doc/www/index.php

   1 <? include ("barry.inc"); ?>
   2
   3 <? createHeader("barry - BlackBerry &trade; synchronization for Linux"); ?>
   4
   5 <? createSubHeader("Overview"); ?>
   6
   7 <p>Linux users who also use a BlackBerry &trade; now have an option for
   8 managing their BlackBerry directly from Linux.</p>
   9
  10 <p>Barry is an Open Source application that will provide synchronization,
  11 backup, restore and program management for BlackBerry &trade; devices.
  12 Barry is primarily developed on Linux, but is intended as a cross platform
  13 library and application set, targeting Linux, BSD, 32/64bit, and big/little
  14 endian systems.
  15 </p>
  16
  17 <p>The Barry project began in October 2005 and has steadily added features
  18 and polish to Blackberry usage on Linux ever since.  We were the first to
  19 reverse engineer the battery charging handshake via USB.</p>
  20
  21 <p>Today, it is possible to:
  22
  23 <ul>
  24         <li> charge your Blackberry's battery from your USB port </li>
  25         <li> parse the following database records: Address Book, Email,
  26                 Calendar, Service Book, Memos, Tasks, PIN Messages,
  27                 Saved Email, Folders, Phone Call Logs, and SMS messages </li>
  28         <li> build the following database records: Address Book, Calendar,
  29                 Memos, Tasks </li>
  30         <li> export Address Book contacts in text or LDAP LDIF format </li>
  31         <li> make full data backups and restores of your device using
  32                 a GUI</li>
  33         <li> synchronize contacts and calendar items using the
  34                 <a href="http://www.opensync.org/">OpenSync</a>
  35                 framework</li>
  36         <li> use the Blackberry as a modem</li>
  37         <li> install and manage Java applications from the command line </li>
  38         <li> take screenshots of your device </li>
  39         <li> set the device time from the command line </li>
  40         <li> ... and more </li>
  41 </ul>
  42 </p>
  43
  44 <div class="subHeader">Status</div>
  45
  46 <p>
  47 <ul>
  48         <li>Latest release: <b>0.16</b>, released on 2009/10/01</li>
  49         <li>License: GPL v2 or later</li>
  50         <li>Download official source and binary packages from
  51                 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=153722">Sourceforge</a></li>
  52         <li>General <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/barry/">Sourceforge project page</a></li>
  53         <li><a href="http://repo.or.cz/w/barry.git">Barry git repo</a></li>
  54         <li>Additional binary packages for the following distributions are available from various volunteers.  Note that these packages may already be available in your distro of choice, using the normal package managers.
  55                 <ul>
  56                         <li><a href="http://packages.debian.org/unstable/main/barry-util">Debian, in the unstable tree, packaged by Jose Carlos Garcia Sogo</a></li>
  57                         <li><a href="http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/releases/">Fedora</a> (packaged by Nathanael Noblet) and the related RPM <a href="http://cvs.fedoraproject.org/viewvc/rpms/barry/">CVS</a></li>
  58                         <li>Mandriva's RPM <a href="http://svn.mandriva.com/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/packages/cooker/barry/current/">SVN</a></li>
  59                         <li><a href="https://launchpad.net/~doctormo/+archive/barry-snapshot">Ubuntu, packaged by Martin Owens</a></li>
  60                 </ul>
  61         </li>
  62         <li>Known Issues:
  63         <ul>
  64                 <li>International characters in calendar and contact records
  65                         cause some devices to switch to a different low-level
  66                         protocol, which Barry does not yet support.</li>
  67                 <li>Restoring backups for some databases on newer Blackberries doesn't work (for example, on the 8120, 8700g)</li>
  68                 <li>Syncing is not supported on Fedora Core 9 or 10, since they packaged the OpenSync 0.3x devel tree (experimental support for the latest opensync SVN tree is included with a new plugin).  This has been fixed in Fedora 11, as they returned to version 0.22.</li>
  69                 <li>Accessing the database (such as during a backup) while copying files using the usb_storage kernel module may cause some Blackberries to spontaneously reboot</li>
  70         </ul>
  71         </li>
  72 </ul>
  73 </p>
  74
  75 <? createSubHeader("Getting Started"); ?>
  76
  77 <p>How do I...
