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Good news everyone!

Work on the Qt 5.12 upgrade is at a point where more people can test it. Unfortunately though, there are some complications with the differences on Pinephone and Raspberry Pi devices, so it cannot be used there just yet. However, for anyone using an Android based device, it should work pretty well at this point.

To install, you should first be on the devel channel, then do the following:

mkdir -p apt/cache apt/lists
sudo mount --bind apt/lists /var/lib/apt/lists
sudo mount --bind apt/cache /var/cache/apt
sudo mount -o remount,rw /
sudo ubports-qa install xenial_-_qt-5-12

For Pinephone you will also need to add xenial_-_qt-5-12_-_wayland with ubports-qa. Devices using Android 9 base, such as VollaPhone will need to add xenial_-_qt-5-12_-_android9.

Then reboot and start testing. Please note if there are any packages removed or such by apt when performing the install. Please test all your apps as you use them, to ensure there are no crashes or such, and if there are any crashes please specify the app and action causing the crash when reporting it here.

DO NOT perform a standard system update after installing this, as it may break your device, requiring manual repair or reflashing to recover. Instead, it should be safe to simply do sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade (with the above mentioned bind mounts in place) when changes are noted in this thread below.

Thanks and enjoy!

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

How do you think, why Shuttleworth wanted to build his own device and why after few big attempts of bugfixing and porting (on Meizu) Canonical just closed the project?

Well, considering I have first-hand experience in the matters you are asking about, I know full well why things were done. You posting condescending questions on here isn't going to change the past.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

You probably don't understand what is going on the hardware manufacturing. And why Android's (lets call it) Convergence works well throw the dock stations with few gadgets?

Again you resort to condescension as your means to try and make some point, without making any point. You have no idea what other people do or do not understand, so please do not keep making such assumptions. And I have no idea what you're asking about in your query about Android here. Android doesn't officially have any "desktop mode" thing, until Android Q (10), which won't be released until later this year. If you mean Samsung's thing, it's a separate matter.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

Well, your best device for convergence is still nexus 5 (2013). I own this device. I'm trying to use it as my single daily driver. But It's pain.

Simply displaying windowed mode on an external display, is not convergence. The Nexus devices, and BQ M10 tablets, are currently the best options for having external display support (as these are the only currently supported models which have wired external display connectivity). This has very little to do with convergence. Convergence is being able to run the same shell and apps, on a broad spectrum of devices. It is not simply about having external display support on phones.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

Cmon, we still don't have copy/past option between apps.

Yes we do. It works mostly fine. There are some bugs with different toolkit options, but your being condescending and rude on here isn't going to fix them. You are welcome to make PRs to fix bugs though.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

We can't use devices even as media players, can't watch (!)480p video online, can't normally send and recive files throw (!)bluetooth protocol, can't even upload screenshots in this thread...

Again, your bitching about things on this forum is not going to fix them. The Nexus 5 has a unique bug with video playback. It works fine on other devices. All I see you doing though, is whining and acting like you are better than the few of us who are giving some of our free time to work on the project and make it better.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

It's simple user's point of view. System you are building can't download and set up maps. I have to use PC to get offline navigation. Web apps will stop working if something'll happen with network.

99% of the apps people actually use require network connectivity. Again you are acting like you know more than everyone else here. If you think you can do better, then go build your own alternative, and stop wasting our time by coming in here to insult and deride us.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

*I continue to get issues even writing this message. The keyboard or the dictionary (i'm no sure) sometimes places previous word when trying to capitalize present.

This forum is not an issue tracker. You are welcome to open issues on GitHub, but do not spam the forum with your personal opinions on every tiny annoyance you might hit while using UT.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

But then what and who this os and devices are for?

Apparently you think it is not for you, and that's fine. You are welcome to go use something else. Nobody is forcing you to use UT.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

As I can understand, you and your team coudn't yet "bring the convergency" to any new device.

You keep confusing "convergence" with "wired external screen display." They are not the same thing, and continuing to act as if they are will not make them so. The latter is only one tiny feature of the former.

@Rodrigo said in How to build UX:

Why, what's wrong?

Clearly it is you who does not understand about how hardware is manufactured, nor how software is developed. Ubuntu Touch is a community project with very few developers. If you want that to change, you are welcome to start developing, or to make donations to UBports, so that development can be funded.

If you don't like UT, and will not change your ways from being so rude, then please just install something on your device, and let us alone to make the system better, rather than having to deal with your rudeness.
Thanks.

@UniSuperBox said in Can OTA-15 be the final release including Oxide?:

Is this timeline with OTA-16 the first non-Oxide update feasible? What else do we need to consider before its removal that we can prioritize for OTA-14 and OTA-15?

Given the release schedule we're trying to keep for stable releases, I'd even say we should remove it from OTA-15 and OTA-14 could be the last one with it. It has been widely understood for a long time that oxide is deprecated and we would be removing it. If we make appropriate announcement today that it will no longer be included as of the OTA-15 release, that should be ~8 weeks if we can keep to the desired schedule.

