No more N900 - now onto Android

This week I sadly said goodbye to the Nokia N900. The N900 came out in 2009, and offered so much promise as to what a truly free open sourced phone could offer, but Nokia managed it to failure.

I got my N900 after I was introduced to it by Ax - back in 2010. He showed me his N900 with all the great features:

• Keyboard slider design
• 5 Megapixel camera
• Linux (Maemo) as its Operating System
• No tedious technique to "root" the device
• Command line available

The device was a symbol of freedom. I was able to do what I wanted to it, and I did not have to go through Nokia to do it. Unfortunately, Nokia decided to continue development of the operating system, and moved onto MeeGo. MeeGo being Linux itself was also a good step, but it did not back port it to the N900. Nokia made it for the N9. Then Nokia made a horrific decision - they entered a partnership with Microsoft. Their phones went from being Symbian based, to running Linux, to in the future running Microsoft's mobile version - Windows Phone. I was not impressed. They should have gone to Android.

Regardless of their decisions, I stuck with the Nokia N900. I even purchased a second unit when my initial unit's micro USB port started to malfunction. KittyKat also had a N900, but made the jump to an Android phone (the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10) after she accidentally dropped the phone, and then ran over it. Little did she know she was paving the way for myself.

My second unit's micro USB port started to malfunction again, and I knew this was leading to an untimely end for the unit. It must have been a weak point of the phone, as I found out recently that Ax's N900 went down the same path. Ax is now using an Android phone as well.

What makes Android interesting is the fact it is also a Linux based phone. Unfortunately it does not have the initial freedom in-built to it like the N900 does, as the system is more locked down, but it does have the potential to be "root'ed". Therefore, it is goodbye to the N900 and hello to the Sony Ericsson Xperia pro. Fortunately, it has a slider keyboard, that is similar to the N900, the form is somewhat less clunky than the N900, and it has a 8.1 Megapixel camera.

In the first few days of using this new device has been interesting. I am still getting use to the new keyboard, and the new layout of the desktops, but otherwise it has made a good replacement.

I have already noticed there has been more applications written for the Android system than the Maemo system. This is evident in the Google Play site - the Android's market site. Another observation I have made is that Android multi-tasking is not as good as I have witnessed on the N900 - with the Android phone only really being able to background 6 applications. Other than that I am pleased with my new device, and if I do anything exceptional with it, I will write about it on this site.

Short comings of the N900

Overall, I am pleased with the Nokia N900. I think it is a great phone, and is a good example of what GNU/Linux can do in the hand-held space. It also demonstrates how open source / free software can improve over time. When I first purchased the N900, the phone did not have any MMS capability or FM radio functionality. Now the phone can make and receive MMS, as well as acting as a FM receiver and transmitter. The phone is also very stable - and will perform admirably under heavy loads.

It also is a demonstration of how a corporate entity (in this case Nokia) have adopted an open source platform, and then declined to develop it any further. Stating that, they have released the source code for their other platform - being the Symbian Platform. I would have thought that Nokia would have stood behind their product for much longer than the initial release period. Fortunately, due to the open nature of the device, development will continue. It will continue to be improved. It will continue to get better.

There are some other minor factors I am not pleased with, when it comes to the N900. I would have preferred if it had some internal video conferencing, as opposed to relying on an auxiliary company like Google or Skype to provide the video conferencing. It has also come to my recent attention that either Google or Nokia have withdrawn the video conferencing functionality, leaving N900 users to have to choose another provider for video conferencing. Skype video conferencing also does not work between N900 and the Apple Mac client.

Lastly, searching using Ovi Maps is broken. Whether you search for an address in Melbourne, it will always show the suburb being Moonee Valley. It is the same whether you use the N900 or the Ovi Maps website. In the image below, I searched for 216 Smith Street in Collingwood. As you can see, the map is right, the post code is correct, but the suburb says Moonee Valley.

Hopefully all these problems will be addressed soon...

Software Freedom Day in Melbourne 2010

I've always considered Open Source or Free Software to be very important in my life, and in my career. I would not be able to do many of the different tasks I do on a daily basis if it was not for the existence of Free Software. I'm sure there are proprietary alternatives, but why would I want to give up my freedoms in supporting other products.

