MiniMo: First Mozilla build for Win Mob!

[tcdk]

Doug Turner has just released his first build of MiniMo for PPC.

You can find his post about it on news://news.mozilla.org in the netscape.public.mozilla.small-devices forum <news://news.mozilla.org:119/[email protected]>

Here are a few quotes:

The binary is 3.8MB compressed not including security. To run the build I have, you need about 5mb of memory to display www.google.com

..
Another thing you will notice is the UI for the application is terrible. I really need your input and windows ce coding skills here.

..
You can download a sneak peak at this build here: http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.002.zip . Keep in mind, it is basically the second build that I made that actually rendered a page successfully. When you check it out, remember I told you: Lots of work to do; Lots of work to do.

..
Please let me know what you think and sign up for work if you can. we can't make this happen without you.


I have to add: Please remember that this is work in progress and basicly a call for help.

I tried it out and it runs on my Axim v50x, and it does some really strange things., but overall the rendering seems to work as it should and I'm really looking forward to a more polished version.

* The worst of it is that it moves the application bar to the buttom of the screen covering the "open keyboard" icon, making it impossible to enter a new url.

* Seems to be missing support for international characters....

* When running the x50v in vga, it will open qvga windows, that you can actually move around, but can't resize and they will pop to the top of the screen when they get focus (sorry, could get the screen capture to work with this).

* Impossible to close without doing a soft reset.

Heres a couple of screen captures:

http://tc.dk/minimo002/Screen001.png http://tc.dk/minimo002/Screen003.png

[Steven Cedrone]

Front page post:

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37623&start=0

:wink:

[Wiggster]

Is it just me, or does the front page post not have a link to download like this post does?

[Darius Wey]

Is it just me, or does the front page post not have a link to download like this post does?

The front-page post was made a couple of days ago, while the most recent build of Minimo was released for testing only just a few hours ago. Hence, the missing link. ;)

[Wiggster]

Is it just me, or does the front page post not have a link to download like this post does?

The front-page post was made a couple of days ago, while the most recent build of Minimo was released for testing only just a few hours ago. Hence, the missing link. ;)

Hence, I don't see the need to say that another discussion is going on elsewhere that lacks the information that prompted this post into the announcements folder :wink:

[Darius Wey]

Hence, I don't see the need to say that another discussion is going on elsewhere that lacks the information that prompted this post into the announcements folder :wink:

I think Steve was saying that it was probably more appropriate to have the initial post of this thread in that front page thread instead. Consolidating posts makes for easier discussion.

[24va]

the DL link no longer works

[Darius Wey]

the DL link no longer works

It is because the full stop is tagged on to the end of the URL. Here's (http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.002.zip) the proper link.

[24va]

you've been more than kind

[tcdk]

It is because the full stop is tagged on to the end of the URL. Here's (http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.002.zip) the proper link.

Fixed it. Anyway, I posted this in a new thread, as I didn't want this to get lost in the "old" thread.

But the old thread was the reason I posted it here on PocketPcThoughts. But I guess I should have linked to it, but I forgot...

[Steven Cedrone]

It is because the full stop is tagged on to the end of the URL. Here's (http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.002.zip) the proper link.

Fixed it. Anyway, I posted this in a new thread, as I didn't want this to get lost in the "old" thread.

But the old thread was the reason I posted it here on PocketPcThoughts. But I guess I should have linked to it, but I forgot...

No big deal! There may be people watching that thread that would miss this new information simply because they never go into the forums. I can certainly understand the reasoning behind starting a new thread though...

[snorbard]

Just downloaded and ran it on my i-mate Phone Edition PDA.

Just copied it to My Documents and let it sync before running WinEmbed.exe
- Had to do a soft-reset before it would run.
- Booted up fairly quickly, but seems to run in the old compatibility mode that emulates Pocket PCs when they were still Palm-Sized Devices (oh the memories of my old Compaq Aero..)
- Unlike tcdk, I got the soft keyboard.
- Pages render quickly.
- Unlike tcdk, my Google search page did not render well. Images did not resize, but wrapped. Maybe it's got something to do with my screen only being QVGA..
- Scroll-bar not draggable. Only full-screen pages.
- No settings yet.

Lot of work still to go, but it looks great so far. Definitely something to get excited about!!

(Would've added screenshots, but there's no option for this...)

[tange1]

Hi everyone, I'm finding my way here from aximsite.com to let you all know a bit about where this project is at. This is thus far a great thread. Sorry if I'm repeating some things.

