A survival guide to Linux and S60

Great article. It will help when we use the N900 too. But i have to ask about:

1. What about Web Bookmarks? Does the Linux version of Mozilla Firefox sync with the S60?

2. About the photos,correct me if am wrong: when you sync your E55 with Ovi Photos application (on Windows) and Photos application (on E55) you dont lose your tags. It sync too.

3. Can you receive calls or SMS in Linux when the device is connected to the Computer?

Regards

Wow - that's all really interesting David - you've worked hard to find a comprehensive set of apps to workaround just about any problem that'll throw itself up from this kind of radical change. (On the day that my Windows 7 pack arrives!!) Not sure if I'm brave enough to move away from tried and trusted methods personally, but it'd be great to get hold of a (cheap as chips) Linux netbook and try all this stuff out. Nice article.

Tim

Hello,

nice article. I�ve made the transition a couple of years ago and i am still very happy. Especially as i sat in train last week and discovered that via some simple commands (i am sorry here, yes you have to use the terminal) you can set up your phone as an bluetooth modem to access the internet via 3g. Here is how it is done:

- First you have to couple your pc with your phone. This is Done via the Bluetooth Applet on your Ubuntu Desktop.
- Now open up an terminal and search for the address of your bluetooth device (if you not have it already). XX:XX...... is your Address
loki@my-desktop:~$ hcitool scan
Scanning ...
XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX MyPhone

- We need the channel to use for our dial-up connection. We find it like this:
sdptool browse XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
...
Profile Descriptor List:
"Imaging" (0x111a)
Version: 0x0100

Service Name: Dial-Up Networking <---- bluetooth service Dial Up Networking!
Service RecHandle: 0x10007
Service Class ID List:
"Dialup Networking" (0x1103)
Protocol Descriptor List:
"L2CAP" (0x0100)
"RFCOMM" (0x0003)
Channel: 3 <---- channel 3!
...

- We use our Device address (XX:XX......) and the channel we found to set up a rfcomm modem now.
sudo rfcomm connect /dev/rfcomm0 XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX 3

And thats it. Your ready to go. So you don�t have to wait for the next ubuntu releases 😊 After you have done steps 1 to 3 for the first time all you need is step 4. Put it inside an script and all you have to do is run it every time you want to connect to the internet. Configuring your provider works neatless with the networkmananger applet you use anyway because your phone is now detected as a generic 3g modem, just like you�ve connected it via usb.

Have fun, i do

i use blueman instead of default bt stack in ubuntu and tethering has become really simple

no comand line for setting up, dialing , disconnecting at all

http://blueman-project.org/

Thanks for a good article with new insights!

Apparently you have not tested using Windows with VirtualBox. If you had, you would know that it doesn't work. VirtualBox seems to have problems with USB ports. The Nokia programs do not recognize Nokia devices connected on USB ports linked to VirtualBox. BTW, I have the same issue with Garmin devices, too.

Cheers,
Jari

Have you used VirtualBox OSE Edition (wich is the standard in the ubuntu repository) or the Virtual Box dev package direct from sun? The OSE Edition dosn�t support USB connections for virtual machines. That is due to licensing issues. This is mentioned in the readme if i remember correct. But the deb version is also free to download. Have a look:

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

have fun

jarijari
Thanks for a good article with new insights!

Apparently you have not tested using Windows with VirtualBox. If you had, you would know that it doesn't work. VirtualBox seems to have problems with USB ports. The Nokia programs do not recognize Nokia devices connected on USB ports linked to VirtualBox. BTW, I have the same issue with Garmin devices, too.

Cheers,
Jari

No need to use command line Blueman is good, I think next Koala release which is due in 8 days, they have improved default bluetooth to handle A2DP audio, Dial-up out of box.
Evolution sync via Multisync remains tricky, doesnt work well .

I've been seeing a LOT of ubuntu articles recently on non-linux sites.
Seems like it's finally gaining a bit of traction.

Linux is nice and all (I know cause I use it), but it overly complex. Just look at your own article. On my Windows box I only have PC Suite and Outlook to get everything I need. I do my update via FOTA and my map downloads through direct download.

As for the 'cloud, sorry but I will trust all my data on my own PC which I can control. The Danger debacle only proves just how much I am wary about so-called 'Cloud' computing, which is just a fancy trendy word for offside servers.

I use OpenSync to back-up calendar entries. It's really easy once you've set it up and there is a GUI called multisync-gui.

Most things can be achieved on the Linux desktop exclusively apart from where a Windows-only application is required.

Good write up.

