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    Running desktop applications on UBTouch

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Unsolved Libertine
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      • G Offline
        gdegrez
        last edited by

        Hi,

        This is a follow-up on https://forums.ubports.com/topic/5207/libertine-and-desktop-apps-in-ota-14
        and
        https://forums.ubports.com/topic/5282/libertine-not-working-on-pine64-pinetab/3?loggedin=true

        Has there been any progress on this issue over the past 6 months?
        I keep checking once in a while, as I would really like to be able to run desktop apps on my BQ Aquaris M10 FHD.

        Gérard

        BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

        TotalSonicT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • dobeyD Offline
          dobey
          last edited by

          PS3: I installed the application in a container of my own. The system however came with a built-in (puritine) container in which several apps (such as libreoffice) are supposedly installed. But I don't know how to launch them (and even whether they can be launched at all): ubuntu-app-launch-appids does not show them at all.

          Wait, you have the built-in "puritine" container? If so, you are not running the version of Ubuntu Touch that we ship. There is no such thing provided by UBports. It sounds like you need to use the ubports-installer to reflash your device and upgrade to the current version.

          G 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • G Offline
            gdegrez @dobey
            last edited by

            @dobey said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

            PS3: I installed the application in a container of my own. The system however came with a built-in (puritine) container in which several apps (such as libreoffice) are supposedly installed. But I don't know how to launch them (and even whether they can be launched at all): ubuntu-app-launch-appids does not show them at all.

            Wait, you have the built-in "puritine" container? If so, you are not running the version of Ubuntu Touch that we ship. There is no such thing provided by UBports. It sounds like you need to use the ubports-installer to reflash your device and upgrade to the current version.

            I used to have the built-in 'puritine' container when I installed UBTouch a couple of years ago if I remember, and it remained there after upgrading at least until OTA-15, but it's indeed no longer there in OTA-18, there is now a built-in container called 'Desktop Applications'.
            But that's irrelevant, what matters to me is that none of the desktop apps that I tried to install in the container of my own worked 😞 [I guess because the windowing protocol used by the Desktop apps is not supported by the OS/hardware].

            BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

            dobeyD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • T Offline
              tigerpro
              last edited by

              it is possible to run desktop apps in UT, I know this because I have done it, however the experience was unusable due to the apps not responding to any input/interaction attempts through either touch or KB/M use. it is also pretty involved to setup and will not survibe any OTAs, overall if your looking to run regular linux apps on a handheld device, UT is not going to be the solution you want for that.

              Whether you think you can, or you can't, if you do not try, you will never truly know. So give it a Go.

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              • TotalSonicT Offline
                TotalSonic @gdegrez
                last edited by TotalSonic

                @gdegrez - I am able to use a few specific desktop applications successfully on my Volla, Meizu Pro 5 and OnePlus One phone running OTA-18, although using the gui's (which are not optimized for phone form factors at all) is certainly very clunky (although aided when using a bluetooth keyboard/trackpad with them - and aided more when using an external display as well, although sending to external display is not an option on Halium 9 ported phones currently).

                Apps that I have tested that have some decent functionality that native apps and webapps do not necessarily provide are:

                text editors:
                medit
                gedit
                leafpad

                word processing:
                abiword

                system information:
                hardinfo
                screenfetch (command line - run from the Terminal)

                email client:
                geary

                web browser:
                firefox-esr 78 (need to download deb of the extended support release, the 8x versions available from the default repository do not work)

                metronome (for musician's practice):
                gtick

                games:
                aisleriot
                gnome-mahjongg

                image editor / gallery:
                gthumb
                gimp

                drawing:
                mypaint

                video player:
                mpv

                pdf viewer:
                evince

                stylus-style note taking / pdf markup:
                xournal

                Also - whe the Libertine Tweak Tool app allowing you to resize the gui menus (but not all gui elements) is invaluable towards making these desktop apps more usable.
                SO - while current Libertine is far from optimal, and while a lot of apps will crash on you, or be unusable due to their gui's being so cluttered or going offscreen, at least there are a few select ones that can offer at least a little bit of additional functionality available for our UT devices.

                As for when additional development will happen to Libertine - frankly until the rebase to 20.04 happens and is given a bit of extra time beyond that to iron out bugs, it doesn't make sense for anyone to tackle Libertine, as any effort now for 16.04 might end up having to be reworked for 20.04 anyway.

