Related
Well been doing alot of study lately and it seems ALOT of apps on the market that are full versions and are "free" seem to have ad sponsored elements in them. Sending your GPS data to whoever or other various things. Now while if the dev mentions on the description that their "Paid" version is ad free. Least its up front and honest about it. However alot of Apps I found out hide this info it seems. Is this going to be the new "Kazaa" on the G1? Back when Kazaa came out, is when the influx of "Spyware" was increasing. Im worried is this happening to the G1 now? While I can understand devs choosing this to make their app free and gain from it a lil. Whats to say other devs wont use this for other intentions that may have some negative impact?
Just wondering tho.. for modded G1s. Is there some sorta firewall app or so yet that might be useful? Anyways just thought I would post for discussion case I am worried over nothing.
Install AdFree from the Market.
Cool ill try that. Still tho some discussion would be good. Cause I don't know if this should be something to start getting concerned on. Apps running in background draining battery, and reporting info possibly and so. Or am I getting concerned over nothing?
Mysticales said:
Cool ill try that. Still tho some discussion would be good. Cause I don't know if this should be something to start getting concerned on. Apps running in background draining battery, and reporting info possibly and so. Or am I getting concerned over nothing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little paranoia is a healthy thing, too much is bad, but these ads collect all sorts of location information to profile you and provide relevent advertising, but who knows what else happens with the data etc etc etc
PS you need root access on your phone to use AdFree
Yea Im fully rooted, No worries there. =) Thanks for this heads up. I use host files as well on my PC.. since then never had a issue with spyware again. Any news on if he would let us update the host file ourselves? Id love to use the file I have on my PC. Heh.
Anyways as for discussion goes. Can these ads know your G1 email, or linked email account? Next off, is there a ability that these ads could read your personal data as text msgs, contacts (to spam phone calls) or anything like that? Android being a new OS.. not sure what devs and ads can do with access to a phone. Its like a new gateway has been opened.
Kinda wish a dev could comment if the G1 would even have this ability and if it could be a bad thing.
Edit: Good question, this Ad Free, is it like if you add a hosts file in a router? Like if I use the G1 to tether, is it blocking the ad banners even on tethered connections? Would be interesting to know for sure since imagine a built in firewall that protects tethered PCs too.
Mysticales said:
Yea Im fully rooted, No worries there. =) Thanks for this heads up. I use host files as well on my PC.. since then never had a issue with spyware again. Any news on if he would let us update the host file ourselves? Id love to use the file I have on my PC. Heh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use your own hosts file on your own phone, AdFree just automates the process, if you look at this thread it started off describing how to do things manually.
Anyways as for discussion goes. Can these ads know your G1 email, or linked email account?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly, I haven't looked into accessing the google credentials from the android APIs so I don't know for certain, might be a private API google only shares with it's own apps, that doesn't mean someone won't figure out how to access them however.
Next off, is there a ability that these ads could read your personal data as text msgs, contacts (to spam phone calls) or anything like that? Android being a new OS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you install an app there is a screen displayed of the permissions the apps ask for, read/write contacts, calendars etc will all be displayed, you should be able to see the permissions an app will have access to after it's installed as well from memory.
not sure what devs and ads can do with access to a phone. Its like a new gateway has been opened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be more worried what google will do with all the info it collects to be honest, but that's another issue altogether.
Kinda wish a dev could comment if the G1 would even have this ability and if it could be a bad thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are prompted during install as to what the app will be able to access, google leaves it up to you to accept it or not.
Edit: Good question, this Ad Free, is it like if you add a hosts file in a router? Like if I use the G1 to tether, is it blocking the ad banners even on tethered connections? Would be interesting to know for sure since imagine a built in firewall that protects tethered PCs too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends how the tethered setup gets DNS info, if it uses the information from the hosts file then yes, but this is dependent on what the tether setup does.
Mysticales said:
Its like a new gateway has been opened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if you never bothered reading the permissions requests when installing an app. They clearly describe what permissions an app wants to use and you can cancel the installation if you feel you don't want to give an app the right to access your personal info. So if you install a game that says it wants access to your Google Account info (which would include your email and thus all your associated google services) then you have only yourself to blame if the dev sends you a ton of spam or sells your email address.
Bottom line is read the permissions requested carefully and decide whether you trust the company/entity that created the app before installing it. Also, i'd be very wary installing any root apps, since root apps by their very nature can operate outside of dalvik sandbox and do practically anything they want to your system. I'm only running two root apps right now: Market Enabler and Wifi Tether. They are both open source.
Well of course I read the permissions thing. However still I would still wonder about things.
Mysticales said:
Well of course I read the permissions thing. However still I would still wonder about things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google actually closed up some of the loop holes that apps were using on Android 1.0/1.1 to enable wifi etc.
jashsu said:
They are both open source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you audit the code and compile it yourself, you have no idea what the binary is actually doing.
Location data is only used for serving the right banners and calculate the profits the banner view/click has depending on the location (country) of the viewer.
Its not anything malicious and you can easily see the permissions when installing.
People all like free apps instead of paying a few dollars, but when an ad is added people try to get rid of it... Havent you all ever wondered why the ads are there? Just like on a forum as the one you are on right now? Right they generate at least a little bit of money for a dev that doesnt want to charge the users directly by letting them pay, but spends almost all his free time to keep apps updated, write new once and answering questions.
