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 -----