Hello everyone,
I've just seen all the comments!
I'm going to reply to everything that needs a reply, one post at a time, and I'll do as many as I have time for now. So if I don't reply to you just now, I'll catch up later today!

Ammar_Dento wrote:Great article. It will help when we use the N900 too. But i have to ask about:

Ammar_Dento wrote:1. What about Web Bookmarks? Does the Linux version of Mozilla Firefox sync with the S60?

I can't sync my bookmarks with Firefox. There are two ways to go with this though:

First - Opera Mini & Desktop sync (via the internet), so you could switch to that. I don't for two reasons. A. I think there's a lot of privacy issues with Opera. B. I find that I want to bookmarks different things on my desktop to what I bookmark on my phone.

Second - For backup's, I backup my internal memory to my memory card. So if I have to hard reset my phone, I can just restore from the memory card.

Now, say I find an interesting link on Twitter while on my phone, I'll bookmark it to S60 Web. Then, from Web bookmark page, I will tick all the bookmarks I'm interested in and use the Send option to email them to myself. Then they're there waiting for me when I get back to the laptop.

Ammar_Dento wrote:2. About the photos,correct me if am wrong: when you sync your E55 with Ovi Photos application (on Windows) and Photos application (on E55) you dont lose your tags. It sync too.

This is analogous to having a music library set up on your computer, but without having any ID3 tags in your MP3 files.

So, I prefer to use F-Spot to embed all the data I want to store about an image inside each image's EXIF tag. That way, I am never stuck with using a particular photo managing system. (Which is important with F-Spot seeing as there isn't a Windows version of it.)

Ammar_Dento wrote:3. Can you receive calls or SMS in Linux when the device is connected to the Computer?

Ammar_Dento wrote:Regards

Unregistered wrote:Hello,

nice article. I�ve made the transition a couple of years ago and i am still very happy. Especially as i sat in train last week and discovered that via some simple commands (i am sorry here, yes you have to use the terminal) you can set up your phone as an bluetooth modem to access the internet via 3g. Here is how it is done:...

Hi, I found the same instructions on the web (they're linked in the article). I hadn't tried it before, but tested it especially for this article. It works, although I wouldn't use that method for backing up the internet memory, as Bluetooth file browsing is a bit slow. Although if you absolutely have to do it, it's great that it's possible.

Unregistered wrote:i use blueman instead of default bt stack in ubuntu and tethering has become really simple

no comand line for setting up, dialing , disconnecting at all

http://blueman-project.org/

That's something I didn't know about!
Thank you 😊

jarijari wrote:Thanks for a good article with new insights!

Apparently you have not tested using Windows with VirtualBox. If you had, you would know that it doesn't work. VirtualBox seems to have problems with USB ports. The Nokia programs do not recognize Nokia devices connected on USB ports linked to VirtualBox. BTW, I have the same issue with Garmin devices, too.

Cheers,
Jari

Hi Jari,
I did test it, honestly 😊 Like the unregistered poster said, perhaps you were trying the Open Source Edition (OSE) ? I fell into that trap at first.

I initially installed VirtualBox via the Ubuntu repositories, and found that I couldn't set up any USB filters. A little more research on my part showed that there is a version of VirtualBox with closed source drivers (inc. USB), which you could download as a .deb installer from their website.

After doing this I didn't have any problem. Here is a list of the tests I successfully performed with PC Suite et al via VirtualBox:

• File Transfer
• Reading Contacts & Calendar
• Reading SMS
• Sending SMS
• Updating the Maps app
• Installing Maps
• Backing up Internal memory
• Using Firmware updater to read my firmware version

I haven't tried doing a full firmware flash, because I didn't need to update anything. The only thing that I tried unsuccessfully was restoring my internal memory from a backup. Given the amount of things that did work, I find it hard to believe that restoring the internal memory was a USB via VM issue.

Unregistered wrote:Linux is nice and all (I know cause I use it), but it overly complex. Just look at your own article. On my Windows box I only have PC Suite and Outlook to get everything I need. I do my update via FOTA and my map downloads through direct download.

As for the 'cloud, sorry but I will trust all my data on my own PC which I can control. The Danger debacle only proves just how much I am wary about so-called 'Cloud' computing, which is just a fancy trendy word for offside servers.

Hi there 😊

I disagree on the complexity. I honestly find the Windows way of doing things to be tiresome and overly involved.

With Linux, I write an rsync script one time (which is the only technical thing you need to do), and the rest of the time I have a one-click solution to updating files between my phone and my computer. So, on a daily basis, I find the Linux way of doing things a lot simpler and less stressful than the Windows way.