As soon as there is virtually no way too make money on a market, the market will die as developers/companies will move over to an other platform of development.
delta_foxtrot2 said:
Unless you audit the code and compile it yourself, you have no idea what the binary is actually doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not difficult to get the code from svn and compile it. Pretty effortless.
rogro82 said:
As soon as there is virtually no way too make money on a market, the market will die as developers/companies will move over to an other platform of development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many people don't like to view ads on their computers, let alone their mobile phone. Thus if people can block the ads easily, they will. Content producers and software developers will simply have to find a new business model to pursue. Maybe that's a free/premium differentiation model or maybe its microtransactions. That or they will have to deal with a percentage of their userbase blocking ads.
Well I am sure most devs Block ads too, either on their mobile or pc.. no one wants any type of issue.
Now again, I said I understand why they are there for free apps. Its just that as a user myself.. I like to know Im protected from potential hazards. Also alot of devs like to make something hot to use on later resumes and projects. Ive worked with alot of devs in my time start with nothing and grow to get bigger jobs in RL cause of the project. =)
jashsu said:
It's not difficult to get the code from svn and compile it. Pretty effortless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't say it was hard to get or compile it, but auditing the code to make sure nothing malicious is going on can be very difficult at times. There is a code obfustication competition each year and it's extrodinary what some can do and you'd never know unless it was pointed out to you.
Mysticales said:
Well I am sure most devs Block ads too, either on their mobile or pc.. no one wants any type of issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not just "issues" too many ads tick a certain segment of the population off to the point that they go to these lengths to get rid of them.
This is of course before you factor in this segment of the population are usually the least to click on ads, usually for ethical/moral reasons, so them getting rid of ads is usually no big loss.
Last time I checked AdFree was downloaded less than 5,000 times, now compare this to a speedometer app I made which anyone can run and it's been downloaded over 10,000 times I highly doubt any dev relying on ads will actually loose out by the people that can and are blocking them.
rogro82 said:
Location data is only used for serving the right banners and calculate the profits the banner view/click has depending on the location (country) of the viewer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The meta data that can be gleened from this sort of advertising can have all sorts of flow on effects and unintended consequences.
I see the world and potential pitfalls in things differently than others, I don't know why, but the more data collected the worst things can be.
If you are interested in what country they are from/in just pull the country code from the SIM card, why narrow it down to within a few metres?
Well since I have been using Adfree. Let me say this. My G1 seems to be running faster! I dont get as many force close/wait errors. Certain apps like atrackdog for one RUN faster. I mean without the ads running, it seems my apps speed through their task and do what they are supposed to. Kinda interesting note oddly.
Also lets say a app you know would be using GPS to locate you on a map. Thus triggering "Give app permission to use your GPS" which you know why it needs it. But does the app also tell you that it uses the GPS for Ads? So I dont always trust what it says when it comes to permissions as it doesnt mean in the underline that its not using the same permission to do other things. Would be nice if the G1 had a notice that the app uses Ad support.
Linux is a wonderful and powerful operating system that can do just about anything you can possibly dream of.
First, the hosts file hack is a piece of crap since all it does is it points potentially malicious domain names back to self. It doesn't take into account connections that are ip address based... those will still go through and there is nothing that can be put in the hosts file to stop that.
iptables on the other hand.... included in 1.0 and 1.1, and several custom 1.5's, can do many strong things; block by ip address (including if it tries to lookup by dns), block by port, *BLOCK BY USER ID*.
The latter is particularly interesting since each program installed on android is assigned its own userid. That means that with the correct iptables rule, you can block all network traffic for THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM. Or you can blacklist/whitelist servers for that program, etc.
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/block...ingle-user-from-my-server-using-iptables.html
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux...ng-access-to-selectedspecific-ip-address.html
For example, when I issue this command:
iptables -A OUTPUT -o tiwlan0 -m owner --uid-owner 10017 -j DROP
My browser is no longer able to connect (since it is uid=10017) using wifi (tiwlan0 is wifi). Note: leave out the entire "-o tiwlan0" argument and it should block all outgoing on all devices for that userid.
To find the userid for a particular program, do "ls -l /data/data/program'sdatadirectory"
So on JF 1.51 is this ability already there? Yea I know Linux is great for iptables. Always is, even in routers hehe.
If its not in there already, Debian, how well does that work on the G1?
Is there any workaround...?
Whats the problem ?
All the apps i have ever bought / downloaded, via the market work fine.
I believe this is what he's talking about
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=107185eea74e4005&hl=en
http://androinica.com/2009/02/23/some-paid-apps-unavailable-on-unlocked-phones/
It appears that as of February, Google made it so whenever a developer selects the "Copy Protected" option when listing their application on the marketplace, that application will not appear for any rooted phone or developer phone. Basically it seems they did this because a rooted or developer phone can extract the APK file after purchasing an app, and then return it while still keeping the application.
