[Mer] 0.13 released
 

Mer for X86, Nokia N8x0 and SmartQ version 0.13

Information about Mer can be found at http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer and everything you need to know about the release on http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases/0.13. It also has a list of known issues so please read them through first before installing.

We have also put up some general installation information and those with clone-to-SD Maemo will find this good to read through.

There will be a Maemo/Mozilla hackfest in Copenhagen (Mozilla Maemo Danish Weekend), Saturday-Sunday 30-31 May 2009 (with party Friday 29 May), where Mer is one of the focus areas as well. As it is a hackfest the focus will be more on coding than on presentations. If you are able to show up and you are willing to help out with Mer, you're more than encouraged to do so :) Focus of the Mer part will be bringing Mer to 1.0 (day-to-day usable on N8x0s).

Highlights of this release:
* We have moved away from Jaiku for microblogging, please see http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Awareness for more information
* We have now 100% moved Mer to being built in OpenSUSE Build Service, which means no more Scratchbox.
* Nokia has sponsored several of the Mer team members making them able to show up at the Mozilla Maemo Danish Weekend - thanks!!
* We began to include Fremantle beta sources
* Left handed scroll bars setting in themes control panel
* There will be discussions on UDS Karmic about [https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubu...karmic-use-mer Mer as Ubuntu MID], and we look forward to working together with them to improve Mer packages and spread the Maemo platform to more users.
* Qt for Maemo framework compiled
* Now using fbdev instead of omapfb as X driver on N8x0
* Midori now has webkit by Bundyo, hns, with HIM support.
* For v0.13 only X86, N8x0, SmartQ5 is supported. Rest will come (770, Beagleboard, Pocket Loox) once we can build their kernels in OBS.
* Our sprints now last a month - and we've put a guide up on how to participate in Mer in a structured manner

Next release is 15 June 2009 (0.14). Mer is still a work in progress and as such you should not expect too much of it (note long list of known issues). We are in dire need of hands, both coders, architects/designers, testers, or anyone passionate about mobile development, so if you think you can contribute, you're more than welcome to join us in this community effort.

If you would like to participate, read through http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/People and http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Sprints (this includes a guide on how to participate actively - simple procedures!) and see if there's anything you can help out with. We're on #mer on FreeNode, IRC, if you'd like to hang out and discuss.

Thanks to all the people helping out with testing, development, design, etc. This community project wouldn't move ahead without you :) (you're far too many to list by now, but see mer-chatter archives for those active on there).

Obligatory screenshots (The biggest part of 0.13 is us moving to OpenSUSE Build Service), so here's the 0.12 screenshots):

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/8/8c/Mer0.11_Blueman3.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/7/74/Mer0.12_Blueman7.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/1/10/Me...orkManager.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/5/50/Me...ifications.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/e/e6/Mer0.11_AM.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/7/71/Me...ilechooser.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/1/13/Mer0.11_Xterm.png

http://wiki.maemo.org/images/2/2c/Mer0.12_ShopperQt.png

and Meizirkki's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSJ82NywcJE

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Btw, the HIM support is by hns :)

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Wonderful! I think the month-long sprints are better, and I'm really happy about the Ubuntu MID discussions and the Copenhagen weekend. I would love to go too, but I know that I would mostly stand around looking stupid.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Blah... and here I just posted about .12 and hadn't even gotten all my points down yet :P

Nice work... will have to play with it at some point in the next week (traveling a bit though).

Really small, but totally valuable feature request: can the EchoWeb skin (the one that makes all scroll bars and many default buttons finger friendly in Diablo/Chinook) be somehow added to Mer. It throws me for all kinds of loops when I see the small scrollbar (I've not seen that in ages on my N800).

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Excellent work! :D

I'm looking forward to trying out the improved video playback support with the new fbdev driver :)

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

im using http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Documentation/Installation N8x0 install file.. but says i got the latest one and dont need to update (i currently have 2.0.0-mer9)
can u check it please?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I have .12 installed, and apt-get update; apt-get dist-upgrade returns no packages to update.

What is the right way to upgrade?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Yes, I screwed up :) mer10 should point to the right one now.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

When 0.12 was released we stated we wouldn't put any more updates into the old repositories as we moved to OBS - so you will sadly have to reinstall as the upgrades are not clean.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Oh right cool. I didn't get what it meant. No problem.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

fbdev is the current driver :)

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

So what's the easyest way to get battery meter running? And is there a way to change the weather applet to another location?
Thanks to all the developers! I wish I could help in any way but don't see how I could be of use...

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Nice :)
I've got just a few questions:
1. Will it be possible or is it already possible in 0.13 ("upgradable path needs to be manually set when a new Stable comes out") to future upgrade via e.g. apt-get dist-upgrade? 'cause installing everything
2. Since BME Protocol is published in Mer/Documentation is it possible to get from officials formats of these messages:
- 0x24, 0x00 (very interesting struct because of its size)
- 0x1F, 0x00
- 0x0A, 0x00
3. What's about memory cards automounting (e.g. using hal or Nokia's way)? As I can see some parts are there...
Some bugs founded (using tablet, so filling in bug report is painful):
1. advanced-backlight kills hildon-desktop when tapped on the statusbar item right after install.
2. gpesummary kills hildon-desktop.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

One more bug.
python-hildondesktop sometimes kills hildon-desktop during install and is not working (there is no module called hildondesktop found).

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

First, thanks for the great work. You guys seem to be going in a great direction. So I got suckered into the easter dreamhost special for $10 "unlimited" account. Honestly I can't think of anything to stick on it, but figured it could be used by your project, at least till next april when I am sure they will charge a ton of money. If anything go ahead and snag the domain.

