Maemo Wiki Mirror - User contributions [en]

Mer/Awareness

2009-11-05T05:21:33Z

119.111.124.194: /* Rendering your activities visible */

== Rendering your activities visible ==

Q: Why are you encouraged to talk about your activities?

A: We are spread across the globe and it is not always easy to have real time conversations, and this allows us to document what has been done and achieved.

So, how do you do this in practice? Here's a few ways:

== Mer Chatter email ==
You can sign up for the [https://garage.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/mer-chatter mailing list] - it will send you digests by default, unless you choose to receive all e-mails (might be high volume).

You can receive updates using the [http://n2.nabble.com/Mer-Chatter-f2732813.xml Nabble Atom feed]

Ideally sign up for a [http://garage.maemo.org/ maemo.org] account to contribute to the maemo.org Wiki (where Mer is hosted) as well - and it will help you to gain maemo.org karma.

When you have achieved something, mail to mer-chatter@garage.maemo.org, with a brief description in the subject line, and if needed, a further elaboration in the body.

== IRC interactive chat ==
A lot of Mer development and support is discussed on [[IRC]] on channel #mer on irc.freenode.net,

In addition you can type '.log <message>' to send a message out to the chatter mailing lists (don't test it please - it works).

IRC logs can be found [http://tinyurl.com/ngroq8 here]

[[Category:Mer]]

Community Council

2009-10-07T21:23:56Z

119.111.124.194: /* Previous referenda */

The Maemo Community Council is a five-person body chosen by the "Maemo community". The Council's primary purpose is to represent the views and opinions of the Maemo Community to Nokia, and vice versa. The "Maemo community" is roughly defined as:

* all users of maemo.org;
* people sufficiently attached to Maemo devices via blogging about them, developing for them, or discussing them.

Maemo Community Council members are unpaid volunteers who are not employed by Nokia Coporation. Likeqwise, the Council has not signed a non-disclosure agreement NDA with Nokia. Maemo Community Council elections are held every six months.

== Purpose (Mission) ==
: ''To represent the Maemo Community's best interests to Nokia, and to act as a community conduit for Nokia-generated information.''

== Member Roster ==

=== Current: March 2009 - September 2009 ===

{| style="text-align: center;"
!width="100"| [[Image:DefaultAvatarProfile.png]]
!width="100"| [[Image:Mcc-alan_bruce.png|72px]]
!width="100"| [[Image:Mcc-Graham Cobb.jpg|72px]]
!width="100"| [[Image:Mcc-Matthew_Lewis.png]]
!width="100"| [[Image:Mcc-Valerio_valerio.png|72px]]
|-
| Randall Arnold ([[User:Texrat|Texrat]])
| Alan Bruce ([[User:qole|qole]])
| Graham Cobb ([[User:gcobb|gcobb]])
| Matthew Lewis ([[User:penguinbait|penguinbait]])
| Valério Valério ([[User:Vdvsx|VDVsx]])
|}

=== Former ===

==== March 2009 - September 2009 ====

{| valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-ryan_abel.jpg|36px]] || Ryan Abel ([[User:Generalantilles|GeneralAntilles]])*
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-alan_bruce.png|36px]] || Alan Bruce ([[User:qole|qole]])
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-andrew_flegg.jpg|36px]] || Andrew Flegg ([[User:Jaffa|Jaffa]])*
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-kees_jongenburger.jpg|36px]] || Kees Jongenburger ([[User:keesj|keesj]])
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-tim_samoff.jpg|36px]] || Tim Samoff ([[User:timsamoff|timsamoff]])
|}

==== September 2008 - February 2009 (Inaugural Council) ====

{| valign="top"
|- valign="top"
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-ryan_abel.jpg|36px]] || Ryan Abel ([[User:Generalantilles|GeneralAntilles]])*
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-andrew_flegg.jpg|36px]] || Andrew Flegg ([[User:Jaffa|Jaffa]])
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-eduardo_lima.jpg|36px]] || Eduardo Lima ([[User:etrunko|etrunko]])
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-simon_pickering.jpg|36px]] || Simon Pickering ([[User:lardman|lardman]])
| style="padding: 10px;" valign="top" | [[Image:Mcc-tim_samoff.jpg|36px]] || Tim Samoff ([[User:timsamoff|timsamoff]])
|}

''*Council Chair''

== Open Communication ==
Open communication is one of the core values of the Maemo Community Council, both to serve as an example to Nokia and because it's the right thing to do. All communication is open by default.

* Community-related news, announcements, and calls for participation are summarized in the [http://maemo.org/community/council Council blog].
* Council "micro-updates" can be found in the [http://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=16 Community subforum] at [http://talk.maemo.org/ Talk].
* If you have a community-related idea or issue, please post it in the Community subforum at Talk.
* At some point, the [https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-community maemo-community] mailing list will be integrated with the Community subforum at Talk. Until then, the Council will use the Community subforum and link to important items in maemo-community, identified by using the [Council] tag.
* Last, Council members are usually present over IRC at freenode.net/maemo and are always happy to chat with you.