Links:

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/ - General Info about minimo

http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/ - download location *note* you should only need the newest version zip file. Extract to a location and copy the folder to your PPC.

*EDIT*
UPDATE 2/19/05
I've been in contact with the writer of minimo and he has asked users to note any bugs or requests they have. If you find a bug or have a request please shoot it my way via a PM or a post on the forum.

Tested thus far on an Axim x3i
Minimo .002
Bugs/requests found:

1. Links clicked do not open the page (nor do buttons such as google's search button)

2. Full versions of site are loaded rather than mobile versions (this may be an issue with the code on the website rather than the browser, I'm not sure)

3. Highlighting of text has problems, no way to copy the text (?)

4. Future VGA support?

5. Scrolling issue's possible smooth scrolling in future releases?

6. Page shifting to see what you are typing if the keyboard covers the text entry field

7. Menu's that would normally pop by hitting the arrow to allow you to choose items (Like choosing your state from a list) do not seem to function and the arrow you would click appears as a very large button.

8. Support to minimize the browser via the X button (or to close the browser) would be beneficial.

I'm looking for more users to private message or post on this forum other bugs found on other devices than an x3i. I saw some users say they could not close minimo without a soft reset. I was wondering what version of minimo you were using and on what device because I do not experience this problem, I simply use a switcherbar application to force close the app.

Thanks ahead of time for any bugs you find and submit

[PJE]

I understand this is a *VERY* early build, but I wasn't expecting it to put up quite as much of a struggle on my X50v...

Anyway, my thoughts are relating to the UI for the final version - the current version is too early in it's gestation to really comment on.

The main issue with PDA based browsers is that the browser MUST get out of the way and make the content the main item of the display. Having 1/2 of the screen taken up by scroll bars, menus, titlebars, etc.. is not going to cut it. Especially with the smaller QCGA screens on the newer phone editions ( such as the iMate JAM).

Therefore scroll bars should be removed and replaced by dragging the display in the relevant direction - check out MultiIE full screen. The Address bar should be a pop-up from the smallest possible tool/status bar. Multiple windows should be able to be open simultaneously, but a pop up list and previous/next buttons is more usable than a visible tab bar.

Here's an Idea...

http://www.pjelliot.com/ExampleUI.gif

The center section of the menu bar allows 'tabs' to be created, navigated via gestures, and closed.

Thoughts.

[tange1]

As doug, the creator of minimo, said in disscusions this build is the first build that actually displayed anything. That being said this release is more about getting ideas than having anything close to a working product. The ideas put foward here are great! Bug fixes and functionality will come with future updates. thanks for the input ill pass the ideas on.

[surur]

I believe tabbed browsers are essential, and leverages the multitasking ability of a ppc. I think its worth losing screen space to display them. Maybe they can be optional?

I like the tabs in netfront, but dont like the way PIE Plus does its thing. It turns switching pages from one click to two, which is annoying.

The tabs can have a lot of functionality, e.g. closing a page, showing loading status, name of the page for easy switching etc. Netfront wastes the opportunity however, as the tabs do nothing beside showing the name of the page, and you can only show 5 pages at a time.

If you are going to do multiple pages, please do visible tabs.

Otherwise, I agree that a full-screen mode is very good, although this again interferes with multi-tasking, in that you can not easily switch from the browser to another task on the ppc.

Surur

[Southway]

Minimo holds a lot of promise for web browsing on Pocket PC.

With any brain storming of ideas to improve web browsing please consider what we have already done so for with MultiIE and think about how they embrace the Pocket PC form factor.

http://www.multiie.com

[tange1]

I agree that MultiIE is a great software title that has improved a lot of things, but its commercial software. That being said the developers can choose to listen or ignore requests for features or bug submissions. Minmo, as with any open source product, is built off of what people want.

Now I am not meaning to flame MultiIE. I do not know what there track record is with bug fix's and feature requests. I just am a avid open source supporter. I'm sure MultiIE is a great product for some.

[tcdk]

There's a version 0.003 exe out from the 7th of march

http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.003.zip

Can't get it to run on my dell v50x, just keeps on loading until I reset...

[tange1]

There's a version 0.003 exe out from the 7th of march

http://www.meer.net/~dougt/minimo_ce/MinimoCE_0.003.zip

Can't get it to run on my dell v50x, just keeps on loading until I reset...

Seems to be a common problem on the 50v series. I have heard it running on other dell models. I havne't been able to test it as of yet, my pda is 160 miles away from me right now. Any luck running it on other ipaq series?