Ubuntu One for Android

• Launchpad Entry: TODO

• Created: 2010-03-27

• Contributors: Michał Karnicki

• Packages affected: none

Comment

This Spec is being heavily edited, consecutive sections will be revealed when finished
Notation: Apd stands for Android powered device (phone or other mobile Internet-enabled device)
Contact / GSoC project page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GSoC/2010/MichalKarnicki/

Summary

This documentation specifies features, that would appear in Ubuntu One for Android platform. It justifies needs for specific features and their inner workings.

Rationale

Computer users like flexibility and there are more ways to get to your files in the cloud than through PC/laptop/netbook. Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular and the missing link here for Ubuntu One project is a client app for Android (amongst other platforms like iPhone & Blackberry). Daily use of mobile phones/devices justifies the need for such application. We can see recent proposals supporting this idea:
[1] brainstorm Idea #19912 ¹
[2] Bug #468114²
[3] ubuntuforums thread³
[4] yet another thead - poll⁴

Use cases

Each time Tom makes a picture with his Apd, it appears on his computer (naturally, on whatever connection he prefers, wifi preferably, slower connections might not be suitable). He's a clumsy guy, and often forgets to take the USB cable with him, so he also prefers to manage music on his Apd through Ubuntu One.

Viki makes a picture using her Apd, goes to Menu, taps Share, and selects 'Ubuntu One'. She then can e-mail or tweet (or use otherwise) a public link to that file easily.

Tom wants to collaborate on a document of his friend Mark, but Marks computer isn't connected to the Internet. Tom plugs a usb cable, downloads the file, uses any file browser to Share with 'Ubuntu One' - and has his file available on his PC anytime he's back home to start working on it. (He could also use the generic U1 folder, if he has sync enabled.)

Kim made some notes on her laptop last night, but forgot to take it with her the next day. No worries, the file was in her Ubuntu One folder, so she can access it any time with her Apd.

Ben has almost full SD memory card in his phone - so he manually selects a few files for download whenever he's in range of wifi network (he may choose to use his Mobile Network, as his current plan is a good deal, anyway!)

Assumptions

Application developed in tight communication with Ubuntu One team to ensure flawless functionality and back-end support of proposed features.

Design

The application should be user friendly, have a clear interface and therefore be easy to use. This specification section will surely get expanded.

Implementation

The project will be developed in Java language, the choice of Android platform. CouchDB has an existing Android library, see links below.

Usefull links

• Ubuntu One technical details

  • https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuOne/TechnicalDetails

• CouchDB docs

  • http://couchdb.apache.org/docs/index.html

  • http://wiki.apache.org/couchdb/

  • http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktopcouch

• CoutchDB for Android

  • http://github.com/sig/DroidCouch (minimal)

  • http://code.google.com/p/jcouchdb/

• Protocol Buffers

  • http://code.google.com/apis/protocolbuffers/docs/overview.html

• Ubuntu One storage protocol

  • https://launchpad.net/ubuntuone-storage-protocol/+index

• Twisted docs

  • http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/wiki/Documentation

• Android Scripting Environment

  • http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/

  • http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-android-scripting.html

  • http://www.damonkohler.com/2008/12/python-on-android.html

BoF agenda and discussion

List of features that are possible (not necessarily feasible during summer period) for the project to implement. This section is more about quantity (I'm collecting as many ideas as possible, and we'll pick the best/feasible ones soon)

• File sync
  • full sync - for spacious SD cards and cheap data plan
  • semi sync - syncs only selected (favourite) files
  • sync on demand - TODO (manual/forced sync in some cases might be useful)
• Particularly: (all via Ubuntu One; no cables, much comfort; wifi preferred)
  • Upload Music to Apd

  • Download Pictures from Apd
    

• How sync works is dependent on the settings
  • Which connection we want to sync on?
    • WIFI/3D+ (HSDPA)
    • 3G (EDGE, UMTS)
    • 2G
    • GPRS (ultra light sync, couchdb data perhaps)
  • How frequently we want to sync? (battery drain)
  • Should the files removed from U1 be removed from Apd? (This one is good. On the PC, you move Pictures to your home folder, and so they can be removed from Apd and free up some space. By default, file removal is disabled.)
• Easy sharing

  • so called intent to share file by selecting option from Menu -> Share with -> Ubuntu One

    1. file is uploaded to the cloud
    2. user receives public link..
    3. ..and can email it, tweet it, sms' it, share with barcode, etc
• Viewing files using intents (let other apps handle pdf or jpeg viewing, play an mp3, etc)
• Streaming data - would it be possible to watch a movie from U1 without downloading the whole file? (It might be a silly idea, but I wrote it down anyway.)
• Support for partial file updates [on the other hand - sync files with mobile phones are rather small..]
  • the back-end software would have to support partial updates, nevertheless it is rather a case for U1 for PCs than Android powered phones. Users rarely edit graphis, for example. And editing text.. well, text files are small. You can always download/reupload a full file. All in all, this feature is interesting from algorithmic point of view and can be implemented as project continuation.

Another idea (not necessarily feasible during summer /GSoc). We could design a plugin system to Ubuntu One (based on Android intents), similarly to what Locale application has. Then, any application that supports couchdb could plug in to Ubuntu One for Android to pull/update couchdb data in easy, uniform way (to say more concisely: open Ubuntu One for Android and:

• you have access to Tomboy notes if you have Tomboy plugin

• you have access to passwords if you have Keyring plugin ⁵

• you have access to any other couchdb per-application specific data, if you have specific-plugin!

https://launchpad.net/tomdroid - progress is little, we could integrate that functionality as a plugin

Comments and feature requests

Please leave any comments here. Feature requests and ideas are more than welcome!

Questions

If you have any questions about the project, leave them here or contact me directly (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GSoC/2010/MichalKarnicki)

• Can I use Ubuntu One name openly? This project will be Open Source, I hope 'Ubuntu One' is not a trademark - if it is, who can provide formal agreement for such course.

Other/TODOs

• How to add this page to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CategorySpec ?

• Can I add my mentor to Contributors in the first section?

Other notes

http://code.google.com/p/apps-for-android/

CategorySpec