Ubuntu Home Edition - Off-topic

ButterflyCommunity​
Couple of friends and me came to an idea of making our own distribution.Our idea is to make Linux distribution suitable for not so geeky people(eg.older people like your mom or dad,or young people like children in elementray scholl).Thats how we started making Ubuntu Home Edition.Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that everyone can use.Theres no commom unnecesary problems that cause headache to your family.
We made our own update menager that allows them to update specific apps at time they choose.In addition to that UHE has enabled optition to clean it self every week,by "clean" i mean it cleans cache,history etc.
UHE comes preinstalled with all the software they could ever nedd browser,mail client,office client etc.
We think that UHE will be perfect solution for "familiy administrators",they will be able to setup UHE for their familiy,and just foget about it,no worry about av updates,product activations,maintaining computer.
I want to hear you opinion and recomondations as well as critics.
Official website
All the tips post here or send them to our tip email(find it under suppoet section on website),please dont PM for that reason.

Sounds like a good idea. I have family members, mostly older that only want internet and email. Ubuntu with Firefox/Chromium and Thunderbird would be all they need. How does this handle OS and software updates? If its something that can be kept up to date with little computer knowledge then this may be worth it.

Looks like it would be a pretty good idea.

I love the idea of it but your link is broken or it loads up a blank page with one icon on it so I can't really tell you much else about what I think. It's hard to get people to get started with linux but I think it's been getting easier than it used to be thanks to graphical installers. Just make sure to make the installer idiot proof and give it wide compatibility with some extra drivers for all those older people using crazy hardware and I think it'd be great! Keep it open source and offer the source everyone loves that. Uhm.... don't charge money? hehehe

All of my work is opensource,becaouse i belive that opensource is future.And yes there are extra drivers and extra languages build in.

