[Debian] Debian Apps That Run Well On The Tablets [Archive] - Page 2 - maemo.org

BrentDC

08-29-2008, 07:22 PM

I just installed KeePassX, and wow; this is the password manager I've been looking for.

It is QT, not GTK, so no tap 'n hold, but I can't even see a use for it. Everything works great. If it wasn't for some of the forms being slightly too big and the font on the small side, I would practically think it was designed for the tablets (even memory use is low :eek: ).

I seriously recommend you guys take a look at this.

jiiv

09-02-2008, 03:25 PM

Sorry if this has been asked/answered (I tried searching for threads with 'battery' but didn't locate an answer): Do we have a working battery status applet anywhere for deblet? Or is there something in /proc with information on remaining charge? I poked around and didn't find anything; perhaps I've been spoiled by acpi.

fatalsaint

09-02-2008, 03:29 PM

There is a xfce-battery-applet that is included in the local repo for XFCE.

I have no had my deblet on a single WM long enough for me to even both trying to figure out how/if it works.

KDE4's default battery applet also appears to work.. at least in a general sense. It says a percentage but doesn't change for a very long time.. when it was empty the battery applet was empty.. when it was full the applet was full.. but after a few hours running on battery it didn't seem to actually "change"

jiiv

09-02-2008, 04:33 PM

Heh...that KDE one sounds handy. It's kinda like "If the tablet powers up, you have some battery power remaining. If not, you don't."
I'll check out the xfce applet, thanks much.

qole

09-02-2008, 07:11 PM

The "fullness" of Li-poly batteries is especially hard to guess at. Even the OS2008 battery meter will suddenly drop from "full" to "empty" on me if I'm doing something battery intensive, and the time between the first non-full step and "empty" is always a fraction of the time between "full charge" and the first non-full step.

samhogue

09-08-2008, 01:28 PM

Has anyone gotten cellwriter working? It loads and runs fine for me in Easy Debian, but other apps don't seem to accept characters from it. Seems like a perfect fit for the it if we could get it working.

samhogue

09-08-2008, 05:48 PM

Epiphany-gecko so far has been the fastest and most stable browser for me.

qole

10-02-2008, 12:36 PM

I've wanted a good Flickr uploader program for a while now, something that will upload pictures from my camera via the N800. I finally hunted around the Debian repos and found Postr. It works fine, better than anything else I've found. A couple of bugs, but <shrug> ... still better than the competition.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2905305511_8cab879a7e_o.png (http://www.flickr.com/photos/qole2/2905305511/)

One of the bugs is that you have to upload from the File menu. The button under the photo list doesn't seem to do anything...

pton

10-17-2008, 07:52 PM

I run the following apps:
1. fortune: fortune cookies (you can make your own)
2. gmessage: gtk2 messagebox to replace xmessagebox. I use it to display fortune cookies.
3. gjots2: tree-style notes organizer. Simpler than maemopad+ but more versatile in tree organization.
4. gthumb: image viewer with editing features.
5. scim: for Chinese input! I've uninstalled maemocjk from diablo because it replaces the hildon keyboard with matchbox-keyboard, and worst still it can't work with microb browser.
6. freemind: it works! but very slow (slower than iceweasel browser).

BrentDC

10-18-2008, 12:38 AM

6. freemind: it works! but very slow (slower than iceweasel browser).

I didn't know that was possible :eek:

Helmuti

10-21-2008, 09:18 AM

I would love to know some Java applets that people really wish they could run on the tablets, I'd like to see how they run in Kazehakase.

Hallo or "Moin Moin" from the North of Germany.

I dont't need it. But as an example. This is a very big JAVA-Applet for the videotext of the german TV-Station n-tv: http://www.n-tv.de/1180.html

I try it on both Browsers in the Easy-Debian-package. Kazehakase seems a little bit faster. The Applet open - but can't work out to the end. I really think it's a powerfull applet.

qole

10-21-2008, 07:56 PM

Helmuti: The applet you suggest is running out of memory. I went to a Java diagnostic page, it looks like, by default, there's only ~6 MB of memory available for Java.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3230/2963070554_e02b500649_o.png (http://www.flickr.com/photos/qole2/2963070554/)

I'll do some research and figure out what's going on, but I think you need to increase the /tmp file size in the ~/.chroot file. The 6MB reported size is with a 10MB /tmp dir.

EDIT: Yes, this is where Java is getting its Max Mem value from; I changed TMPSIZE to 20M and now the same page is printing ">17M"

EDIT2: Looks like that's only PART of what's going on; I boosted the tmp dir to 40MB (and the swap file size to 300+MB), and the max mem is staying at the 17M limit...

