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Re: The move to snaps

 


Suddenly everything is clear... I was wondering what kernel feature we were talking about which was not available on any of the phones, but might allow the M10 tablet to be supported... if that feature were actually "armv8" ie, 64 bit instruction set/kernel... then it would exclude every device except the M10 tablet.

On 13/01/17 11:42, padraic stack wrote:
Hi Lukasz,

"
With the switch to snaps we also made a decision to switch our target architecture from armhf to arm64"

That's interesting. I don't know much at all about the different arm variants. I have been reading a little about it since your post.

I wonder if you could comment on why the move to arm64 is beneficial? I get that arm64 is technically better than the 32bit version but are there other benefits?

For anyone else interested these are articles I found useful:

https://arc.applause.com/cards/arm-64-bit-processors-future-mobile/
http://www.androidauthority.com/arms-64-bit-architecture-is-good-for-developers-407346/

All the best,

Padraic


On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 9:03 AM, Lukasz Zemczak <lukasz.zemczak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lukasz.zemczak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:

    Hey!

    With the switch to snaps we also made a decision to switch our target
    architecture from armhf to arm64, which is another big complication
    for some of our existing phones on the market. For now we are focusing
    all our touch efforts on the M10 platform family.

    Cheers,


    On 10 January 2017 at 08:08, Fabio Colella <fcole90@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
    > Hi,
    > you can find the requirements here:
    > https://github.com/snapcore/snapd/wiki/Distributions
    <https://github.com/snapcore/snapd/wiki/Distributions>
    >
    > Cheers,
    > Fabio
    >
    > On 10 January 2017 at 05:14, Kirk Turner <gameldar@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
    >>
    >> Thanks for responding. My phone has only just arrived back in
    China so I
    >> still have a day or so before I find out what is happening!
    >>
    >> I was really enjoying my phone before it died. But if it isn't
    going to be
    >> compatible with snaps then I'm sorely tempted to find something
    that will be
    >> so I can tinker with UT in the future.
    >>
    >> I guess my question now is what is the base requirements that
    are needed
    >> for snaps? Searching through the snaps requirements I can't
    find this
    >> anywhere (and perhaps I need to ask on the snapcraft mailing
    list instead -
    >> although there was a question back in December basically asking
    that with no
    >> reply). However for example Docker lists it's minimum as kernel
    version as
    >> 3.10.
    >>
    >> The Meizu Pro 5 has a kernel version of 3.10. BQ Aquaris E5 is
    3.4, while
    >> the M10 source is up to 3.18 (as is the LG V20 for example for
    a newly
    >> released phone). The interesting thing is something like the
    Moto G4 is
    >> rolling out Nougat - but it hasn't updated the kernel version
    (it is still
    >> on 3.10) - so that potentially answers my question about
    whether the FlymeOS
    >> update coming this year would result in the potential to
    support snaps.
    >>
    >> On 10 January 2017 at 01:48, Seth Ciango
    <seth.ciango@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
    >>>
    >>> "Contributions aren't just limited to code. One of the things
    we've
    >>> always said from the beginning of Ubuntu is that all
    contributions are
    >>> valuable. It's not just the code contributions. The
    translations and
    >>> documentation and advocacy and events and asking and answering
    questions are
    >>> all valued just as much as code contributions." --Jane Silber
    >>>
    >>> Unfortunately for Kirk, getting a straight answer out of
    Canonical seems
    >>> impossible right now. I think he and many other people would
    be content with
    >>> an honest, "I don't know. We're not certain right now." I hope the
    >>> communication improves soon. I understand that some people may
    not be
    >>> allowed to answer certain questions at the moment.
    >>>
    >>> However, Kirk bought a $300+ phone and is wondering if he
    should keep it
    >>> or get a refund. So his inquiry is perhaps a little more time
    sensitive for
    >>> him, and I'm surprised that no one has responded.
    >>>
    >>> Well, Kirk, I have not seen anybody confirm that the Meizu Pro
    5 will
    >>> receive any meaningful updates in the future. It is a
    beautiful phone, but
    >>> it may not be fully functional for you and may never become
    your daily
    >>> driver. The bluetooth headset functionality does not work. It
    is fine for
    >>> listening to music but not for taking calls. If you are ok
    with that and
    >>> just want to tinker, then you'll be fine. If you want the
    phone to replace
    >>> your current phone as your daily driver, you may want a refund.
    >>>
    >>> This bug report will give you more information on the
    headphone issue:
    >>>
    https://bugs.launchpad.net/canonical-devices-system-image/+bug/1590844
    <https://bugs.launchpad.net/canonical-devices-system-image/+bug/1590844>
    >>>
    >>> As you can see, the bug and the contributors have been
    abandoned and
    >>> there is no indication that the bug will ever be resolved or
    even worked on.
    >>>
    >>> If the Meizu Pro 5 receives a snap-based distro upgrade, there
    is a good
    >>> chance that the bug and many other bugs will be resolved by
    the newer kernel
