Topics

1

Gemini PDA - Linux / Anyone using Firefox?

« on: August 17, 2020, 10:51:27 am »

I have all my other computers and phones on Firefox and love the Sync feature it has. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Firefox on the Gemini is very usable, at least when I just checked it recently.

Has anyone figured out how to make Firefox usable or is it not really possible given the age of the code?

2

Gemini PDA - Android / Best email app?

« on: August 17, 2020, 03:02:47 am »

I finally got my Gemini repaired after its hinge failed. Just for testing, I fired up AirMail.

After two years, they still haven't fixed the cursor movement and Control Backspace bugs. So needless to say, I will not be using AirMail.

What email apps besides K9 and Gmail do people here like? I won't use the latter and am currently using the former.

3

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

« on: January 24, 2020, 04:04:55 pm »

I have been trying to find reviews of the Cosmo since it began shipping and there don't appear to be any in English that are more than just "hands on" clips or reviews.

I saw one post on here but that was it.

What do Cosmo backers think of their device? It's odd that there are so few reviews of it compared to when the Gemini first came out.

In the end, I just didn't like the phone call quality on the Gemini so I don't use it much any more. And the dumb plastic hinge design meant that I kept having to get replacement devices.

Is the Cosmo improved in these areas? Please let those of us who might consider buying a Cosmo know what you think of it.

4

Gemini PDA - Hardware / Hinge cracks

« on: June 28, 2019, 05:13:39 pm »

I have now gone through several Geminis that all eventually start getting cracks in the plastic that covers the hinges.

The latest Gemini has a flaw that the keyboard and the display do not turn on when I open my phone. Has anyone else had to wait several seconds before the display turns on after opening? The Gemini does not even respond to the Esc/Power key

5

Gemini PDA - Linux / KDE is usable after all

« on: June 09, 2019, 12:25:02 pm »

So out of frustration with LXQt, I had not bothered using my Gemini much on the Linux side but I just came back to it recently.

It turns out that you can actually use KDE, you just have to make sure that its global keyboard shortcut daemon is not running.

You can find it within the KSysguard task manager. The process name is kglobalaccel5. Just kill it and your keyboard will work as normal.

If you don't want to have to keep killing the process, just have root make kglobalaccel5 non executable

sudo chmod 444 /usr/bin/kglobalaccel5

The downside of not running the global shortcut manager is that KWin shortcuts will no longer work. But on the other hand, KDE Plasma is much better suited for touch use and the task bar can actually be used, unlike in LXQt.

You can also set up KDE Plasma to put applications' menu bars inside of your panel and save vertical screen real estate.

6

Gemini PDA - Android / Can't search contacts for names

« on: May 23, 2019, 10:26:40 pm »

I've had this bug for a while but never wrote it down until now.

On my Android side, I have DAVx5 set up to synchronize contacts via WebDAV. They all appear in the list, however when I am in the phone dialer and type in a person's name, it literally never returns the results I expect.

So, for example, if I have a contact named Zirgo Fleham, and I type "zirgo," it will not show the contact in the search results. Oftentimes, it returns names that do not even have the search string in them.

This bug only happens in the Phone dialer, however. If I search in the Contacts app, then things work as expected.

I downloaded third-party dialer apps and they don't have this problem, only the default Dialer.

I just got a replacement Gemini and the bug exists on this new unit. I'm not running 8.1 though since I want to keep my root setup for now.

7

Gemini PDA - Linux / KDE Plasma

« on: December 11, 2018, 10:08:12 am »

I pretty much gave up using Linux on my Gemini since I now use it as a primary device and need apps like OneNote and aCalendar and synchronization with my Samsung watch.

Has anyone tried KDE on it lately? Last time I used it, most of the keys didn't work properly.

If thing have improved, I might reflash and try again.

8

Gemini PDA - Hardware / Does Planet Computers do repairs? My keyboard is shorted out

« on: September 01, 2018, 01:59:57 pm »

I accidentally dropped my Gemini into a partially filled bathtub and now several of the keys return multiple characters when pressed. The Q key returns 1 as well as Q.

9

Gemini PDA - Linux / Cannot use Escape key in Linux

« on: May 30, 2018, 06:42:38 am »

Is it just me or has anyone else had the issue that the Escape key is always interpreted as the Power Off key within LXQt?

I have deleted my globalkeyshortcuts.conf several different times and have also updated my packages.

10

Gemini PDA - Linux / Optimizing the LXQt environment

« on: May 24, 2018, 10:49:32 pm »

Since random alphabetic keys don’t work in KDE Plasma yet, I’ve been having a go of optimizing the LXQt environment for use. Here’s what I have so far:

1.   Mapped the lxqt-runner app to Alt+Space. This is in LXQt Configuration -> Shortcut Keys -> Show/hide runner dialog. With this key remap, you can instantly launch any program with just 2 or three keystrokes.