I recently became aware of this today as I was working with a developer to determine why his application would not appear in the market. It's a shame - the majority of the root community is not out there to STEAL apps, we support our developers, I was trying to find his application on the market so I could BUY it. I really wanted to purchase the application and now I have no way to do it, simply because I wanted to use my phone to it's full extent instead of being stuck on the stock firmware.
rabeatz said:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=107185eea74e4005&hl=en
http://androinica.com/2009/02/23/some-paid-apps-unavailable-on-unlocked-phones/
It appears that as of February, Google made it so whenever a developer selects the "Copy Protected" option when listing their application on the marketplace, that application will not appear for any rooted phone or developer phone. Basically it seems they did this because a rooted or developer phone can extract the APK file after purchasing an app, and then return it while still keeping the application.
I recently became aware of this today as I was working with a developer to determine why his application would not appear in the market. It's a shame - the majority of the root community is not out there to STEAL apps, we support our developers, I was trying to find his application on the market so I could BUY it. I really wanted to purchase the application and now I have no way to do it, simply because I wanted to use my phone to it's full extent instead of being stuck on the stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any example of apps not showing up on the market for us?
Gilliland12 said:
Any example of apps not showing up on the market for us?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search for the application Accudial on the market. It's copy protected. I get 0 results. Thats the one Example I am aware of but it also could be related to the fact that I'm on a 2.0.1 ROM instead of the older ones, switching back to test again. It's kind of hard to determine whether or not there are apps being hidden from us, if we don't know the app exists how are we gonna know it's hidden from our results?
It's because your on a Eclair rom..just searched on the WG 10 (Donut) and got AccuDial and AccuDial Free
Yeah I'm switching back to the latest CM ROM right now. But when I was running 2.0.1/Eclair, I was trying to download an application designed for 2.0 and it did not appear in the market - the developer said the only requirement he placed on it was that the phone be 2.0 or higher, so we came to the conclusion that it was the copy protection blocking the app.
But regardless of that - what about those links in my first post? Google Employees reply in those articles openly admitting that access to copy protected apps have been blocked from rooted and dev phones. Did Google quietly "undo" this between now and then? I can't find anything that says they did.
rabeatz said:
Yeah I'm switching back to the latest CM ROM right now. But when I was running 2.0.1/Eclair, I was trying to download an application designed for 2.0 and it did not appear in the market - the developer said the only requirement he placed on it was that the phone be 2.0 or higher, so we came to the conclusion that it was the copy protection blocking the app.
But regardless of that - what about those links in my first post? Google Employees reply in those articles openly admitting that access to copy protected apps have been blocked from rooted and dev phones. Did Google quietly "undo" this between now and then? I can't find anything that says they did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can find all of those apps they mention.
Dunno.
rabeatz said:
Yeah I'm switching back to the latest CM ROM right now. But when I was running 2.0.1/Eclair, I was trying to download an application designed for 2.0 and it did not appear in the market - the developer said the only requirement he placed on it was that the phone be 2.0 or higher, so we came to the conclusion that it was the copy protection blocking the app.
But regardless of that - what about those links in my first post? Google Employees reply in those articles openly admitting that access to copy protected apps have been blocked from rooted and dev phones. Did Google quietly "undo" this between now and then? I can't find anything that says they did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They did lift the "block", I know of at least 2 protected apps that I can use, Nesoid and Mobile Defense (not protected anymore but it ised to be)
Right now, I can only find Accudial Free but not Accudial. I'm on Cyan 4.2.9.1.
Maybe that's because I'm not in the US??? Or that I don't have a Google Checkout account???
Thanks!
rabeatz said:
Yeah I'm switching back to the latest CM ROM right now. But when I was running 2.0.1/Eclair, I was trying to download an application designed for 2.0 and it did not appear in the market - the developer said the only requirement he placed on it was that the phone be 2.0 or higher, so we came to the conclusion that it was the copy protection blocking the app.
But regardless of that - what about those links in my first post? Google Employees reply in those articles openly admitting that access to copy protected apps have been blocked from rooted and dev phones. Did Google quietly "undo" this between now and then? I can't find anything that says they did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was a long time ago.
supremeteam256 said:
That was a long time ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fair labor standards act was passed in 1938. Still in effect today. Just because Google made the change 10 months ago doesn't mean it suddenly was removed.. Whenever I search on the topic all I can find is info that says that access to copy protected apps been disallowed, can't find any article that mentions them removing the block.
I'm not saying it hasn't been removed, but it's kind of hard for me to know whether or not i'm being blocked from applications, I don't know what ones are copy protected and what ones aren't, or if theyre being blocked from me, because they simply wouldn't show up and I wouldn't even know they exist.
If the block has in fact been removed, it'd be nice to see if anyone could find an article that mentions it. Everything online talks about the block being placed
rabeatz said:
The fair labor standards act was passed in 1938. Still in effect today. Just because Google made the change 10 months ago doesn't mean it suddenly was removed.. Whenever I search on the topic all I can find is info that says that access to copy protected apps been disallowed, can't find any article that mentions them removing the block.
I'm not saying it hasn't been removed, but it's kind of hard for me to know whether or not i'm being blocked from applications, I don't know what ones are copy protected and what ones aren't, or if theyre being blocked from me, because they simply wouldn't show up and I wouldn't even know they exist.
If the block has in fact been removed, it'd be nice to see if anyone could find an article that mentions it. Everything online talks about the block being placed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search Nesoid, that is a protected app. If you see the paid version then they lifted the block
Have you ran market enabler?
supremeteam256 said:
Have you ran market enabler?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's that...?