EDIT3: It looks like I need to figure out a way to run the applet viewer with the parameter -Xmx48m (or some other big number). Java for windows has a config tool; where is it for Linux?

EDIT4: Interesting; running "free -m " in Debian tells me that I only have 24M of "real" memory available. I wonder if that's part of the problem? Java won't run in swap memory?

hordeman

10-22-2008, 03:02 PM

qole

10-22-2008, 05:10 PM

qole

10-22-2008, 06:01 PM

Here's one for the mythical "Debian Apps that Run Like Crap On the Tablets" thread:

I notice that "iceape" appears in the repositories. Ignore it! It is a trap! Iceape (Seamonkey) still segfaults, unlike Iceweasel (Firefox). I was hoping for a replacement for the missing Icedove (Thunderbird), which has been removed from the repositories for this exact reason, but somehow Iceape snuck in, even though it doesn't work.

EDIT: Just filed a bug report with Debian. Worse than a wisdom tooth extraction.

samhogue

10-22-2008, 06:47 PM

Just found lxlauncher in the repositories. It gives an EEE-like tabbed launcher which is actually the kind of thing I've envisioned for the tablets. Can anyone tell me how to autostart it when I start LXDE? Man, this is what the tablets should've been all along - a full Debian overlayed with a finger-friendly UI!

qole

10-22-2008, 06:50 PM

Can you get lxlauncher to work properly for you? I wasn't able to...

samhogue

10-22-2008, 06:56 PM

It seems to work, but I just installed it. Couldn't find a menu entry, so started it from a terminal. It came up fine, and I switched between tabs and launched a few programs from it. Will try to play more when I get off work, get kids in bed, please wife, etc.

BrentDC

10-22-2008, 09:14 PM

Anybody know how to clear out the package manager?; if that's the right phrase to use. :) I was trying to install Amarok so I could use my MTP device (Creative Zen). However, I was downloading via my cell phone and somewhere along the line, the whole thing just hung. The manager still works, but I can't download anything anymore --- even if I use my broadband connection at home; just tells me all the packages that failed (some DID download) and shows the download speed as unknown.

Thanks!

Man, I couldn't get Amarok to work on my tablet. It hangs with 100% cpu usage immediately after opening. If I remember correctly, the terminal traceback was something like shm.c open() failed. A Google search of that error didn't help...

samhogue

10-22-2008, 10:43 PM

Ok Qole, I can confirm that lxlauncher works great from within LXDE, but throws a 'Segmentation fault' if attempted from within chroot in Hildon. Just 2 issues:

1)If you run it from a terminal, every app you start with lxlauncher will close if you close the terminal.

2)If you run it from the 'run' dialog, there's no way to close it without logging out or running xkill from a terminal.

I still see a use for it on the tablet. Would be great if it would work from chroot. Any ideas on that, or how to autostart it when you launch LXDE?

samhogue

10-22-2008, 11:05 PM

One other app that works great is postr for Flickr uploading. It's slow to pull in a folder of pics of any size, but uploads to Flickr great once it does.

qole

10-23-2008, 01:48 AM

One other app that works great is postr for Flickr uploading. It's slow to pull in a folder of pics of any size, but uploads to Flickr great once it does.

I mentioned postr just a few posts ago (http://internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=229744&postcount=259).

debernardis

10-23-2008, 02:05 AM

The way to autostart apps in Lxde has been covered here: http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=223296&postcount=19
Briefly, you go in your debian chroot and edit /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE/autostart
I did it to edit the original Qole's xmodmap and load the Italian keyboard - and works.
Good luck for the launcher!

qole

10-23-2008, 01:27 PM

Just for fun, I shut down hildon-desktop and matchbox-window-manager, then started Debian LXDE instead of matchbox. It works fine, and I can start hildon apps in it (eg osso-xterm, browser, etc), but I'd like to be able to add a hildon app launcher of some sort to my desktop, as well as the hildon status bar, the one at the top that lets you connect to networks etc... but when I try to add these to LXDE, the status bar works, but it appears in the middle of my screen, and the menu / task bar doesn't work right (the menu won't stay open). I wonder if I can get the Hildon taskbar icons to appear on a Debian status bar?

hordeman

10-23-2008, 01:35 PM

hordeman: get the Debian Chroot prompt and type

apt-get -f install

See if that fixes things. Hopefully, you're not just out of space. If so, you're most likely hosed, and you'll have to start again with a fresh file system.

Yes, that helped get things going again, but you're probably right about the space issues. It started going again, but then it stopped after a couple more packages.