Related

Ubuntu/Linux realease for mobile devices planned soon

The release is planned for October, but there are bound to be betas beforehand.
Normally with Ubuntu there are major new releases every six months(ish) and with being open source there is no risk of anyone spitting the dummy at libraries of ROMS.
http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-for-mobile-internet-devices
For the benefit of those wondering WTF ubuntu is - its already been voted one of the top 100 products of 2007 in PC World. (Can products be free?)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131935-page,13/article.html
It is also being offered now by Dell as an alternative to Vista...
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/05/01/13147.aspx
...prompted by Michael Dell using it on his home PC for years.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, the Mobile Internet Device referred by the news, are UMPCs (e.g. fully functional PCs). As such, porting the OS over is easy job, as compared to porting it over WinCe devices.
However, having said that, it is not all lost. With Intel on the market with Linux, chances are, probably there will be more applications written for Linux based OS and will then encourage the dev on Linux on WinCe (if you google, there is a Linux for Wizard project running already).
As far as I know there have been a few shots at linux for the wizard (et al), although the benefit of being ubuntu would be a far wider range of developers, the release structure they favour, and the finances to back it.
I still have a windows 98 boot (for some specific software than runs badly on any newer versions) and if you look at the spec of machines from then (I swapped the board, processor and memory from a Cyrix 166 with 32meg, to a pII 450 with 128 meg about late 1998), the older machines spec does not look particularly good compared to the wizards.
The xubuntu flavour of ubuntu is quite capable of extending the life of older hardware, by running more efficiently - and I have set up a few older machines I was given as scrap to play games for friends' children - to introduce them to 'proper computers' when it does not matter as much when they discover jacobs crackers fit in the floppy, or a CD rom cannot close with enough force to cut off action mans legs.
Anyway - returning to the plot - I would suspect xubuntu is currently not too far from working in a PDA - but the xubuntu project has far lower funding than ubuntu, but could be an excellent platform to adapt.
Well, as far as I know, Linux based systems do not 'really' run more efficiently. The primary reason that Linux OS is able to utilize older hardware is that it is lightweight. Thats like running DOS on older hardware.. it works well.
die, bill, DIE
hanmin said:
Well, as far as I know, Linux based systems do not 'really' run more efficiently. The primary reason that Linux OS is able to utilize older hardware is that it is lightweight. Thats like running DOS on older hardware.. it works well.
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Nah, its my experience that ALL windows OSs are resource hoggging pigs and linux isn't and it makes much better use of system resource than winblows
take a web server running apache under winnt, replace the os with a flavor of linux and the same machine running apache has more throughput than before.
and there are distros that run very well on just about any machine, put xp on a 200mhz pentium mmx and see if you have a useable machine, that same puter with linux will work great for the average joe blow who just, web browses, emails, does word processing/ doc. creation.
linux will put computing power in the hands of people who cant blow 1000$ every 2 years to get the latest greatest pc. I wont even go into the ridiculous amounts of cash micro$oft charges for new versions of the bug ridden code they pass off as a finished product, then release 4 service packs to band-aid it together.
thanks linus, you should get a nobel peace prize or some sh1t...
bhang
bhang said:
Nah, its my experience that ALL windows OSs are resource hoggging pigs and linux isn't and it makes much better use of system resource than winblows
take a web server running apache under winnt, replace the os with a flavor of linux and the same machine running apache has more throughput than before.
and there are distros that run very well on just about any machine, put xp on a 200mhz pentium mmx and see if you have a useable machine, that same puter with linux will work great for the average joe blow who just, web browses, emails, does word processing/ doc. creation.
linux will put computing power in the hands of people who cant blow 1000$ every 2 years to get the latest greatest pc. I wont even go into the ridiculous amounts of cash micro$oft charges for new versions of the bug ridden code they pass off as a finished product, then release 4 service packs to band-aid it together.
thanks linus, you should get a nobel peace prize or some sh1t...
bhang
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Here's a good example of some everyday anti-Microsoft rhetoric.
Linux on a slow computer won't make it do anything more than it could do running a Microsoft product. Sure, a finely customized (read: limited) Linux system might use a little less memory, but a slow computer is a slow computer.
Back on topic, I'd look more towards the already-existing Linux projects for the Wizard being useful before any Ubuntu branded distributions would be available. The BlueAngel Linux project from a couple of years ago got pretty far, I wonder if the Wizard is really all that much tougher to get working.
tone007 said:
Here's a good example of some everyday anti-Microsoft rhetoric.
Linux on a slow computer won't make it do anything more than it could do running a Microsoft product. Sure, a finely customized (read: limited) Linux system might use a little less memory, but a slow computer is a slow computer.
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Click to collapse
Yours will be a good example of a .. anti-old PC rhetoric?