=== Media ===
# [[Media:Maemo_Summit_Community_Council_Presentation.pdf|Presentation]] used at [[Maemo_Summit_2008|Maemo Summit 2008]]: "Introducing the Maemo Community Council"

== Council Work ==
In addition to being committed community members (and all that entails), some of the specific responsibilities of the council include:
* Facilitation: making sure that one portion of the community knows what is going on in another
* Chairing the maemo.org sprint meetings, and representing the community
* Hiring of maemo.org staff
* Pushing to expand the community through organic growth
* Being able to represent the community to Nokia, especially when dealing with sensitive information; for example, attendance at N900 launch as community reps.
* Backup mentors for the [[GSoC_2009|Google Summer of Code]] participation.

To keep track of the ongoing work, see [http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23m.occ Twitter]; the [http://maemo.org/community/council/ council blog]] and the [[Maemo.org_Sprints#Sprints|current Sprint]].

=== Current Highlights ===
* [[Task:Improving_maemo.org|maemo.org redesign]]
* [[GSoC_2009|Google Summer of Code]]
* [[Maemo_Summit_2009|Maemo Summit 2009]]
* [[Bugsquad]]
* [[Mer]]

== FAQ ==
=== What is the council ''for?'' ===
There have been a number of times when Nokia have asked for the community's input on something (for example, the [[100_Days|100 days brainstorm]]) and been met with either silence; or a cacophony of disparate voices. The aim of the council is for the community to have selected five representatives who speak with a more authoritative voice. These council members, elected for their views, can express their opinions safe in the knowledge that the community has permitted them to do so.

=== What is the difference between a council member and a committed community member? ===
Paperwork ;-)

More seriously, nothing much at all. Many of the roles and tasks council members will be involved in are no way restricted to just council members. It is, in all honesty, a facilitation role: doing what one would do normally, but also absorbing information from other sources to try and minimise any duplication and represent the community to Nokia; and itself.

It is expected that council members will attend more of the monthly meetings, and be aware of more community channels than otherwise.

It has also been proposed that the council would have oversight of paid staff working for maemo.org.

=== Do council members get paid? Is membership a "reward"? ===
No. Council members will typically (but not necessarily) "do" more than another community member. The council are still community members, and have been selected by the community's belief that the views presented by the selected members will both a) align with their own views, and b) best represent the community's interests.

It is hoped that membership of the council will count strongly towards any future device discount programmes, or event sponsorship; but these are a) not guaranteed, b) relatively small.

=== Have the council signed NDAs with Nokia? ===
No. The council does not know anything that anyone in the community couldn't find out. The only exception is that Nokia will sometimes warn the council about announcements shortly ahead of time to warn the council that their efforts in facilitating community discussion may soon be needed.

=== How can I get involved? ===
You do not need the council's permission to become an active member of the Maemo community. In the words of a famous shoe maker: just do it.

If you require additional help from the community, email the [https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-community maemo-community] mailing list. If you require more discretion, there is an email alias which goes directly to the council members: [mailto:council@maemo.org council@maemo.org].

If there is a specific task you want to raise, and push for at the monthly meetings, see the [[Maemo.org_Sprints#Tasks sprint process]].

=== How can I stand for the council? ===
Before the elections, nominations are requested on the maemo-community mailing list. It is expected that someone who wants to help shape the community will be subscribed to that mailing list.

== Selection Process ==
{{main|Community Council/Election process}}
The 5 council members will be elected by the community. Elections are open to community members with an account over 3 months old and karma of 10 or more. Candidates can be anyone with a karma of 100 or above.

== Community Council Referenda ==
Changes to the [[Community_Council/Election_process|election process]] require a [http://maemo.org/vote referendum].

=== Current referenda ===

There are no current referenda.

=== Previous referenda ===

Three referenda were run from February 16 2009 until February 23 2009 to decide some procedural datas around elections.

* [[Community Council/Voting rights Q1 2009 | Who should have voting rights for the next community council elections?]]
* [[Community Council/Council voting rights | Who should have voting rights for all future community council elections?]]
* [[Community Council/Counting methods | How should ballots be counted in community council elections?]]
* [http://www.research-service.com/custom-essay-writing.html Essay Writing Service]

[[Category:Community]]
[[Category:Community_Council]]

Task:Improving the Application manager

2009-09-16T20:45:40Z

119.111.124.194: /* Goals for Fremantle */

[[Image:Application manager icon.png|left]]As one of the foremost applications in a new user's experience of Maemo, Application manager needs to be one of the platform's best (perhaps only surpassed by the browser and email client). As it stands, though, it is still in need of improvement in a lot of areas. Some of these improvements are small changes (like allowing the repository list to be refreshed from the main view), and some of them are quite large (like the category view overhaul), but the end result should be a much better and more usable Application manager (like [http://www.essaymill.com/| essay search]).