   Remapped the KWin window manager to have shortcuts for the most common functions. I’ve set Close to Alt+C, Minimize to Alt+M, and Maximize to Alt+X. I also added Alt+R and Alt+L to Quick Tile windows to the right and left sides of the screen. I also set Ctrl+Space to acticate a given window’s operations menu.

KWin has scores of other functions that can be mapped. Do this by going to KDE System Settings -> Shortcuts -> Global Shortcuts.

2.   Since you can’t click the taskbar buttons to switch tasks easily, I’ve made it so that tapping on a window’s title bar lowers the window and shows the one underneath it for quick access. This is another KWin setting. Activate any window’s system menu and then choose More Actions -> Window Manager Settings -> Actions.

3.   Achieve visual consistency between GTK and Qt apps by going to the KDE System Settings -> Application Style -> GNOME Application Style.

You only have a limited selection of styles to choose from by default but you can set the Breeze and Breeze Dark themes.

4.   Install Konsole, a super powerful terminal app that leaves QTerminal in the dust: sudo apt install konsole

5.   Install some better icon sets. Get some at kde-look.org or by going to KDE System Settings -> Icons -> Get new Theme

6.   Install Yakuake, a drop down terminal that you can recall at a keypress: sudo apt install yakuake. It will give you the option to choose its hotkey the first time you launch it. Make it start up on login in the LXQt Configuration Center -> Session Settings

7.   Add some Quick Launch icons. Call up the LXQt main menu at the bottom of the screen and the drag and drop any of the apps you want into the empty space to the left of the taskbar

8.   Enable KWin's software compositor. It isn't as good as native OpenGL but KWin has a software rendering feature for graphical acceleraion that works pretty well for transparency and faster window movements. Turn this on in the KWin Settings mentioned above under the Compositor section. WARNING: Make sure not to enable OpenGL rendering as this will make your KWin unusuable! Keep the Rendering Backend as XRender in the settings.

9. Install the LXQt image viewer which is absent in the default Debian image: sudo apt install lxqt-image. This will enable you to take screenshots with Function + R.

11

Gemini PDA - Linux / Word processing software

« on: May 21, 2018, 09:26:51 pm »

Since graphical compositing is not working yet in Linux, I've found that the only word processor that can keep up with my typing is AbiWord, the GTK3 word processor. LibreOffice and Calligra Word are both really slow for me. LibreOffice, in particular, is insanely slow to accept input, even with the graphic acceleration option disabled.

Has anyone else had luck with either two of those applications?

12

Gemini PDA - Hardware / Car charger ideas?

« on: May 14, 2018, 09:37:19 pm »

I don't know about anyone else here but the enormously common car USB chargers you can buy almost anywhere can't keep pace with the demands of my Gemini.

Since there is no OEM car charger, I was wondering if anyone here has already solved this problem. Ideally, there would be something out there that would support Pump Express, the fast charging standard put forward by MediaTek, the CPU vendor for Planet. But that seems unlikely due to the overwhelming dominance of Qualcomm and Apple of the smartphone CPU business.

My searching for Pump Express car chargers turned up basically nothing.

13

Gemini PDA - Linux / So has anyone gotten the Function layer keys to work yet?

« on: May 07, 2018, 06:38:19 pm »

I booted into Debian a few days ago but haven't used it much due to no graphical acceleration and the inability to generate characters like quotation mark or slash, all mandatory stuff for Unix operation.

Do we even know if the key sends a hardware or a software event?

I'm guessing one could use xmodmap for these symbols via the Alt key if Function requires a driver to work.

14

Gemini PDA - Android / Android keyboard layout on second batch unit

« on: May 02, 2018, 03:49:49 pm »

So the keys on my second batch device work pretty well. I wish they were a bit quieter but otherwise, it's pretty good.

The only issue I am having is that even when I updated the Gemini keyboard app, some of the symbols don't work correctly.

I have a US keyboard and when I press Shift and the period key, it makes a greater than sign (>) instead of question mark. I get a less than sign from Shift and comma instead of slash.

The Fn punctuation symbols don't appear to do anything. The backslash and pipe key does single and double quotes (what the key should have been imo).

I have the latest Gemini keyboard app. When I have the Gemini keyboard selected as my input method, I get this behavior. When I choose the AOSP keyboard, it works as displayed.

I assume this is the behavior others have seen. Is that correct?

15

Gemini PDA - Hardware / Keyboard comparisons

« on: March 18, 2018, 04:08:44 pm »

So for those who have a Gemini, how would you compare it to other devices?

I have a HP Jornada 720 and really love the keyboard on it compared to the Psion Series 5. It's interesting to me that you rarely see people who have experience with both.

The Jornada's has easier to press keys whereas the Psion's are harder. Aside from the color screen, the Jornada is easier for me to type on for long periods of time because the key travel and the actuation pressure are less than the Series 5.

Can we get just some keyboard comparisons on this thread?

I'm curious also because I'm told that the Series 5 keys were not always hard to press down. I wonder if the Gemini might have similar keyboard variations. It seems that way wrt the spacebar.