I beg to differ. A PC's speed heavily depends on how many instructions it is running. The number of instructions run per second for any PCs is fixed, but having less unnecessary instructions to runs, yields a faster PC. Try running Vista with all fancy eye-candy enabled and browse the internet. Do the same with Windows 95. A slow PC is slow when you run something heavy on it, hence 'a slow computer is a slow computer' isn't true.
hanmin said:
Yours will be a good example of a .. anti-old PC rhetoric?
I beg to differ. A PC's speed heavily depends on how many instructions it is running. The number of instructions run per second for any PCs is fixed, but having less unnecessary instructions to runs, yields a faster PC. Try running Vista with all fancy eye-candy enabled and browse the internet. Do the same with Windows 95. A slow PC is slow when you run something heavy on it, hence 'a slow computer is a slow computer' isn't true.
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When Ubuntu for Mobile phones is in 20 years of development, then I will consider it, however for my everyday needs, WM6 has me covered. Thanks, but no thanks. This is just the beginning for Linux on a phone, it has a LONG way to go to keep up.
Not only that, you have to find someone WILLING to create the software for FREE and well, you get what you paid for.
If you are a C++ programmer, Linux on a Mobile Phone will be a welcome challenge, but there is no market for Linux on a phone YET. Only reason anyone one the market will choose to switch is due to a CHANGE from what's already out there. I do not feel it compares at all to WM6 yet.
Sure, you can run faster, once you remove all of the graphics, background processes, etc, but you can do that with WM6 too. That's what people are creating their own roms for.
Water down any OS and you will find that it runs really fast and really well.
I wonder if there will be Blackberry support? It might be interesting to toy with.
NeoDMD said:
When Ubuntu for Mobile phones is in 20 years of development, then I will consider it, however for my everyday needs, WM6 has me covered. Thanks, but no thanks. This is just the beginning for Linux on a phone, it has a LONG way to go to keep up.
Not only that, you have to find someone WILLING to create the software for FREE and well, you get what you paid for.
If you are a C++ programmer, Linux on a Mobile Phone will be a welcome challenge, but there is no market for Linux on a phone YET. Only reason anyone one the market will choose to switch is due to a CHANGE from what's already out there. I do not feel it compares at all to WM6 yet.
Sure, you can run faster, once you remove all of the graphics, background processes, etc, but you can do that with WM6 too. That's what people are creating their own roms for.
Water down any OS and you will find that it runs really fast and really well.
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So that's why Motorola already have, and Palm are developing linux mobile phones?
Linux on a mobile device is going to be here on mainstream handsets very soon, within the next 12 months guaranteed.
The reason?
Licensing costs.
If you develop an open source OS, and set of codecs to handle media, you don't have to pay so much to all the companies you traditionally hand money over to when you sell a phone.
People who buy a mobile phone rarely care if it can run Microsoft's pocket office apps, or RIM's office apps, or anyone elses, just as long as they can write that document, or email, and easily send it, or get it onto their PC.
People also don't care if it runs WM6, Symbian UIQ, S60, Linux, Palm, or Blackberry, they just care if it can do xyz functions, looks nice, and they can afford it.
We care, but we are not the majority of the market.
And lets be honest, out of all the mobile OS' out there, which is going to be the most hackable?
Linux on our HTC devices is always going to be a hobby more than a real alternative OS, since it's based on who wants what, and has the time to develop it. But on a commercially available device sold with it, it's already here, and more are on the way!
Linux is faster - especially non GNOME distros.
There is also Ubuntu light on the horizon.
I read this article which to me is a good summary...
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40532
...and to reiterate my aforementioned point in addition to the seeking of fees - who requested the removal of the rom library here? So greater control with open source to the savvy end user.
Additionally - many of us are running linux without even realising - as its often the OS running in your routers/wireless modems.
Finally - if Windows kit for PDAs/smart phones was any good - would there be a reason for a forum like this to improve upon it, or are we all just really pernickety people?
Ubuntu is a really amazing OS.
I have been running it for a while already, and I love it (except sometimes I screwed up, need to resetup).
U should all try it
Straight from the disk it saw and set up everything - including setting the two hyperthreading processors as 4 processors (I have the non server disk version too).
Only problem so far is its not happy with my Sandisk U3 Titanium.
Another point worth mentioning is the lightest/fastest/most secure browser is purportedly 'Dilo' which is written for Linux - but I have not tried it yet. (Although the security is based on the 'you cannot hijack it - if we dont support it' school of thought.)
Linux rocks, I have ubuntu running on one of my desktops and am seriously considering dual booting my other with Fedora KDE. It really did a lot to speed up my old compaq, and i am not running a "watered down" version, I have more aps and programs on this than i did on xp, and it still boots faster and i have yet to have a weekly crash like i did with xp. I really would like it on my wizard, but in the meantime i'm going to watch palm's develpment and look in that direction.
Linwizard
If you want to play a bit this works on my wizard. Still a long way to go but I can say I have linux on my wizard. And I don't have to change anything or lose my current setup. Just extract the folder to your SD and run the app. I haven't figured out how to exit the program with out a soft reset, but big deal. Also there is no touch screen support or shifted or symbol support for the keyboard.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/linwizard/
Cheers...

