Re: magician openmoko image

Hi Vasco,

thanks for trying the images and for the feedback!
(Cc: htc-pxa_at_handhelds.org for future reference)

On Jan 6, 2008 12:38 AM, Vasco Névoa <vasco.nevoa_at_iol.pt> wrote:
> Hi.
>
> I've been trying out your images from http://www.linuxtogo.org/~htcpxa/,
> and I'm giving you my opinion, for whatever it's worth.

Please note that those images are experimental builds of whatever
state the dev tree was in at that time.

> First a big thanks for making the process a lot simpler with the new win
> bootloader that builds the rootfs on the fly. Very good for windows
> newbie conversion. And less work for us too ;)

Yeah, thanks to Paul and Kevin for that.

> Next, I can't get GSM working. The antenna icon never changes, and
> setting "on"/"off"/"register" doesn't seem to produce any result. Is
> this supposed to be like this? Is GSM working? How?

Is this with the OpenMoko image? Or the Qtopia one?
For OM I know that this applet does not work yet.
You can look at the dmesg output on the console or run
"libgsmd-tool --mode atcmd" to directly talk to the modem in OM.

> There is a small white window that comes up in the lower part of the
> screen, sometimes. It is empty (blank) except for an orange cursor bar
> on the right side. It feels like a warning messagebox, but it's always
> blank, so I don't know. Can you tell me what it is?

Ok, so OpenMoko it is. That's a notification box from libnotify. The
openmoko-dialer is supposed to send them whenever connection status
changes. The blank box is probably because nobody tested the theme
in QVGA.
I'm not too up to date with recent OpenMoko userspace changes.

> The sound system also seems to be in very bad shape... the speaker
> "farts" and "clicks" loudly upon tapping events, I can't tell if it is
> intentional or if the alsa stuff or sound driver are bad. I think it
> should be smoother...

Yes, I have worked on the sound drivers until I got reliable sound output only.
I didn't work on "plop and tick prevention" as it is called in section
8.12 of the UDA1380 data sheet.
It should be done basically by fixing the mixer settings and by
reordering the poweron/off sequences in the driver to avoid the noise,
but it's a job that takes a little time...

> Anyway, I'd like to see GSM fully working. Without it it's pointless to
> install Linux in my Magician.

The kernel part of GSM fully working. It's the userspace apps that are
the problem.

> What is the current status, and your timeline predictions?

I am working only on the kernel right now, and also mostly cleanups
due to time constraints.
I'm planning to step up as magician machine mentor for Ångström only
after the magician kernel code has hit the mainline linux kernel.
So the 2008 Ångström release should have magician support if
everything goes well.

> Oh, I forgot a few other points:

> Power management does not work at all. It's not possible to power down
> (sleep) the device or even reset it. Is this intended?

No. It should work just fine. Please try to provide additional
information. What exactly happens?
What happens if you shut it down from the console via "echo standby >
/sys/power/state"?

> How do I set the date and time???

The GPE image has a UI tool for that, otherwise you can use the date
command on the console.

> Is bluetooth working? How can I test it? I've got a BT headset and a
> BT-enabled PC for obex.

The BT headset will _not_ work for GSM calling, as I still don't know
how to connect the BT and GSM chips in hardware, but it might work for
VoIP.
Otherwise, BT support just works via bluez, exactly as with any other
linux computer.

regards
Philipp
Received on Sun Jan 06 2008 - 04:48:33 EST