Messages

16

Cosmo Communicator - Android / VPN on the Cosmo

« on: February 03, 2020, 07:21:11 am »

Just be aware that for some reason the Android version defaults to a very small MTU.  It's worth bumping it up to the usual 1420 default, as Google's Play Store (including app updates and installations) don't work on the one (1280, IIRC) it chooses.

17

Cosmo Communicator - Android / VPN on the Cosmo

« on: February 02, 2020, 10:32:02 am »

FWIW, Wireguard works well for me.

18

Cosmo Communicator - Android / Fullscreen browser?

« on: February 01, 2020, 08:45:36 am »

Yeah, if the page allows scrolling that usually works, but some pages resize to your screen and you're stuck with the address bar, even 'fullscreen' addon for firefox doesn't help then for some reason

Hmm.  Have you got an example?  I can't think of one off the top of my head.

19

Cosmo Communicator - Android / Fullscreen browser?

« on: February 01, 2020, 07:32:45 am »

Hmm.  Firefox does full-screen for me, once the page has completely finished loading, and you've scrolled up a bit.

Setings -> General -> Full-screen browsing.

20

Cosmo Communicator - Android / Best ssh app?

« on: January 30, 2020, 05:31:00 pm »

I've been using JuiceSSH (the free version) for years on my Android devices.  It's ... OK.

I recently discovered SSHelper (GPL -- very Free), which is stunning.  Data backups become a matter of running that up and rsync.  It also comes with an ssh client.

21

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Poor battery life

« on: January 30, 2020, 01:37:32 pm »

It feels like a firmware problem to me, too.  I'm expecting it to be fixed in a future release, and, of the bugs the software has, I hope it's the one with the highest priority.

It feels as if something is spinning, waiting for data that isn't going to come, because the other end thinks it's done.  I base this only on the observation that when it gets hot, opening and closing the thing (which obviously triggers some comms between the CoDi and the main device) can fix the problem.  And it usually starts again when something has triggered something which causes something to display on the CoDi.

Might be totally wrong, of course.  Without the source it's impossible to say.

22

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Latest updates on Indiegogo

« on: January 30, 2020, 04:59:57 am »

I backed on the day of the announcement (number 601), and received it in November last year.  A friend, on seeing mine, backed it a week or so later, and got his early this month.  We're both UK/UK, which is a common configuration.  You might be lucky.

23

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Very little activity on this board

« on: January 29, 2020, 04:57:33 am »

The best hinge I've ever owned was on the Nokia E90.  Superb device.  They clearly learned a lot from the 9000-series; the 9500's hinge is similar to the Gemini's and is what did for mine.

Hopefully Planet will do something similar for the next Cosmo (which I fully-expect to be backing).

24

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Very little activity on this board

« on: January 28, 2020, 08:23:47 am »

I'm no longer really using my Gemini -- not entirely sure what to do with it.  It's a lovely bit of kit.

Unfortunately, the keyboard partially died on first device I had, so Planet (after some going around) sent me a new one.  I'm hoping the same doesn't happen on the Cosmo.

The Cosmo hinge does seem better engineered than the Gemini's, so hopefully it won't disintegrate.  I suspect that being as gentle as possible when opening and closing it will help.

25

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Very little activity on this board

« on: January 25, 2020, 06:31:46 am »

I, too, love it.

The design has fixed all the problems I had with the Gemini: the keyboard is excellent (the backlight makes it usable in the dark, which the Gemini wasn't), the camera is considerably better (not difficult), the hinge is much improved (much more solid to type on; the Gemini bounced a fair bit when pressing keys and much harder to bite yourself with), and the CoDi is useful for seeing who's calling you.  NFC is great, too: mobile phone payments just work, although you have to open the lid.

I've only ever had phones with keyboard (Nokia 9210, 9500, E90, Samsung Galaxy S Relay) -- never owned a touchscreen-only device -- so I can't really say how much of a difference this is over one of those, but the UI copes quite well.

Bad bits: battery life is astonishing; I sometimes manage an entire day.  The CoDi is broadly useless for anything other than seeing who's calling you: I find it far, far to slow to respond, and the notifications icons disappear quite quickly.  Call quality is fine.  USB-C is OK; I haven't used it for anything other than charging, but both ports seem to work for that.  The Gemini handled rotation much, much better than the Cosmo does.  Even with rotation control apps, the Cosmo can feel a bit clunky, and there are some things which just don't work: Google Calendar really needs portrait, but forcing it means you can't add a title to new events, as the title field loses input focus when it rotates about.

All in all, I expect to use this thing until it dies.  It's excellent, as I hoped it would be.  The delays in manufacturing and shipping are unfortunate, but I wasn't in the slightest bit surprised by them.  I backed early -- number 601 -- as I'd got a Gemini and could see the problems with it, and the Cosmo appeared to fix them.  It's done that rather well.  I will confess to being somewhat uncertain with the Retro Computers debacle and Janko Mrsic-Flogel's involvement in that and PC, but when the Gemini shipped I felt the risk was probably fine.  In sum: buy one.

26

Cosmo Communicator - Android / How to insert characters with accent?

« on: January 23, 2020, 06:06:23 pm »

Oh, ta.  Very helpful.

27

Cosmo Communicator - Android / How to insert characters with accent?

« on: January 23, 2020, 05:31:19 pm »

Hmm.  I just get lots and lots of autorepeat if I hold down a key.  Holding an on-screen key works as you'd expect, but the physical keyboard just autorepeats.

28

Cosmo Communicator - Android / How to insert characters with accent?

« on: January 23, 2020, 05:08:24 pm »

Not on the proper (hardware) keyboard.

29

Cosmo Communicator - Android / How to insert characters with accent?

« on: January 23, 2020, 04:39:36 pm »

Only by using the on-screen keyboard, unfortunately.  If you find out how, let me know...

30

Cosmo Communicator - CoDi / Cover Display Subforum?

« on: January 21, 2020, 09:53:44 am »

Mine updated first time, but then I'd put it in aeroplane mode, and didn't have any alarms scheduled.

I'm not convinced it's helped.  Battery life isn't looking great.