Edit: Got it... http://code.google.com/p/market-enabler/ And it works... Thanks for the tip...!
Edit 2: Market Enabler works by mimicking certain APNs, be sure to backup your current APN first and restore it after getting the apps (it can be done within Market Enabler).
Cheers.
Looks like 1.1 is confirmed for January and will allow you to sideload apps on the NC in development mode. Not certain when Froyo 2.2 will be available, probably when they launch the store front in Q1, maybe it's in 1.1?
connect.nookdeveloper.com/t5/General-Discussion/Nook-Color-Rooting/td-p/901
Also mention of sideloading apps.
connect.nookdeveloper.com/t5/General-Discussion/Can-you-test-your-apps-on-a-real-hardware-now/m-p/47#M18
Good news!
Josh
I guess I'm the grinch who steals the joy from this news...we can already sideload (heck we have a working Market), and based on the original post I seriously doubt Froyo is coming for the ride with the 1.1 update. I think Froyo is much bigger news, and will get it's own announcement.
Not sure what development mode adds, since rooted users already have the goodies. Tell me I missed something...
-Matt
If that is all they added in the update ill be disappointed. Sounds like all they are gonna do is enable adb. Which is easy enough to enable anyways.
Send from my NookColor
Of course it's not big news here!!! You have to consider that it is for those who haven't rooted their unit. You knew it was coming, so why all the negativity?
Cheers,
kev
No negativity here. I probably should have added a few smiles and winks to make it clear that I was (mostly) teasing (i.e,. the grinch comment). I'm a pretty happy owner, and will gobble up whatever news I can find. I think recent developments with Bluetooth and Nookie Froyo are definitely things to celebrate. Maybe 1.1 has something special that we don't see yet.
-Matt
Yeah, apart from froyo, most of the news from B&N will likely not be as exciting as anything from the developers here.
I am curious what this 1.1 update means for the integrity of my currently nootered NC. Should I be concerned when B&N pushes this update my way?
Kev
It's good news to see sideloading for those that do not wish to root..
-CC
Question regarding upcoming Froyo update (packed with v1.1, or otherwise):
If B&N officially updates to 2.2, they open up development mode for app sideloading, and they also allow for the unrestricted use of normal Froyo home screens (and launchers?), will there be any reason remaining to actually "root" the device at that point?
Or, is B&N talking about a severely restricted "development mode" when they say they're going to open it up?
I'm confused...
(I'm new to Android rooting, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question...)
I haven't rooted... yet. Holding out to see what happens w/ 1.1. I'd prefer not to root and just get some basic apps on the device and not lose access to the B&N store. If I can side load a few key apps w/ 1.1, that will hold me off until the B&N Market place is launched Q1. Otherwise I will most likely root.
Am I missing something? I didn't see them say January anywhere in those threads. All I saw was them saying Q1 of 2011.
And this quote makes it sound like the update won't be useful to the average user.
"Within NOOKcolor 1.1 update, we have added "Developer Mode". This enabled approved 3rd party developers to use the Android SDK to test and develop applications on their NOOKcolor devices."
Approved 3rd Party Develepors. Sounds like the only people side loading apps may be those that are approved by B&N.
supersoulfly said:
"Within NOOKcolor 1.1 update, we have added "Developer Mode". This enabled approved 3rd party developers to use the Android SDK to test and develop applications on their NOOKcolor devices."
Approved 3rd Party Develepors. Sounds like the only people side loading apps may be those that are approved by B&N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And us.
12345678
I must have missed it but where in that thread is there any mention or confirmation that 1.1 is this month?
I see nothing of the sort.
In regards to January, it looks like Ted_Patrick went back and edited his original response.
Re: Nook Color Rooting[ Edited ] 01-05-2011 10:24 AM - last edited on 01-05-2011 07:12 PM
It originally read:
"Within NOOKcolor 1.1. update(January), we have added...."
Now other responses on the subject of 1.1 by him have an "official" response of
"We cannot comment on OS update features or framework support at this time. When we have information to share, we will be very clear and set expectations clearly."
Looks like he may of spilled the beans a bit or been more forth coming w/ info than B&N liked.
jwigginton said:
I haven't rooted... yet. Holding out to see what happens w/ 1.1. I'd prefer not to root and just get some basic apps on the device and not lose access to the B&N store. If I can side load a few key apps w/ 1.1, that will hold me off until the B&N Market place is launched Q1. Otherwise I will most likely root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know who's been scaring you with witchcraft and vodoo, but here are a few facts:
(1) Rooting is very easy. If you're the kind of person who is OK with opening a command prompt and doing things like "listing directories" and "renaming/moving files" it's quick and painless. It also takes less than 5 minutes (probably about 2) to take your device back to stock.
(2) Rooting does very little to the device. The key is that it allows the user to change system files, something that B&N would prefer we didn't do. Several users root their NookColor (NC) and then scratch their heads because they see no obvious change.
(3) Package mods like autonooter only make a few system changes (aside from the several nice system apps they add), in particular, they allow you to sideload apps. Once you do that, you can reorganize the way your NC looks and performs, so that it handles like a vanilla Android device.