As for FOTA and Maps, you and I do them the same way 😊

I understand your concern with cloud computing, and in a blog post I have coming up the week after next, I actually say "If you only have your data in the cloud, then you don't have your data". This is why I said in my article that you should only use Cloud Services that allow you to easily back up your data. Then, if you do that, you have the best of both worlds. You have the versatility of the cloud, and the redundancy of an off-line copy.

As for the Danger debacle, this is why I prefer the S60 way of not being always connected. S60 phones have their own off-line copy, you choose when to sync.

If you only have your PIM data on your desktop, you're at just as much risk, because your hard drive can fail, or you can suffer from vendor lock-in through file formats.

Dead1nside wrote:I use OpenSync to back-up calendar entries. It's really easy once you've set it up and there is a GUI called multisync-gui.

Most things can be achieved on the Linux desktop exclusively apart from where a Windows-only application is required.

Good write up.

Thanks for that.
I did come across OpenSync in my research, but didn't have time to explore it fully, So I'm glad to see someone else mention it now.

Map data can be downloaded direct a country at a time using the links on this site: http://nokiamaps.site666.info/

Much easier than using the application, and possible to do it on the move (directly from phone)

Hi there,

I've been using SuSE Linux since the SuSE 6.4. around 6 years ago. I think I could say one of the biggest problem to have is Nokia support for Linux.

1. I'm really excited about ovi suite, since it's build on the Qt, which mean linux support will be native.
2. Yes, the map... I really hate nokia map or ovi map. They should make us to be able to download map directly from handphone without computer. for example. if I went to hongkong, and somehow got a free wifi and want to download map of hongkong. It's ridicules if I need computer to do that. even if I'm at home, it's still be better for ovi map, if I can download map directly from phone.
3. ovi files. I'm really excited to backup my data over ovi files internet cloud.... unfortunately it requires me to have windows.... why on earth did nokia did that? nokia should make phone user can do everything without the need of computer.... let say it's the generation AA stuff (generation after generation 'Z'😉... phone replacing computer generation. no need computer

andyspiers wrote:Map data can be downloaded direct a country at a time using the links on this site: http://nokiamaps.site666.info/

Much easier than using the application, and possible to do it on the move (directly from phone)

That's a brilliant tip, thanks for adding it 😊

I set up sync for Calendar and Contacts via the SyncML-GUI.
It works very well, a couple of clicks and its synching. There are guides on the Net on exactly how to do this.
If I want to send some info. to my phone all I do is create a text file (e.g. with the shopping list or part numbers for Maplin etc.), right click and select 'Send to'. Up comes Obex-Push, one click and my N95 asks if I want to receive the file. It comes up as an SMS.

I once spent many hours trying to get a bluetooth dongle working in Windows XP. I had little success. In Ubuntu Jaunty I plugged in the same dongle and it worked perfectly, instantly! No messing with bluetooth stacks and all altering lots of settings as I had to do in Windows - just instant operation.
So many people fear the unfamiliar or, as I have found in several recent conversations, don't even realise that there is an alternative to Windows. I am just soooooo glad I have left Windows behind.

Thanks David, very interesting and very useful. I'm not sure I understand your comment about video conversion - I don't believe coreplayer will play a 640x480 avi at any kind of useful bitrate, so re-coding is pretty esential- I normally use ffmpeg with linux to convert to 800x352 mp4/aac for my E90. It doesn't seem to have the audio-video sync problems that many Windows apps have.

Not trying to burst everyone's bubble, but as I see it, this article only shows that if you want a good experience with your Symbian phone, don't use Ubuntu.

I'm writing this from an Ubuntu laptop and I'd love Nokia to provide some tools for us Linux users, but let's not fool ourselves: as of today using an S60 phone with Linux is a nightmare, and the article only proves it.

sicofante wrote:Not trying to burst everyone's bubble, but as I see it, this article only shows that if you want a good experience with your Symbian phone, don't use Ubuntu.

I'm writing this from an Ubuntu laptop and I'd love Nokia to provide some tools for us Linux users, but let's not fool ourselves: as of today using an S60 phone with Linux is a nightmare, and the article only proves it.

Would you be a little more specific?

I can honestly say that after having perfected my S60 set up, I honestly don't want to go back to using Windows. Compared to what I do now, PC Suite just seems cumbersome to me.

pintofale wrote:Thanks David, very interesting and very useful. I'm not sure I understand your comment about video conversion - I don't believe coreplayer will play a 640x480 avi at any kind of useful bitrate, so re-coding is pretty esential- I normally use ffmpeg with linux to convert to 800x352 mp4/aac for my E90. It doesn't seem to have the audio-video sync problems that many Windows apps have.

