[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
What's going on guys?

I'm ecstatic to announce that the new update to the Linux version has finally officially launched. We got a lot to discuss so let's not waste any more time and get into the nitty gritty, shall we?

Including the Changes from the Windows Release​

Finally catching up to speed with the Windows variant, V6.0 will include all changes from V34.0. Please refer to the release post for V34.0 to get up to speed with the new features and improvements.

Changing Up the Package Format​

I'm excited to announce that starting with V6.0, we're dropping the Toolbox Installer, and launching a brand new packaging format that will drastically make it easier to setup and run the Toolbox on Linux! What format am I talking about, well... it's only AppImage! :cool:

In case you're not familiar with AppImages I'd highly recommend checking out the project's website. AppImage is basically a format for distributing applications in a way that they don't require installation or root, and will run on basically any modern Linux distro.

Everything needed to run the Toolbox is all baked in. No need to install any packages, setup virtual environments, or install repo packages! it's now just download, extract, and run. ;)

So let me just show you how easy it is to install Toolbox V6.0 compared to V5.0 (demonstrated on Linux Mint).

Disclaimer: Time is calculated by how long it takes to complete the install and reach the EULA screen.

As you can see from the video above, the install time with the AppImage is so much faster compared to the Installer method. Of course, the Installer time isn't accurate for all distros (Mint is used in the example, so the Installer doesn't need to setup the virtual environment), and I already had all the pip modules setup. As you can see 4 seconds compared to the fastest Installer time is substantial.

Also, another cool thing about the AppImage format is that ALL of the Toolbox's files are stored in one place and can be accessed by ANY future version of the Toolbox. Meaning, if you change the Toolbox settings, read a notification in the Notification Center, create a system backup, or capture a screenshot... all that data will be accessible by all future versions of the Toolbox. Pretty cool aye?

By the way, HUGE THANKS goes out to @blaacksheep for bring up the idea of switching formats to something a little more friendly. It's all thanks to him and planting that idea, that ultimately lead to the format! Good on you my friend! :D

Pushing New Functionality to the Push & Pull Tool​

The goal with this tool is to make it a viable method of retrieving/sending data to and from the tablets internal storage. To accomplish that feat, much work still needs to be done. But, bringing us one step closer, it's now possible to rename and delete a file (doesn't work for directories yet) just by right-clicking a file from the list. I know you're probably thinking that this is pretty simple and isn't much to get this excited about... but man, this is something I've wanted to add for some time now, and it's finally here! :D

Hey, I Need That Window Resized!​

It's been noted that on some distros, the Toolbox's windows not appear as they should. The UI is often spilling outside of the set window size and some buttons and UI elements simply don't appear. Well, as a temp solution to this, you'll now be able to resize the Toolbox's windows to get them up to the size that best suits your distro. Resizing isn't enabled by default, so you'll need to head on over to the Window tab in the Toolbox's settings and enable Window Resizing from there. I also forgot to mention that the Toolbox will remember the new window size, and will restore the custom sizes the next time the window is launched.

Changelog​

Interested in everything that's changed? Awesome, we got you covered, here's the changelog:

Downloads​

Version	AppImage
V6.0 (Beta)	Download

SHA256 Hash​

Filename	SHA256 Hash
FTB_V6.0_AppImage.7z	00d9372146a84f64513102977b1df5f2bff481c9efe40c7b9f7d614e2f1ce991
FTB_V6.0.AppImage	5e80863f46f52b9f9409619b1d3cc6af29a35538209e24bb09d75d4b70db0a32

In order to get the SHA256 checksum for the AppImage once downloaded, open a new Terminal instance, and execute the sha256sum command while also passing the file path as the first parameter. Example:

For example:

$ sha256sum ~/Downloads/FTB_V6.0_AppImage.7z

You should get the SHA256 checksum as output. Now compare that value to the checksum provided in the SHA256 Hashes table below. If the sha256sum output matches the one from the table, then the file is safe. However, if they don't match, try downloading the file again and re compare until it does match. Ensure you ONLY download the file from this post or the Downloads section of the OP.

Reporting Issues​

Even though AppImages are designed to run everywhere, there's still a small chance that you may encounter issues with the Toolbox on your distro. Not every distro is the same so there's bound to be some issues. If you'd be so kind to report any issues you encounter, along with what distro you're running, that would be extremely helpful in resolving the issue. Thank you!

Let's Wrap This Party Up​

Of course, THANK YOU all so much for being so patient with me, and supportive. I know it's been a few weeks since the windows release and I apologize for that. The move to the AppImage format was kind of out of the blue, but man I think it was a good move in the long run! Again, thank you all for being so kind of supportive during the move.

As always, HUGE shoutout also goes out to our good friend, @blaacksheep for taking the time out of his day to not only test, but point out and help resolve the various bugs present in the new build. The Linux port wouldn't be where it is today without his feedback and support. Thanks a ton man, you're a beast!

Alright, that's all I've got for now! Thank you for taking the time to read this post. It really means a lot!

Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of their day, and until next time, peace!