Messages

1

Cosmo Communicator - Hardware / External screen under sailfish

« on: September 13, 2019, 06:24:51 am »

Hello Pikku-iikka,

Thank you for sharing ! I'm not surprised with their answer. As the Cosmo isn't out yet, it would be difficult to anyone to begin to port Sailfish on it, doesn't it ? The focus of PC is on Android, which will be used by 99% of the user base.

I decided to wait for my Cosmo before commiting on interfacing Sailfish and the font screen.

Kind regards,
Cyril

2

Cosmo Communicator - Hardware / External screen under sailfish

« on: July 03, 2019, 02:44:13 pm »

Thanks for the tips, Vader. I'm already confronted to  systemd on Sailfish. I agree that we have to pump from D-Bus when we can. I'm playing with the rpm package spec to install the *.service file where it will be run at startup. I'm inspired by Sailfish Connect

I see that PatchManager is an OpenRepos app, but I don't yet discern the advantages over crating a normal app. For now, I'm trying to write an app the official way with the Sailfish SDK. A daemon must be launched in the background, and optionally a GUI app for settings.

3

Cosmo Communicator - Hardware / External screen under sailfish

« on: July 02, 2019, 08:19:56 am »

I would expect either a USB serial (cdc) connection, or I2C. Either way, it should be as simple as opening the device and reading/writing to/from it. I  will see how easy it is to interface to current functionality in sailfish, so that when we work out what the API is we can embed it in the respective files.

I'll see what I can do this weekend.

I'm a Linux SysAdmin, and I forgot about the simplest way, thank you for reminding me    My mind was on full-Qt mode... No hurry about all that, the Cosmo isn't in our hand yet. Surely you will receive yours before me. Because I chose a French keyboard, it will be the among the last batches to be produced (small number of devices).

I'm looking for how to create a daemon / background service from an app on Sailfish OS

Cyril

4

Cosmo Communicator - Hardware / External screen under sailfish

« on: July 01, 2019, 09:38:36 pm »

Hello Vader,

Thank you for opening this new thread. I'd want to point out that any code written to adapt the front panel to Sailfish will pave the way to any compatibility with Linux as the interface would be the same.

Like I said in my earlier post, the front panel's details are guessing work until any API documentation is released by PC. This guessing, thanks to PC giving the name of the micro-controller, leads me to imagine that the front-panel is treated like a USB device by the Cosmo's OS.

From my other post :

From week 23 update : "[...] We have also been working on the software interface between the main MediaTek P70 processor and the second processor, the STM32: we have been defining the messages that will be passed from Android or Linux to the second processor and vice versa. Having a separate processor handling the external screen allows uniform interfacing of the second screen to any Operating System that is running on the main Cosmo processor, without needing to modify the second processor firmware. [...]"

So, Sailfish OS applications using C++/Qt/QML, the communication itself could be managed with QSerialPort (I have to check if it's supported on Sailfish's Qt), and the back-end could maybe be shared with Linux.

At a minimum, from the video of the front panel here, the front panel interface ins and outs are :

Ins :
- upper notifications (battery life, network, etc...)
- date
- upcoming alarm
- event notifications (like app notifcations or calls)
- coming phone calls, which means informations  like :
    -- number
    -- caller contact name
    -- caller icon / photo
    -- OUT : accept or declining call from the front panel touchscreen (only guessing here)

Outs :
- from the slide down menu : (00:12)
    -- wifi on / off
    -- WAN network on/off
    -- GPS on/off
    -- bluetooth on/off
    -- do not disturb on/off
    -- energy-saving mode on/off
    -- plane mode on/off
    -- internet sharing on/off

- shortcut menu : (00:26)
    -- (I'm leaving out the camera and video buttons)
    -- call (interface unknown, manual dialling and/or direct contact dialling )
    -- agenda (interface unknown)
    -- microphone / recorder ? (interface unknown)
    -- alarm
    -- flashlight (linked to camera features)
    -- settings (front panel system settings ?)


The security pattern could be internally managed by the front panel system.

I think the whole camera block is still managed by the main OS, but I could be wrong. If so, video stream and photo will somehow have to be sent to the front-panel. The white square at 00:35 could be a result from a not yet implemented photo shot.

The fingerprint reader is obviously independent from the front panel and managed from the OS, or they would use it instead of the security pattern.

At first glance, it may be an overwhelming task to interface the front panel with Sailfish or Linux. Yet, we can start small. We can start with displaying the battery life, for example.

Actually, we don't have to wait for the Cosmo to begin. From the main OS to the front-panel, any signal/information will have to be picked from the main operating system (Sailfish / Linux), then this raw information will have to be transformed so as to be understood by the front panel, and finally this information would be sent to the front-panel interface.
Three basic blocks. We don't know enough from Cosmo to code anything about the last two block (transformation and transmission), but we have all the tools to code the first one (gathering the informations).

I only have the Sailfish OS Emulator from the SDK, but I'm least worried about this OS than with the different Linux distributions and desktop environments. We will surely stick with the official Debian image, but I don't know which DE is better suited. Which DE is the "official" one with PC Gemini ?

I'm still unsure about the existing and running phone capabilities of PC's Debian and I don't have a Gemini to fiddle with it.
Each feature will have to tap into software.
Ex: For contacts : GKA Contacts here

What are your thoughts ?  Any idea or finding ?

Cyril

5

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Welcome to those from the Indiegogo forum

« on: July 01, 2019, 01:12:55 pm »

- Front-panel : will the front panel be usable by Sailfish ? Will the API be open-sourced ? Keep the firmware closed-source, I don't mind, but open the API, please. The PC team is small and must be focused on providing the best Android experience because I think only a few bearded barbarians (like me) will use it with Linux or Sailfish. When they stabilise the API, I'm from those willing to take a peek on it, and maybe work on top of it.