                Best regards,
                Steve Berson

                G 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • G Offline
                  gdegrez @TotalSonic
                  last edited by

                  @totalsonic

                  Thank you very much.
                  I had only tried the standard firefox, which doesn't work indeed, and Frescobaldi (music engraving), which didn't work either.
                  Actually, the apps that I would be mostly interested in are a web browser allowing me to connect to my google drive, frescobaldi for music engraving, texmaker and LibreOffice.
                  I understand running desktop apps on a phone is not convenient and doesn't deserve attention from the developers. The picture is different for tablets, which, with a BT KB & M, can be transformed in a mini laptop.

                  I also understand that it doesn't make sense to spend time on Libertine until the new OS release based on 20.04, and that the technical difficulties are not trivial at all.
                  As I said in my original post, I am just checking progress on this issue once in a while, as I really look forward to when
                  " Imagine linking your mobile device to a monitor, mouse and keyboard and having it instantly transformed into a desktop experience. With Ubuntu Touch you only need one device."
                  will become reality.

                  BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

                  G 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • G Offline
                    gdegrez @gdegrez
                    last edited by

                    @gdegrez said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                    Actually, the apps that I would be mostly interested in are a web browser allowing me to connect to my google drive, frescobaldi for music engraving, texmaker and LibreOffice.

                    An update:
                    firefox: couldn't find firefox-esr in the list of available debian packages
                    frescobaldi: crashes
                    libreoffice writer: crashes
                    texmaker: crashes
                    🙂

                    I guess I have to wait...

                    BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

                    TotalSonicT 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • TotalSonicT Offline
                      TotalSonic @gdegrez
                      last edited by TotalSonic

                      @gdegrez - Firefox-esr packages are not available in the default Libertine repositories. In order to install it you need to download the appropriate deb (armhf for older 32bit devices, arm64 for more recent 64bit devices, and then scroll to the bottom of the linked pages to choose the deb for the version in your preferred language) , place it into your Downloads folder, and then open and install the file via the Libertine gui available in the Systems Settings. Please note that because apps within Libertine containers are not hardware accelerated that Firefox-esr tends to run very slowly relative to the native Morph browser.

                      armhf
                      https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/ppa/+build/21759468

                      arm64
                      https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/ppa/+build/21759467

                      Best regards,
                      Steve Berson

                      G 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • G Offline
                        gdegrez @TotalSonic
                        last edited by

                        @totalsonic

                        Followed your instructions. Installation of firefox-esr-locale-fr-78.12.0esr+build1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1 went all right, but firefox-esr does not appear in the apps window after rebooting nor on the output of ubuntu-app-launch-appids in a terminal window 😞
                        Thanks anyway

                        BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • G Offline
                          gdegrez @TotalSonic
                          last edited by

                          @totalsonic
                          Also, I installed Lubuntu Software Center as suggested in https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/userguide/dailyuse/libertine.html but it doesn't work: in tablet mode (without BT KB+M), it just doesn't open the software KB, so searching for a package is impossible and in desktop mode, it doesn't find anything, actually, all listed categories seem to be empty.

                          Kind regards,

                          Gérard

                          BQ Aquaris M10 FHD

                          AppLeeA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • AppLeeA Offline
                            AppLee @gdegrez
                            last edited by

                            @gdegrez said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                            but it doesn't work: in tablet mode (without BT KB+M), it just doesn't open the software KB

                            That's a common issue with "so called legacy apps" the experience is not good because this use case was not considered by the developers.

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                            • dobeyD Offline
                              dobey @gdegrez
                              last edited by

                              @gdegrez said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                              I used to have the built-in 'puritine' container when I installed UBTouch a couple of years ago if I remember, and it remained there after upgrading at least until OTA-15, but it's indeed no longer there in OTA-18, there is now a built-in container called 'Desktop Applications'.
                              But that's irrelevant, what matters to me is that none of the desktop apps that I tried to install in the container of my own worked 😞 [I guess because the windowing protocol used by the Desktop apps is not supported by the OS/hardware].

                              OK. The "puritine" container was only something in the old Canonical images and only on the BQ M10 Ubuntu Edition tablets. There has never been any default container for legacy X11 apps on Ubuntu Touch from UBports.

                              And yes, libertine is quite an experimental feature, and there aren't enough people working on keeping things working properly when other parts of the system are updated, so which apps do or don't work in libertine containers can sometimes change.

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                              • Pulsar33P Offline
                                Pulsar33
                                last edited by

                                Libertine first experience on BQ E5 HR OTA-18 :
                                Installed ok so far : gnome-system-monitor, hardinfo, pcmanfm, lxterminal, gcc, build-essential, gedit
                                Many other SW tested but not ok or bad experience (I can publish the list and comments if you want)

                                SW already installed are suffisant for compiling my own code and HelloWorld example is ok
                                I will come back about compiling later.