Port Iphone OS?

A lot of progress is being made as android OS has now been ported to iphone 2g and 3g. Wondering if we could do the reverse on the Nexus? Now before I get flamed or whatever, its not that I want an Iphone or think its better, just like the choice is all....
http://gizmodo.com/5533312/iphone-3g-shown-running-android
iphone os isn't open source. and, a nexus one user, why the hell would want to install iphone os ?!?
call me selfish lol never used an iphone but thought it would be cool...smh ok was a thought, back to drolling over my nexus....
Wrong section, and the last comment is correct that iPhone OS isnt' open source so we'll never see it openly available. You should learn C++ and port it for us!
I agree
One of the things, the world doesn't need: an iphone os port for nexus one xD
applications
I think the best and only reason to have the iphone OS is to have so many different applications.
I wonder if there is a way to somehow boot up iphone applications on an android phone using some sort of compatibility mode? That would be ideal and give us the best of both worlds, a crazy amount of apps and android.
the prediction is 75,000-100,000 android apps by 2010. how many more apps do you need?
This iPhone isn't completely closed source. The kernel is open, and that's likely where most of the porting work would need to go anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)
go ahead and dream, dont come crying to me when apple Legal dept rips off your head and funnels in feces from Jobs himself when you actually do port it
N31N said:
go ahead and dream, dont come crying to me when apple Legal dept rips off your head and funnels in feces from Jobs himself when you actually do port it
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Why would the OP come to you and cry? are you a lawyer?
porting another operating system to a machine that you personally own will not get you into trouble.
You can limit yourself upto only provide instructions on how to do this, and not by distributing the actual image in public, you will not get in trouble for it.
I am no lawyer but a paralegal in IP.
I would agree that this is infact a good project, and/or i would even dream of porting Winmo to have a triple boot in our (What google states as the Developers phone = Nexus one).
Don't get me wrong, Android is Awesome, but having more options is always better!
It is like a PC compared to a Playstation
In Playstation, you are limited to playing PS games.
In a PC, besides the PC games, you can also play different kind of PS, Gamecube, PS2, etc. emulators.
iphone apps
I guess the amount of iphone apps does not really apply to my desire to have a compatibility mode to run them. Just the types of apps. I'm a medical student and as the iphone has much more support on this front, I think it would be quite beneficial be able to run the apps that aren't ported over to android. I hope that things will change however and more medical applications will be made for android soon. It's just a matter of time really...
I don't want the entire iPhone OS because its stupid.. if someone could reveal their scrolling physics, it would be great....
din0_22 said:
Why would the OP come to you and cry? are you a lawyer?
porting another operating system to a machine that you personally own will not get you into trouble.
You can limit yourself upto only provide instructions on how to do this, and not by distributing the actual image in public, you will not get in trouble for it.
I am no lawyer but a paralegal in IP.
I would agree that this is infact a good project, and/or i would even dream of porting Winmo to have a triple boot in our (What google states as the Developers phone = Nexus one).
Don't get me wrong, Android is Awesome, but having more options is always better!
It is like a PC compared to a Playstation
In Playstation, you are limited to playing PS games.
In a PC, besides the PC games, you can also play different kind of PS, Gamecube, PS2, etc. emulators.
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Apples licensing agreements for their software stipulates that they only be run on specific hardware.
muncheese said:
Apples licensing agreements for their software stipulates that they only be run on specific hardware.
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Better yet, by law "Illegal Distributing of such" will be prosecuted and punishable by law.
as such, licensing agreement does not constitute unless it is being publicly distributed.
Although, realistically this port will never happen and if it will, i am not convinced that it will be very soon.
how about, FU*K the fruit maker, and do what ever we like..
only distribute an possible port in secret..?
But i really doubt this will ever happen, but an emulator or somthing similar for the apps would be NICE..
Doing so will be a giant backward step.
how about, FU*K the fruit maker, and do what ever we like..
only distribute an possible port in secret..?
But i really doubt this will ever happen, but an emulator or somthing similar for the apps would be NICE..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how about, FU*K the fruit maker, and do what ever we like..
only distribute an possible port in secret..?
But i really doubt this will ever happen, but an emulator or somthing similar for the apps would be NICE..
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Click to collapse
I totally agree.. I mean android market is getting bigger each day and getting more popular as verizon's advertisements for the android keeps getting better.
but, to be able to run iphone apps to our beloved nexus one will be a big achievement as there are still lots of iphone apps that i wish to be developed for Android as well, like my favorite Dakeno!
oh by the way this tapatalk app is amazing!
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
Just because the Android Market is growing, that doesn't necessarily mean that anything is exactly getting better. Apple is still beating us in the game department, and due to their sponsors - they have apps that are like... important? Or, well, more useful to some..
I don't know if Android will ever reach that polished level the iPhone has, regarding to apps that is. I don't even play games really on my phone, if they looked up to par.. then maybe. Android is progressing, though.
Just developed a terrible rash on my taint after reading this thread. Great.
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
Eclair~ said:
Just because the Android Market is growing, that doesn't necessarily mean that anything is exactly getting better. Apple is still beating us in the game department, and due to their sponsors - they have apps that are like... important? Or, well, more useful to some..
I don't know if Android will ever reach that polished level the iPhone has, regarding to apps that is. I don't even play games really on my phone, if they looked up to par.. then maybe. Android is progressing, though.
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Your comparing an OS that is in its Third/Fourth Iteration to one that is in its Second. To say that iPhone OS 2.0 was fluid and completely polished would be a huge lie. Back then, it did not have the ridiculous catalog of apps that it does now, nor was it as fast as it is now. In time, when Android reaches 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, ect, you will see Android reach a level of polish that the iPhone OS has. Right now, Android is seeing a huge increase in market-share. With this will come developers. With developers, more quality apps will come. Android has the momentum to do it. I would believe that Android will become polished by the end of the year, possibly early next year based off of its growth and progression.