== Goals for Fremantle ==

Until we get more specifics on the new UI for Fremantle, let's set out some general features we'd like to see implemented.

[[Image:Tag-search-mockup.png|thumb|250px|Mock-up of a search]]
=== Tracker and debtags ===

Tracker being included in Fremantle offers some interesting opportunities to use metadata. debtags were proposed as a potential solution to the [[Task:Package_categories|package categories]] issue, but they likely offer more potential by providing metadata to be indexed for searching with Tracker. Say I'm looking to find a web browser. Normally, I'd either know the list of available browsers for Maemo, know which one I wanted and go straight for it, or I'd tap on the "Internet & Network" and find them there. Unfortunately, things like Boingo, email clients, ftp clients and ssh are also going to be in that list, and picking names like "MicroB", "Fennec" or "Tear" out as web browsers without looking at the descriptions is impossible. With Tracker (and usefully complete and accurate tagging), I can simply type "web browser" into a search field to pull up a list of browsers.

[[Image:Rating-view-mockup.png|thumb|left|250px|Mock-up of the package view with ratings]]
=== Integrations with Downloads ===

[http://downloads.maemo.org Downloads] offers a great place to get more detailed information about packages (including detailed descriptions, change logs, and screenshots), and to comment and provide feedback. Users should be able to enter their maemo.org credentials into the Application Manager, then comment on and rate packages directly from the it. This will both increase the amount of feedback received by packages in Downloads and increase the amount of data available to users browsing for packages.

Data from Downloads should be used to provide "Fresh", "Popular", and "Highest rated" lists on the main view.

[[Image:Application-view-mockup.png|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the application view]]
=== Revised application info panel ===

The package info dialog is too limited in the current Application Manager, a fullscreen view should be added that includes several tabs containing a description, screenshots, [http://www.essaymill.com essay search] comments and ratings, as well as maintainer, section, repository, version, size, and dependency information.

=== Find as you type ===

Most modern operating systems support find as you type. When presented with a list of items, a user can begin typing the name of the item they want and it will jump right to it. This wasn't feasible in Maemo before the N810's hardware keyboard, but with the hardware keyboard it's something that many users expect.

== Main view ==
The main view is a user's portal to Maemo software, it's largely fine right now, but not very interesting. It needs a way to draw in new users and get them interested in the software available to them.

[[Image:Main-view-mockup.png|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the main view]]
=== New buttons ===
One way to make the view more interesting is to add a few buttons over on the right hand side (where the big Application manager icon is right now). Something like, Featured applications (taken from Downloads), Popular applications (also from Downloads), and New applications (since last repository refresh, or maybe new in the last week—the specifics of this one will need consideration). As most of the Featured and Popular applications will reside in Extras (and Extras ships disabled), this would serve as a nice way to introduce new users to Extras by offering to enable it for them when they go to install an application from these lists.
:* [https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3279 Bug #3279] - Streamlining user access to the Extras repository

=== Button bar ===
The button bar is another small problem with the main view. Right now, all the icons are grayed out and useless. At the very least, the repository refresh button should be enabled here. The search button could be enabled to perform a global search (with filters for available/installed applications), the install button could be replaced with the repository list, and the info button could show the logs.

== Category view ==
The category view is really the worst part of Application manager right now. It's so bad, in fact, that there really isn't much point in browsing under anything but "All". This is a combination of two issues, the poor state of Maemo packaging consistency, and a straight-up badly put together category view. The packaging issue is separate from Application manager, and will hopefully be addressed somewhat by the new packaging guidelines.

[[Image:Application manager grid-view mockup.jpg|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the grid-view]]
=== Grid view ===
The current category view has an awful lot of wasted whitespace. My initial reaction here was that a grid view in place of a the current list-view would make better use of space and improve the thumb-ability (ordering is badly messed-up in my mock-up—it should be left-to-right rather than top-to-bottom). The number of packages in each category should be noted parenthetically next to the category name (shown in the tree-view mock-up).

This view does have a few downfalls, though. It doesn't make it easy to see what's in any particular category, so if you're searching for something or just browsing around, you will be jumping between the category view and application list view quite a bit. Which is expensive in taps and rendering. Also, longer category names may cause rendering issues ('''Communications''' becoming '''Communicat...''' is just plain bad).

[[Image:Application manager tree-view mockup.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the tree-view]]
=== Tree view ===
The grid-view is probably the most straightforward and immediate solution, but some extra options wouldn't hurt. Some sort of tree view (while mildly ungainly with such limited screen real estate) could give a nice overview alternative to "All" while reducing the number of screens the user needs to scroll through. Show all the categories as collapsible branches, and indicate the number of packages in each category parenthetically next to the category name. The user can collapse or expand a branch by tapping on the category name, or using the dpad up/down to scroll to the desired category and the left/right to collapse or expand it.