(4) Most importantly, ROOTING DOES VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO CHANGE THE B&N INTERFACE. All--I repeat--ALL the things your NC does out of the box, it still does after rooting. Same eReader. Same storefront. Same file browser. Same everything. And I'm all but certain the NC doesn't phone home and complain that it's been rooted. And if it did--since the bootloader isn't locked--I seriously doubt B&N would try to deny you a service. (The more likely scenario is that an OTA update would try to remove root.)
EDIT: several rooted users have lost access to 1-hour free reading in-store (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860830). So it's not true that nothing is lost. Sorry for overgeneralizing.
I can all but guarantee you that you'll be disappointed by the B&N store. I predict it will have very few developers, and very few "good" free apps. A better way of saying it is this: within 1 or 2 weeks of the B&N app store launching, most users will look at the Android Market, and say "Forget it, I want apps from the Market, not B&N."
-Matt
gadgetrants said:
I don't know who's been scaring you with witchcraft and vodoo, but here are a few facts:
(1) Rooting is very easy. If you're the kind of person who is OK with opening a command prompt and doing things like "listing directories" and "renaming/moving files" it's quick and painless. It also takes less than 5 minutes (probably about 2) to take your device back to stock.
(2) Rooting does very little to the device. The key is that it allows the user to change system files, something that B&N would prefer we didn't do. Several users root their NookColor (NC) and then scratch their heads because they see no obvious change.
(3) Package mods like autonooter only make a few system changes (aside from the several nice system apps they add), in particular, they allow you to sideload apps. Once you do that, you can reorganize the way your NC looks and performs, so that it handles like a vanilla Android device.
(4) Most importantly, ROOTING DOES VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO CHANGE THE B&N INTERFACE. All--I repeat--ALL the things your NC does out of the box, it still does after rooting. Same eReader. Same storefront. Same file browser. Same everything. And I'm all but certain the NC doesn't phone home and complain that it's been rooted. And if it did--since the bootloader isn't locked--I seriously doubt B&N would try to deny you a service. (The more likely scenario
is that an OTA update would try to remove root.)
I can all but guarantee you that you'll be disappointed by the B&N store. I predict it will have very few developers, and very few "good" free apps. A better way of saying it is this: within 1 or 2 weeks of the B&N app store launching, most users will look at the Android Market, and say "Forget it, I want apps from the Market, not B&N."
-Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still, if you aren't comfortable then don't root. Things can still go wrong. Things can be fixed but you have to have the patience and not freak out when your device goes into a bootloop or just freezes, which I'm not saying it will but there is always that chance.
lopezpm said:
Still, if you aren't comfortable then don't root. Things can still go wrong. Things can be fixed but you have to have the patience and not freak out when your device goes into a bootloop or just freezes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, I'm sorry for taking a bull-in-the-china-shop approach. Clearly I would never make it at a technical help desk. You're absolutely right and I should have noted that there's a minimum comfort level...the subtle comment about "OK with command-line editing" probably didn't get the point across.
-Matt
Not everything it does out of the box works after rooting...
gadgetrants said:
I don't know who's been scaring you with witchcraft and vodoo, but here are a few facts:
(1) Rooting is very easy. If you're the kind of person who is OK with opening a command prompt and doing things like "listing directories" and "renaming/moving files" it's quick and painless. It also takes less than 5 minutes (probably about 2) to take your device back to stock.
(2) Rooting does very little to the device. The key is that it allows the user to change system files, something that B&N would prefer we didn't do. Several users root their NookColor (NC) and then scratch their heads because they see no obvious change.
(3) Package mods like autonooter only make a few system changes (aside from the several nice system apps they add), in particular, they allow you to sideload apps. Once you do that, you can reorganize the way your NC looks and performs, so that it handles like a vanilla Android device.
(4) Most importantly, ROOTING DOES VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO CHANGE THE B&N INTERFACE. All--I repeat--ALL the things your NC does out of the box, it still does after rooting. Same eReader. Same storefront. Same file browser. Same everything. And I'm all but certain the NC doesn't phone home and complain that it's been rooted. And if it did--since the bootloader isn't locked--I seriously doubt B&N would try to deny you a service. (The more likely scenario
is that an OTA update would try to remove root.)
I can all but guarantee you that you'll be disappointed by the B&N store. I predict it will have very few developers, and very few "good" free apps. A better way of saying it is this: within 1 or 2 weeks of the B&N app store launching, most users will look at the Android Market, and say "Forget it, I want apps from the Market, not B&N."
-Matt
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Click to collapse
The entire reason I have waited to root at this point is the loss of the 1 hour free reading in store, and the instore promotions. None of these are available after you root.
It also seems as if only a couple of people are actively trying to address this, so I continue to wait to root.
rlkelley said:
The entire reason I have waited to root at this point is the loss of the 1 hour free reading in store, and the instore promotions. None of these are available after you root.
It also seems as if only a couple of people are actively trying to address this, so I continue to wait to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pointer. Didn't know that (will revise my post). My wife may kill me.
I read the first 4 pages of the thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860830), then skipped to the last. My naive impression is it affecting about 6 out of 10 owners. There are definitely several who are rooted, and not having a problem. I can totally understand not wanting to take the risk.
-Matt
notinterested said:
I must have missed it but where in that thread is there any mention or confirmation that 1.1 is this month?