    >>> and newer software. As of right now, it looks like the
    programmers' hands
    >>> are tied, and they can not fix such a critical bug.
    >>>
    >>>
    >>> On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 6:10 AM, Kirk Turner
    <gameldar@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:gameldar@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
    >>>>
    >>>> I'm certainly interested to know what that state will be with
    the Meizu
    >>>> Pro 5... as I'm in the interesting position that I might get
    to choose in
    >>>> the next few days whether I get a replacement Pro 5 or a
    refund for mine
    >>>> which died a month after I bought it. I got a Flyme OS one
    and it was going
    >>>> to be my Christmas holiday project converting it to Ubuntu...
    but it died
    >>>> before I got the opportunity and so the Christmas project
    became tracking
    >>>> the postage back to China.
    >>>>
    >>>> I know there is talk about upgrading Flyme OS to be Nougat
    based this
    >>>> year - but would that necessarily see kernel upgrades (such
    that the phone
    >>>> will be able to run snaps)?
    >>>>
    >>>> I guess the related question is from others that have the Pro
    5 if I was
    >>>> just very unlucky or others have had hardware issues?
    Everything I've read
    >>>> suggested they a solidly built phone.
    >>>>
    >>>> Thanks,
    >>>>
    >>>> Kirk
    >>>>
    >>>> On 6 January 2017 at 01:26, Seth Ciango
    <seth.ciango@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:seth.ciango@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
    >>>>>
    >>>>> Pat,
    >>>>>
    >>>>> Could you clarify something that others keep bringing up.
    Are the
    >>>>> current BQ and Meizu devices going to be left to wither on
    the vine when a
    >>>>> Xenial image is released or will users be able to flash and
    wipe their
    >>>>> phones with a new Xenial image?
    >>>>>
    >>>>> Is there a current phone on the market that is the target
    for future
    >>>>> Xenial development?
    >>>>>
    >>>>> Is there a current phone on the market that runs a partially
    >>>>> functioning Xenial image?
    >>>>>
    >>>>> You've probably answered these questions already, but there
    still seems
    >>>>> to be some confusion since it sounds like you are saying
    that ALL current
    >>>>> Ubuntu phones are End-of-Life and that no new phones
    currently exist.
    >>>>>
    >>>>> Thanks,
    >>>>> Seth
    >>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>> On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 10:48 AM, Pat McGowan
    >>>>> <pat.mcgowan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
    <mailto:pat.mcgowan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 10:24 AM,
    <gareth.france@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:gareth.france@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
    >>>>>> wrote:
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> I would add the Unity8 desktop needs parity with
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> the current Unity7 desktop as we are also still planning
    to use
    >>>>>>>> Unity8 as the default shell in Ubuntu.
    >>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>> Thanks all for your patience
    >>>>>>>> Pat
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> Thanks for the clarity. Those few messages we have had
    stating the
    >>>>>>> current logic and plans is all that was needed to keep
    everyone happy. If we
    >>>>>>> understand what is going on then nobody begins to worry
    about the silence.
    >>>>>>> Looking forward to every bit of it except having to find
    the money to
    >>>>>>> replace my phone!!
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> Just one thing, several people have said the current
    phones won't
    >>>>>>> support the snaps but what about the M10 tablet?
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> We are working on a reference image for the M10 for
    development and
    >>>>>> testing work but this is not intended for "production" use
    at this point.
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> Pat
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> Thanks
    >>>>>>> Gareth
    >>>>>>>
    >>>>>>> --
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    >>>>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
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    >>>>>>
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>>
    >>>>>> --
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    >>>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
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    >>>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>>
    >>>>> --
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    >>>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
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    >>>>>
    >>>>
    >>>>
    >>>> --
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    >>>
    >>
    >>
    >> --
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    >
    >
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    >



    --
    Łukasz 'sil2100' Zemczak
     Foundations Team
    lukasz.zemczak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lukasz.zemczak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    www.canonical.com <http://www.canonical.com>

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--
A. James Lewis (james@xxxxxxxxxx)
"Engineering does not require science. Science helps a lot but people
built perfectly good brick walls long before they knew why cement works."


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