MobileAndEmbedded
Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded
The Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project aims to derive an operating system for mobile internet devices using Ubuntu as a base. Sponsored by [http://www.canonical.com Canonical] and Intel, the project has been launched at [:UDS-Sevilla] following a [https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2007-May/000289.html preliminary announcement] to the Ubuntu community.
We will extend Ubuntu by providing infrastructure for mobile development, with all of the necessary components integrated into the Ubuntu package archive, ready to install and run, or to tailor for custom mobile applications.
Work in Progress
Mailing list: http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-mobile
IRC: #ubuntu-mobile on FreeNode
Technical specifications: http://blueprints.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-mobile
- Source code:
Ubuntu branches: https://code.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-mobile/
maemo upstream code: https://code.launchpad.net/maemo
Launchpad packages: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-mobile/+packages
Preliminary Roadmap
The current focus is on mobile devices which tend to have a touch screen, generous amounts of flash storage and RAM, and wireless Internet connectivity. These are sometimes called "Internet tablets" or "mobile Internet devices".
Applications
We will be using existing open source applications where it is feasible to do so, packaging them for Ubuntu where necessary. We will fill in some of the gaps by developing new applications if nothing suitable exists. Our goal is to have a basic set of applications needed to have a useful mobile system, such as a browser, media player, system utilities, etc.
Kernel
The Ubuntu kernel team will be providing us with a suitable kernel build, and incorporating additional drivers where necessary. This development will take place in our kernel git tree in concert with the other kernel activity underway for Ubuntu 7.10.
Platforms
Our current platform targets are Intel's MID (Mobile Internet Device) platforms, code-named McCaslin and Menlow. Examples include:
Vendor |
Model |
Platform |
Samsung |
Q1 Ultra |
|
Fujitsu |
U1010 |
|
Kohjinsha |
SH6 |
|
HTC |
Shift |
|
Amtek |
U560 |
|
Elektrobit |
MIMD |
Menlow |
It's worth noting, though, that everything we produce will be available for the standard Ubuntu i386 platform as well, and anyone can play along on an Ubuntu desktop or laptop running Gutsy.
Development
We'll create a metapackage which will provide a suitable development environment: no awkward chroots should be necessary, and it should be possible to do most development directly within a GNOME environment, or with Xnest. All of the necessary development packages will be available directly from the official Ubuntu repositories.
UI Framework
We will provide a framework based on Hildon, integrated with Ubuntu as a first-class part of the package archive, using a combination of packages from the maemo repository and some snapshots from Subversion. Where we need to modify the packages, we're importing Subversion into Bazaar and maintaining a branch there, to simplify tracking upstream changes.
Several engineers from Nokia are joining in to help with this effort.
Desktop Components
We are exploring cooperation with the [http://www.gnome.org/mobile/ Gnome Mobile and Embedded] initiative to define a set of desktop-derived components which will be shared between the Ubuntu desktop and the UME platform. Our goal will be to maintain an appropriate level of code sharing and compatibility between these environments, in order to ease maintenance and provide a fertile base for application development.
Build infrastructure
We'll be using a modified toolchain in order to use different optimizations during compilation. This means we will need a new "architecture" in dpkg and friends, as well as in Launchpad.
We will also need to produce a generic preinstalled filesystem image suitable for flashing onto a mobile device for testing, or for customization for a specific platform or application.
Schedule
We are targeting our first stable release in conjunction with Ubuntu 7.10, following similar release milestones.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GutsyReleaseSchedule
Related Projects
[http://www.maemo.org/ maemo]
[http://www.gnome.org/mobile/ GNOME Mobile and Embedded Initiative]
[http://tree.celinuxforum.org/CelfPubWiki/FrontPage CE Linux Forum] (being merged to elinux.org)
[http://new.elinux.org Embedded Linux Wiki]