Internet Tablet OS

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Internet Tablet OS

Screenshot of OS2008
Website www.maemo.org
Company/
developer		 Nokia's maemo project
OS family Linux
Source model Largely open source with closed source components
Latest stable release 4.0.1 / OS2008 2.2007.51-3 / February 21, 2008 (2008-02-21); 113 days ago
Marketing target Nokia Internet Tablets
Available language(s) Multilingual
Update method APT and Flashing
Package manager dpkg
Supported platforms ARM
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
Default user interface Hildon UI

Internet Tablet OS (abbreviated ITOS by the community) is an operating system for the Nokia Internet Tablet line of handheld computers. It is often referred to as "maemo", in reference to the name of the Nokia-sponsored maemo project that oversees its development.

Internet Tablet OS is similar to many handheld operating systems, and provides a "Home" screen—the central point from which all applications and settings are accessed. The Home Screen is divided into areas for launching applications, a menu bar, and a large customisable area that can display information such as an RSS reader, Internet radio player, and Google search box for example.

Internet Tablet OS is based on Debian GNU/Linux and draws much of its GUI, frameworks, and libraries from the GNOME project. It uses the Matchbox window manager, and like Ubuntu Mobile, it uses the GTK-based Hildon as its GUI and application framework.

Contents

[edit] Usage

The Internet Tablet OS's default screen is the "Home" screen—the central point from which all applications and settings are accessed. The Home Screen is divided into the following areas:

  • Vertically down the left hand side of the screen is the Taskbar, with applets for the web browser, communications, and application menu by default, but these can be using third party plugins (to provide a favorites menu, or a command menu, for example).
  • Horizontally across the top left half is the Menubar, which shows the application name and window title and gives access to the application's menu (which contains the typical, File, Edit, View, Tools, etc menus as submenus)
  • Horizontally across the top right half is the Statusbar, containing icons such as battery life, wireless connection, volume, Bluetooth, and brightness by default, but these can be expanded using third party plugins in the same manner as the Taskbar.
  • The remaining large are of the display contains Home applets (roughly analogous to Apple's Dashboard widgets), which can display data as well as being a shortcut to applications. These include an RSS reader, Internet radio player, Google search box and contact list by default, but can also be expanded with third party plugins.

The interface uses either the touch screen, or a directional pad and select button, with separate back, menu, and home buttons. It is capable of two modes of text input: handwriting recognition, and two different sizes of onscreen keyboard, as well as hardware keyboard input with the N810 and N810 WiMAX Editon.[1]

The Internet Tablet OS provides the Mozilla-based MicroB web-browser with complete Adobe Flash support, which can operate over a wireless connection. It supports an 800x480 display resolution, so many web pages can be viewed without horizontal scrolling. It can automatically connect to known wireless networks and download RSS feeds and email and disconnect automatically without user intervention.[2]

Software is all installed or uninstalled using the Application manager. Users can subscribe to different software repositories which can then be used to automatically keep software up to date. The Application manager also provides an overview of everything currently installed on the system. Data can be synchronized with a PC via a USB connection, and the users files can be accessed using the standard Removable Storage Device protocol.[2]

[edit] Features

[edit] Updating

Internet Tablet OS devices can be updated using a simple flashing method with a computer over USB. This is done by turning off the tablet, connecting it to a computer with a USB cable, starting the flashing software, then turning on the tablet which will enter a flashing mode and beginning writing the firmware image from the computer.[3] Future releases of Internet Tablet OS will support "Seamless Software Update" (SSU) to allow incremental operating system upgrades "over the air" using APT without the need for a full flash with every update.[4] Flashing will remain available a way to start over from scratch with a clean install (much like formating your hard drive and reinstalling your OS on a PC).[5]

[edit] Security

The quick start guide for developers warns that Internet Tablet OS security concentrates on preventing remote attacks (e.g. by wireless networking and Bluetooth). In particular, it warns that Internet Tablet OS makes use of a root account, but has a trivial default password.[citation needed]

Independent of the root password, Internet Tablet OS provides a way to lock the device's controls and display with a numeric access code to help prevent casual access.[6]

[edit] Components

Internet Tablet OS is a modified version of Debian GNU/Linux slimmed down for mobile devices.[citation needed] It uses an X Window System-based graphical user interface using Xomap and the Matchbox window manager.[citation needed] The GUI uses the GTK+ toolkit and Hildon user interface widgets and API.[citation needed]

BusyBox, a software package for embedded and mobile devices, replaces the GNU Core Utilities used in Debian-proper to reduce memory usage and storage requirements (at the expense of some functionality).[7]

ESD is used as the primary sound server, and GStreamer is used by the shipped media player to play back sounds and movies. The formats supported by GStreamer can be extended by compiling GStreamer plugins in scratchbox (maemo SDK), which was done, for example, to bring Ogg support to the platform.[8] 3rd party media players can access GStreamer directly or via "osso-media-server".[citation needed]

Although Internet Tablet OS implements preemptive multitasking, the Matchbox window manager limits the screen to showing a single window at a time.