In my daily life, I choose to have a Nokia N900 - a phone that is a computer, that runs Maemo Linux. The computer I am using to type this post is running Ubuntu as its distribution of Linux. It provides the operating system, the desktop, and the browser. All those components are also Open Source. My main desktop is a Gentoo Linux PC.

I have utilized the services provided by Mediawiki to install wikis at different places I have worked in an attempt to share knowledge and make a job easier. I use Wikipedia as a starting point for research into new topics I wish to obtain an understanding.

The company that provides this blog service is also reliant on Free Software. Google (who currently owns Blogger) use Apache, as well as many different components of Free Software to provide their services. According to netcraft.com, many other sites also use Apache as well. Google appears to use Linux as their operating system to host the websites.

I use the term "Open Source" and "Free Software" interchangeably. I know other people that would disagree with me. I'm not here to start a war - just to show there are many definitions to a similar product. Stating that, I have much respect for Richard M. Stallman, although I find some of his views to be extreme. He has to be who he is to have done what he has accomplished.

This leads me to talk about Software Freedom Day in Melbourne for 2010. If you are unaware of what I have been discussing, and would like to find out more, then make your way to it. This year, it is on the 18th September 2010 (Saturday) and, in Melbourne, will be at the State Library of Victoria.

If you are not in the Melbourne, have a look in your local area to see if there is some type of event on. This is not something that is limited to just Melbourne, or Victoria, or even Australia.

If you are interested in more information, the following links may be useful:

• SFD2010 in Melbourne - on kattekrab's blog
• SFD.org.au's Melbourne Page
• softwarefreedomday.org

2D barcode for mobile phones

I have just found another application on my Nokia N900. It is the bar code reader. After reading a few bar code numbers from several grocery items, I was wondering what actual uses this technology could . be used for. Apparently, it can be used to store information like links, text, or business cards. Here is the URL to this blog:


Anyone can make their own 2D bar codes at the Nokia Website.

Pre-loaded maps for the N900

The Nokia N900 comes with GPS and Ovi Maps. One thing that it does not come with is pre-loaded maps. What this means is that if you are out and about, and you need some navigation assistance, you have to connect to the internet and download the maps as required. While this will not be a problem with some people, it was with me. I disliked the fact that I needed to connect to the web for Ovi to find a satellite lock, and then to connect to the web to find my destination, then to connect to the web to download the maps of where I am, and where I want to be, and the places in the middle.

I found a page on the internet that discusses how to load Ovi Maps without needing to do it via Map Loader. This is particularly useful, as I don't use Windows or Mac OS X, and do not have the ability to install the PC Suite with Map Loader. If you are thinking of doing this yourself, do not concern yourself with the version numbers. The maps work with the current version of Ovi Maps installed on the N900.

Therefore, for a once off download (of around 90MB for all the maps of Australia), I am able to install maps, not on just my N900, but also on KittyKat's N900.

Lastly, I think the maps loaded on the N900 (after installing them from the website link) are a few years old. I was recently driving to Bacchas Marsh from Melbourne, and I noticed that I was driving on roads that did not exist in Ovi Maps. I wonder if I had downloaded the maps "on the fly" from the internet, if the maps would have reflected reality.

Streaming images of the World Cup via Optus

Well done to Optus for offering matches of the World Cup for free on their 3G service. The image quality is not too bad either:
The streaming was done on the Nokia N900 after some difficulty and inconsistency from Optus. Still, well done for offering a service.

Optus World Cup streaming works - sometimes

I can verify that the Optus free streaming of the World Cup works on the Nokia N900. It works out that the streaming is about 15 seconds behind the broadcast on television.

Optus Free Streaming World Cup Website on the N900

Media Player on N900 receiving stream

Nokia N900 multi-tasking the World Cup

The links on the Optus page opens up the N900's media player, and the image and sound is good, but definitely not as clear as on the television. If you're after the link to the Optus page, see my previous post, or this.

World Cup free streaming and Celtics in the finals...

