0.7.1

New version is already out in extras-devel (or at least it is in autobuilder, on the way to the extras-devel). There is no any major changes in it, but now it works with Pr 1.3. There may be some slowness in startup of the app and I will work with that problem at the moment, so be patient.

PyKake 0.7 and pr 1.3

Yeah, new version of pyKake was released yesterday and Nokias Pr 1.3 was released today (I finded it out after I reflashed to 1.2). Guess what? They don't match to each others :P Yeah that's right, you can test it by yourself (from extras-devel). That nasty post-remove bug I told last evening is fixed, but now I had to find out how to fix the current problem. I think it's because PyQt4 is made for Qt4.6 and with Pr 1.3 brings Qt4.7, so hopefully all what is need to do is just change PyQt4 to PySide (Nokias own version of PyQt4) and that's it - hopefully.

Nothing more at this time :)

PyKake version 0.7 is out!

Finally it is  here, it toke me more time than I assumed, but now it is ready! The hart of new version is the new and better Qt based UI (and most of the functionality is also rewritten with Qt too). The new GUI is a final for version 1.0, so it will stay pretty much same as it is now in the future releases. And as I already write, the most of the functionality is also rewritten with help of Qt (and that was one of the main reasons for the delay).

In version 0.7 is more code that there was previously, but less dependencies which can get broken in third party updates (so possibility for dependency error is smaller than it was previously). But in other hand, this also means so called "fresh install", even if you update, the app will act as in first start (reason is changes in configure system), so in updates or re-installs, you will lose your settings and the app will act like it is the first run (but reboot is not needed, hopefully).

Short update

Hello for you, I'm really sorry I can't announce that pyKake 0.7 is ready. My life has been pretty hectic in last few weeks and I have used almost all my free-time to get some rest. But the change is coming and after next weekend I hope that I have enough time (and power) to finish version 0.7 (before it becomes new pr 1.2 or Duke Nukem Forever). So, if everything goes as I have planned, there will be new version to test at the end of next week - or at least in the beginning of next after it. At least I hope that it will take little less time to get version 0.7 than was needed with DNF (I can't believe that it's really coming!).

Then about pyKake, I have decide that these are the last moments for you to affect what there will be in pyKake 1.0. So if you have some features in your mind and you can't find it from the following list , please post it as a comment, because the version 0.8 will be the last version (before version 1.x) with new functions (addons). After it, I will aim to 1.0, and that will only include code polishing, fixing and minor changes (if needed), but nothing major. So basically versions 0.8.x-0.9.x will be short time RCs, in the Extras-Devel, mainly for myself (and fast testers).

Qt gui for pyKake is now (mostly) ready!

I have banged my head to the wall few last weeks with Qt. This is not because it is stupid (all but that), but because I weren't familiar with it - and of course, because I wanted to write everything by myself, not with QtDesigner. But now it is time to say, the gui (for version 0.7) is now pretty much ready. All there is left to do now is little cleaning (simplification) to the code and transfer the functionally from old GTK pyKake to new Qt pyKake. The transfering old code to new will probably take some extra time (because I need to Qtlize some functions) but I think the hardest part is now done (don't tell me I'm wrong).

So, after the break, I will show off the screenshots of dummy gui (its almost totally non-functionnally at the moment).

State of pyKake vol. 2

I haven't had much time to work with pyKake since the spring, but in last few weeks I crabbed my self from the neck and started again. As you may know, the current version of pyKake is 0.6 and it is in extras-testing (Maemo.org), hoping to get enough testers to get the way to Extras. But happy news for anyone intrested, the next version 0.7 is coming - slow, but it might catch the extras-devel in few weeks. 

Originally I was planning that the next version will be the 1.0, but again some nice ideas about new features popped up and it will take some more time to check the possibilities, find the way and get them rock and rolling in the app. That is why I decide to rise it at the step by step instead of main jump to the 1.0. Of course I could do that anyway, but in the other hand, that would be stupid because then it wouldn't be ready, missing those features that are coming.

0.7 will include some major changes, most important part of it will be the GUI, which is no longer GTK/Hildon, instead it will be Qt (as I was planning at the begining, but then leaved it out, because the legendary delay of Pr 1.2) and instead of multiple stacked windows, there will be only one tabbed window, which could might be a fullscreen too. Main reason for new GUI is, that I wanted to learn Qt and the reason for tabs instead of stack is that I find it more handy (example now on you don't need to return back to main window to get in the differend one). 

What I have learn in last few weeks is, that there is good and bad things in this move to Qt. Good things is that I learn Qt (of course), bad thing is, that I had to rewrite most of the code, which will take some time. Of course, I could use Qt Designer and pyuic to generate the Ui without write a single line of code, but the thing is I want to learn it and the best way to learn something is to do it by yourself. Still, maybe in the future, when I work with some new app, I will do the magic with Designer, but for now, it is not easier but the better way to do it myself. 