That is the idea. I am sure they are working with Jolla to get it working on the cosmo. They have mentioned that it will be usable from all platforms.

For what it's worth, I e-mailed Planet about this before throwing my money at them, and their response went:  

While I believe the device will support Linux and Sailfish, our primary focus is currently Android as that alone requires a lot of work to make it function with the external screen and it's dedicated chip. It is likely that the development of Sailfish on the Cosmo will be left to the Jolla team as it currently is.

 

Not overly promising to be honest, but as long as there's an open API to use I imagine there'll be someone who figures out how to make it happen. I'm hoping to use this as a primarily Sailfish device (With maybe a Debian dual boot), but I can live without the external screen for now

Hello and welcome to the newcomers !

Thank you Piece_Maker for the information. At least, I find PC  honest in this answer, and logical given the size of their team. The open-source community will have to pick-up this interfacing on Sailfish and Linux. I'm beginning to browse the Sailfish/Jolla/Mer documentation to determine which component tap into so as to forward information to the front-panel.

From week 23 update : "[...] We have also been working on the software interface between the main MediaTek P70 processor and the second processor, the STM32: we have been defining the messages that will be passed from Android or Linux to the second processor and vice versa. Having a separate processor handling the external screen allows uniform interfacing of the second screen to any Operating System that is running on the main Cosmo processor, without needing to modify the second processor firmware. [...]"

I'm guessing a few things. If I'm referring to this PDF, the STM32 micro-controller will surely be managed as a USB device by the phone's operating system as surely they will not "reinvent the wheel"...

So, Sailfish OS applications using C++/Qt/QML, the communication itself could be managed with QSerialPort (I have to check if it's supported on Sailfish's Qt), and the back-end could maybe be shared with Linux. For now, and until reading the front-panel API document, it's only a guessing game :-) Maybe it's worth to open a dedicated thread ?

Cyril

6

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Welcome to those from the Indiegogo forum

« on: June 24, 2019, 08:44:08 am »

Each time Android is updated, I think the frozen Mediatek kernel (containing the proprietary blobs) must be patched / hacked with backported code from recent kernels. Stability is not guaranteed any longer. You can say Linux kernel's GPL v2 license gives no warranty,  you get my meaning  
The preferred kernel of Android 9 is 4.9, hopefully the Mediatek is delivering a kernel not too far from this version for the Cosmo's P70.

Is Gemian a separate project from the Planet Computer's Debian image, or are they the same ? I'm digging for information on installing phone capabilities on Linux, on KDE would be my preference. The moment I get the Cosmo in my hands, I'll try to write a script to streamline the phone set-up on a Cosmo, if not already done. A new Cosmo user would be depressed at the idea to have to set up by himself the (limited) phone side on Linux, and would switch back quickly to the easiest : Android.

7

Cosmo Communicator - General Discussion / Welcome to those from the Indiegogo forum

« on: June 23, 2019, 04:50:00 pm »

Hello everyone,

Thank you for admitting me on this forum, I prefer to converse here than on a  comment page infested with persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder (or without life) repeating the same requests every two hours.

I'm honestly a late backer of the Cosmo campaign. I remember being interested about the Gemini a few years back, but I'm not fond of the idea of lunging around a device which is a little too specialized (lack of useful/practical phone feature). I would have had to keep in my bag my phone and possibly a laptop. With the Cosmo, I hope being able to ditch my Google phone and let my laptop to my girlfriend so she won't have to buy a new one.

I'm not a fan of all the choices made by Planet Computers, but I think they won cookies with trying (and succeeding) to build a multi-purpose mobile device quite open to other operating systems than Android. From my humble point of view, the keyboard is a must-have for a minimum of productivity.

It may sound strange for some people, but I plan for the Cosmo to lessen my bad habit of checking my smartphone every five minutes. From a Nexus 4, I will have to contend with a slightly heavier (139g vs 320g) and more cumbersome smartphone. Answering a message will force me to find time to access the keyboard and, when I find this time,  write meaningful sentences. In three words : disconnect a bit, without resorting to dumb feature phones.

If I wrote a bit much, sorry. Much of these questions are technical and are flying over the head of much people, yet I'm spending a few hundred euros on this device, so I have a few questions whose some answers may already be available laying around.

I have a few thoughts and questions on the Cosmo :

- the Mediatek P70 as CPU, not friendly with any on-the-shelf Linux distribution. Being an open-source advocate, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yet, I understand that not many chipset maker are willing to sell for such a small number of device. I can be wrong of course, but is this device future-proof ? In five years, will I be able to install a recent Linux kernel to be up-to-date in face of internet threats ? In the end, a smartphone is only a computer always connected on the internet.

- Front-panel : will the front panel be usable by Sailfish ? Will the API be open-sourced ? Keep the firmware closed-source, I don't mind, but open the API, please. The PC team is small and must be focused on providing the best Android experience because I think only a few bearded barbarians (like me) will use it with Linux or Sailfish. When they stabilise the API, I'm from those willing to take a peek on it, and maybe work on top of it.

- Sailfish OS : already available for Gemini, promised on the Cosmo. When Android apps will be installable on it, if ever ? With the interest of Russia on Sailfish OS and the Android problem of Huawei, I'm hoping this OS will receive more support and funds for updates. Is the Sailfish using the Android kernel already on the device or does it run without this crutch ?

- HDMI out : maybe too early to know, but the Gemini is using a special adapter cable from Planet Computers, I hope it will no be the case here. Any information ?

Thank you OESF members and, again, thank you to Planet Computers team for their hard work and the ideas they pursue.

Cyril