It appears that Optus (phone company) is allowing its customers to stream the World Cup games to their mobile phone in for free. I'm an Optus customer, and I'm pleased they are offering this service. Saying that, I'll probably end up watching most of the games on television, as it's much easier to watch the matches on a big screen than on the N900.

I love football (or soccer for other people) - and I really appreciate watching the world cup. Last time it happened in Germany was in 2006, and I took the whole month off work to watch the games. I probably should have found a way to go to South Africa this year, but other things happened in the past few years, and I'm in the process of fixing up things...

GO SOCCEROOS!!!
Allez Les Bleus!!

Kitty Kat would like to add:

GO GREECE!
GO ITALY!

Maybe this year, Italy won't win on dubious actions. Their skill in football is only overshadowed by their skill in acting / simulation. From Germany 2006, they have proven that while having some talent, they will resort to anything to give them an advantage to win - whether that be fair or unfair in the spirit of the game.

Lastly, it's been a fantastic from the Boston Celtics to dismiss the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Orlando Magic to go to the 2010 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. In doing that, the Celtics have come from the fourth seeded team in the East to beat the top two teams in the NBA, and now face the Lakers for the second time in 3 years in an attempt to win the championship. While they have lost the first game of a seven game series, I believe they can easily come back and win the rest of the series - in a similar way to how they beat Cleveland.

GO CELTICS!!
Beat L.A.!!

Nokia N900 PR1.2 Multi-tasking

Just a quick update today!

I am very impressed with the Nokia N900's latest update PR1.2. It makes switching between tasks very quick. Here is a screen with 16 different applications open:


I am writing this based on the fact that a few people at work have obtained the new Apple iPad. While it does look very well well polished, the fact that it does not multi-task is concerning, especially since the base system it originated from is built from the ground up to multi-task very well. Therefore, Apple must have removed the feature on purpose.

Other people have documented other reasons why the Apple iPad is not really that great. Even then, I'm sure the iPad will sell well, as the general population will always purchase form over function.

Kitty Kat has used her N900 for the past month, and is more impressed by it every day she uses it. And she did express that she originally did want an iPhone. Even the Apple iPhone is not really that great.

Updating the N900 to PR1.2

I have just completed updating my Nokia N900 to PR1.2. The update was very smooth. I just went into the App manager, tapped on the update icon, and around 130MB later, it was installed. The aspects of the upgrade I have already noticed is:

• GPS is faster and Ovi Maps has a better interface
• Browser has portrait mode switched on and working
• You can choose to only SMS mobile numbers
• Things start up and multi-task faster
• I had it multi-tasking 17 different tasks, and there was little slowdown, and must faster swap between them

Ax has also upgraded his N900, but for some reason, he had to do it via the Nokia PC Suite. He also had to re-install his applications, whereas my installation was smooth, with no noticeable corruption of data or applications.

Lastly, it appears that the N900 is finally being sold in Australia - well at least by the Optus carrier.


Here is the new kernel, as well as some screenshots:

BusyBox v1.10.2 (Debian 3:1.10.2.legal-1osso30+0m5) built-in shell (ash) Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

mullen:~# uname -a
Linux mullen 2.6.28-omap1 #1 PREEMPT Thu Apr 15 09:47:09 EEST 2010 armv7l unknown

Desktop #1

Desktop #2 - With "living" wallpaper (this one actually drips with the code)

Desktop #3

Desktop #4

Application List

"About product" page

Ovi Maps new interface

Multitasking on Nokia N900 and Ubuntu's new 10.04

I recently tried to push the limits of multitasking (running more than one application) on my Nokia N900. I have not reached the limit (yet). Here are some screenshots of what I've tried:

1st desktop on N900

2nd Desktop on N900

3rd desktop on N900

Multi-tasking on N900

At this point, I am running 14 application on the N900 as well as the 4 desktops. I do not have anything on the 4th desktop, hence why I have omitted it as a screenshot. It does not appear to be slowing down the performance of the N900 down at all. Some of the applications open include:

• Maps
• Instant Messaging (IM) Chat
• Phone interface
• Contacts interface
• Sketch pad
• Photo Browser
• Media Player
• Web Browser (accessing Gmail)
• XTerm
• Calendar
• eCoach
  

After transferring some large files onto the N900, I encountered my first bug. It was in the form of corruption of the VFAT /home/user/MyDocs directory. Fortunately, there is already a documented fix for the error - being that the filesystem is "read-only". The long term fix (also documented via a link on the same page) is to convert the VFAT filesystem to ext3. Fixing the VFAT bug (using fsck) caused a second bug - a double directory listing in the N900's file browser. The fix was also documented, being to get the number of files in /home/use/MyDocs to under 32 individual files. This will be properly addressed in the next firmware release.

