[maemo-developers] Inhibiting device auto-lock on N900

[From: Per von Zweigbergk]

Thank you for this information. It is close to what I've been looking for.

However, is this really what happens for example if there is an incoming call - that the phone app sends a request to the phone to unlock? Rather than use an API to show information "above" the lockout screen... if so this could be a security problem.

I did not find any API call which allows me to turn off the backlight but still keep the application responsive however. Hmm.
----- Ursprungsmeddelande -----
> Hello.
>
> To unlock the device :
> http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Jebba/DBUS#dbus-send-unlock
>
> To keep the display on and device unlocked :
> http://maemo.org/api_refs/4.0/libosso/group__Devstate.html#g93fe32aeb992e128c94b890d6f801bfd
>
> David.
>
> Per von Zweigbergk wrote:
> > I'm writing a "talking clock" application. The purpose of this application is
> > to answer the ever-so-frequent question "mghhnm, what time is it" in the
> > morning, just before you've been able to open your eyes properly much less put
> > on your glasses.
> >
> > I've already written the application itself, it was a fairly simple project
> > that took a couple of hours. In testing, however, I discovered a slight
> > drawback to my planned approach of "start the program before falling asleep,
> > mash the screen in the morning and it'll tell me the time".
> >
> > 1. The screen itself will stop accepting taps when the device is turned off.
> > It seems this particular feature can be inhibited by leaving the phone slided
> > open (with the qwerty keyboard exposed) or by setting the gconf setting
> > /system/osso/dsm/locks/touchscreen_keypad_autolock_enabled to false. This
> > requires you to slide the lock button on the side of the phone to unlock the
> > screen. Annoying, but still doable even in a half-awake stupor. And besides,
> > you can always leave the phone activated in its "opened" mode.
> >
> > 2. The device will automatically lock itself after 5 minutes, for security
> > purposes. Now, remembering and correctly entering the device lock code in a
> > half-awake stupor is considerably more difficult. This can be disabled by
> > setting the gconf setting /system/osso/dsm/locks/devicelock_autolock_enabled.
> >
> > However - I don't really like this approach of changing gconf user settings to
> > inhibit device locks. The last thing I want is for the phone or my application
> > to crash (or more likely, to run out of battery) while the program is running
> > and leaving the device unlocked, requiring the user to set the automatic lock
> > option on again (if he even notices it's been disabled).
> >
> > Whoever coded the built-in media player agrees with this. He's found some way
> > to tell the system not to automatically lock itself without changing the gconf
> > settings. I have not yet figured out how.
> >
> > One other option worth considering is the fact that some applications, such as
> > the phone (for an incoming call) and the alarm application (to silence the
> > infernal bleeping of an alarm) will allow you to throw up a screen to the user
> > that'll be accessible even if the lock code has not been entered. This would
> > also solve the potential security issue of somebody stealing your phone while
> > you're sleeping to get to it while it's unlocked. :-)
> >
> > So, does anybody have any ideas as to how I might acheive this in some way?
> > _______________________________________________
> > maemo-developers mailing list
> > maemo-developers at maemo.org
> > https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-developers
> >   

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