I see nothing of the sort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He tweeted about January as well (@__ted__):
"A serious bug in WiFi, a memory leak in browser, and overall tune-ups. 1.1 is coming up later in Jan! "
It was my understanding that you could not buy from the B&N store via your B&N account post-rooting. I'm not sure if I would be authorized to read the books I've purchased due to DRM on them. I've purchased some expensive reference books and don't want to lose access to them, or access to buy more.
I'm also uncertain these things work post-root:
Sharing, Quotes, etc
Lending books.
I'm may root at some point, very comfortable technically. No fear of rooting, just my preference at this point. If I had a microsd and reader, I'd probably done it by now just to experiment.
From reading through the threads, in regards to loading all the "extra stuff" it seems like a lot of... this works, but you need to go an change this or that, change the pixel density to display properly, youtube working, not working, gmail contacts syncing not syncing, this works, but.... you need to use this and then edit this, etc... maybe not everyone's user experience, but defintely some.
So to me, the device is working fine and not having to fiddle with anything to get it working properly. I know myself and if I root, I'll be loading launchers, applications, troubleshooting why this or that doesn't work properly and sounds a bit time consuming and hacking around a bit. I'm not looking for a new "hobby" of figuring out how to get things to run properly and smoothly as I expect from a finished product. I'm using a e-reader and would like some extra social, productivity, and games to pass the time.
Rooting, not rooting... not wrong, just different.
OK, I'm frustrated.
I have been trying to add my gtab to my devices on the new Market site, and have so far been unable to do so. Actually, that is not exactly true. I can get it to show up partially.
I have a Droid phone, and I see the phone when I go to my Market Account, Settings, My Devices. I enter the new nickname for my tablet.. [tablet, gtablet, Viewsonic G-Tablet, Malata ... all tried separately], I check the "show in menus" option. Press the Update button on the right. And nothing happens. The Maker, Model, Carrier columns for the tablet are empty, with only a hyphen. I cannot enter information directly into these columns, and whenever I try to download something, only the phone shows up. When I click on the little black triangle to expand the devices, I DO see the GTablet there. But it is grayed out with a question mark beside it. It says it is not compatible with this device. Every single app is not compatible with my tablet?
What am I missing?
Full Market fix
You need to change the build.prop file. Use steps 1-5 here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861044
Ya funny thing is, I think mine showed up (and someone will correct me I bet) as VS GTablet Advent Vegan 5.1.
Something like that but I thought oh they even know I am running the VEGAn ROM. Interesting indeed.
i'm runing vega5.1 and i had to do nothing... he just appeared..
but yesterday i had to do the market fix again and it disappeared.. LOL
weird
tysonkam said:
You need to change the build.prop file. Use steps 1-5 here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861044
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my build.prop is correct and does not appear on market...
like i said before, it appeared then after fixing market again it does not
Same. I had to do the market fix again, and then my device disappeared. It was showing the TNT-Lite version beforehand, but now - nada.
tedlogan42 said:
Same. I had to do the market fix again, and then my device disappeared. It was showing the TNT-Lite version beforehand, but now - nada.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the EXACT same thing happen to me. It was there as a malata gtab running tnt lite, and I had to do market fix again. Now its like it was never there. Is there anyone we can talk to at google about this? Like a customer support type?
Sent from my GTablet-TnT-Lite using Tapatalk
Maybe it is just the simple fact that this tablet is not supposed to be on the market at all. So calling Google to ask why your tablet with the hacked market doesn't work probably won't get you very far.
What is the big deal with this web market anyway? I have no problem using the market app on the tablet.
Agree
Sprdtyf350 said:
Maybe it is just the simple fact that this tablet is not supposed to be on the market at all. So calling Google to ask why your tablet with the hacked market doesn't work probably won't get you very far.
What is the big deal with this web market anyway? I have no problem using the market app on the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I just use the market on the tablet.... My device(for now) is showing in web market.
My G-Tab running Vegan 5.1 is working in the new market with no changes or modifications except editing the nickname. I installed an app to it via the new market already. Since I have a Droid also, I kinda like the ability to install on either or both devices. YMMV, apparently...
Nvidia VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0B5.1
My tablet showed up under the web-based market as: "Nvidia VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0B5.1 ". I added a nickname and downloaded some applications. Since I wasn't connected to the internet at the time it was held in abeyance. Once I got a wifi connection, boom down they came. So I can now peruse the market at work or as I monitor these forums, find an application, purchase it (or not) while I am still thinking about it and have it update the tablet the next time it connects. Not bad functionality for someone like me whose work environment is wifi restricted.
I still have one issue I would like to see Google fix. I purchased a application under one gmail account but after reflashing from tnt-lite to Vegan Tab I put my other account on the device first. Now I can't update that application without some tricky effort. Not sure I want to go through that effort or pay the $5 again
While that was me being stupid, I proposed to Google that I could envision the case where I might want to purchase an application with my work credit card and put that on their tablet and also purchase an application with my personal credit card. Their current schema doesn't allow for that. I can see where with telephones it might be a little more personal but tablets may start becoming shared devices say within a family.
What they seem to have for that situation is the ability to use more than one CC with the account. In that case you could use your work CC for some and personal for others.
Not a help for your situation, but it does address the situation you proposed.
Sprdtyf350 said:
Maybe it is just the simple fact that this tablet is not supposed to be on the market at all. So calling Google to ask why your tablet with the hacked market doesn't work probably won't get you very far.