I think that's plenty of time.

@mbzadegan Google owns Chrome, so we don't get to choose what platforms it supports.

For Chromium, the Morph browser is based on the open source engine used in Chromium, via QtWebEngine.

Neither Chromium nor Firefox support Mir as a rendering back-end, therefore they cannot run natively. Also, neither browser has a responsive UI by default, so they are not friendly on phone/tablet devices.

Even with QtWebEngine, with upstream Qt maintaining and doing the work, there are still many missing points of integration between the Chromium engine and Qt, which result in lack of WebGL, video acceleration, and camera support in our environment. Getting those solved would be far more beneficial than having Google ship a version of Chrome for UT, or other "alternate" browsers which are not installed by default. Firefox would also have many of these same issues even when it becomes possible to build a native version of it.

Once we are able to switch to using the Wayland client protocols, it will be possible to get a native build of Firefox working. However, there will still be many integration points required so that Firefox properly requests access to microphone, camera, location, etc… None of these things are trivial tasks.

@UniSuperBox said in New Launcher, edge channel.:

I'd appreciate your suggestions.

Can't you make it magically do what every individual wants on their own devices? It's just code, right?

UT itself is not tied to a specific kernel version (other than it needing to be at least 3.4).

However, devices which originally shipped with Android and have proprietary blob drivers are tied to the kernel they shipped with, due to the internal API/ABI of the kernel breaking often, so the kernel version can't just be upgraded on those devices.

On more open devices like PinePhone, Librem 5, Raspberry Pi, or PCs, where this limitation doesn't exist, the upstream linux kernel can be used, without any Android parts at all.

@prog-amateur said in [Morph Browser] Explanation about Canonical in URL:

Why Morph Browser allows redirections to Canonical servers ?

It does not. This is merely a tag for sharing ad revenue, and probably left over from the config of the old webbrowser-app when morph replaced it. You are welcome to open an issue at https://github.com/ubports/morph-browser about canonical ad revenue ID still being used in Morph.

@prog-amateur said in [Morph Browser] Explanation about Canonical in URL:

What else is sent as a telemetry from OS/app to whatever company/organization ?

There is no telemetry being sent in this case, and Canonical cannot see your search terms. It is simply a partner ID so ad revenue can be shared when you click through ads on DDG (or other search engine of your choice). There is no way for Canonical to identify you with a specific search term or ad click. All they can know is someone clicked an ad and they got $0.005 or whatever for it.

@prog-amateur said in [Morph Browser] Explanation about Canonical in URL:

Is there another browser (Firefox) please?

You are welcome to port any browser you wish to being a native app on UT. However, surely you must realize that Mozilla also has ad sharing partnerships with these search engines, and you will just see t=mozilla there instead.

@ozzelot said in New Launcher, edge channel.:

I just checked it out on my Nexus 7 and I'm not very fond of the fact that desktop apps and Ubuntu Touch apps are all mixed in with each other now. I liked each type of apps to have its own scope and also hoped for Anbox apps to get their own in the future. Also, it's not intuitive that you have to swipe/click the Ubuntu icon to get the launcher to show up in the first place, but I assume that's temporary.

It was always the intent to make legacy apps easier to access by combining them into the main apps view. If Canonical was still building Ubuntu phone and Unity8, this would have made it onto phone images almost 2 years ago.

How is it not intuitive to swipe or click on the Ubuntu logo button? This has always been the way to get to the scopes before. It is not temporary at all. It is how unity 7 works, and it's how unity8 has always worked. The only difference with the new drawer replacing the dash, is that it is not always shown, because to do so goes against the ideals of convergence.

Also, it is called the app drawer. The launcher is the small vertical bar on the left, which some also call a dock.

@johndoe said in OpenStore payment system discussion:

If we use a blockchain-based cryptocurrency, we have the inconvenience for the user to exchange the "normal" currency into a cryptocurrency.

This isn't the only "inconvenience" involved. It's also horribly inconvenient (and can be quite costly) to convert that back into whatever local currency said developer needs to use to pay for their beers. It would also lend credence to and prop up yet another inequitable system designed to transfer wealth into the hands of the few, while at the same time expending untold amounts of energy.

Integrating any payment system into the Open Store creates incredibly complex legal and financial issues for the foundation and the community. And that's without even touching on the technical issues of it.

Unfortunately, we do not live in an equitable world, so a small amount isn't the same for everyone. And if we did live in one, a payment system would be unnecessary, as we'd all have what we need to live.

So, while I agree that not having any method for devs to get paid for apps is a deterrent for many devs to build/port apps on UT, and I would be happy to get paid more when I build apps, I must disagree with any attempt to do so which only exacerbates the hurdles we already have for doing so. Pretty much anything beyond the existing Donate button in the store, falls into this problematic area, unfortunately.

