd)
fixed some resizing bugs

[2] Panel 0.1.0

new applet for the yet-to-be-announced Phone project
improved embedded support
bug fixes and performance improvements

[3] Browser 0.2.0

the desktop application is more compliant with the NETWM specification
usability fixes and improvements (dialogs, keyboard shortcuts...)
implemented a homescreen for embedded platforms

[4] libDesktop 0.0.2

updated the API to allow better keyboard shortcuts

Of course most of these releases already made their way into either NetBSD (through pkgsrc-wip [5]) and Debian (through hackable:1 [6]).

[1] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3348/Panel-0.0.6.tar.gz
[2] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3349/Panel-0.1.0.tar.gz
[3] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3355/Browser-0.2.0.tar.gz
[4] http://www.defora.org/os/download/download/3357/libDesktop-0.0.2.tar.gz
[5] http://pkgsrc-wip.sourceforge.net/
[6] http://www.hackable1.org/