The DeskThing is a simple CarThing Chromium-based website that can communicate with a server run on the host via ADB (on port 8891) functioning as a socket. The CarThing can:

• Spotify Integration 🎧

  • Show currently listening (Album, Artist, Song name, album art)
  • Control Spotify (Skip, pause, play, rewind, shuffle, repeat)
  • Supports Podcasts too!
  • Set Audio Output Source
  • Spotify app installation instructions here

• Desktop Now Playing (Only Windows) 🎧

  • Show currently listening (Album, Artist, Song name, album art)
  • Control the current media (Skip, pause, play, rewind, shuffle, repeat)
  • no setup instructions yet. Drag-n-drop the .zip from /releases/apps/ into the GUI

• Discord Integration 💬 to be migrated

  • Show current call status (Participants, who's talking, their mute status)
  • Control Discord (Mute/Unmute Deafen//Undeafen Disconnect)
  • Control Individual User Volume
  • See message preview
  • Discord app installation instructions here

• Weather Integration 🌧️

  • Show local weather
  • Temperature
  • AQI, UV Index, Wind Speed Direction, Visibility
  • 12 Hour forecast
  • Weather app installation instructions here

• Audible Integration📗 to be migrated

  • Currently Listening To
  • Audio Controls (Skip, Rewind, Fast Forward)
  • Audio Status (%through)
  • Audiobook Library
  • Audiobook stats (Progress, Length of book, time left, ASIN)
  • Audible app installation instructions here

• Launchpad Integration 🎵 to be migrated

  • Control different views on your launchpad!
  • Show your system resource usage on your novation launchpad
  • Add timers from your launchpad
  • Show weather from launchpad
  • Show time on launchpad
  • Trigger macros from launchpad
  • Launchpad app installation instructions here

• Trello Integration 📃 to be migrated

  • See all organizations
  • See all boards
  • See all lists
  • See all cards
  • See all tags
  • Set different lists as your favorites
  • Trello app installation instructions here

This is under constant development, so features will come as soon as I can make them. Suggestions welcome!

1. ADB Setup:

   • Install ADB on your computer (Android Development).

2. Superbird Webapp flash:

   • Flash your CarThing with the adb_enabled dump here using the superbird-tool.
   • detailed instructions

1. Flash Your CarThing:
   • Follow the instructions in the superbird-tool repository to flash your CarThing device with the necessary image.

If you need help, refer to the detailed instructions at the end of this page

2. Get the built webapp under installation files: should be under releases

   • Unzip the file 'deskthing-client-build-v0...zip' onto your computer
   • open a command prompt in that directory for step 3

Note: You can usually do this by right clicking and clicking "Open Terminal"

3. Pushing the project to the car thing:

   • Open port 8891:

     adb reverse tcp:8891 tcp:8891

     adb should be an environment variable from step 1

   • Remount the build to the carthing:

      adb shell mount -o remount,rw /
      adb shell mv /usr/share/qt-superbird-app/webapp /tmp/webapp-orig
      adb shell mv /tmp/webapp-orig /usr/share/qt-superbird-app/ # it's ok if this fails
      adb shell rm -r /tmp/webapp-orig
      adb push yourclientfilename/ /usr/share/qt-superbird-app/webapp # Ensure dist/ is in the directory you are running this from

   Ensure yourclientfilename/ is the file location as defined in the prior step (the client)

   • Restart chromium:

     adb shell supervisorctl restart chromium

4. Setting up the server:

   • Download the correct installer under the files for your operating system
   • Download any .zip apps that you want that match the version of the installer
   • Run the installer
   • Drag-n-drop the apps you want one at a time (keeping in mind some have dependencies on other apps)
   • Ensure that the top left wifi icon is green (connected to car thing)
   • Ensure you get the

Any Issues? Contact me through the CarThingHax discord server or via DMs to @riprod

Links:

• image dumps
• superbird-tool

Process:

• Go to superbird-tool and install it based off your operating system. Come back once you can run python superbird_tool.py --find_device and see your Car Thing
• Unplug the Car Thing
• Hold buttons 1 and 4 (the four large top buttons are mapped from left to right) and plug it in.
• Wait a few seconds. If the screen does not turn on, that means you are in boot mode. You can release the buttons
• Run python superbird_tool.py --burn_mode to enter burn mode

Note: This step may say it fails to enter burn mode. This is okay, continue on as if it worked. There is information in the discord as to why this is.

• Download 8.2.5_adb_enabled.tar.xz or 8.4.4_adb_enabled.tar.xz files from image dumps (linked above) and in that same folder (unzip them)
• (Windows only) Download zadig and install the WinUSB driver for GX-CHIP (select it and click "Install Driver")

Alternatively use libusbK if it does not work

• Run superbird_tool.py --restore_device /path/to/extracted/firmware/folder (This may take a while)
• After the firmware is flashed, the Car Thing should be ready with ADB enabled. To check, run adb shell ls -l /usr/share/qt-superbird-app/ and you should see webapp as one of the folders.
• Ensure that adb devices works and registers 12345 device as one of the options
• Continue setup from here