  78 <ul>
  79         <li><? createLink("install", "Install Barry from binary packages"); ?></li>
  80         <li><? createLink("cvs", "Compile Barry from tarball, CVS, or git"); ?></li>
  81         <li><? createLink("backups", "Make backups of my Blackberry data"); ?></li>
  82         <li><? createLink("sync", "Sync my Blackberry with Evolution"); ?></li>
  83         <li><? createLink("modem", "Use my Blackberry as a modem to surf the net"); ?></li>
  84         <li><? createLink("troubleshooting", "Find troubleshooting help"); ?></li>
  85         <li><? createLink("bugs", "Report a bug"); ?></li>
  86         <li><? createLink("patches", "Submit a patch"); ?></li>
  87         <li><? createLink("contact", "Contact the developers"); ?></li>
  88 </ul>
  89 </p>
  90
  91 <p>Some helpful pages:
  92 <ul>
  93         <li><? createLink("requirements", "System requirements"); ?></li>
  94         <li><? createLink("dependencies", "Software dependencies"); ?></li>
  95         <li><? createFileLink("doxygen/html/index.html", "Barry's Doxygen documentation"); ?></li>
  96         <li><? createLink("devices", "Device compatibility list"); ?></li>
  97 </ul>
  98 </p>
  99
 100
 101 <? createSubHeader("How to Help"); ?>
 102
 103 <p>If you are a C++ programmer, grab the source from
 104 <? createLink("cvs", "CVS"); ?> and take a look at the TODO file.
 105 Post a message to the
 106 <a href="http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=153722">mailing list</a>
 107 when you start working on any of the listed features, so you can connect
 108 with other developers, and avoid duplicating effort.</p>
 109
 110 <p>If you are a Python programmer, contact the mailing list, since we
 111 would like to create and test a Python interface to the Barry library.</p>
 112
 113 <p>If you are not a programmer, but have a Blackberry, we can always use
 114 help in testing.  Install Barry on your system, and
 115 <? createLink("bugs", "report any bugs"); ?> you find.</p>
 116
 117 <p>If you prefer writing documentation, grab the source from
 118 <? createLink("cvs", "CVS"); ?> and look under the doc/www directory.
 119 Documentation is currently in html form, as well as doxygen-generated
 120 API documentation found in the comments of the source code itself.
 121 Patches updating either set of documentation are welcome.</p>
 122
 123 <p>There are dozens of databases that need to be documented and supported
 124 in the library.  If you have a BlackBerry &trade; device and are interested
 125 in helping decipher data, we have a
 126 <? createLink("hacking", "Barry hacking document"); ?> that will help you.
 127 </p>
 128
 129 <p>If you are interested in the low level USB protocol, you can download,
 130 or contribute, USB logs to the
 131 <? createLink("logs", "USB capture log archive"); ?>.</p>
 132
 133
 134 <? createSubHeader("Design"); ?>
 135
 136 <p>If you are interested in helping out or just interested in how it works,
 137 check out our <? createLink("design", "design notes"); ?>.
 138
 139
 140 <? createSubHeader("Roadmap"); ?>
 141
 142 <p>We have put together a document that describes where we are and where we
 143 want to take Barry. Check out our <? createLink("roadmap", "roadmap"); ?>
 144 to see what's happening.</p>
 145
 146
 147 <? createSubHeader("External Links"); ?>
 148
 149 <p>Barry users and others have contributed documentation and have
 150 put these howto's on the web.  Below is a list of some of these pages.
 151 These sites are not associated with NetDirect, and some of the information
 152 may be out of date, but they may still be helpful to new users.</P>
 153
 154 <p>
 155 <ul>
 156         <li><a href="http://www.chipbennett.net/wordpress/index.php/2008/05/synchronizing-a-blackberry-in-linux/">Synchronizing a Blackberry In Linux</a>, by Chip Bennett (2008/05/31)</li>
 157         <li><a href="http://www.linux.com/feature/123251">Syncing your Blackberry on Linux</a>, by Joe Barr (2007/12/21)</li>
 158 </ul>
 159 <ul>
 160         <li><a href="http://www.progweb.com/modules/blackberry/index-en.html">How to use a Blackberry device with Linux</a>, by Nicolas Vivien (2009/03/06)</li>
 161         <li><a href="http://www.slashdev.ca/2008/04/03/blackberry-development-using-linux/">Blackberry development using Linux</a>, by Josh Kropf (2008/04/03)</li>
 162 </ul>
 163
 164 <ul>
 165         <li><a href="http://off.net/cassis/protocol-description.html">The RIM Blackberry Serial Protocol</a>, by Phil Schwan, Mike Shaver, and Ian Goldberg, of the Cassis project</li>
 166         <li><a href="http://www.blackberryforums.com/blackberry-guides/2019-user-howto-use-blackberry-modem-laptop.html">HOWTO: Blackberry as Modem for Laptop</a>, by Mark Rejhon, (not Linux specific)</li>
 167 </ul>
 168 </p>
 169