I've also updated my main computer to Ubuntu 10.04. It is very early so far, but there appears to be a lot of integration with social networking sites, as well as being able to access all the chat / IM protocols they use. I don't know whether this is due to demand from the current users of Ubuntu, or whether it shows that Ubuntu wants to capture a more "youthful and chatty" audience. It also appears that Ubuntu is also starting up services in the form of Ubuntu One.

Overall, it appears to be another good effort from the guys at Ubuntu to produce a usable desktop. Below is a screenshot of my desktop, while I was using GIMP to edit the pictures you see in this post:

Editing images on Ubuntu 10.04

Additional repositories on the N900

I've added some additional repositories to my N900. Kitty Kat's N900 is pretty much out of the box. I do not think she will alter hers as much as I will mine. In that regard, I don't believe I will alter mine as much as Ax will alter his.

Over time, we will all compare our N900s. Hopefully opening up to new repositories will not mean a lack of stability of the phone / tablet itself. For those that are interested, my repositories look like this:

mullen:/etc/apt/sources.list.d# cat hildon-application-manager.list
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ssu/apps/ ./
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ssu/002 ./
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ovi/ ./
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free non-free
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/ fremantle free non-free

Ax's look like this:

$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hildon-application-manager.list
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ssu/apps/ ./
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ssu/mr0 ./
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/ovi/ ./
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free non-free
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free non-free
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/ fremantle free non-free
deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/ fremantle free non-free
deb https://downloads.maemo.nokia.com/fremantle/apps/ ./
deb http://repository.maemo.org fremantle/tools free non-free

In case you are wondering how to add repositories to your own N900, there are many tutorials on the web.

Screenshots from the N900

As mentioned in a previous post, I have recently obtained a Nokia N900. Here are some screenshots from the terminal. Hopefully it will illustrate that the interface is not too hard to understand:

One of 4 desktops on the N900

Another one of 4 desktops on the N900

X Terminal on the N900

Multitasking on the N900

As you should be able to see on that last screen, that is 11 applications open at the same time. Some are just web pages, one is the OviMap application (with GPS), and another is the weather application. There is also a chat window I have open that shows threaded SMSs I am having with Jarvo.

So what's the learning time? I think about 3 to 4 hours before you start customizing it the way you want. If you have a technical background, then it will probably be down to about 1 to 2 hours. This is to understand how the menus work with the desktop, and how to understand how multitasking works. The Nokia Maemo website has tutorials. Don't worry about going through these if you have the phone, as they're already listed in the web browser's bookmarks.

What's missing so far?

• Speech directions when using the OviMaps for navigation.
• MMS (but that appears to be coming soon).
  

Linux powered N900

I like things that are free and open. I really like the Nokia N900, which is powered by Linux under the Maemo distribution.

Here is some command line snippets:

BusyBox v1.10.2 (Debian 3:1.10.2.legal-1osso26+0m5) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

mullen:~# uname -a
Linux mullen 2.6.28-omap1 #1 PREEMPT Thu Dec 17 09:40:52 EET 2009 armv7l unknown
mullen:~#

I'll discuss it in depth soon, but some initial observations:

• It is very customizable
  
• The community web sites appear to be alive and well
• It multi-tasks very well
• It appears to work well with the Optus network
• The battery life is shorter than the Nokia 6300 I owned previously to the N900
  
• Kitty Kat would prefer if her unit was in white
  

I am hopeful for the future for this mobile phone / tablet / appliance. I would like it if Nokia would put their full support behind the transition of the N900 to the Meego system. Best of all, I like how the future is open...