Just something to think about if you haven't already. Might also be easier just to run your own server out of the house.

Good luck and let me know if I can do anything (other than program).

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I've read the instructions to place this on a 770.

I'll send my 770 to somebody that can make this happen. Or at least offer up a fiasco image. Please.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

412b: Please make the Advanced Power applet check to see if an Advanced Power back-end is already running and then work with the running one.

I want to use the Mer desktop on top of the Maemo infrastructure, and I would like to see the Advanced Power applet sense that I have the Maemo AP back-end running and use that instead of the Mer back-end.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Once we get the kernel package for 770 building things should start being more easy on 770. Fiasco image is out of the question, it only has 128mb flash.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Yeah, I actually reverse engineered the BME protocol, - Maybe use FTD to figure out what the values are? (I pretty much matched up the outputs to the outputs in the responses)

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Has anyone had success with getting a SIP client working on Mer? I apt-get installed ekiga, and it shows up in the menu 'Extras'. However, I am having problems logging into my Gizmo account with it. Thanks for any tips! Is there a more lightweight SIP client that would be better - I noticed there were lots of dependancies for Ekiga. Is the Maemo Internet Call Application open source?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

http://bsd.tspre.org/~stskeeps/merphone.png

Merfone, anybody? ;)

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Stskeeps: what device is that?

And is there someone we can beg to fix matchbox keyboard in Ubuntu? That shading is awful, isn't it?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

It is a Openmoko Freerunner. The "GTA02" stringis the telling detail. It uses a Samsung S324xx SoC and an external display controller (Glamo).

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Hello!

I just got my n800, and been lurking around maemo.org for a few weeks... It's clear to me that Mer is the future for the n8x0 tablets, so I want to try it... but I have some questions:

1. Can I just flash it over the internal memory and use it exclusively?
2. If it's possible, or if something went wrong, I'll be able to reflash it with the official OS?
3. Do you plan to use UnionFS/OnionFS to automatically extend the rootFS to the internal/external SD slots? (like the Asus EEE does)

I already downloaded the VM image, and played around on VirtualBox... great work indeed! Congratullations.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

In current AP 0.3.7-rc5 and APM 0.4.2-rc6 is implemented feature to use different back-ends: Nokia's BME, my BME Free, and my old working scratch for /dev/retu

Also APM has changed a lot and now has a kind of (simplified) client-server architecture. If you got interested, I can release rc to garage for wide testing and feature requests/proposals.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

1) Yes, but it's still experimental
2) Yes, it's difficult to brick tablets since we don't overwrite NOLO
3) No, - a Debian system is notoriously changeable and in the end the whole system would be on external/internal SD anyway. Clone to SD or /home on another SD would be better.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

not for me
but Mertablet much welcome on my n810

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I'm trying to install Mer using the instructions posted above however, whenever I click the download link for the .install file it can't seem to get get it. The connection to bsd.tspre.org times out. Is there any other place where I can get the install file?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I am not sure if its a bug in my .13 install to the n810 or not, but since its happened three times, here's the report:

Simply speaking: I lock the device and come back the next morning with the battery dead. It is not connected to any network, nor is there any apps running other than what runs from the opening boot.

I have this installed on the internal memory, using internal memory as swap. This was an overwrite of the .12 version, and there was an interruption of the install to .13 when initially installed.

Hope that helps recreate and nail the issue if Mer is the issue.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Isn't this great news? Props to the Mer team.

See also the pdf http://www.daimi.au.dk/~cvm/cphnotes.pdf

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Wow!!! Excellent news. Mer IS the future!

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

@Rebski: This should have been a new thread! :)

Tim

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Yes sorry. The rush to create a new thread results so many parallel postings that I try and resist the urge. Hence posting in the current Mer thread.

In this instance wrongly so it seems. Am I too late to correct it?

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I've got problems installing Mer on my N800:confused:

First I tried the install file link in the Documentation: No reaction
Second I tried easy-Mer: Installed fine but Extras->easy-Mer doesn't work(white screen then standard Maemo)
Third I downloaded the flashable Image: Doesn't work with the Windows flasher, I've got no Linux PC at hand

Could someone help me, please?

Edit: Never mind, I've flashed it through my netbook:D

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

No worries. I think most people know now. ;)

Tim

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Regarding .install file my server at home crashed 3 minutes after I left for Copenhagen.. it'll be back up tomorrow. :P

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Stskeeps: is it true that Ubuntu MID have actually decided to go ahead with Mer as their upstream? Quim posted that they had in his Twitter feed.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

Well, there's two options here:

1) I'm completely delusional and putting way much too weight into it ;) even after discussing with them for quite a while and participating in their meeting remotely (I don't have recording. Wish I did.), or

2) Read the notes from the meeting at UDS (referenced in link), https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Specs/MobileMidKarmicUseMer

EDIT: They do need to spec it up more specifically and such but this is the direction they're going it seems. Do note this is a Ubuntu thing, Canonical isn't involved directly as far as I know - as in noone's getting hired and no money is involved.

What'll happen is that we cooperate with Ubuntu and they like any other Mer contributor will help making Mer better (packaging, maybe UI, etc)

It's a win-win situation, they get packages that are easier to upload to Ubuntu repositories & the Maemo platform updated, and we get more hands and having our packages cleaned up.

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

I'm confused (as usual) : is 0.13 installable on 770 or not ?...

Re: [Mer] 0.13 released
 

No sorry, 0.14 only. The kernel modules package and so on never made it into 0.13 (we ran out of time). If anyone want to give us a hand with bringing those packages into OBS we are more than welcoming you (we want to adapt a system like kernel-diablo/kernel-source-diablo)