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==Linux News==
'''28/04/2021 - The latest Linux Debian firmware v4 is now available!'''
<span style="color: #ff0000;">Please note we are investigating an issue related to not receiving incoming calls with this version of Linux.</span> Thanks to the ongoing support from the open source community, today we are glad to release the latest Linux Debian v4 for Cosmo Communicator! This latest release provides bug fixes and new features: * Support for Camera is now available* Improved boot screen and lock screen* Support for dual keyboard language layout. If you use a dual keybaord layout, such as Japanese, you can press both shift keys at the same time to cycle between the layouts (i.e. english and japanese).* New installation program allows you to select your keyboard layout and time zone. The information is then stored in phone settings and retained even after Linux reinstallation. Please note that altough it's possible to keep using Linux v3, updating from v3 to v4 using apt is not possible. '''It's therefore recommended to use the guide below to install Linux v4.''' Notes on Linux v4 installation: * The new installer will allow you to select your keyboard layout and time zone* If you use a dual keyboard layoyut, your settings might not be picked up on the very first boot. For example if you choose Japanese layout, on your first boot the screen and keyboard layout could still be set to English. Simply reboot the unit and both the language and keyboard layout will be fully configured. Remember you can switch between the 2 keyboard layouts by pressing both left and right shift buttons at the same time. For more information about this release, please see [https://gemian.thinkglobally.org/releases/2021-04-22-gemian-release-notes.txt here]. '''11/12/2020 - Linux update<br />''' Today we released a new update for Linux users! It can be installed by typing the following commands in a terminal: <code>sudo apt update</code> <code>sudo apt upgrade</code> Please reboot the unit after these commands. The update includes a brand new feature which allow users to set the keyboard brightness either by using the key combinations Shift+Fn+B and Shift+Fn+N or by setting its value in the settings (System Settings ->Power Management -> Energy Saving -> Keyboard backlight) The update also contains keyboard improvements and CoDi bug fixes. '''18/11/2020 - The latest Linux Debian firmware v3 is now available!''' This release contains a Cover Display (CoDi) implementation for Linux which provides a number of new features, such as: * Mouse Control - you can now use the CoDi display as a trackpad when the unit is open* Phone Control - you can browse contact and place/accept calls from the Codi screen while the unit is closed* Device Control - you can switch OFF/reboot Cosmo from the CoDi display* Contacts can be updated by the gka-contacts-qt application or directly from the dialer app <br /> A big thank you to the Cosmo Communicator open source community for supporting Linux on Cosmo Communicator! [[File:Screenshot_20201118_110844.png|left|422x211px|border]] [[File:Screenshot_20201118_111109.png|right|422x211px|border]] To see some of the new features, please take a look at this Cosmo Communicator update video [https://youtu.be/aljMVuzT5-Y https://youtu.be/aljMVuzT5-Y] Older Linux Debian v2 firmware The Linux Debian v2 firmware has numerous bug fixes and supports the following new features:
* Phone Calls
* Open/Close power save support
==Cosmo Linux installation==
Before installing Linux, make sure you have the latest Android Firmware installed, currently v25.
* [http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v3.zip http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v3.zip] (MD5: f6a765389913c790174d05dfdcb031d9)
* [http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v2.zip http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v2.zip] (MD5: ba7f88924eb4254ac4c2aeb1c59ce6d6)
* The older v1 version is available here: [http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v1.zip http://support.planetcom.co.uk/download/cosmo-customos-installer-v1.zip] (MD5: 554e8ec1f1c57b0fc3a6140b1ecad3ea)
Alternatively, you can also purchase a Linux Media Installation Card with the firmware already preloaded onto the a micro SD card. This can be purchased from [https://store.planetcom.co.uk/collections/media-books https://store.planetcom.co.uk/collections/media-books/]
Once you downloaded the zip archive you will have to extract its content onto your microSD card:
# Open Using the Files by Google and app (do not use File Manager app) locate the ZIP archive# Tap the archive file to reveal the cosmo-customos-installer folder# Long tap on that folder, select Extract to... and finally select the root folder of the microSD card as destination. # Complete the ZIP extraction process.# Your microSD card should now contain a folder named cosmo-customos-installer with several files inside it.
Whenever new or updated custom operating systems will be available for the Cosmo, you will be able to download them into a micro SD card and install it in your device.
Once you select a custom OS you have to select where to install its boot firmware. Remember that you can install TWRP only on the EMPTY_RECOVERY_BOOT_2 partition, while you can install Debian/KDE and the Rooted android image in either EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_3 or EMPTY_NORMAL_BOOT_4 partitions.
Using this method you will be able to install a custom OS such as Linux on your device without the need for a laptop or a desktop computer. All you need to do is to download the installer in a micro SD card and use the recovery mode to start the installation.
You can watch a Cosmo Communicator How-To video detailing the Linux installation process from SD card at this address [https://youtu.be/7guqI4nA8CU https://youtu.be/7guqI4nA8CU]
==TWRP installation==
==Debian/KDE installation==
Simply follow the installation steps above. The Debian/KDE installer will automatically install the boot image into the selected partition and it will also install the rootfs image into the Linux partition.
'''The latest Linux v4 will automatically configure the keyboard layout based on the installation choice. The following guide is obsolete and kept as reference.'''
====Keyboard Layout Configuration====
The default keyboard layout is American English. To , to configure a different keyboard layout, click on see the menu icon and select System Settings. Inside System Settings select "Input Devices" and set the Keyboard Model under Hardware to "Planet | Planet Computers Cosmo Communicator" as in the screenshot example command below. '''Tap the Apply button'''. [[File:55.jpg|center|640x480px|border]] Next, go to the Layouts tab where you can select your own Cosmo keyboard layout. For example, to select the British UK keyboard layout, tap on "Configure layouts" and specify the English (GB) keyboard layout, as in the following screenshot. [[File:23_04.jpg|center|800x600px|border]]
The following command can be used to set the keyboard layout to English (GB):
To restore the layout to English (US), use the following command:
<code>setxkbmap -model planetgemini planetcosmo -layout us</code>
====WIFI Configuration====
==Rooted Android installation==
'''Please see [[Rooted Android For Cosmo|this page for instruction on how to install Rooted Android on a Cosmo.]]'''
The following information is now outdated and kept as reference only.
Install the Rooted Android image as per the installation above.<br />After booting the rooted Android partition, complete the installation by downloading and running Magisk Manager ([https://magiskmanager.com https://magiskmanager.com]). The Magisk Manager interface should then be similar to the following screenshot (notice the green OK icon, device IS rooted).