What is the big deal with this web market anyway? I have no problem using the market app on the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point was that there is no reason for Google to not support the g tab with ANY Rom. They support the galaxy tab, the. Streak too. Why is it ok for those devices? Is it because they are tied to a service and not just WiFi?
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App
Frrrrrrunkis said:
The point was that there is no reason for Google to not support the g tab with ANY Rom. They support the galaxy tab, the. Streak too. Why is it ok for those devices? Is it because they are tied to a service and not just WiFi?
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has prerequisites that must be met for a device to have official and supported Market. GPS and cellular radio are on that list if I'm not mistaken.
Sent from my Viewsonic G Tablet running TnT Lite 4.2.1 w/ Clemsyn's Kernel using Tapatalk Pro
anjenaire said:
My tablet showed up under the web-based market as: "Nvidia VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0B5.1 ". I added a nickname and downloaded some applications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting the same showing up in my market access, but where we differ, is I have yet to have an application actually download to my tablet. I've gone through 5-6 different apps that did show the G-Tablet as a compatible device, and these were not installed on my tablet before going to the web market...
The big difference now is I am seeing lots more apps using the legacy Market app on the tablet.
I figured the first week or so would be pounding the web market, and things seem to be settling down, if just a small bit.
Frrrrrrunkis said:
The point was that there is no reason for Google to not support the g tab with ANY Rom. They support the galaxy tab, the. Streak too. Why is it ok for those devices? Is it because they are tied to a service and not just WiFi?
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that they are not trying to give us a hard time as much as they are just trying to have some sort of way to keep things manageable. I mean, they set certain guidelines that devices need to follow to get market access so hopefully most of the apps will work. GPS, and cell type data connection are a couple requirements. Why? I don't know. Guess they had to start somewhere.
I think it is also done so developers can build apps that hopefully work for the types of devices that do qualify. Imagine how hard it would be to make apps that worked on every variation of Android out there. How often do we have issues with apps that don't work on one rom, but work on a different rom.
Maybe it was just to try and keep the market from being like the wild wild west...
Apple has it pretty easy. There are only a couple of hardware platforms they need to worry about. How about Android? There are probably a 1000 different hardware variants out there.
I really won't be surprised if they come up with a way to keep all non qualified devices off the market. Not that big of a deal really if they do though.
So far my tablet is showing on the new market and allows me to download apps to it. I'm running vegan tab 5.1 if that helps anyone...
Sprdtyf350 said:
I think that they are not trying to give us a hard time as much as they are just trying to have some sort of way to keep things manageable. I mean, they set certain guidelines that devices need to follow to get market access so hopefully most of the apps will work. GPS, and cell type data connection are a couple requirements. Why? I don't know. Guess they had to start somewhere.
I think it is also done so developers can build apps that hopefully work for the types of devices that do qualify. Imagine how hard it would be to make apps that worked on every variation of Android out there. How often do we have issues with apps that don't work on one rom, but work on a different rom.
Maybe it was just to try and keep the market from being like the wild wild west...
Apple has it pretty easy. There are only a couple of hardware platforms they need to worry about. How about Android? There are probably a 1000 different hardware variants out there.
I really won't be surprised if they come up with a way to keep all non qualified devices off the market. Not that big of a deal really if they do though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are probably right, i tend to lean towards everything being based on how these companies can make the most money. Like if what i said is true, maybe then google gets a bigger kick back from the carriers, or phone manufacterers. Its ATT 's fault really, lmao, since everything they do is based on getting more money from me as a subscriber. it seems loke they try to make evry feature, an extra charge, without lowering the standard monthly fees. (i know i am most likely wrong, it just seems this way to me). I am not askin for free stuff, it just seems like they keep the services i want out of my pockets' reach.
Sent from my GTablet-TnT-Lite using Tapatalk
Web market woes
I can confirm web market was working running TNT Lite... stopped working after redoing market fix. Web market working again... after flashing Vegan and wiping data.
For the people with working web based market: did you change your android id? if you did, did you change it to a different devices id or did you use one from an emulator?
Is there an application that can password protect certain apps that I choose?
And please do not say Kids Corner as it does not do what I am asking.
It's probably possible (though far from easy), but I'd actually be more inclined to help if you hadn't opened a duplicate thread about this.
Only made second thread about this to attract some attention, 7 months passed since that guy opened his thread and nobody could give a good answer.
To me it's weird that nobody tried to make an app like this still, it would be very popular and help users very much.
Anyways, thank you for replying.
Really, just bumping the other thread was enough, but since we're here anyhow... my idea for how to approach it (and this would take a *lot* of hacking) goes something like this:
1. Create an app (call it X) that has the capability to launch other apps, and filesystem write access.
2. Have X take another app (call it Y) and encrypt its binaries. This prevents anybody from launching it by any means.
3. Tweak the app database to make it so that when you try to launch Y, it instead launches X and passes the id of Y as a parameter to the launcher.
4. X prompts the user for a password to Y. On getting the right one, it decrypts Y's binaries and writes them back to the correct location, then launches Y.