The graphical outfit will also change, because there is some nasty bug in Qt-Hildon interaction that cause some ugly buttons like you can see in next image:

 The basic mode view in Qt.

 

Yeah, as you can figure out, there should only be 2 buttons, but instead of spreading one image of button per button to cover it, Hildon-desktop just duplicates the image again and again to cover the area. To get rid of this nasty bug, I will use CSS (yes you read right, Cascading style sheet, the same thing you use to decorate the web-pages), which is one of nicest thing I have found from Qt as far, because now customizing the application is as easier than stealing the lollipop from a child (application won't cry). 

This also means, that there is possibility to create skins to application. I don't say that you can create and add own skin in the next version of pyKake (or you can, but it will be from the hard way), but probably yes, when we think about the version 1.0. So, in the next version, there will (most porbably) be only one css file for pyKake, which is sad, because it made by me, but in future, there might be more and the best part is, that you can change the style from settings and you can also create own. Or at least I hope it will be as simple as I told. But more about styling when it is current.

As you might saw from the photo, there is also a new feature, Timed photography, which is a time lapse function.  The idea was suggested by barchan in pyKakes talk.maemo.org thread. The basic idea is to automatically take photos during chosen time. Example, you can set up, that your camera will take photo every 6th minute in 2 hour period. In this mode user can choose the time period the photos are taken (or leave it empty, which means it takes photos until manual stop), amount of photos taken (or leave empty, same as previous) and the time interval for the photos. I will also add a bulb mode in this, which basically means that time lapse will take a series of bulb photos. But more about this when the version 0.7 is coming out.

There also may be some new menu entrys, but I'm not sure yet, do I move those in the later versions (time will show). One of these is a simple fixing program to fix the nasty small error created by QtIrreco. The problem is simple but annoying, and fixing it needs a little bit skills, it is that when installing QtIrreco, it will rewrite the whole lirc.config file and when doing that it changes all paths of existing remote config files from the orginal  (which is for pyKake /opt/pykake/) to /home/user/MyDoc/... and this of course causes the non-working program. There is hard way fix fit, I have explained it in here, but I think I will write up a small script to fix this just a press of button, but it needs to be written and then some serious testing before release (because it could be fatal if there is bugs in it,) so it might take to later release.

I also think about bugtracker button (which actually just takes the user to the talk.maemo.org thread but at least something). And to  help users (and myself) to solve plausible problems, I think I will also write up a some kind of logging system. Currently there is no logging system, caused by that , than when I started to write pyKake, idea was to write simple remote just to take bulb photos whit my Olympus e-420, but some how, in some reason it has grown (and I can't see the end). 

• The other features which we will, or will not see in the future versions (after 0.7) are:
• N900 as a remote flash (using the N900 cameras flash as flash :p ) from rantom in maemo.talk.org.
• Using pyKake to take series of photos with different exposure to create HDR photos by Fedmahn Kassad in maemo.talk.org.
• Translations to different languages (I can do the Finnish and English and may get the Russia and few others done by friends but rest is up to you).
• Customized css styles (when we start to work with styling, I am terirble in it, so hopefully I got some nice styles from you).
• Icons to most of function buttons, I think buttons like shutter, next, prev, zoom in, zoom out etc don't actually need a text, so I will replace them with icons in some point of development (this could already happens with 0.7 or not).

I also hope that I could get a remote configure file to Sonys remote, so I could add Sony to the list of supported cameras. So if anyone have Sony DSLR and remote control for it and knowledge or will to learn Lirc - Please made a configure file for me. To get this started, go here.

My Maemo development environment

The autum is almost here, so I think it is time to post something to here again. For that purpose, this message is the number one, I started to write this at the 8th of May, I did some edits during the June and July, but finally, I will post this to here, now the 7th of August, so it takes only 4 months to develope a blog post, but I had to say that it had been beautiful summer here at Finland (and still is, you can't say it is autumn when there is still almost 30 degrees of Celsius outside).

When I started to write pyKake, I just used the PyGTK Editor in my N900. And to create the first version of it, that was all I needed. Then, after I release the preview version of it (like I want to call that version 0.3), I find out that it was easier to edit and rewrite code in laptop and then move it to the device to test. That was nice and easy... as long as there weren't need to do multiple test in short time period. Problem was, that for every test you had to use email or mass storage mode (selected when you plug device to the computer) to get needed files into it.

So I did little research and find this nice guide how to to create SSH connection to the device, and again I was satisfied. In this point I just connect the device to computer and create a network connection to it (or basically 2 of them, because I also use the device as a mobile broadband). After this all I needed to do was to take the SFTP connection with FileZilla to it and trasfer the files.