Despite being based on Linux and open source software in general, some parts of the Internet Tablet OS remain closed source. Particularly the Wifi drivers, which contain a binary blob, and some user-space stuff, like certain statusbar and taskbar applets (including the display brightness applet) and applications.[citation needed]

[edit] Software

Internet Tablet OS comes with a number of built-in applications, but additional applications can be installed from a number of sources, including various official and community software repositories and deb files through either the built-in package manager "Application manager" or apt and dpkg.

Bundled applications include the Mozilla-based MicroB browser, Macromedia Flash, Gizmo, and Skype.[9]

[edit] Third-party applications

Due in part to the free and open source nature of Linux and Internet Tablet OS, porting applications to Internet Tablet OS is a straightforward procedure. Because of this, there are many third-party applications available for the platform. Some applications are original software written specifically for Internet Tablet OS, while other applications are straight ports of existing Linux programs. Some notable software includes:

Media players: Canola (with network streaming), MPlayer

Email: Claws Mail, Modest

Office applications: Gnumeric (spreadsheet)

Instant Messaging: Pidgin

VOIP: Gizmo Project, Skype

Games: The Battle for Wesnoth

Others: FBReader (e-book reader), GPE (OpenSync compatible PIM), rdesktop (RDP remote access), Rhapsody (subscription music, US only), ScummVM (game emulator), Wayfinder (fully-featured GPS navigation software), Free42S (HP 42S calculator emulator), gPodder (podcast client), Maemo Mapper (includes GPS functionality), MaemoMyth (MythTV frontend that uses GMythStream, Monsoon HAVA (TV viewer and controller, Obscura Photo Manager, Emulator from Access (ARM based Palm emulator), Phonelink (SMS and voice caller via BT), Quiver Image Viewer, SDict Viewer (sdict-based dictionary/encyclopedia viewer), Vagalume (Last.FM player), VNC, YouAmp (music player)

[edit] Filetype support

[edit] Hardware

The Internet Tablet OS is designed for Nokia Internet Tablets, which feature very similar specifications to Nokia's high-end N-series and E-series cellphones, with TI OMAP ARM SoCs, large screens, and expandable internal storage.[10] Although the highly-optimized, hardware-specific nature of Internet Tablet OS means running all of it on non-Internet Tablet hardware would be very difficult, most of the important non-proprietary parts of the OS and some of the available 3rd party applications are actively being packaged for Debian and are available for use on other GNU/Linux distributions, which will open up a large range of other hardware options.[11]

[edit] Software Development

The development platform for the Internet Tablet OS is known as maemo.

[edit] Version history

[edit] OS2005

OS2005 Desktop
OS2005 Desktop

Shipped with the 770 in November 2005, this is the original Internet Tablet OS. It came bundled with the Opera web browser, Flash 6, basic Email and RSS clients, audio and video players, PDF and image viewers, a graphical APT front-end (dubbed simply "Application manager"), and a variety of simple games and utilities.[12]

[edit] OS2006

OS2006 showing Pimlico Dates
OS2006 showing Pimlico Dates

On May 16, 2006 Nokia announced a new version of the Internet Tablet OS[13], which was subsequentially released as a beta version for the 770 on June 9th 2006 and as a final on June 20th 2006.[14] The update featured improved performance and stability, a built-in Google Talk client, a refreshed look, and a new full-screen finger keyboard. Because of significant API and architecture changes, existing applications required recompiling. It is the last officially supported Internet Tablet OS release for the 770.

Also included was the ability to support 2GB RS-MMC cards (formatted FAT). The Linux kernel was upgraded to 2.6.16 with the associated patches for the OMAP platform. This new version uses kernel preemption for improved interactivity.