5. When the user (or OS) closes Y, a background process of X notes that Y is closed and re-encrypts it.
Currently we know how to do... well, some of #1, and we think the rest is possible. Given that, #2 isn't too hard. #3 is something I don't have the least notion how to do *right now* but I'm sure it's possible. #4 shouldn't be too hard given #1 and #2. #5 will be a trick - currently, apps have no way to know what other apps are running - but I'm sure it can be done.
It's a large engineering problem blocked by an even bigger research and hacking problem, though. Nothing we'll have soon. You'd never be able to publish it in the store, either, and it would only work for people with hacked phones. It's exactly the kind of *useful* thing that would be possible if Microsoft were willing to let up the restrictions on third-party developers a bit, of course, But for the time being, there are *reasons* nobody has done it yet.
Well the word that I actually was thinking after reading your post was "crap".
It seems only with time (and a whole [email protected]#$ing lot of it) will wp become a true competitor to android, but to be honest I don't think it will come to that.
Thanks for replying GoodDayToDie, I'm freakin' sad that there is no app that can suit my needs, I even tried with kids corner but the screen still needs the password entered like the normal one. Nothing really can make up for what I have in mind.
Cheers mate.
as soon as we can interop unlock all WP devices, it will be pretty easy... if you're able to provide the XAP (uncrypted of course )
i'll be able to "mod" this in for you... which app are we talking about?
@GoodDayToDie: i do'nt think he is looking for real data security here, so encrypting the whole thing shouldnt be required... i think it's more about preventing his gf to read his private messages or something like that
oh btw.: you would need a dev-unlock to deploy the modified XAP then...
tfBullet said:
as soon as we can interop unlock all WP devices, it will be pretty easy... if you're able to provide the XAP (uncrypted of course )
i'll be able to "mod" this in for you... which app are we talking about?
@GoodDayToDie: i do'nt think he is looking for real data security here, so encrypting the whole thing shouldnt be required... i think it's more about preventing his gf to read his private messages or something like that
oh btw.: you would need a dev-unlock to deploy the modified XAP then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right tfBullet! I need it for whatsapp, photos, message and games app, mostly to prevent from friends but gf too.
I was thinking it might be possible to mod an app and add password before it can be accessed, although I have no experience in this domain. Many apps in store have this function, like wallet or prive photo apps.
My phone is dev-unlocked as I started a few days ago to study and try to create a simple app for me and my friends.
Modding an app like that would actually be quite hard, because it would break the signature and prevent the app from running. The encryption thing really isn't too hard, although you could skip it anyhow too.
If there was a way to run a program in the background that monitors when certain apps are selected and then prompts when its activated would work, but it would need an unlocked phone. And even under home brew I don't know if its possible to run apps in the background. Yet.
Sent from my Nokia 521 using XDA Windows Phone 8 App
The encryption thing really isn't too hard
Yea, but that's a little extreme. If you can create that password program that runs in the background you could probably have it watch files, apps or pretty much anything. You'd have to password protect the cofig file. And maybe if you can't remember the password after so many attempts you can have the program email the passwords to your email. Just some ideas.
Sent from my Nokia 521 using XDA Windows Phone 8 App
Running software in the background is actually shockingly easy. The trick is getting it to run with better-than-app-sandbox privileges. We're still working on that one. In the meantime, apps can't even read, much less write, to the install location of other apps.
GoodDayToDie said:
Modding an app like that would actually be quite hard, because it would break the signature and prevent the app from running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@GoodDayToDie: actually these .NET apps are pretty easy to decompile, if you're willing to fix the bugs that the decompiler leaves you with...
so there is not really a need for a valid signature, if you're able to compile & sideload the app yourself
the only thing is: you need the decrypted XAP, as far as i know these get decrypted while installation and can be pulled from a interop unlocked device?!
It would be nice to get my fingers on some OEM (Nokia etc..) XAPs, to see if we can find any exploit in them
I know better than probably 95% of this forum what it takes to decompile managed code; I have reverse engineered huge numbers of apps. However, you are missing several important points.
1) Modifications like you suggest are very complicated to automate. It's certainly possible, but it's not simple.
2) Re-installing the app would be a pain. You would really want to do this as an in-place modification, and that means (for store apps) that it would still be signature-checked.
3) Not all apps are managed code; WP8 supports purely native code.
4) Even with managed code, obfuscation can make tinkering with the binary nigh-impossible.
It's just so incredibly stupid that WP is so limited. I know it's under Android big time, but I think even iOS more customizable, right?
Also, is there a message app in the store that has pass option? I searched but found nothing...
I don't believe iOS is any more customizable, no. It has some feature that WP lacks (it ought to; it's been out for years longer and Apple completely controls the hardware it runs on) but it's also missing some features that WP8 offers. In any case, this isn't the thread to have that discussion in.
GoodDayToDie said:
I don't believe iOS is any more customizable, no. It has some feature that WP lacks (it ought to; it's been out for years longer and Apple completely controls the hardware it runs on) but it's also missing some features that WP8 offers. In any case, this isn't the thread to have that discussion in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But with the jailbreak and MobileSubstrate, iOS is extremely customizable, and there are tons of tweaks, that's where Apple gets its new features from
Back to topic, I think the OP would be happy with a solution that locks the "normal" user of his phone out of some apps, so it wouldn't be necessary to modify anything of it, just making the standard launcher (I don't know how it's called, but I mean when you launch the app via home screen or with a toast) ask for a password should be enough.