Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

So, when mer is ready for everyday use, will the application repository contain typical linux apps that have been compiled for ARM?

Let me clarify: maemo is great, but you can only use apps that have been compiled or hildonized for the platform. You can also use OpenOffice and Firefox, but that has to "talk" through chroot/ easy debian. What I'm curious to know is if Mer will allow me to install everyday Linux apps (Xine, OpenOffice, XMMS, etc.) that can run natively on my NIT (as long as they are for ARM.) If so, this will be fantastic --- I would love to have an Ubuntu-like experience available on my N810.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Yes, we piggyback on the huge Ubuntu repository.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Excuse me while I drooool. :D Maybe I shouldn't have asked... now I'm going to be impatiently waiting to run a native version of Firefox and Openoffice on my NIT. GO TEAM GO!!! I'm cheering you on!! :D

Thank you!

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

When is 0.17 coming out again?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Shaping up at the moment. Includes the new on screen keyboard, connectivity, desktop. But there's some odd bugs still. And it won't be very usable without proper GLES drivers or GL on desktops.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Why does the virtual machine run at 800x600?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Thanks. What's the latest on getting those drivers? Is Nokia doing anything to speed it up?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

It isn't in Nokia's hands. It is in TI's. It is my understanding that there is cooperation happening between Mer and TI and although the drivers are in practice unusable in their current form, they are well on their way. Don't hold me to that though, I could be wrong :P

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

I thought the initial request of the drivers came from Nokia?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Which one? Does it offer better integration to non-maemo applications?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Nokia's request to TI was for them to release a set of drivers for the community not for Nokia. So, no, Nokia isn't really involved in the drivers beyond having gotten TI to release them.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

So was it a successful request?

And also, with Stskeeps now on Nokia's payroll with responsibility for OS like Mer - and being the lead developer on Mer I think the line between if it's released for the community or for Nokia iks blurred.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Here is the main thread I use for tracking the state of 3D drivers
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=21697&page=36

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

No. I'm not a Nokia employee. Technically, I'm on my own company's payroll and my role is maemo.org distmaster. Mer's released based on same principles it's always been - for community by community. Mer's part of community, OpenGLES drivers are released for community and this request has existed even from before Mer.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

That wouldn't blur it anyway.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

I thought there were a post by you about you being p/t employed at 20hrs/week.
Maybe I mis-read.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

I disagree, I believe it would. Not a point important enough to argue though.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

You're right. And you don't want to get into an argument with a lawyer. ;)

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

No, they drag you down to their level..and win on experience ;)

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Playing with earlier versions of Mer (I can't get 17 testing2 to do anything for me) & installing Ubuntu programs reminded me of Easy Debian. You really want the fullscreen button to work, but no dice. One option is presumably to have an app that toggles it to/from F11 (a commonly-used fullscreen shortcut). But in general I see a large amount of promise here & I'm really excited about it!

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

@buurmas:

You list AT185 as one of your "10 most-used apps" but I can't find it PowerSearching this maemo.org. What is it??

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Perhaps he means ATI85:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...ighlight=ATI85

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Just wondering if there will be a port for Mer to Openpandora console.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Thanks--I fixed the typo. :)

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

So, with this talk of the graphics chip, I'm assuming that Mer will be MUCH faster (assuming it makes use of it)? I say this because the graphics chip would then handle the video, freeing up some CPU cycles?

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

I would not expect it to be much faster. I believe there's some penalty when switching between normal CPU operation and DSP or graphics acceleration. I can be wrong about this though! But hopefully better usage of current hardware would mean better battery life (when the "speed" stays the same).

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

Do you guys believe that with GPU acceleration, that video would run smoother ? And by video, I mean mplayer.

The N810 running Maemo4 can handle regular tv shows from the internet (350Mb for 50 minutes) but has some issues with fast moving images. Yes, I know that I could re-encode but I'd rather not :)

I would love to start playing with Mer as soon as it does the following 3 things:
- render web pages fast enough (like Tear on Maemo 4)
- run Maemo Mapper (with the N810 internal GPS)
- play multimedia files (mp3, video) at least as well as on Maemo4

From what I've gathered, sound is not working and GPS is not working either. I don't know if Tear runs faster on Mer than it does on Maemo4.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

I join to this request.

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

johnx keeps on saying he'll be the first to put a Mer port on OpenPandora, heck, even from before Mer got it's name ;)

Re: Question(s) about the future of Mer...
 

That's only if he gets his Panda before I do! :D