So, in this point of code writing, I edited code with Gedit and send it to the N900 over the SFTP and then tested it (in the device), and that was pretty good way to code... Until I needed to do it multiple times in very short perioids. So I started the research again and ended up to this dynamic trio: Geany as an IDE, N900 as a testing environment and a small script to automatically upload modified source files to the device (so, I don't need to do it manually every time I save the file :P ). And the result? Well, when I edit the source and save the file, the script (if it is running) notice the modify and send the new one with the scp to the device, neat isn't it? And I had to mention, that if you use terminal plug-in of Geany to take ssh connection to the device and run the test, you got all (error) output you need in to the Geany, so it is simple to read during the coding. I like this, I like this a lot, and how you can do it buy yourself? Well, now I tell it to you, right after the jump.

State of pyKake

Haven't write here lately (infact, it is more than a month), but so much to do in not so much of time... Anyway, since last post pyKake has evolved from the version 0.3 to the new level, in version 0.5.0. There is new UI and it (should) support remotes from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax. And according that little feedback I already have got, there is successes and failures, but still, it is going on. Now it is also available from Maemo-org Extras-testing repository. Of course, this means it is not for everyone yet, but we are going in right way.

The basic functionally of program is now ready and same thing with the Graphical layout. There is still some small bugs need to fix and feedback system to add. But mainly it is ready, Hooray for that. After the break there is a small description about new pyKake (whit screenshots).

Main window

Introducing pyKake

This is my first Maemo application, written in Python with GTK library for graphical user interface and Lirc to handle infrared. It is very simple and clear with main purpose to work as infrared remote control for DSLRs. It includes remote commands for Shutter and Bulb (on and off buttons). There is also + and - buttons, but I haven't yet find them other use than change pictures in picture view (but if it is possible to remotely use focus in camera, these are probably buttons to do it), still very handy if you have connect camera to TV and go through the picture show.

I got the basic idea for this application, when I tested Shutter (by Tom Waelti), from Maemo.org, it is nice small desktop widget to remote control shutter in DSLR, but I was still missing some options, most important thing of these was Bulb. So I decide that what a heck, I can do it by myself! So I read some manuals to catch the idea of maemo programming, and borrowed the idea of Lirc from Whaelti and started to code.

Naming the program - and why it is so hard

How hard it is to come up with a nice and good name for software? I don't really know, how hard it is for others, but for me, it is very difficult. Example, lets take this blog: "The Source and Me". Ok, that's good name and there is nothing bad in it, but in reality, it is just punch of words together to try told you, what you may find here. I am not so happy about it, but it is better that it could be, so it is enough for me (at least for now). Anyway, to be honest, first I was thinking something like mySource or My life with Open Source, but those two are totally stupid ones and would move the inner idea of this blog to wrong way, so let leave the name of this blog out now. The reason why Because it is one of those relatively important parts of software development.

In software development you can invent and create a new program to made your (and others) life to be bit easier. The application can be great or poor, but that is not the first thing upcoming users sees about it. First thing what they will see is The Name of It. The name is important, because it is always the first thing you see, when you start looking a new application and it is the first thing witch will create associations about it to the user (and these associations can be good or bad). In the worst case, they will leave and let application without later interest.

Hello World!

I am 25 year old guy from East Finland. I am married, no kids. My hobbies are reading, photography, movies and I am also very interested about computers and technology. I am educated Linux specialist and I also do some software development in my freetime (usually after I got a nice idea or find something I need).

And this is my blog, where I will write up my thoughts, mostly about Open Source and devices which are linked to it. Maybe I also write about my life and send here photos (the best shots of course) too. I am not good writer, so don't wait magazine style reviews, I leave those to others. I will write about my own opinions and experiences, were they good or bad, but at least I will tell my opinion about it to everyone. Other thing, what you may find someday from here is some step by step tutorials and tips, but I don't promise anything at now.

One of reasons why I created this blog was also, that I like to write code and create applications at time to time (specially after I bought my N900 Maemo device at last year), so I got this idea to write up my ideas and introduce (and share the status of) my projects. So basically, this blog will also work as a introducing place and public documentation point for my projects and to keep followers up with the current status of them. This is also one of the ways where you can give me feedback about them, fill the wishlist and participate in it.

One more thing about me, I am Linux specialist, with a good coding experience, and reader should always remember that. I don't have nothing against Microsoft, I love to play games (without fighting with Wine) and I will purchase Window 7 in future, I just don't need their products in my everyday life so I won't speak about it a much (maybe it will change when I get the seven ;) ). Then the other one, Apple. I don't like it at all (in fact I hate it), because I don't share their Ideology. In fact, I think it is big pile of overpriced rubbish with shiny outfit and only thing why it still sell is the charisma of Steve Jobs. You will probably read more my opinions about Apple in someday. Now, this was just a warning, in case of need.

The keywords for the future of this blog will be Maemo, Meego (maybe) and Python.