Man, I couldn't get Amarok to work on my tablet. It hangs with 100% cpu usage immediately after opening. If I remember correctly, the terminal traceback was something like shm.c open() failed. A Google search of that error didn't help...

Bummer. If it's not working, then it's not worth my time to try. I just want to plug in my MTP MP3 player device and sync files.

pton

10-25-2008, 12:23 AM

Hi, I tried to install audacious player (in Easy Debian, Lxde environment) but it keep giving me 'segmentation fault'. Finally, I got to remove 'audacious-plugin-extras' to make it work. In case you got the same problem, try this solution.

pton

10-25-2008, 12:36 AM

I also tried to install 'Volume Control' plugin to the Lxde panel, and it starts to hang the panel -- blank, nothing shown, and cpu consistently busy (even after reboot). I finally removed it manually by editing the file ~/.config/lxde/openbox/lxde-rc.xml to get the panel back in action. Don't try to install this plugin unless someone got the solution.

pton

10-25-2008, 06:24 AM

StarDict 3.0.1: This version installs properly, but it seems to have problem with the Cache feature enabled. It would just hang on startup. To resolve this, I got to disable this feature from the set-up (you have to manually remove all *.oft files from your dic directory manually if the program does not startup). Also, I can't get the 'Sound' feature working (realpeople voice, espeak or festival TTS). NVM.

Compared to Maemo v2.4.8, v3 has babylon format support, and you can organize dictionaries into different groups.

meizirkki

10-25-2008, 07:33 AM

qole

10-27-2008, 02:43 PM

GParted UPDATE:

If you "apt-get install dosfstools" you can resize your fat32 partitions in GParted! Hooray! This is now the best on-tablet partition editing app. Uninstall QTParted.

NOTES: You have to unmount the mmc card in hildon before starting your Debian chroot. I have found that I cannot unmount the /media/mmc2 card (it becomes "busy" as soon as you mount it, even if you have no virtual memory defined) but I can unmount and then repartition the /media/mmc1 card by typing:

sudo closechroot
sudo umount /media/mmc1
sudo debian gparted /dev/mmcblk1

TIP: Uncheck "Round to Cylinders" to avoid having the (usually 4MB) unformatted space at the beginning of the card changed.

Resizing my 16GB SD card, preparing for partitioning... (note that the partition has data on it already, I'm resizing without reformatting)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/2978324995_41d8888945_o.png (http://www.flickr.com/photos/qole2/2978324995/)

This is a really cool program. I would love to see this ported to maemo.

GParted

gparted /dev/mmcblk0 /dev/mmcblk1
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2775373488_1c6053de39_o.png (http://www.flickr.com/photos/qole2/2775373488/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/2774633433_ee2ec5c94e_o.png (http://www.flickr.com/photos/qole2/2774633433/)

samhogue

10-29-2008, 12:27 PM

Has anybody thought about Google Gears? Could we somehow use the Maemo port?

qole

11-12-2008, 04:03 PM

If you're a Firefox / Iceweasel user on the tablet, then you probably want to install the Grab and Drag extension (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1250). This makes Firefox behave like the built-in browser, in that you use the stylus or your finger to move around the web page, rather than the tiny little scroll bars.

Admit it, you've tried to scroll up a webpage in Iceweasel only to find that you're selecting text.

EDIT: Here's another extension that makes things better on the tablet:
Tiny Menu (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1455)

1. After you install, right click on any toolbar and choose customize.
2. Drag all items in the navigation toolbar (back/forward, address bar, etc) up into the menu bar. Click 'Done'.
3. Right click on a toolbar again, and un-select the (now empty) navigation bar.

Tada, tiny!

Entonian

11-14-2008, 02:24 AM

qole, you are truly a geek's geek. I'm proud of you.

qole

11-14-2008, 04:19 AM

Entonian, that's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said* to me. :) :D

* Well, you know, written.. about... me. But wow, that just sounds lame.

pton

12-17-2008, 05:57 AM

Some debian apps can be copied directly from debian folder to maemo folder and run straight within maemo (without using 'debbie' command). For example, I've copied xbindkeys from debian to maemo by :
cp /debian/usr/bin/xbindkeys /usr/bin
cp /debian/usr/lib/libguile* /usr/lib
cp -rf /debian/usr/share/guile/* /usr/share

After this, I change 'debbie xbindkeys' command to simply 'xbindkeys', and it works perfectly :)

Other apps like zenity (numerous user dialogs -- the display calendar dialog is particularly useful) also work. Of course not all work. Typically I first copy over the main exe file, then run it. And for whatever missing libraries or directories, I would simply copy over. And finally, if it works, it works perfectly (with maemo fonts and theme, and faster). Otherwise, then continue to use 'debbie' command.

