Improving the dual boot installation experience

[laurensvalk]

So far, we've had four (!) different ways to install Pybricks on a SPIKE Prime Hub or Robot Inventor Hub.

• Running lengthy scripts in the official app
• Using a placeholder website
• Using pybricksdev
• Building from source and deploying with DFU

These were mainly proof-of-concepts and development tools. We are now starting to look into making one simple tool that is eventually built into Pybricks Code.

To kick things off, we're making some experimental improvements to pybricksdev before updating the web app.

Let's use this discussion to collect some ideas and try some things out.

[laurensvalk]

@BertLindeman, I went ahead and updated the web based version.

Try this: https://beta.pybricks.com/tmp/

There's no progress on the LEDs. But it's so fast now that maybe we don't need it 🚀

[BertLindeman]

😉 Uhrm, Using Microsoft Edge to install on Spike Prime hub. After [install] waited 5 minutes without any sign of completion.

Short extract of the rest here below:
connect is OKE
Press [install] all that I see happen is the web page reports under Installation progress
Preparing the hub.

More details
Did not expect this to work, but while I was still waiting for completion:

• Pressed ctrl-F5
• Pressed [connect]
  This just works, so assume nothing was going on in the background.
  Pressed [install] anyway. No success.
  After power-off of the hub re-did. No luck.

Firmware of the hub according to Mindstorms app 2.1.4.13
Hmm, the app states "update available" but it was already at 2.1.4.13 . . .
Retry tmp of beta after this Mindstorms update.
The web page reports in all cases:

Installation progress
Preparing the hub.

No messages on the developer console (not counting GET https://beta.pybricks.com/favicon.ico 404)

So switch to Spike Prime app - update of course ;-)
Firmware now 3.0.22
Similar result.

At this point looked with a Spike app python program to the files in /_pybricks
It is empty.

[laurensvalk]

Thanks, this is very helpful! I'm able to reproduce this and will look into a fix.

[laurensvalk]

Would you mind going to the old page (beta.pybricks.com), where you can download a backup of your firmware, and share it here?

[BertLindeman]

Backup reported as:
blob:https://beta.pybricks.com/977e59b2-1c67-4c44-9ff7-7eaa8ad4047a
Was that what you meant?
[EDIT} or you want me to paste the blob here?

[laurensvalk]

You should be able to download the .bin file half way during the installation process. Can you attach the file here?

[BertLindeman]

Had to zip it as a .bin file is of course not supported.
firmware-backup-v1.1.01.0002-3e5a12.zip

[laurensvalk]

If it does not not work, then we are not not good! 🎉

[BertLindeman]

Updated the comment

[laurensvalk]

About those numbers; they don't mean a whole lot per se.

What matters is this version:

But it seems that the 1.3.4 / 10.1.0 app forces you to update to that firmware, so giving that version seems good enough for now.

[BertLindeman]

About those numbers; they don't mean a whole lot per se.

What matters is this version:

But it seems that the 1.3.4 / 10.1.0 app forces you to update to that firmware, so giving that version seems good enough for now.

There should be a simple way for the basic user to verify, or better an automated test.
The version you show here is only visible to the user in the short time that the pybricks firmware is being installed.

[laurensvalk]

Thanks. Yes, we’ll make sure this is visible and checked before the users clicks install.

We’ll probably restore our focus on the other hubs for now to get to the first official release, but it’s good to have something in place for robot inventor that at least works in the mean time.