Ubuntu Wiki

• Launchpad Entry: ubiquity-hildon

• Created: 2008-11-21

• Contributors: Emmet Hikory

• Packages affected: ubiquity

Summary

Ubiquity is an extremely powerful installation system, but when used within a hildon environment, does not integrate well, and some screens do not display well. Creating a front-end that used the hildon framework would more easily enable installation of Ubuntu MID.

Release Note

Ubuntu MID now releases with a hildonised Ubiquity, allowing installation from a live session with slightly lower resource requirements, and better interface optimisation for a low-resolution hildon environment.

Rationale

While Ubiquity works on MID, it mostly only works at 800x600 or better. Given the wide array of 800x480 and 640x480 hardware present, it makes sense to build a special front-end to serve this installation class without degrading the default installation environment.

Use Cases

• Installation on smaller resolution devices.

Assumptions

• There's a sufficient number of lower resolution devices in use that there is demand for this requirement.

Design

You can have subsections that better describe specific parts of the issue.

Implementation

This section should describe a plan of action (the "how") to implement the changes discussed. Could include subsections like:

UI Changes

Should cover changes required to the UI, or specific UI that is required to implement this

Code Changes

Code changes should include an overview of what needs to change, and in some cases even the specific details.

Migration

Include:

• data migration, if any
• redirects from old URLs to new ones, if any
• how users will be pointed to the new way of doing things, if necessary.

Test/Demo Plan

It's important that we are able to test new features, and demonstrate them to users. Use this section to describe a short plan that anybody can follow that demonstrates the feature is working. This can then be used during testing, and to show off after release.

This need not be added or completed until the specification is nearing beta.

Unresolved issues

This should highlight any issues that should be addressed in further specifications, and not problems with the specification itself; since any specification with problems cannot be approved.

BoF agenda and discussion

Supporting installation for smaller screens

Many components of the currnet ubiquity installation do not appear ideally during an installation at 480 vertical pixels.

Primary effort is to look at allowing increased scalability, including allowing scrolling of the instuction text when the interface would otherwise not appear complete.

Targets

• Address text layout issues (e.g. Gnome bug #101968)
• Address minimum number of lines for selection lists to allow further scaling
• Replace the map to be more scalable
• Adjust "Prepare Disk Space" to pack better
  • mpt is working on reinventing this interface, which may well fit at 480 pixels
• "Who Are You?"
  • Given the increasing number of options, probably requires a scrollbar
  • "Forward" should only be made active once the user has scrolled completely to the bottom

Plans

• Jaunty: stay with gtk_ui Jaunty+1: check how bad it is

CategorySpec