                                At this time, my main problem is the following :
                                UBTouch is configured for French langage with virtual keyboard French and Emoji.
                                The virtual keyboard works for UBTouch AND for Libertine Apps BUT the keyboard doesn't move the display when it opens.
                                So it is underlaying the terminal line (or other MMI parts) and you have to type blindly.

                                Moreover, an external (bluetooth) keyboard is better for programming activities and fortunately, I have one.
                                It works fine with UBTouch application provided that you configure "External keyboard" French in Langage preferences
                                BUT at the same time, it remains in English layout for Libertine applications (see picture)

                                Does anyone know what to do to solve this please ?
                                BR
                                Pulsar33
                                LibertineExternalKeyboardKO.jpg

                                Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

                                dobeyD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • dobeyD Offline
                                  dobey @Pulsar33
                                  last edited by

                                  @pulsar33 said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                                  Does anyone know what to do to solve this please ?

                                  Sounds like an issue, which would be good to report at https://gitlab.com/ubports/core/libertine/-/issues

                                  Pulsar33P 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Pulsar33P Offline
                                    Pulsar33 @dobey
                                    last edited by

                                    @dobey Thank you
                                    Done : https://gitlab.com/ubports/core/libertine/-/issues/113
                                    BR
                                    Pulsar33

                                    Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                    Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                    Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

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                                    • Pulsar33P Offline
                                      Pulsar33
                                      last edited by Pulsar33

                                      Hello,
                                      I've been able to compile and link a personal code with gtk & xml libraries.

                                      However, the right part of the screen isn't responsive (issue #13) and widget to minimize, extend and close the windows are not available at all, even for popups :o(

                                      Without solving these bugs, it will remain difficult to have a good experience with desktop applications.

                                      I'm also facing another problem :
                                      dpkg -s libgtk-3-dev | grep Version => Libertine: 3.18.9-lunbuntu3.3 au lieu de Mint 19.3: 3.22.30-1ubuntu4
                                      The function gtk_menu_popup_at_pointer was introduced in GTK+ 3.22
                                      The function gtk_scrolled_window_set_max_content_height was introduced in GTK+ 3.22

                                      Do you know when the GTK version will be upgraded ?

                                      Have a nice day
                                      Pulsar33

                                      screenshot20210909_130249741.png

                                      Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                      Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                      Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

                                      dobeyD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • dobeyD Offline
                                        dobey @Pulsar33
                                        last edited by

                                        @pulsar33 said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                                        Do you know when the GTK version will be upgraded ?

                                        We will not be maintaining GTK+ packages ourselves. What is available in Libertine is what is in the Ubuntu 16.04 archives. If you need a newer/different GTK+ version, then you should build it yourself. When 20.04 based images are available and Libertine is working there, then you'll be able to use whatever is in the 20.04 repos.

                                        In the future, flatpak support may be added as well however, which may solve this specific issue, as any flatpak app could depend on a specific runtime for the version of GTK+ or GNOME libs needed, for example.

                                        However, when specifically any of these things may happen is not set in stone.

                                        Pulsar33P 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • Pulsar33P Offline
                                          Pulsar33 @dobey
                                          last edited by

                                          @dobey : Thank you once more for your answer.
                                          Ok, I will live with(out) it :beaming_face_with_smiling_eyes:
                                          BR
                                          Pulsar33

                                          Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                          Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                          Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

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                                          • Pulsar33P Offline
                                            Pulsar33
                                            last edited by Pulsar33

                                            Same application more "convergence friendly" and in Windowed Mode
                                            Nice day to all
                                            Pulsar33

                                            screenshot20210913_085539853.png

                                            Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                            Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                            Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

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                                            • Pulsar33P Offline
                                              Pulsar33 @dobey
                                              last edited by

                                              @dobey said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                                              @pulsar33 said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                                              Does anyone know what to do to solve this please ?

                                              Sounds like an issue, which would be good to report at https://gitlab.com/ubports/core/libertine/-/issues

                                              @pulsar33 said in Running desktop applications on UBTouch:

                                              @dobey Thank you
                                              Done : https://gitlab.com/ubports/core/libertine/-/issues/113
                                              BR
                                              Pulsar33

                                              As far as I see, nobody is assigned to the 17 issues opened (the oldest is 3 years old). Can someone tell something about that situation ?

                                              BR
                                              Pulsar33

                                              Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                                              Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                                              Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

                                              dobeyD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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