qole

12-17-2008, 02:18 PM

Sometimes, you can even go to http://packages.debian.org, download the armel Debian package, and then use "dpkg -i package-name.deb" to install it directly into maemo. This usually only works with applications that have very few dependencies, like command-line apps.

debernardis

01-10-2009, 05:04 PM

FYI, Midori on debian unstable has been upgraded to the last version, 0.1.1-1.
It seems more stable and performant on the NIT and could be a viable alternative to the default browser until tear or the webkit engine for microb are mature.

debernardis

02-11-2009, 04:02 PM

We are now to Midori 0.1.2 - this is becoming seriously nice as a browser, and seems quicker and more stable in my hands.

qole

02-19-2009, 08:45 PM

FINAL EDIT:

I just installed the alsa sound system in a new chroot. First, I had to install some packages:

apt-get install alsa-base alsa-utils libasound2-plugins alsa-oss
Then I downloaded the attachment below, and unzipped it as root from the Debian chroot prompt:

[root@Debian: /]tar xzvf /home/user/MyDocs/alsa-files.tar.gz
That does it.

------

Ok, the magic seems to happen in two files. The Debian /etc/asound.conf is the same as our maemo /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf, and the /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf is a big file that does some magic stuff that makes things work. I bet it is the default Debian alsa.conf file.

I have attached a tarball of the two files.

Once I copied these files into place, I found I had to issue

/etc/init.d/alsa-utils start
...this made the new config files take effect.

Hoorah. Finally.

EDIT: I have no idea if those mysterious mixer files have anything to do with anything...

Update:

I needed to get audio working for my new Easy Ubuntu package. I followed these instructions, and I found that there's a new step that I have to add for Ubuntu. Assuming that /ubuntu is the chroot, as root from maemo:

cp /usr/lib/alsa-lib/libasound_module_ctl_dsp_ctl.so /ubuntu/usr/lib/alsa-lib

magic_doc

09-29-2009, 03:41 AM

EDIT: Here's another extension that makes things better on the tablet:
Tiny Menu (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1455)

Hi quole,

thank you very much for the wounderful work and the tipps concerning iceweasel.
I just wanted to mention that the setup of the toolbar-icons with tiny menu only works under the LXDE-environment- I tried to do this with "debbie iceweasel" first but this doesn't work at all- after all was set up, the whole thing works with the debbie-window under hilton-desktop too.:cool:

Maybe useful information for others, love to have more space in the iceweasel window now.

idfx

03-24-2010, 05:44 AM

Update:

I needed to get audio working for my new Easy Ubuntu package. I followed these instructions, and I found that there's a new step that I have to add for Ubuntu. Assuming that /ubuntu is the chroot, as root from maemo:

cp /usr/lib/alsa-lib/libasound_module_ctl_dsp_ctl.so /ubuntu/usr/lib/alsa-lib

I can't find the libasound_module_ctl_dsp_ctl.so in /usr/lib/alsa-lib (in the maemo filesystem) ?
Has this been changed since???

qole

03-24-2010, 01:25 PM

idfx: I assume you're talking about the N900? Yes, the audio system is quite different for the N900; it uses pulseaudio instead of esd/alsa.

darrennewman@sky.com

08-01-2010, 05:13 PM

I installed chromium-browser on my N800.

http://packages.debian.org/sid/chromium-browser

And it loads up but then seems to stall, has anyone else installed it? And if so did it run?

thongkh

11-06-2010, 06:26 AM

yes I'm in root.
I have been reading several threads on Debian forums and it seems to be a common problem with Synaptic not properly downloading the package. The recommend fix is to go into the line and delete the word on the line( in this case #padding). Problem is I get a 'permission denied'. I just noticed I can only access ROXTERM and not x-terminal.
If worse comes to worse how do I remove Debian and re-install. My fear is that the corrupted download file will mess up new Debian install.
Any thoughts, ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dan

edit: uninstalled debian and reinstalled.

hi, i have the same problem, but after i uninstalled and reinstalled the debian, the same problem accour, can teach me how to solve the problem? thankz :(

Captwheeto

11-08-2010, 06:57 AM

Anyone got finch working? I've tried it a couple of times but can't seem to get it to work. I'm at work now so I can't try again. Bleh. Any help would be great. If anyone can give me a push in the right direction for porting these sort of things it'd be nice.

Also I've installed moc, using the alsa fix mentioned in the wiki, the enter key doesn't work unless you run the 'set deb hw keys' and then press 'shift+enter' and it works great!