Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

People who develop platform stuff. Kernel, application framework, SDK, system libraries, etc.

Yes, there's plenty of practical use for this release. Both for people directly involved in development, and for folks interested in the architecture (upstream, etc).

In particular, how about Mer? . . .

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

You can go to http://maemo-sdk.garage.maemo.org/ and get the release candidate SDK+ running in your PC with the Fremantle rootstraps. File bugs if you find any problem (including documentation not good enough for starters). Open a thread here giving your impressions.

It would be good to have feedback from application developers using the current official SDK. What is better, what could be improved, what is missing.

If you never used the Maemo SDK before you are encouraged to start with this one instead. The content is just the same and the entry level should be much lower. Still not the best and easiest tools for newcomers but they will come as well at some point.

Even power users willing to follow the Fremantle release themselves can try installing it now and see how the newborn looks like in your emulated environment. The sooner you get familiar with this the easier will be for you to install applications as soon as they come and help testing them.

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

When ???? :)

Christtmas gift?

:-p

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

The issue is software. It's a matter of protocol only, not hardware related; there's simply a dearth of proper software on all platforms except the tablets. Since the desktop client doesn't support video at all, it should be unsurprising that it does not support it with a specific remote endpoint. I'm not sure what you consider the "whole intent of the internet", but I don't see how this is against it.

While the native software was, AFAIK, only able to support video tablet-to-tablet (due to complete absence of jingle-video support in other software, including Google's own) till last year, with rtcomm comes SIP video interoperability with 3rd party software (including eyebeam and x-lite), so it's definitely fulfilled now.

So using Google's protocol, and having no interoperability because Google can't be troubled to implement their own protocol, is "profound proprietary hooks"?!

I say it is completely true because in actual use cases, it does function. I don't include Gizmo in this, because I don't use Gizmo; Internet Call works fine for me, and I think the use cases in which it doesn't work are not reasonably inferred from the marketing statements.

Well, picky's good, but I'd rather be correct; I'm actually gonna go for both here, though. Webcam is a word, and as such it has a meaning independent of its etymology. Generally, it refers not to videoconferencing at all, but to live uploading of images (or, lately, streaming) for viewing over the worldwide web (which, BTW, is a concept of interlinked hypertext, and doesn't properly apply to a Flash-based star-topology service). Still, proper webcam functionality also does not exist out-of-the-box on the tablets, which is actually a stronger argument that "webcam" is misapplied here. (Basic webcam functionality is available by third-party software, of course, e.g. motion.)

Clearly, though, the problem is an abuse of terminology, rather than intent to deliver a genuine webcam defeated by bugs or incompleteness.

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

Hardware faults, absolutely. For instance, my N800 is currently undergoing warrany repair for the touchscreen sensitivity issue and will eventually, hopefully one day find its way back to me. That kind of thing can happen to early adopters, no biggie and not your problem.

The software side isn't so black and white though. Let me pick one of my personal pet peeves as an example (no, I'm not going to touch the GPS topic with the proverbial bargepole): the hardware keyboard language switching bug (2501/3407). This is a feature that definitely doesn't work as described in the documentation, looks like a software bug (although if not I would like to know before the warranty runs out) and probably not that hard to fix at that (but see below). Would it have been preferable/more reasonable from your point of view to return the device immediately or report the bug along with any relevant information I could find and wait for a fix as I have done?

In any case, at least now we know where we stand with respect to firmware updates for current devices. Disappointing, but a better position to be in than last week.

Yes, definitely. In fact I'd love pointers to where I should start looking for fixing the above bug, but the only reference to a specific package (hildon-input-method-plugins) is to something that doesn't even exist in binary form yet, including Fremantle.

Don't we all. Anyway, I think I've vented enough already, I'll shut up now :-)

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

It seems to me that when considering a realistic timeline for the release of this device, a better option than HSPA would be LTE. It'd really suck if I go out and buy an HSPA device only to find a LTE edition to be released Q4 09 or Q1 '10. In the long run, LTE would be much better and be supported by the most networks (in the US anyway).

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

I think you're being just a touch optimistic about LTE deployment. If we're talking a Summer 2009 release, then it's gonna be, what, 2 years before you get any decent sort of coverage with LTE? Whereas with HSPA you get strong coverage in practically all metropolitan areas and slow, but available coverage almost everywhere else right now. Really, what's the real advantage going to be with LTE? It's not as if we're maxing out 802.11g in any way shape or form now.

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

Agreed, LTE is just too far away for serious consideration. It would be great if the Maemo5 device could support HSPA+ which apparently is a software upgrade to the existing ATT HSDPA network.

link: http://www.electronista.com/articles...plus.now.live/

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

Maybe your just being a touch optomistic about the actual release date of Maemo 5. Recent analysts have been *claiming deployment in some areas as soon as late 2009. There was very limited Wimax availability at the time it was announced as well (I'd say there still is). I really think (I'm sure you'll disagree...since I don't remember you really agreeing with well...anybody:rolleyes:) that it's the better choice (even if you can't use it for a few months) since you'll be more limited with HSPA than LTE with regards to speed, carrier, bandwidth, max downloads, etc. And I think it's going to happen sooner than you think because big companies like Verizon have so much of their future vested in it.

Re: Maemo 5 Reveals its Features
 

Mind backing that up with more than just forum speculation? The beta release is scheduled for March-May 2009. Don't tell me you seriously thing it'd take another 6-7 months after that to kick a device out the door.

By "it" I'm assuming you mean the N810W. It's a niche product, and not really much of an argument for launching your platform's primary product with a dead-weight data modem. You think there was a bad reaction when people found their email client didn't really work, how bad do you think it'd be if you had to wait 6 months for that much-touted cellular connectivity to work?

Perhaps when it's actually rolled out, but until it is it's another WiMAX situation. That's one thing for a niche product like the N810W, but completely another for the platform's primary device. Anyway, what makes you think the next tablet after RX-51 wont have LTE?

Can you try to argue your points without making it personal? It really doesn't help your case.