HD7 and WP7 future Customization level/Roms?

I am confused on all of this and I have read all the threads on the HD7 here. In regards to both the HD7 and WP7 will there ever be the ability to have custom roms and be rooted? I'm still not sure what the chevron tool really even did besides make your phone have a free dev account and 3 party apps. I'm coming from the HD2 in which I changed roms on a daily basis and had multiple versions of android running. I'm just wondering if we will ever get to that level of modification with windows 7. Now mind you I have no interest running android on my HD7, thats not what this thread is about. If I did I would have bought the MT4G which my GF got when we did the buy one get one deal 2 weeks ago. I just wanna know if there is going to be real Dev support like there is with the HD2. Is the interest level there? I love WP7 however its just a little to bland, but with a few visual mods it would be the most amazing UI ever and Im not talking about missing features. I'm talking about eye candy. Am I off base? I am I missing the point of WP7? I dont know I just want some feedback on all of this.
Thanks for the replies!!
stillbrad said:
Thanks for the replies!!
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Here is one reply :
It will take a real long time ( maybe years ) because it is a brand new os and closed ,so everything has to be reverse engineered and that will take long when there are even dev's that are willing to put in the time .
ceesheim said:
Here is one reply :
It will take a real long time ( maybe years ) because it is a brand new os and closed ,so everything has to be reverse engineered and that will take long when there are even dev's that are willing to put in the time .
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Hi, I thought it was Microsoft's intention to set a standard - what they did regarding restrictions of the hardware (Screen resolution, keys,...). This should give some similar standard as Apple did with the iPhone, but I had to learn, that the OS itself is customized by every provider (omitting languages, ...).
I really hoped windows phone might be similar to Win7 for PC - getting updates, optional updates, add-ons directly from microsoft and applications programmed by third parties (Marketplace). But how shall updates of the OS by Microsoft work, if not installable on the phones as those updates needs to be customized by the provider?
Nice approach to get a stable and equal OS (don't bother being controlled by Microsoft - that case you should get another phone - my two cents), but that case the OS on the phone must be by Microsoft themselves, not T-Mobile, O2, vodafone, ....
Carlhermann
C.Schlehaus said:
Hi, I thought it was Microsoft's intention to set a standard - what they did regarding restrictions of the hardware (Screen resolution, keys,...). This should give some similar standard as Apple did with the iPhone, but I had to learn, that the OS itself is customized by every provider (omitting languages, ...).
I really hoped windows phone might be similar to Win7 for PC - getting updates, optional updates, add-ons directly from microsoft and applications programmed by third parties (Marketplace). But how shall updates of the OS by Microsoft work, if not installable on the phones as those updates needs to be customized by the provider?
Nice approach to get a stable and equal OS (don't bother being controlled by Microsoft - that case you should get another phone - my two cents), but that case the OS on the phone must be by Microsoft themselves, not T-Mobile, O2, vodafone, ....
Carlhermann
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Well exactly...I mean the iphone was jailbroken very shorly after being released. I was an ex iphone user as well and ran jailbroken very early on. I'm just wondering if the Interest Level is there? I mean the iphone was worked on by some greats like geohot and others. I guess im saying with WP7 getting written off early on by a lot of people (i believe in the os) will devs even give it a shot?
stillbrad said:
Well exactly...I mean the iphone was jailbroken very shorly after being released. I was an ex iphone user as well and ran jailbroken very early on. I'm just wondering if the Interest Level is there? I mean the iphone was worked on by some greats like geohot and others. I guess im saying with WP7 getting written off early on by a lot of people (i believe in the os) will devs even give it a shot?
Click to expand...
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wp7 will be jailbroken real fast i think ( it is already jailbroken but no one really know how to make native code work on wp7)
custom rom's is something totally different ( I belief that there aren't any custom rom's on ios)
there is a history on custom rom's for WM for years (wm4-wm6.5) but WP7 is totally different and everyone has to start all over (reverse engineering) and that will take long .
C.Schlehaus said:
Hi, I thought it was Microsoft's intention to set a standard - what they did regarding restrictions of the hardware (Screen resolution, keys,...). This should give some similar standard as Apple did with the iPhone, but I had to learn, that the OS itself is customized by every provider (omitting languages, ...).
I really hoped windows phone might be similar to Win7 for PC - getting updates, optional updates, add-ons directly from microsoft and applications programmed by third parties (Marketplace). But how shall updates of the OS by Microsoft work, if not installable on the phones as those updates needs to be customized by the provider?
Nice approach to get a stable and equal OS (don't bother being controlled by Microsoft - that case you should get another phone - my two cents), but that case the OS on the phone must be by Microsoft themselves, not T-Mobile, O2, vodafone, ....
Carlhermann
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Click to collapse
I don't think you understand. The carriers are not allowed to touch the core OS, they are allowed to add their apps and edit a couple of things (like t-mobile making google the search in IE), but overall, OEMs and carriers can't do much with the OS itself, everything they do has to be done through apps.
stillbrad said:
Well exactly...I mean the iphone was jailbroken very shorly after being released. I was an ex iphone user as well and ran jailbroken very early on. I'm just wondering if the Interest Level is there? I mean the iphone was worked on by some greats like geohot and others. I guess im saying with WP7 getting written off early on by a lot of people (i believe in the os) will devs even give it a shot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the iphone is jailbroken, but are there really, full bore custom ROMs for it?
I worry that with jailbreaking, you get a host of other problems, like bugs and a laggy OS.
For me, I am happy with it as is for now and am curious to see where it goes.
Well, the team behind the WP7 unlocking/sideloading hack ChevronWP7 are currently talking to Microsoft about the openness of WP7. Right now, no one know's what's going to happen, besides that WP7 will eventually be completely unlocked and customizable with roms at some point in time. My hope is that the Chevron team can talk Microsoft into officially supporting homebrew. I understand that thats a far fetched dream, but it makes sense because tweaking and modding are the only reasons most people used winmo after 2007 or 2008; and Android has exploded since they began rooting devices.
why shouldn't Microsoft use us as alpha/beta testers? that and anything awesome we develop they can basically steal from us. Seems like a win-win for Microsoft
sprinttouch666 said:
Well, the team behind the WP7 unlocking/sideloading hack ChevronWP7 are currently talking to Microsoft about the openness of WP7. Right now, no one know's what's going to happen, besides that WP7 will eventually be completely unlocked and customizable with roms at some point in time. My hope is that the Chevron team can talk Microsoft into officially supporting homebrew. I understand that thats a far fetched dream, but it makes sense because tweaking and modding are the only reasons most people used winmo after 2007 or 2008; and Android has exploded since they began rooting devices.
why shouldn't Microsoft use us as alpha/beta testers? that and anything awesome we develop they can basically steal from us. Seems like a win-win for Microsoft
Click to expand...
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why is everyone so sure you will ever get a custom ROM on wp7?
nrfitchett4 said:
why is everyone so sure you will ever get a custom ROM on wp7?
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Click to collapse
That's what I wanna know. My hope is the interest level that there is in WM will soon be there for WP7. I'm sure there is much room for improvement that only a custom rom and a chef from xda can produce.