[edit] OS2007

OS2007 Desktop showing OMWeather
OS2007 Desktop showing OMWeather

OS2007 was released and bundled with the N800 on January 8th, 2007 after its announcement at the Las Vegas CES 2007 summit. It featured significant bug fixes and performance improvements in almost all areas of the OS, bringing updated versions of Opera 8 and Flash 7, an updated interface and various API and library updates.

[edit] OS2008

OS2008 Desktop
OS2008 Desktop

OS2008 was released with the N810 in November 2007, based on Linux 2.6.18, and featuring MicroB, a new Mozilla-based web browser that replaces Opera, integrated Samba file sharing and additional support for Windows Media Player Formats and H.264, improved support for USB devices,[15][16] among other incremental UI improvements (particularly in the direction of finger-friendliness).[citation needed] CPU frequency scaling (between 165MHz and 400MHz) was also implemented, which gave the N800 a 70MHz speed increase.[citation needed]

Internet Tablet OS originally shipped with the FM Tuner application "disabled". It was trivial to enable the FM tuner and add it to the home screen.[17] Shortly afterwards, the N800 application catalogue was updated to include the FM Tuner application,[18] which allowed for easy one-click installation.

[edit] Hacker Edition

Nokia's release of the N800 in January 2007 brought Internet Tablet OS 2007. OS2007 ran only on the N800 and Nokia initially had no plans to release it for the 770; however feedback from disgruntled 770 owners[19] led Nokia to release an unsupported hybrid of OS2006 and OS2007, dubbed Internet Tablet OS 2007 Hacker Edition, in February 2007.[20] OS2007HE combined the binary parts of OS2006 with most of the updated libraries and user-space applications of OS2007.

Nokia followed the release of the N810 and OS2008 in November 2007 with the OS2008 Hacker Edition for the 770 on February 14th, 2008, following a similar method to the OS2007HE release to create a hybrid between OS2006 and OS2007. The Hacker Editions allow 770 users to access the latest Internet Tablet OS releases and 3rd party software, although due to the 770's hardware limitations and the increased CPU requirements of OS2008, performance is inferior to that of OS2007 HE in most areas.[21]

[edit] Alternative desktops

In addition to the officially supported Hildon environment that comes standard on the tablets, several alternate desktop systems are available. Penguinbait, a member of the Internet Tablet Talk community, has successfully ported KDE 3[22], Openbox[23], and XFCE[24] to the N800 and N810 (the 770 is able to run an early version of the KDE port). KDE 4 is being ported at the present time.[25]

[edit] Future

 This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future software.
The content may change as the software release approaches and more information becomes available.

[edit] Diablo

Diablo is the current codename for the 3rd release of OS2008 (corresponding to maemo 4.1).[26] This release is tentatively scheduled for the second quarter of 2008. Major features include incremental operating system upgrades without reflashing ("Seamless Software Update", SSU), Modest as the default mail client, a new version of the MicroB browser with more optimizations and some interface improvements (though still based on the same Gecko release as Chinook's MicroB), and additional support for more instant messaging providers with the built-in instant messaging framework.[27][28]

SSU, in particular, is one of the most significant parts of the Diablo release, as it eliminates the flash-based upgrade system of previous Internet Tablet OS releases which required the user to completely wipe their device with each upgrade. With SSU, the user can receive "over-the-air" updates to the system live. This also decouples bundled software updates from the major system updates as was required with the flash-based method, so Nokia can release more frequent updates than before.[29]

[edit] Fremantle

Fremantle is the current codename for what is expected to become the base for OS2009 (corresponding to maemo 5.0).[26] At this point no major information is known about this software or the hardware upon which it will run. Current community speculation is that this new release will run on a Texas Instruments OMAP3 SoC and provide significant enhancements in areas of speed, 3D acceleration, and media playback.[30] The release will also bring community-supported Qt libraries alongside GTK.[31]

[edit] Harmattan

Little is known about Harmattan except for the plans to bundle officially supported Qt libraries with it.