OK. All the necessary PRs have been merged (there will still be more fixes to come as well though). We should have new devel channel images available for updating your devices soon.

Anyone who used ubports-qa to test the xenial_-_qt-5-12 and related branches should reset their devices by flashing again with the installer, or switching to rc channel in settings to get a full flash. Those branches are no longer valid. There's still a little rebase work needed for mainline and possibly android9 devices, but should be done soon.

@Leppa said in Ubuntu Touch Q&A 52 Saturday 15th June @ 19:00 UTC:

Are there any plans - ongoing or not - to upgrade Halium-'s base to android 9? If not, what would have to be done to do so?

This has been asked/answered many times in different forms. Short answer is yes, we want to support newer devices that are android 8+ based. There is a project called hidl to help enable this. However, immediate priority is stabilizing the system and getting some things updated to latest versions, so it's easier to keep things stable going forward. Supporting new devices doesn't really help with that, and makes it more difficult, since there's more devices to test on, so it's a bit on the backlog at the moment.

@Flohack I think Huawei doesn't have much to worry about. They are the market leader in China.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/huawei-2018-sales-surged-100bn-pressure-190329055050536.html

@pparent said in Not enough free space in /var/cache/apt/archives:

Can you explain what is insecure about "legacy packaging" (i.e apt ), and why it would be more insecure on the phone than it is on a laptop or a server?

It is not truly secure on a laptop or server either. It has nothing to do with the device. With dpkg you are giving anyone who creates a package root access to your system, when you install that package.

As I've said many times before, phones are not PCs, and UT is not a traditional PC Linux distro. As @advocatux you are of course welcome to do whatever you want to your own device, with UT on it (it's yours, and UT is open source), but UT is not designed or built in this manner, and any changes you make are your own responsibility, and if installing updates break that (they will at some point), you will have deal with it yourself. If what you want is a traditional Linux distro on hardware that looks like a phone, there are other distributions working more towards that goal, such as postmarket OS. However, we are attempting to build a system usable for phones here, which is secure.

Well, for what it's worth, I just purchased a Pebble Time for myself, to help debug such bluetooth issues on UT.

@doniks said in Ubuntu Touch Q&A 58 Is This Saturday 7th Of September At 19:00 UTC:

Could xmir be reverted to not open a new window for every menu?

I've just made a PR to include the workaround as default behavior for now: https://github.com/ubports/libertine/pull/60

No, it is not broken, but one must create a native app to use it.

It won't be usable in browser anytime soon, because QtWebEngine developers are not working on replacing the multimedia support and camera access from Chromium with QtMultimedia/QtCamera back-ends, and Android devices do not use v4l.

However, assuming trust prompt support gets fixed for Wayland, and the browser asks for permissions to use camera/mic, then on devices using upstream Linux kernel such as Pinephone and Librem 5, should be able to have working video chat in browser, since those devices should expose the camera through v4l.

Everyone would obviously vote for fast. But we already have that, so why are they not just using the devel channel?

We don't need faster (or slower) releases. We need verifiable releases. Once a month for stable channel is plenty fast enough a cadence, and we could do interim security fix releases if necessary. If you're on stable, that's plenty fast for releases, and people who want faster can switch to rc, or even devel. System updates being released too often on stable channel just makes the product seem immature, while not enough updates makes it look unmaintained. We need to find the happy medium there.

But if we can't verify the reliability of the software, any release cadence is going to be problematic.

@poVoq said in Ubuntu Touch Q&A 64 Saturday 30th Of November At 19:00 UTC:

GPU accelleration and webgl support in the browser and qtwebview is being worked on?

This has been answered many times already. The problem is that QtWebEngine does not have a mirclient backend (and only very recently got working Wayland support).

When upstream QtWebEngine has full support for Wayland and codec handling through system GStreamer, and Wayland is working fully in new Mir/Unity8, then full acceleration and webgl should be possible. But not before then.

@potet It's one of these two: https://www.umax.cz/type-c-adaptery/

@Giiba There are already other things not working in QtWebEngine which were working in Oxide that we know of; camera, mic, webgl, hw audio/video decoding, and probably a few other integration points.

However, Oxide is years old, unmaintained, and has known security holes which have been patched in newer versions of Chromium that QtWebEngine is based on. If we keep Oxide in the rootfs and people keep making webapps that use it, we'll never be able to get rid of it. We need to get it out and free up the space, and also get it removed from the realm of concern for developers.

If there are things that worked with Ubuntu.Web import when it was using Oxide, that don't when using Morph.Web with QtWebEngine, then let's get those differences documented in open issues against morph-browser on GitHub, rather than spending our time discussing it here, so appropriate people can maybe look into how those can be resolved.

If you really need a webapp using oxide, you can probably repackage a click to include the oxide components, as a temporary solution until your issues can be resolved in Morph/QtWebEngine. No, it's not ideal, but we need to move Ubuntu Touch forward, rather than to keep slowly stepping sideways with it.