[Q] Is Captivate/Android Experience for Me?

All,
I am new here and to SmartPhones. I like Captivate because it has low radiation.
I am impressed with the activities I see here and on CyanogenMod. However, these give me cause for concern regarding the energy level required to accomplish them. Linux is good but I am returning to graduate school in the fall so I am concerned regarding the requirement of these phones and OS's. I would appreciate it if some of you could explain why so much work occurs with Android. Is much of this activity born out of the decision of carriers to control OS releases to specific phones? I see this as a major factor presently.
With that said, it does appear Samsung blew it with regard to v2.2 and the Galaxy S phones. I am nearly embarrassed to inform you that I own two Samsung LCD monitors after learning of this negative experience.
Clearly, I void the warranty if I embrace the activities here but this just rationalizes the choice of a refurbished phone!
Please attempt to characterize the time requirement for becoming involved with these Samsung Galaxy phones and Android. I know I am not the type of person to be interested in continually working with my phone to make it better. However, I also know my limited perspective can be biasing reality with this OS and these SmartPhones unnecessarily negative.
Oddly, my wife is considering the Focus because it would give her the MS support she needs with work. Regardless, it does appear we have found a few excellent Internet resources for these choices...I just want to ensure I am not getting in over my head.
Thanks,
Rick
by radiation I assume you mean the head tumors
RAVC1 said:
All,
I am new here and to SmartPhones. I like Captivate because it has low radiation.
I am impressed with the activities I see here and on CyanogenMod. However, these give me cause for concern regarding the energy level required to accomplish them. Linux is good but I am returning to graduate school in the fall so I am concerned regarding the requirement of these phones and OS's. I would appreciate it if some of you could explain why so much work occurs with Android. Is much of this activity born out of the decision of carriers to control OS releases to specific phones? I see this as a major factor presently.
With that said, it does appear Samsung blew it with regard to v2.2 and the Galaxy S phones. I am nearly embarrassed to inform you that I own two Samsung LCD monitors after learning of this negative experience.
Clearly, I void the warranty if I embrace the activities here but this just rationalizes the choice of a refurbished phone!
Please attempt to characterize the time requirement for becoming involved with these Samsung Galaxy phones and Android. I know I am not the type of person to be interested in continually working with my phone to make it better. However, I also know my limited perspective can be biasing reality with this OS and these SmartPhones unnecessarily negative.
Oddly, my wife is considering the Focus because it would give her the MS support she needs with work. Regardless, it does appear we have found a few excellent Internet resources for these choices...I just want to ensure I am not getting in over my head.
Thanks,
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Rick,
To answer your question - why so much work occurs with Android, I would like to take the liberty of rephrasing the question - why so much work occurs with Android phones? There isnt one correct answer for this.
You are correct in saying that carriers and service providers like to cripple the phone before they hand it over to the consumer. So when you buy the phone you really are not using these wonderful pieces of technology to their fullest extent. Thanks to our developers here at XDA because of whom we can in reality free the phones that we paid much moolah for, so that we maybe able to use all of the fones features that have been designed to work in conjunction with the wonderful Android OS.
Secondly, the reason why so much work goes into the phones and development to improve the functionality of the phone is because that is what Android has been designed for. Consumer can customize the phone to their liking and does not have to get stuck with the proprietary, grid like systems like the ones iphone has. Phone manufacturers, and not just Samsung, obviously design the phones software in such a way so that there is always room for improvement. They bet their dollar on the fact that an average consumer will eventually buy a newer product when its released and marketed in the future. There is always something lacking in the product that is in the market right now and that is where all this work comes into play.
Now, whether you shud buy a samsung captivate or not and what the time requirement is, is totally dependent on what you want to use the phone for and what kind of functionality you would like to get out of it.
From what you said that ur not a person who wud like to spend a lot of time modifying or playing around with your phone, you wud still like the captivate. Samsung Captivate is a very nice phone overall. Its got almost everything that you cud want in a phone. In regards to apps included with the phone, you've got a decent selection along with loads of bloatware.... If there is anything missing you can easily find it on the android market.
If you're expecting that your GPS would work right out of the box, then the answer is, maybe - maybe not. and its not android's fault, its a samsung issue. There are multiple fixes for the GPS that you can find on the forum, that being said, if you plan on utilizing those fixes, like you said not only will you void your warranty but you alone will be venturing into that experiment on your phone and dev will not be responsible for any damage that may or may not happen to your phone. But then again no guts, no glory.
So all in all, if you do end up getting the captivate, i dont think you'll be utterly disappointed, but at the same time i dont think you'll be able to sit back either when you see all these new developments posted here.
Hopefully i helped you a little and if i said too much then i apologize.
I welcome any senior member of the forum to correct me if im wrong and/or make any additions to what ive said above..
happy forumming....
My brother has a Samsung focus. It's buggy as hell, completely counter intuitive, and incomplete. Theres also no apps at all. He has like 3 different crappy youtube apps and sound boards.
And there's no CM7 to one day fix it.
Sent from my Captivate.
anandsamuel,
An excellent response; truly what I was looking for to understand the issues involved regarding Android and SmartPhones. You did not say too much.
I guess I need to start reading so I understand how to root a Captivate!
Rick
Also, that font is irritating to read.
RAVC1 said:
All,
I am new here and to SmartPhones. I like Captivate because it has low radiation.
I am impressed with the activities I see here and on CyanogenMod. However, these give me cause for concern regarding the energy level required to accomplish them. Linux is good but I am returning to graduate school in the fall so I am concerned regarding the requirement of these phones and OS's. I would appreciate it if some of you could explain why so much work occurs with Android. Is much of this activity born out of the decision of carriers to control OS releases to specific phones? I see this as a major factor presently.
With that said, it does appear Samsung blew it with regard to v2.2 and the Galaxy S phones. I am nearly embarrassed to inform you that I own two Samsung LCD monitors after learning of this negative experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok lets slow you down there. first android is linux BASED not linux. there is no need to worry about OS/ device compatibility. the most interaction between the phone and PC are just file copying like through a usb thumb drive.
the next part regarding carriers/updates/samsung. you answered yourself, kinda, and backwards. Samsung didnt blow it.
Google android updates as much as any software does - to make things better.
they release to manufacturers so they can make it work with their hardware.
Samsung released on time, BUT TO THE CARRIERS.
the carriers then take what samsung gave them and add their carrier specific settings (APN ect) and applications (bloatware).
ATT blew the update timeline.
Sometimes manufacturers release their finished product as "source code" untouched by carriers.
the long process is necessary in each step to (attempt) to make a perfect software package that will work with each phone/carrier out of the box for the end user. so it is unfair to say "born out of the decision of carriers to control OS releases to specific phones"
XDA works off of source codes and carrier releases to make our custom updates.
Clearly, I void the warranty if I embrace the activities here but this just rationalizes the choice of a refurbished phone!
Please attempt to characterize the time requirement for becoming involved with these Samsung Galaxy phones and Android. I know I am not the type of person to be interested in continually working with my phone to make it better. However, I also know my limited perspective can be biasing reality with this OS and these SmartPhones unnecessarily negative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are ways to return your phone without them knowing what you did. dont worry too much about your "voided" warranty.
before i felt comfortable flashing I took about 3 days reading my A$$ off! and currently im off on workers comp. so that was 3 FULL days. even then i had issues and mistakes and my phone was out of service a few nights! but that is part of the fun.
you do not need to be the type of person to constantly update your phone to buy it. tens of thousands of people have this phone on stock firmware and it fully works. the extra effort and time that we here at XDA and cyanogenMOD do is more out of fun, and customization. Many would argue function as well, as we do sometimes fix things *better* than google/samsung/carriers. but things willl *usually* still function on stock even if on a basic level.
you only need to put in as much as you want to get out of it
so timeline,
flashing custom roms/themes PROPERLY - under a week
cutting and pasting roms frankenROMS - under a month or 2
creating - vast back knowlege of programming, ect YEAR(S)
regarding wanting to update often, not every update on XDA to your rom is necessary unles it fixes something you didnt have.
Each Android/Carrier update, would be recomended (or the XDA counterpart) as each new android version (not rom) contains the most updates/fixes. so if you were running a 2.2 (custom or stock) rom it WOULD be worth upgrading to 2.3 when available (custom or stock). but you dont NEED to update your custom rom every couple weeks when they put out their minor update on the same base rom (2.2 for eg.)
Oddly, my wife is considering the Focus because it would give her the MS support she needs with work. Regardless, it does appear we have found a few excellent Internet resources for these choices...I just want to ensure I am not getting in over my head.
Thanks,
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no comment. best regards
Trusselo,
Excellent, thoughtful response; it helped characterize this activity further for me. My concern is now recognized (and conveyed to others...) as not wanting to be required to become a developer to make my involvement with a SmartPhone constructive. Samsung, Android, XDA looks very good to me. As you mentioned, my reading has begun.
Yes, something is not right with my traditional Comic Sans Serif font here; it seems to compress it horizontally, but my aging eyes typically need this font.