[edit] Qt

In January 2008, Nokia began the process of acquiring Trolltech, the developer of the Qt GUI toolkit. Nokia has since announced plans for the Qt libraries to be bundled with maemo by Q4 2008, though without a platform-specific "hildonized" UI as is offered with GTK (meaning Qt applications will look different from hildonized GTK ones).[32][33] This will make porting of Qt applications to the platform easier for developers and make new applications available to users. Qt support on S60 devices will likely lead to cross-platform application sharing between the two platforms.[34][35] The announcement has met with mixed reaction in the developer community.[36][37]

[edit] Release Table

ITOS Version maemo Codename Release Release date Notes
OS2005 1.1 - 2.2005.45-1 November 2005
3.2005.51-13 December 2005
5.2006.13-7 April 2006
OS2006 2.0 Mistral 0.2006.22-21 May 2006 Beta release
1.2006.26-8 May 2006
2.1 Scirocco 2.2006.39-14 November 2006
2.2 Gregale 3.2006.49-2 January 2007
OS2007 3.0 Bora 2.2006.51-6 January 2007
3.1 3.2007.10-7 March 2007
3.2 4.2007.26-8 July 2007
4.2007.38-2 October 2007 SDHC corruption fix
OS2008 4.0 Chinook 1.2007.42-18 November 2007 (N810 only)
1.2007.42-19 November 2007 Kernel upgrade only (N810 only)
1.2007.44-4 November 2007 Beta release (N800 only)
2.2007.50-2 November 2007
2.2007.51-3 January 2008 NOLO upgrade only
4.1 Diablo - Q2 2008
OS2009 5.0 Fremantle - - Bundled community-supported Qt libraries
5.1 Harmattan - - Bundled officially-supported Qt libraries

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Register Hardware review of the N800
  2. ^ a b Ars Technica review of the N800
  3. ^ How To Flash Latest Nokia Image with Linux
  4. ^ It's Official N810 WiMAX Announced
  5. ^ Gil, Quim (2007-06-01). Nokia and maemo in the new GNOME mobile context (FLV) p. 22. Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  6. ^ Internet Tablet OS 2008 edition User Guide p. 14. Nokia (2007).
  7. ^ Abinader, Bruno (2008-04-01). Re: Systemtap testsuite report for arm architecture. systemtap mailing list. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  8. ^ maemo 4.x: Getting started with multimedia
  9. ^ Nokia N810 Specifications List of bundled applications
  10. ^ Device Specifications
  11. ^ Debian maemo packaging team
  12. ^ 770 Device Profile List of bundled applications for OS2005
  13. ^ Nokia - The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet adds Internet calls and Instant Messaging support
  14. ^ Nokia 770 Tablet "OS 2006" arrives News article on OS2006 release
  15. ^ USB in OS2008 Article on OS2008 USB support
  16. ^ USB On-The-Go Kate Alhola's Forum Nokia Blog USB On-The-Go
  17. ^ Nokia's N800 secretly packing an FM radio chip?.
  18. ^ Nokia adds FM radio to N800 Internet tablet.
  19. ^ We're getting some feedback .. and we've got a plan now Ari Jaaksi's blog post on OS2007 for 770
  20. ^ First release of OS 2007 / 770 hacker edition out Announcement of first OS2007 HE release on Carlos Guerreiro's blog
  21. ^ Internet Tablet Hacker Edition pushed at Chinook level Announcement of the first OS2008 HE release
  22. ^ KDE/Koffice Install made easy for everyone
  23. ^ OPENBOX-ROX Now Available
  24. ^ http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9678 XFCE Available
  25. ^ Why Not Skip Ahead? (KDE4 for ITs)
  26. ^ a b CodeNames. maemo.org Wiki. Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  27. ^ What do we know about Diablo (Maemo 4.1). Internet Tablet Talk forums (2008-03-09). Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  28. ^ Greene, Jonathan (2007-10-24). A not so modest update to email is coming. Featured Maemo Apps. Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  29. ^ Interview with Urho Konttori
  30. ^ What woud (sic) you realistically like to see in the N900?. Internet Tablet Talk forums (2007-10-26). Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  31. ^ Maemo LinuxTag Update
  32. ^ Qt to be supported in addition to GTK+. maemo.org Announcements (2008-04-15). Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  33. ^ Jaaksi, Ari (2008-04-14). CTIA and Qt. Ari Jaaksi's Blog. Retrieved on 28 April 2008.
  34. ^ Gil, Quim (2008-01-29). Gnomes, trolls and the maemo lands. flors. Retrieved on 27 April 2008.
  35. ^ Paul, Ryan (2008-04-23). Nokia Internet Tablets get Ubuntu and Qt. Ars Technica. Retrieved on 27 April 2008.
  36. ^ van den Oever, Jos (2008-01-28). digesting the Trolltech acquisition. oever's blog. Retrieved on 27 April 2008.
  37. ^ Wilcox, Mark (2008-02-03). Trolltech, Linux, Open Source, the future?. Mark Wilcox's Forum Nokia Blog. Retrieved on 27 April 2008.

[edit] External links