Request: make default Ubuntu Touch image more accomodating towards devs and hackers

[Kris Kamil Jacewicz]

First of all, hi everyone!

My name is Kris Jacewicz, recently joined Ubuntu App Dev group on Telegram,
and also been active on launchpad with bugs and requests regarding Ubuntu
Touch platform.
Personally I use Ubuntu on all of my computers and devices, including OTA14
on my Meizu MX4. I blog at http://kriscode.blogspot.tw and I deal with
Ubuntu Touch there too.

Now, I am exploring Ubuntu Touch in ways that most of you (just
speculating) probably haven't thought about. I focus mostly on benefits
from XMir because I am creating Gtk apps, which are not yet supported (i
heard that Gtk port for Mir is in works). Let me briefly give you an
insight (mostly images anyways) and then I go to the point in the end.

I am absolutely loving using my Ubuntu Touch phone in horizontal widowed
mode and i run lots of legacy apps on it, yet without using Libertine. I
also am writing my own apps, which are Gtk apps, and all run via XMir,
giving flawless user experience, because I adapted them to adapt to
characteristics of being run inside Xmir window. I even recently write my
apps directly on the phone when on the go using a compact bluetoot keyboard
that you can put your phone into like into a dock station. Lastly, I don't
ever even touch qml, except when trying to manually edit aspects of
installed 3rd party apps. I use FreePascal and Lazarus IDE:


​Right on my phone when in the go, or onto my desktop/laptop screen via X
forwarding, directly without using Libertine nor other container.
This way I can create software on my phone, that ultimately I can compile
for any FPC supported platform, which is plenty: Linux, Windows, Mac,
Solaris, BSD, AmigaOS, Android.... with x86 and x64 and AMR and PowerPC and
SPARC etc. From a single project, single code base. I even started a
project at opensoftwarehub.org which I will soon launch (just waiting for
designer to finish the website), where I publish a yet-another-app-store,
because click after installing apps don't work with XMir (apparently some
problem with aa-ecec* and xmir). So Open Software Hub will allow anyone on
Ubuintu Touch to get any sort of apps easily: qml apps, gtk apps, whatever
else there is. Also, OSH will suport both Linux ARM and x86_64, and in the
future also MacOS.
As a proof of concept, not only have I been able to ublish my own gtk apps
written in FreePascal via OSH but I even could publish and install Open
Store via OSH without even using click:





​
So you see, I am probably doing stuff with my Ubuntu Touch that most of you
never even heard of, most of you probably going : "Pascal? isn't that for
MS-DOS??"

Now to the point! I am exploring the platform outside of the beaten track.
In my own ways, based on what inspires me. I love that Ubuntu allows me to
do all this. But I know there are (or will be) others who are doing even
more unusual things with this platform, or will want to. You know, this DIY
hackish spirit powered by Ubuntu ;)

I would like to spread the good word and vocalize the request for making
the default images of Ubuntu touch ready out-of-the-box for all the
experimental nerds like me.
To begin with, this is what I'd love to get:
Once again,

   1. 1 G free space on / filesystem for users to take advantage of when
   they wnat to apt-get install some extra packages. I would love to add
   things like libgtk2.0-dev or libgtb-3-dev because I am writing gtk apps for
   the platform. Others will want to isntall other libs. And if you believe
   that regular users will not like that 1G taken away  from their 16G of
   userspace, could you please make an easy to use CLI tool for making this at
   will?
   2. For the users, at least please include by default these packages:
   *xauth* - for X forwarding. It's a tiny package! But you can X forward
   apps to your desktop Ubuntu
   *maliit-inputcontext-gtk3 *&* maliit-inputcontext-gtk2* - because since
   you already are giving xmir to people, you might as well let them use the
   maliit onscreen keyboard when they run apps in it. Otherwise my users have
   to install it manually.
   3. *mc* - some people out there actually don't like vi. mcedit is one of
   the most user firendly text editors for terminal and mc is great for file
   management.
   4. ship Terminal app as default - in some cases you might freeze your
   phone, or screw things up, and if beforehand you dod not have terminal app,
   and if you can't adb shell at times, terminal app is the absolute must. A
   Linux without terminal is like a laptop without internet, You stare at it
   for a minute, then put it away like it's useless. I would love for Terminal
   app to be shipped as factory default.

If this message reaches those of you who have a say in Canonical, I hope
some of these can become reality. Especially that currently the Ubuntu
Touch is mostly in hands of nerds like me, not regular joes. So I'd like it
to first care for my needs, even if it's egoistic of me.
If you, like me, don't have any direct say in Canonical, but if you fancy
my requests, please help me to thumb these requests up and add some voice
to this shout out.
If you like what I'm doing (and I'm just starting), then email me.
If you do something else highly alternative with this amazing platform that
Ubuntu Touch is, share it.

Wish you all to have a blast this weekend, and I hope my long email got at
least some of you inspired and/or energized for more play with Ubuntu Touch.
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