Saving to google contacts by default

Hello. I have a few questions for JB. I was expecting most of these to be gone, but still haven't found a solution so I thought I'd ask.
So, is there a way to save contacts to google contacts BY DEFAULT?
scooterlord said:
Hello. I have a few questions for JB. I was expecting most of these to be gone, but still haven't found a solution so I thought I'd ask.
So, is there a way to save contacts to google contacts BY DEFAULT?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They do, don't they? I don't think anyone's gonna give you a mod just so you don't have to tap one window before you add a contact
Sent from my rooted P880
I wasn't expecting a mod, maybe something I missed out. That's why I hate my switch from iOS to android. In iOS you have every feature you could have thought to need, just waiting for you to use it.
I'm sorry, but I can't help from laughing at that comment!!
Tcm9669 said:
I'm sorry, but I can't help from laughing at that comment!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:/ laugh all you want. Facts are facts.
scooterlord said:
I wasn't expecting a mod, maybe something I missed out. That's why I hate my switch from iOS to android. In iOS you have every feature you could have thought to need, just waiting for you to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're actually kidding right? IOS is the most bland closed featureless system there is. Lets see what android can do that IOS can't
1. Insert SDcard
2. No limits on how big apps are when downloading with 3G
3. Live wallpaper
4. Install stuff from anywhere you want, no jailbreak (root to us) required
5. Better specs, cheaper price
6. Root, roms etc
7. Don't need itunes to move files around
8. Themes
9. £30 to repair in a shop instead of over £100
10. You're in the wrong place to insult android, go away
Sent from my rooted P880
@non4 said:
You're actually kidding right? IOS is the most bland closed featureless system there is. Lets see what android can do that IOS can't
1. Insert SDcard
2. No limits on how big apps are when downloading with 3G
3. Live wallpaper
4. Install stuff from anywhere you want, no jailbreak (root to us) required
5. Better specs, cheaper price
6. Root, roms etc
7. Don't need itunes to move files around
8. Themes
9. £30 to repair in a shop instead of over £100
10. You're in the wrong place to insult android, go away
Sent from my rooted P880
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I wasn't expecting this kind of answer, I will still reply. I am not a fanboy, both oses have their pros and cons. Hardware-wise, android might be one generation ahead (check your list above), but software-wise it has a long way to mature until it reaches iOS standards.
You might feel like you have freedom, but probably have been visiting this forum waiting for the unlocked bootloader - so, the need to jailbreak is the same as this one. Once jailbroken on the iphone, you have no need of itunes, no need of anything. As for sds, batteris etc, personally I never ran out of data space on my 16gb device.
What android users don't see (or can't accept) for the apple devices are three things.
a) Accessories - tell me if you have found a decent case/car mount/pod base/WHATEVER for your android device.
b) the iOS experience is the same EVERY SINGLE TIME. No lags, no hangups. Once speedy-ALWAYS speedy. Just try one and see. I don't know why android keeps re-optimizing my email, I don't know why sometimes a 4-core cellphone lags to enter the call list, sometimes lags even on the home screen - never happened on my..(wait for it) 3GS!
c) Apple Store is AGES ahead play store - quality stuff ONLY. Keep in mind that devs use iOS to develop and PORT to android later.
As I said.. facts are facts.
Want a closed up featureless OS that is a compleate waste for more powerfull phones?
Check out Windows Phone.
---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 PM ----------
scooterlord said:
a) Accessories - tell me if you have found a decent case/car mount/pod base/WHATEVER for your android device.
b) the iOS experience is the same EVERY SINGLE TIME. No lags, no hangups. Once speedy-ALWAYS speedy. Just try one and see. I don't know why android keeps re-optimizing my email, I don't know why sometimes a 4-core cellphone lags to enter the call list, sometimes lags even on the home screen - never happened on my..(wait for it) 3GS!
c) Apple Store is AGES ahead play store - quality stuff ONLY. Keep in mind that devs use iOS to develop and PORT to android later.
As I said.. facts are facts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to say he is right on this one... I have an iPod Touch 4 and it hardly lags with anything.
As for the Store, they have only quality stuff because App Store carefully checks every submission to see if it's worthy to end up there.
Developers pay 100$ to submit an app, so you can bet yourself they will work hard on it.
Android takes 30$ for submission, you can submit an app that only had a big red button to open google and it'll still end up in Play Store.
I had an iphone and I hated it, got straight back to android as soon as I could. What apple really does is block good devs from getting their apps in, look at kaalus having issues with survivalcraft, and they do let junk on there too. Its smooth, but thats it, my o4x is smooth too. I don't give a damn about cases, and as for the bootloader thats unfortunate but I still choose android. Android is open source and its functionality can be expanded a lot more than iphone without even rooting it. Its a closed system designed to filter all your money to apple. And not to mention they break so damn easy!
Sent from my rooted P880
and do you know why devs start dev'ing on iOS phones? cause they're all the same... same size, HW and so on. it is way harder to develop an android app, cause you need to support (LDPI), MDPI, HDPI, XHDPI, completely different chipsets/hardware in general. and another question? do you know why it is "smooth"? because you need to optimize the rom only one time and it fits to all devices. BTW, have you ever seen a real custom rom or even a recovery on an apple device? i haven't.
if you know what you're doing, android is way better than iOS. it can be way smoother and faster. and the most important thing about android: it is OPEN SOURCE.
if you hate android that much, why did you even buy it? you're of course free to leave.
So let's keep it with that and back to topic.
laufersteppenwolf said:
