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In this edition...

  1. Front Page
    • The Qt promise and what Maemo 5 needs
    • Maemo Community "Service Pack" for Qt fixes?
  2. Applications
    • Hacking on N900 Ovi Maps' JavaScript & HTML
  3. Development
    • developer.meego.com wants real developer feedback
  4. Community
    • Process for getting news onto official MeeGo project Twitter account
  5. Devices
    • Should MeeGo error messages refer to the system in the first person?
    • Switching between MeeGo Handset and Netbook UXes
  6. In the Wild
    • Nokia N900 is Google Zeitgeist's 5th most popular consumer electronics term
  7. Announcements
    • Khweeteur 0.1.0 moves to PySide; gets speed boost

Front Page

Applications »

The Qt promise and what Maemo 5 needs

Thomas Perl argues that Nokia should provide official updates to Qt on Maemo 5 to support their cross-platform development message and vision, despite them being unlikely to release future "PR" updates to Maemo 5 itself: We are stuck with Maemo 5 on the N900. And that is a good thing! Lots of useful apps, a helpful community and a polished OS. Sure, there's room for improvement, and lots of open bugs that should be fixed, but that's another issue (which will ideally be solved by open sourcing closed components with bugs that Nokia isn't interested in fixing anymore and by the Community SSU). This one is about Qt.

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Maemo Community "Service Pack" for Qt fixes?

Thomas' blog post was inspired after Ville Vainio suggested the community could take on a small meta-package for a couple of Qt bug fixes; and then encourage Qt application authors to add a dependency on this package: It would make sense to have a single metapackage (community-service-pack, or something to that effect) that we would expect everyone to have installed. Applications that need it could have it as a dependency, instead of enumerating every unbreak-my-platform patch ever developed. The response was not unanimously in favour, but a single meta-package seems likely to bundle the Qt dependencies - and it is difficult to see the harm when its scope is so limited.

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Applications

Development »« Front Page

Hacking on N900 Ovi Maps' JavaScript & HTML

Some adventurous Talk users have started hacking on Ovi Maps' JavaScript code and HTML to re-add removed features and attempt to add new ones: Some of us would remember when OVI maps had that tilt control which allowed the rotation of the map, add this with 3D buildings feature, and you had something pretty to look at, though with the introduction of Pr1.2 they removed that, but today ladies and gentlemen I bring it back! [...] While looking around at the code, I did notice a feature for guidance including the possibility of voice guidance. However it does not seem to be finished or we are missing a plugin to make it work (little snippet below). I might play around with it, but I doubt it'll work, but on the bright side it could be coming in the future.

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Development »« Front Page
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Development

Community »« Applications

developer.meego.com wants real developer feedback

Last week we reported on the beta launch of meego.com developer portal, developer.meego.com. The beta went live in the first week of December, and a large number of bugs have already been reported, but they're still looking for more input before they go live. Now, we will appreciate any feedback from real application developers, the target of this site. Use it to get your work done and let us know what is good, what is bad, what is missing.

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Community »« Applications
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Community

Devices »« Development

Process for getting news onto official MeeGo project Twitter account

Quim Gil, inspired by our own collaboration process here at MWKN, has finalised the process around the "meegocom" Twitter account after some discussion within the community. @meegocom aims to be a channel forwarding the most relevant activity happening inside and around the MeeGo project. If you use Twitter and come across news and links you think should be shared through the "official" meego.com Twitter account, you are encouraged to tweet it in the direction of @meegocom.

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Devices »« Development
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Devices

In the Wild »« Community

Should MeeGo error messages refer to the system in the first person?

Kathy Smith asks on forum.meego.com: Other OSs will provide you with a 'low battery' indicator. Some helpfully remind you to save what you are working on in case they die suddenly. But MeeGo speaks up, terribly politely and says "I've noticed that your battery is running low". Who is this I residing in my netbook, keeping watch over battery levels? Is it the fox on the load screen? The Teddy Bear I added there myself? [...] Am I the only one who finds it just a little... disturbing? Commenters did agree that the informal tone was certainly different. Your editor also remembers his "user technology" (i.e. manuals) training at IBM and the cultural sensitivities which were explained in the style guides: certain countries didn't like their computers saying "please" (as in "Please save your work.") as it was an inanimate object making the request.

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Switching between MeeGo Handset and Netbook UXes

The Lenovo netbooks Nokia and Intel handed out at the MeeGo Conference in Dublin feature a nice capacitive touchscreen and rotating, tablet-converting screen. Unfortunately, as MeeGo does not yet have a Tablet UX, and the Netbook UX offers very little in the way of touchscreen support, the only real option is the Handset UX. Progress is being made on providing a switch of some kind, which Gary Birkett has highlighted: The context of the question had to do with using the Lenovo S10-3t Netbooks given away at the conference as platforms for MeeGo Handset development. Sabotage pipped up and offered up his experience as proof that it can be done, and some very basic instructions on how to do so. Since the question continues to come up in Mailing lists and IRC, the specifics on how to switch between desktops are being documented for ongoing reference. Collaborating on meeting this (non-core) use case is encouraged.

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In the Wild »« Community
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In the Wild

Announcements »« Devices

Nokia N900 is Google Zeitgeist's 5th most popular consumer electronics term

Perhaps surprisingly for some, in Google's recently released Zeitgeist 2010 search report, the Nokia N900 has turned in at 5th place in the "Fastest Rising in Consumer Electronics" category. Of course that's behind both of Apple's mobile offerings, the Nokia 5530 and HTC Evo 4G.

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Announcements »« Devices
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Announcements

« In the Wild

Khweeteur 0.1.0 moves to PySide; gets speed boost

Benoît HERVIER has moved his Twitter client, Khweeteur, to PySide (from PyQt): A new release of Khweeteur is available in Maemo Extras-Devel repository. Of course warning of using extras devel apply here :) There are major changes: It use now the PySide binding instead of the PyQt one. Secondly, I've change signal and slot to use the more pythonic way called 'new signal style' Some changes have been made in the cache format for a faster twitter api answer parsing. So this new version haven't real new features for end user, but bring more speed, less bandwith use, and more stability ( except for using the PySide 1.0.0 beta binding). So if you don't fear having a breaked version of Khweeteur, do not hesistate to use it, and report bug on the bug tracker. Else wait a bit that bugs are found and fixed.

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« In the Wild