Hi there,
CorePlayer will play any avi encapsulated video up to 1008 pixels wide. The frame rate depends on your phone.

With my E51, things were generally okay, but there'd be an occasional stutter, and the video and audio were usually slightly out of sync. However, with my E55, I don't get any of that, and it will play any video I throw at it with ease.

davidgilson wrote:Would you be a little more specific?

You can't be seriously asking me to be more specific.

I can honestly say that after having perfected my S60 set up, I honestly don't want to go back to using Windows. Compared to what I do now, PC Suite just seems cumbersome to me.

Don't misunderstand me. I value your efforts and the information you provided. Although I was disappointed to read there were no improvements in doing what I already have done in the past years. Nokia is understandably not interested in investing money for less than 1% of the market (probably even less if they only count their own customers). Too bad, but the fact is Linux remains a bad choice for Nokia users.

sicofante wrote:Windows: install PC suite. Done.
Linux: check your own article for the long list of hurdles. You have to install a whole operating system (and pay for it about the cost of the phone itself) on a VM in order to get some of the functionality going, for crying out loud!

My article does not suggest people buy Windows especially for this. In fact, the likelihood is that people will already have a Windows disk, of which they could then take advantage. Then of course, let's put this in context, the only force-put for using Windows is to update your firmware. Some people never bother doing this, and also, newer phones can update themselves without the need of a desktop computer. So as the article said, the VM route is an absolute last resort, if you already have a disk. The only scenario where the VM route is more than an interesting option is if you have an older phone, and you absolutely need to update your firmware.

sicofante wrote:Can you honestly say an ordinary user would be willing to spend the time to "perfect" something that is trivial on Windows? Let alone having to do things in some arguable ways (I DO NOT trust "the cloud" so I'm in no way syncing online, for instance).

sicofante wrote:Don't misunderstand me. I value your efforts and the information you provided. Although I was disappointed to read there were no improvements in doing what I already have done in the past years. Nokia is understandably not interested in investing money for less than 1% of the market (probably even less if they only count their own customers). Too bad, but the fact is Linux remains a bad choice for Nokia users.

I do still stand by that using my S60 with Ubuntu has been more pleasant than using with PC Suite. With Ubuntu, I had to think for a while to set up my rsync script, but then it was one. Now, on an everyday basis, all I do is plug my phone into my Ubuntu laptop, and click the launcher for my script, and in less than a minute, my memory card is backed up, my podcasts are synchronised, and my documents are updated. I think it would take a lot more effort to do all this manually in PC Suite.

davidgilson wrote:I do still stand by that using my S60 with Ubuntu has been more pleasant than using with PC Suite. With Ubuntu, I had to think for a while to set up my rsync script, but then it was one. Now, on an everyday basis, all I do is plug my phone into my Ubuntu laptop, and click the launcher for my script, and in less than a minute, my memory card is backed up, my podcasts are synchronised, and my documents are updated. I think it would take a lot more effort to do all this manually in PC Suite.

For a computer hobbyist (and I am one of those, for sure, besides making a living on computing), Ubuntu is lovely. For getting things done in some areas, I'm afraid it asks too much from users. I believe this is such an area. But as I said, if it's a pleasure for you (and I'm sure it'll be for others) that's just great.

Now there are a few spots where Ubuntu is just better. Bluetooth works out of the box with most of the phones I've thrown at it and makes files inside the phone immediately available in Nautilus without any fuss. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like Bluetooth "tethering" in Karmic is just as easy. If only Contacts, Messages and Calendar would work like that...

sicofante wrote: If only Contacts, Messages and Calendar would work like that...

Yes, I'd like to see a more direct approach with Evolution too, and it's why I don't use Evolution -- I find it more straight forward to stick with syncing my phone with the cloud, and doing desktop work through my browser. Ubuntu has a "GnomePilot", I no longer have a Palm to test it with. Mind you, I never found desktop-PDA sync'ing all that reliable either. Back in my Windows days, I'd be trying to sync my Palm, with my phone, using Palm Desktop and something called "Mobile Master", geez it was painful!

It was actually due to that experience that I finally caught up with the times and decided to get a smartphone, i.e. converge my PDA and phone.

Talking of the cloud stuff, here's my take on it (and this is not to debate, but to clarify what the article says) -- Is that as long as I can have regular backups, I don't fear being let down, because as long as I have a local copy of my data. I can get using a new service straight away without any disastrous loss of data. As for privacy, this is pretty much why I don't use Google Calendar. You're not paying with money, so you're paying with your data. The calendar site I use is a paid service, so I know what he's getting out of it, and I just trust my data is kept private, as he'd eventually be uncovered and loose business.