@Danbradford7 said in Port to generic x86:

18.04 is missing basic functionality like the browser and store, and the script has dependency issues on 16.04. Am I missing something?

For now, Unity8 for the 18.04 (bionic) desktop is in early alpha, and nowhere near ready for daily use. Also, problems installing Unity8 on 16.04 (xenial) are known. See Unity8 Issue #64

Ubuntu touch on the Surface would be incredible!

Yep, like you, I'm eager to have Unity8 working on the desktop. My thinking is that many will want to try Unity8 on the desktop first, and if they like what they see on the desktop, they'll be more likely to install UT on a phone. That is, having Unity8 on the desktop could serve as a great way to market UT on phones.

However, for now, UBports is (rightfully) focusing on phones, including updating Unity8 to work with the latest version of Mir and adding full Wayland support. That work should be transferable to the x86_64 desktop. So my hope (as a non-developer bystander) is that, if things go well, a usable version of Unity8 will be installable on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS desktops sometime next year.

You probably already plan to discuss this, but if not:

I hope that you'll please comment on your progress (and setbacks, if any) with 64-bit builds of UT, especially 64-bit builds of UT for the PinePhone.

For those interested, more info can be found on LWN.net and Ars Technica.

From the article:

The idea proposed by Google engineers is to build an interface in the Linux kernel that would allow proprietary device drivers to run as plug-in modules, so no modifications to the kernel itself are needed. In simple terms, it would bring the modularity of Project Treble to regular Linux.

Could this be of help to UBports?

@Aury88 said in Volla Kickstarter:

hope they will have success!

Volla already have to make some change on halium/libhybris to support the newer Android base (9) on the GS290, so their work could help other porting in others new devices.

I, too, wish Volla success. And listening to Ubuntu Touch Q&A 63, it seems that Volla has had some success porting UT to run on an Android 9 phone (presumably the Gigaset GS290) using a modified libhybris. However, I didn't hear any commitment from Volla regarding releasing to the community the needed libhybris modifications. Did I miss something?

@Lakotaubp said in PinePhone:

On those figures, just let it sink in for a bit. Minimum 10k, conservative 40-50k alternative OS phones arriving next year. There will be a lot of interest out there, and we would want UT naturally to be a major part of that figure OS wise. We have very exciting times ahead.

With these numbers in mind, I hope that, at least in the near term, the highest priority at UBports will be bringing the best possible product to the PinePhone, which will be a great platform for showcasing UT and its capabilities.

It was mentioned during Q&A 61 that work is already under way to bring an arm64 build and full Wayland support to PinePhones. Which is great! Once that work is nearer to completion, I hope that preparations will begin for rebasing the PinePhone build from xenial to focal, the next Ubuntu LTS.

@Pookie said in Volla Kickstarter:

So they ask you 359 euros to have in one year a phone that is available right now for 270.

I'm skeptical of the Volla Phone. That said...

IF a substantial portion of the extra 89 euros charged per phone for the Volla Phone over the Gigaset GS290 were donated to support UT and/or libhybris/halium development, then sure, maybe an extra 89 euros would be justifiable.

But I'm guessing that the conditional "IF" won't be met. And if not met, I don't see what sets the Volla Phone apart from numerous Android phones that could be ported.

I'll be interested to learn more about Volla during Q&A 63.

According to the Volla kickstarter page, Volla will partner with Gigaset to manufacture the Volla Phone.

In what ways will the hardware for the Volla Phone differ from phones currently available from Gigaset, such as the less expensive Gigaset GS290?

@hummlbach said in Ubuntu Touch Q&A 63 This Saturday 16th Of November At 19:00 UTC:

the good thing here may be, that volla lays or pays the halium ground work to support a newer android version.

Sure, if Volla does the work to upgrade libhybris/halium (or at least financially supports such work), then viva la Volla!

But if that's not Volla's plan, I'd suggest that, at least for now, UBports should focus on bringing the best possible product to the PinePhone and/or the Librem 5, which would be better platforms for showcasing UT to the general public. Hopefully by the time that UT is in a good state on the PinePhone and/or the Librem 5, libhybris/halium will have caught up, allowing for easier porting to newer (Android 10+) off-the-shelf Android phones (or better still, installing UT as a Generic System Images (GSI) on such off-the-shelf phones, if feasible).

@dobey said in Ubuntu Touch Q&A 63 This Saturday 16th Of November At 19:00 UTC:

This has already been answered and no, hybris (and thus android) is not required for PinePhone, Librem 5, or Raspberry Pi images (nor on x86 PCs).

Thanks! And yep, I thought that libhybris was unneeded for running UT on the PinePhone (and the Librem 5), but I wasn't sure.

I hope that, during the Q&A, my question regarding whether libhybris will be needed for running UT on the Volla Phone will be answered. (If the Volla Phone does require libhybris, I don't see what sets it apart from numerous higher performance (and lower cost) Android phones that also could be ported.)