[[Image:Application manager column-view mockup.jpg|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the column-view]]
=== Column view ===
Finally a column view could be another useful alternative for reducing the number of screens to tap through and provide a better overview. Put a column of categories on the left (again, with the number of packages in each category indicated parenthetically) and display the packages in that category in the right column. Basically, the same behavior as the File manager.

Each of these views has their own advantages and disadvantages, as such, a single view shouldn't be picked at the exclusion of all others, rather, all views could be implemented and a switch (either in the menu, or on the button bar, and perhaps as shortcuts for N810 users) added to toggle between them depending on user-preference on use-case.

== Application list ==
The application list is where most of the user's time will be spent—browsing and installing/removing/updating applications and packages—and is arguably the most important area of the Application manager. As it stands, most of what's wrong with the application list is either technical (e.g., the irritating list refresh) or related to the various dialogs related to the list (e.g., the info dialog), and the basic UI of the application list is really quite fine.
* Change to Modest's nice, big, thumbable scroll bars. Another option would be to do away with scroll bars and have kinetic thumb-scrolling.
* Columns should be sortable by tapping their names, as well as from the menu. It should also be possible to resize them.
* List refresh needs to be somehow sped up on completely eliminated. This is much better in Diablo, as it doesn't refresh whenever you look at it funny, but still a problem.
** Destroying and redrawing the list is annoying, even if it does now remember your current location. I'd prefer individual rows to be removed (need to see how slow this would be).
* Pressing a key (N810) should jump the list to the first item named with that letter (e.g. press "v" jumps/scrolls the list to the first package called "v.....")
* We should look at the possibility of allow multiple install/removes. I.e. we could create a "Mark for Installation" button on the highlighted row, then use the "Install" button in the toolbar as "Install Marked Packages". Likewise for removing packages. This would save quite a lot of time for people who want to install/remove more than one thing.
* If there are problems with the installation (e.g. unmet dependencies), visually indicate it instead of letting the user attempt only to be told he can't two dialogs later. Have a validate button if this will take time to figure out.
* If the package is not going to be backed up (e.g. non-user in red-pill), or might involve other differences from how a normal user package is installed and metadata stored, indicate that on this screen or the install ok/cancel dialog.
* (Install/Upgrade) Have a way of downloading the debs to the memory card and don't delete them when cleaning (for restore purposes, e.g. reflash to avoid downloading everything again).
* (Install/Upgrade) For batch upgrades or installs, have a "continue on any error" option instead of having to say continue on every package. Perhaps have something to indicate it will prompt and install all non-prompting first.

=== Info dialog ===
What the information dialog suffers from is a bad case of the scrollies. Practically every tab for almost every package presents the user with a horizontal scroll bar. This should really never happen for a native widget.

Or of both of these things will reduce the occurrence of the horizontal scroll bar:
* The horizontal width of the info dialog should be expanded slightly to contain more information (there is a lot of additional room available in fullscreen).
* The information being displayed should be intelligently soft-wrapped and/or slightly reformatted to fit into the dialog.

[[Image:Application manager summary mock-up.png|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the summary tab]]
==== Summary ====
The summary tab is mostly OK. Adding a "Repository" item to indicate which repository a package is in would be useful (especially for identifying Extras and Extras-devel packages). The largest problem is the short description that doesn't get soft-wrapped. Soft-wrapping this description would eliminate the horizontal scrolling in most cases for the summary tab.

[[Image:Application manager description mock-up.png|thumb|left|250px|Mock-up of the description tab]]
==== Description ====
The description field also needs soft-wrapping to make some descriptions fit. The problem here is that many descriptions are already hard-wrapped, which might result in ugly half-soft/half-hard–wrapped text. Some simple de-wrapping (e.g. just removing all newlines that aren't followed by a blank line) may already result in a pleasing line wrap. This may need to be addressed [https://maemo.org/forrest-images/pdf/maemo-policy.pdf packaging-side].

[[Image:Application manager installing mock-up.png|thumb|250px|Mock-up of the installing tab]]

==== Installing/Uninstalling/Upgrading/Problems ====
This tab is a particularly bad offender, as the content is a known value—we know the type of information that appears here and we can predict how it will be formatted. The first and simplest solution is to take all of the packages under each heading and aligned them with the left side of the dialog. Most of the problems crop up from having such a huge amount of whitespace to the left of the package lists, so bringing these lists down a line and over to the left would eliminate a lot of horizontal scrolling. The headings (e.g., "Application packages missing:") will need to be offset from the text somehow, too.

[[Category:Community]]
[[Category:Development]]