2021.03.12 First Mobian OS update experience
I found the guidance for how to address the update limitation due to umet dependencies on the Pine64 forums, which referenced an article posted by the entity themselves. I will put the commands and link to the article below. The commands are the following:
sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt autoremove
(https://blog.mobian-project.org/posts/2021/02/09/pam_issue/)
The commands did not run perfectly for me. I had to "sudo apt-get update --fix-missing".
After updating my operating system, I downloaded the one podcast app available on the software store, which is called gPodder. Their podcast catalog is not current, and I had to hunt for the RSS feeds of my favorite podcasts. It reminded me of a easter egg hunt, looking everywhere for the RSS feed links. They seem to be hidden. The gPodder app was a little confusing at first because the play, download, and delete buttons were greyed out; however, the buttons color is not to indicate that they don't work. It opened up the video app to listen to the episode, which did not appear to have a pause button. I should find a new app to play audio or figure out that app.
I also downloaded Tootle to sign into Mastodon, and it's sign in options doesn't work.
I tried another video/audio app that comes preinstalled on the PinePhone called Lollypop. It works well, having a widget in the notification panel and lockscreen, which has track controls. My little brother called me while I was listen to a podcast through Lollypop, and I couldn't resume listening to the episode after the call.
Trevor and I are going to record an episode for our side podcast called "The Talk to You Later Show". It is a more casual conversation, talking product and production reviews like my new PinePhone. We plan to review Epica's new album and Maya and the Last Dragon too. We usually cover technology news, and I have one article in mind to review about clothing or shirt that can generate electricity from the human body. I have covered a topic similar this, but the technology was a lot more primitive.
The following are my podcast notes for today's podcast:
University of California: San Diego (UCSD) affiliated scholars have invented a energy-harvesting long-sleeve shirt that generates electricity, using sweat powered biofuel cells and triboelectric generators powered by motion. All the parts are “flexible, stretchable, foldable, and washable, “and they are screen-printed onto fabric. The study were able to power a prototype LCD screened watch; however, it appears to be high activity wearable to be functional.
The biofuels cells contains enzymes that causes electrons to flow when lactate and oxygen molecules enter the cell, which are present in human sweat. The current generated is continuous, and it is fed to the super-capacitors. The biofuel cells are contained in the chest area, and the triboelectric generators have components on the side of the torso and the inner side of the forearm.
Triboelectric generators are powered by motion, and the energy is held in super-capacitors. The two components and the material rubbing together with walking and running generates high-voltage electricity.
(https://newatlas.com/wearables/wearable-microgrid-energy-harvesting-shirt/)
The PinePhone does not have premium components, so people must have patience and low expectations of its performance when they use the phone or purchase the phone. Everything loads slow. The phone feels like a manual car, where you have complete control, and many people don’t want to deal with it. The phone would not perform well; unless, the user is willing to use the terminal. The applications are open source, being coded by people’s hobby, and they don’t work perfectly. Web apps are handy, but they can be finicky. There are not many apps to choose from in the Software Store. I felt like I had an easter egg hunt for RSS feeds to make my podcast app work.
Maya and the Last Dragon
I am an avid movie guy, and I think that most movies are not good quality on average. I would say that Maya and the Last Dragon is better than average; although, I think that the story and character development is shallow. Everyone has the same backstory except for the main character. The animation is amazing. The message of the movie is obvious, but it is not taught well. Many movies don’t even have a message, and it is only for entertainment.
My review of Epica’s new Omega album is the following: (0) I rank my favorite songs, and songs are listed in the order of the album.
(4) Skeleton Key sounds great.
(10) Abyss of Time sounds like a standard symphonic metal song. I think that the random screaming was unnecessary, but the ending was awesome.
(11) Seal of Solomon has a bad start with the screaming; although, it sounds interesting. It was okay.
(9) Gaia: I like the chore start and Simone Simons’ singing. Scream doesn’t fit the music as well as how it does in Amaranthe’s Manifest album, which we reviewed on a previous Talk to You Later Show episode exclusively on Spotify.
(3) Code of Life has a creative and exotic sound. Perhaps my favorite. Screaming fits well in this song.
(8)Freedom sounds standard not unique. The chorus is fun.
(5) Kingdom of Heaven, part 3 is a progressive song that is cool, but the progression is hard to pick out the a consistent melody. There appears to be two other parts, which may help to appreciate the song.
(2) Rivers is a beautiful song.
(1) Synergize, a high energy song and better composed song, is what I would say is the best composed epic song of the album. This song tells me what Epica sounds like at their best.
(7) Twilight Reverie is a fun song. Screaming seems random.
(6) Omega: I believe that Epica has a more symphonic sound than Amaranthe. This is another great song.