[delta-dev] Massive Delta Chat project update, helping upcoming releases

Hi all, below a mail i just sent to OpenTechFund internal mailing lists about what's going on with DC -- thought it might also be interseting for folks here :) It's not complete i notice now -- for example we also had sysadmin-related sessions going on at UXDC regarding evolving the https://testrun.org setup that we used for testing purposes. And also new nice graphics from janka eg about the positioning of Delta regarding "the cloud": https://github.com/deltachat/playground/tree/master/graphics We are currently working in "fix-and-release" crunch mode and work on related issues here https://github.com/orgs/deltachat/projects/15 where you can help if you are not coding, for example: - PRs to update the web page are welcome ... we are using using jekyll which generates a static site. It'd be great go have a team for the web site (including FAQ) that continually improves/updates it, especially with all the nice upcoming releases :) - engage in the support forum https://support.delta.chat to discuss with and help each other. Also subscribing to github-repositories and skiming what's happening there also helps to bridge the gap between support-forum and github in both directions. Much appreciated! Github repos are here: https://github.com/deltachat - test out new desktop/ios releases and provide precise bug reports and test fixes on github Please note: if you start to contribute please don't start off with suggesting we do everything differently :) Better get a feel first how and why things happen, who is doing things, and then, over time, evolve to conspire with other active folks (coders and non-coders) to move things together in directions you'd like to see. Issue trackers on github are used for a) bug reporting b) aforementioned conspiracies on moving things forward there are typically no "c) nice-to-haves" type-issues. Those might get shut-down pretty fast. We want github issues to reflect what is currently worked on, on active folk's minds, and try to keep number of issues currently around 50. cheers, holger ----- Forwarded message from holger krekel <holger(a)merlinux.eu> ----- Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2019 13:45:04 +0200 From: holger krekel <holger(a)merlinux.eu> To: otf-active(a)opentechfund.org, otf-talk(a)opentechfund.org Subject: Delta Chat Sept 2019: Gmail/OAuth back, evolving rust-core/releases and new video hello otf-active, otf-talk, so some quick update highlights from Delta Chat for September: - After producing three videos for Google and a lot of mails ... We finally have Gmail/OAuth back! This means that with the playstore/f-droid released Delta/Android version you can type in your gmail address, and then you get guided through Google's OAUTH process to grant access to your e-mail messages. Note that Delta Chat is technically an e-mail client, it uses SMTP and IMAP and transmits nothing to other servers. - Our "usability-deltachat" (UXDC) gathering yielded enjoyable sessions on preparing real-world tests, conducting a new needfinding round, testing out and designing new multi-device workflows, and we also on the final day produced a first video that we plan to publish once we get good new releases out on all platforms. Here it is: Intro-DeltaChat Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPEjYpE_kvc - Our Rust-core ist evolving fast, with 152 merged PRs and 4 pending in septmeber. If you consider that Rust is a low-level systems programming language, that's pretty impressive to be able to move like this without getting crashes left and right. All apps/platforms use or will use soon Rust-core for releases. New feature development takes place there and C-development will be closed down. There remain a couple of bugs in rust-core we need to fix but it's already well usable and used day-to-day by several folks in the community. - There are first desktop preview releases for Windows/Mac/Linux with a *much* improved UX and new design. It's now much more like Android and things are improving/evolving fast there as well. To install, click Assets on https://github.com/deltachat/deltachat-desktop/releases - Heavy work on a new *much* revamped Delta/iOS version ... for those who like numbers it's 64 merged PRs in September so far. To indicate the level of seriousness in this effort: Bjoern who started Delta/Android 30 months ago, has switched his complete laptop/phone environment to Apple to make sure Delta/iOS meets common expectations. There are overall now at least a dozen very active committers. - A new "provider-db" community effort was started to better guide users on their initial setups -- what steps are required or if a provider is simply expected to work. See here for a preview -- we are still refining things and want to improve the data basis before switching this life and bringing it into apps: https://providers.delta.chat/ best, holger ----- End forwarded message -----