We’re in the middle of a major upgrade op the underlying Yocto project from Krogoth (2.1) right away to Pyro (2.3) while skipping Morty (2.2) which means we need to update all our kernels to at least 3.4 in order to be able to use the latest upgrades to systemd and glibc. So far this has been successful for the Nexus 4 (Mako), Nexus 5 (Hammerhead) and we’re now in the process of doing the same for the Touchpad (4G) (Tenderloin). All these targets have a 3.4 kernel available, so the process is relatively straight forward.
However it seems that the Galaxy Nexus (Maguro) doesn’t have a working 3.4 kernel available (only 3.0) and it’s therefore likely we’ll be forced to drop support for the Galaxy Nexus going forward.
A bit later than expected but we’re back! Over 2 months passed since the last release and we’re finally back with a new release called “Cold Brew”. We have been working very hard behind the scenes in the past 2 months!
So you’re asking what we have done? Most importantly we now have an initial setup for camera working on both the N4 and N5 with an initial version of the app written in Qt (QML). It’s still pretty rough, but it will do basics for now. Further improvements will come once we upgrade Qt to 5.7/5.8.
Behind the scenes we’ve been working on getting our Yocto updated to Pyro. This brings quite some challenges due to glibc (2.24) not being compatible with linux kernels < 3.2. Also the newer systemd version (232) brings some challenges in terms of kernel requirements, but we’ve been able to work around those for now.
For Mako (N4), Hammerhead (N5) this isn’t really a problem because we have a 3.4 based kernel, for the Tenderloin (Touchpad) there are 3.4 based kernels available as well, so we’ll be aiming to migrate to a 3.4 based kernel for Tenderloin.
For Maguro (Galaxy Nexus) the situation is unfortunately more problematic because there’s no real working 3.4 based kernel available currently. It’s therefore likely that as of next release we will be forced to drop support for the Galaxy Nexus.
We’re also taking part in in the Halium Project that was announced last week. There are already a lot of synergies between the various OS-es based on Android and also still quite some minor tweaks for each OS. By joining forces in the project we aim to have a common base for the various Android based OS-es.
We have the following items on our to-do list to focus on:
EnyoJS is the javascript frame work used by webOS developers to create applications for both the legacy OS, LuneOS and LG’s TV OS.
Those following along will recall that the development team had moved onto a new version based on React.js and that this had potential implications for LuneOS.
The Enyo team have just begun a private beta of the next generation Enyo. What we know is that with LG’s TV arm as their main customer, the focus remains on TV sized apps. Though increased support for mobile is planned, it is currently limited. Also, the framework will have a new name when publicly released.
This next generation of Enyo will be of interest to those currently building apps with the platform, but may also attract developers already experienced with ReactJS.
For those engaging with this testing phase, we’d be interested in any comments. The webOS Ports team will no doubt also be interested in any app demos built with it too. You can comment at webOS Nation.
So that’s been a long while already! 2 months passed since the last release and we’re finally back with a new release called “Chai Latte”. We have been working very hard behind the scenes in the past 2 months upgrading our various builds & build infrastructure!
Shortly after the end of CES, I searched idly for any news from TCL. You may have read that they recently acquired the rights to make & sell Blackberry hardware. Longtime readers will recall TCL’s announcement at 2015’s CES that they had acquired from HP, the last remaining piece of Palm Inc: The brand name. To create an image for that story, I added Palm’s logo to the image on TCL’s website:
Palm joins TCL
Since that announcement, where TCL encouraged the ‘Palm community’ to participate in developing a device worthy of the name, there has been silence. Now, some have speculated that we could see some kind of combined Palm/Blackberry wonder device, but so far only a Blackberry has been revealed. If you click the link, you can see the familiar keyboard style & this points up the difference between the two purchases: One is a license to manufacture a branded product including hardware & the software that runs on it. The other is just a brand name. Of course, nothing prevents TCL from making anything it wants & calling it a Palm device, but despite it’s recent travails, the Blackberry brand is a going concern with up to date & current technology. Palm is not.
In my search for TCL/Palm news, I of course visited the website & the image at the top of this story is from that site. My only change this time was to enlarge it. Note how the Blackberry logo has been added, then realise that the Palm logo doesn’t appear on their website & to my knowledge, never has.
Two years on from the 2015 announcement, this likely tells us all we need to know about the future of the Palm brand, but there is one optimistic spin that can be put on this: TCL own the Palm brand. There’s a lot more direct benefit from the Blackberry arrangement, but it’s a licensing deal & one that has resulted from Blackberry’s problems in selling it’s own product. TCL’s Alcatel brand has long been an affordable, no doubt profitable, but unspectacular also-ran in the mass market. The team-up gives TCL access to a technology leader, a respected brand & enables Blackberry to concentrate on software, letting TCL worry about selling product to the masses. If TCL succeed, some of the profit will return to Blackberry. If they fail or the deal turns sour for some other reason, they have another brand ready to be painted on a high-quality handset; A brand unencumbered by licensing fees or any other external requirements: Palm. But really, don’t hold your breath!
away to Pyro (2.3) while skipping Morty (2.2) which means we need to update all our kernels to at least 3.4 in order to be able to use the latest upgrades to systemd and glibc. So far this has been successful for the Nexus 4 (Mako), Nexus 5 (Hammerhead) and we’re now in the process of doing the same for the Touchpad (4G) (Tenderloin). All these targets have a 3.4 kernel available, so the process is relatively straight forward.