and do you know why devs start dev'ing on iOS phones? cause they're all the same... same size, HW and so on. it is way harder to develop an android app, cause you need to support (LDPI), MDPI, HDPI, XHDPI, completely different chipsets/hardware in general. and another question? do you know why it is "smooth"? because you need to optimize the rom only one time and it fits to all devices. BTW, have you ever seen a real custom rom or even a recovery on an apple device? i haven't.
if you know what you're doing, android is way better than iOS. it can be way smoother and faster. and the most important thing about android: it is OPEN SOURCE.
if you hate android that much, why did you even buy it? you're of course free to leave.
So let's keep it with that and back to topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that I hate Android, it's just that I find iOS better in some cases. And that's about it. The phone I got as a gift, and previously being an owner of an android tablet I thought I'd adjust and see great improvements - which unfortunately I didn't. It's just a matter of preference though and it stems from the individual's needs.
As you said, back to topic, is there a solution to what I am asking? I saw my friends Galaxy S3 last night and he selects it only ONCE and it's autoselected after that. So, any ideas?
scooterlord said:
It's not that I hate Android, it's just that I find iOS better in some cases. And that's about it. The phone I got as a gift, and previously being an owner of an android tablet I thought I'd adjust and see great improvements - which unfortunately I didn't. It's just a matter of preference though and it stems from the individual's needs.
As you said, back to topic, is there a solution to what I am asking? I saw my friends Galaxy S3 last night and he selects it only ONCE and it's autoselected after that. So, any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe there is on s3, but not ours as far as I know. I don't see the big deal at all, you got arthritis in your thumb? No but seriously I don't know just tap the option and live with it if someone knows they will surely tell you
Sent from my rooted P880
scooterlord said:
I wasn't expecting a mod, maybe something I missed out. That's why I hate my switch from iOS to android. In iOS you have every feature you could have thought to need, just waiting for you to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wanted to fix this for you, since this is the basis of this argument:
In iOS you have every feature you're used to just the way you like it*.
* - or the way you're used to - sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, since "the way you like it" is usually as good as the best way you found of doing something.. if something better comes along, it becomes "the way you like it".
IMO, the great thing about Android is that you can adapt the features to the way you want it. Same thing goes for LG's UI and Sammy's TouchWiz - if you don't like the things they added to the stock Android, you can install a launcher more suited to your needs (and more flexible too). Same goes for the basic apps for SMS, Email, etc. And you might think the iOS does it right on the first try (as do some Nexus users), but the fact you have alternatives is a plus for me.
And the reason it's not completely Off-Topic is this: the same applies to your question. The S3 might have something done differently than the LG, because they made different design choices. Some people might not liking to have every contact of theirs in their Google account (as many are still distrustful of Google's privacy rules), so LG preferred to have people choose everytime. S3 chose a set-it-and-forget-it POV, which some people might prefer, while others might not. And if you don't like the way it is in the phone you got, just get an app that does it the way you want it.
Or develop it (another HUGE plus for Android, IMO).
skryptus said:
I just wanted to fix this for you, since this is the basis of this argument:
In iOS you have every feature you're used to just the way you like it*.
* - or the way you're used to - sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, since "the way you like it" is usually as good as the best way you found of doing something.. if something better comes along, it becomes "the way you like it".
IMO, the great thing about Android is that you can adapt the features to the way you want it. Same thing goes for LG's UI and Sammy's TouchWiz - if you don't like the things they added to the stock Android, you can install a launcher more suited to your needs (and more flexible too). Same goes for the basic apps for SMS, Email, etc. And you might think the iOS does it right on the first try (as do some Nexus users), but the fact you have alternatives is a plus for me.
And the reason it's not completely Off-Topic is this: the same applies to your question. The S3 might have something done differently than the LG, because they made different design choices. Some people might not liking to have every contact of theirs in their Google account (as many are still distrustful of Google's privacy rules), so LG preferred to have people choose everytime. S3 chose a set-it-and-forget-it POV, which some people might prefer, while others might not. And if you don't like the way it is in the phone you got, just get an app that does it the way you want it.
Or develop it (another HUGE plus for Android, IMO).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well said. Trouble with apple is it does it one way, and only one way. With android theres several ways to do one thing. The longer you use android the more shortcuts you can learn and it really starts to flow, android grows on you, apple is more noob friendly
Sent from my rooted P880
It's not a big deal but I'd like to automatic save my contacts on google acount or smartphone memory, cause I use to forget to tick the option and my contacts keep beeing saved on the SIM card.
back on topic, default save location
So... I used search and found this iphone rant, instead of trying to post something in a new topic, lets do something insane and try to get an XDA topic back ON topic
Previous phones supported default save locations so I thought i missed something, here are tutorials for other roms:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/20432/android-auto-save-contacts-to-phone-or-sim-card-by-default/
http://genius-tips.com/change-default-save-location-for-contacts-in-android/
Why it matters, I quickly save contacts without looking at the location and later discover they are gone, this is because I only show google contacts.

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