Task:Improving maemo.org/Community

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Contents

The maemo.org Community

Welcome to the maemo.org community!

Wikipedia defines a community of interest as, “a community of people who share a common interest or passion…” That’s what the maemo.org community is all about: passion for Nokia Internet Tablets, passion for open source software, passion for new ideas -- the list goes on and on. Whether you’re a casual tablet user or a dyed-in-the-wool hacker, this is where you will find a collection of these passions -- a community constructed by spaces, events, tools, applications, and a desire to not only witness first-hand, but lend a hand to the future of mobile computing.

Admittedly, the list of community resources below is incomplete (there are just too many to include here). Visit each section to see how you can become connected with the greater maemo.org community. Explore and you will find a number of additional spaces for involvement.

Community Exemplified

Planet Maemo

Planet Maemo is an aggregated list of blogs that are authored by community members. Planet Maemo contains news about Internet Tablets, information about the Maemo software platform, tablet-related product reviews, software developers’ tips and tricks, and stories about the Maemo experience in general. If you want to stay tuned to the maemo.org community pulse, bookmark this page. If you’d like to have your own blog added to the Planet Maemo list, become a maemo.org member (see below), participate in some maemo.org projects, and request that your Maemo-specific blog feed be added to Planet Maemo.

Internet Tablet Talk

Nothing speaks of the passion of maemo.org more than when a space emerges, completely user-initiated, independent of corporate sponsorship. In this case, it is Internet Tablet Talk. itT, as community members call it, is a great place to go when you need help our advice for your Internet Tablet or for the software you’re developing for the tablet. It’s also the perfect place to get to know other tablet users. Aside from the general forum format of itT, check out the Tablet 101 and Wiki subsections of the site for valuable information pertaining to Internet Tablets. itT also hosts a sister-site for newer tablet users called Tablet Scene.

Internet Tablet School

Another user-created website is the Internet Tablet School blog. This is where you’ll want to go if you’re a first-time tablet user. Internet Tablet School provides useful tips like first steps for using your Internet Tablet, how to customize the look and feel of your tablet, etc. Internet Tablet School greatly aids new users in maximizing their tablet experience.

Community Experience

Application Catalog

If you’re ready to dive into installing additional applications onto your Internet Tablet, the Application Catalog User Manual section of maemo.org is a good place to start. Here you can learn about browsing the catalog, searching for applications, and installing applications via the “One Click” process or by using application repositories. Adding applications such as media players, games, productivity tools, and system utilities will enhance your tablet experience and provide you a way to personalize your Internet Tablet with comprehensive solutions suited for your specific needs. When you’re ready to browse the catalog go to the Downloads section of maemo.org.

The Garage

If you’ve become familiar with installing applications on your device, and want to explore projects that some of the community developers are creating, head over to the maemo.org Garage. The Garage is a place where coders of all experience levels tender their work to the community. Be aware that applications contained in the Garage are in various states of development, from inception to alpha to beta, and so on. Some projects are posted specifically for community feedback and bug testing and others are posted primarily for other programmers. Read the description for each application before attempting to install and understand that you are installing at your own risk.

Get Involved

Becoming a maemo.org community member is easy. First, create an account at maemo.org. When you do, a wealth of additional resources will become available to you. As a community member, you can view other member’s profiles, participate in improving the wiki, join Community Projects, develop applications, have your Maemo-specific blog added to Planet Maemo etc. Of course, everything you do as a community member is up to you and sometimes relative to your skill level. The important part is being a member.

Wiki

The maemo.org wiki is probably the single-most important location on maemo.org. It contains information about all sorts of Maemo-related subjects, including user documentation, frequently asked questions (faqs), tips & tricks, application development, community discussion, events, etc. If you’re not a member of maemo.org, you can still view the wiki, but becoming a member grants you access to begin participating in the process. If you’ve become familiar enough with your Internet Tablet that you think you can offer direction and advice for the community, come to the wiki and join in improving maemo.org.

Community Projects

If you’re a programmer, or someone who wants to start developing software for the Internet Tablet, you should consider starting a community project. Community projects are those applications that are hosted in the Garage. There’s a great guide to starting a new community project here. If you’d like to view several official presentations about topics discussing the Maemo software platform, go to the Presentations section of maemo.org. Here you will find workshops led by Nokia/Maemo employees.

Contribute

Contributing to the maemo.org community can be done in several ways. You can provide help with maemo.org documentation, you can create your own applications or offer to help with application development based on your skill-set, you can send and receive e-mail to various mailing lists, and you can participate in regular maemo.org IRC chats.

Mailing Lists

There are several different mailing lists affiliated with this community. When signing up for any list, keep in mind that the maemo.org community is very active -- it’s not unusual to receive numerous e-mails a day, based on which lists you are subscribed to. You can either choose to receive individual e-mail messages from the list(s) or daily digests containing multiple e-mail messages per digest.

maemo-announce

Subscribe to maemo-announce for periodic announcements of the Maemo development platform.

maemo-users

Maemo-users exists for regular Internet Tablet users who want to connect with the community, ask questions, and share experiences. This is not usually a place to discuss programming issues, unless they immediately pertain to regular tablet usage.

maemo-developers

If you’re a programmer, a hacker, or someone who wants to learn more about development for the Maemo software platform, subscribe to maemo-developers. This list is primarily meant for discussion that centers on programming, programming languages, and other development-related issues. If you have a question about something you’re trying to develop, please use this list.

maemo-community

If you’d just like to keep up on what’s happening within the maemo.org community, subscribe to the maemo-community mailing list. Here, you can read and post about community-related events, issues, and other items of interest for the greater community.

Additional Mailing Lists Information

There are a couple of other mailing lists that members can subscribe to, as well as archives for all of the available mailing lists. In addition, many of the projects hosted at the Garage have active mailing lists that are specific to those projects. To learn more, go to the Mailing Lists section on maemo.org.

IRC

Maemo.org community members also participate in live chats via IRC at freenode.net. You can participate in these chats by using the #maemo IRC channel here.

Make a Difference

While being a part of the maemo.org community is important, nothing is quite as critical as helping to make maemo.org, the Maemo software platform, and Internet Tablets better for all users. To assist in this, every community member is asked to offer some time and energy into submitting bug reports and feature requests, and reporting potential security issues.

Bugs & Features

One of the quickest ways to make an impact on the Maemo software platform, regardless of your technical knowledge is to post bug reports and ask for features using the maemo.org bug reporting tool. If you’d like to know more about contributing to this much needed function of the community, visit the Bugs & Features section of maemo.org. (Participation in bugs & features requires additional user registration.)

Security Issues

Security issues for any software platform are a very serious matter. If you discover or become aware of a security issue in any Maemo software (consisting of the Maemo software platform and upstream projects whose software is used within the Maemo software platform), please report it here.

The Real Winner

Thriving communities are made up of many diverse people who have a common aspiration, common interests, and a willingness to help the community grow and sustain. In the case of maemo.org, the community exists to further develop and improve on a leading-edge hardware and software methodology. The outcome of this effort is quite obvious: a mobile computing device that is powerful and easy to use. Consequently, the winner in this cohesion of minds and spirits is you. Consider joining this effort. Be a part of a community that has a solidified passion for improving on the Nokia Internet Tablet experience.