Database Develop

Android, why all the hype?

I am constantly reading posts about android here and i cant understand why everybody is so excited about it. Ok, its linux, but so what. Its open-source, but so what. How many of users that are so desiring it has ever change one line of code in any software? 0.0001%? How many times have you edit some config file as there was no GUI to set it up from there? Do you actually know what the file is? And how to edit it without Word ? So what is SO cool about it? What is this great thing where the touch hd would be so great with it? I thought it was bragging but you can brag with iPhone, i dont think Linux will ever catch its look AND stability (actually imho linux is one huge pile of bugs that works together by pure coincidence). The amount of software that could be used on a phone is very inferior to Windows Mobile and iPhone, and shell is quite useless as on screen keyboard typing can be only meant as a joke (i actually had to buy myself a folding keyboard)... You like it becoase it is google? Some privacy concerned people would raise eyebrow... You dont like the manilla? What about this: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/ ?
So what is so cool about android??
(running ssh to dragonfly bsd host and i really dont understand what linux on phone could be good for)

Well, basically, Linux and Linux-based systems allow you to polish those bugs. Which is one of the reasons Linux is as bug-free as you can get right now.
And most computer users don't make their own GNU/Linux distributions either, they download their favorite. I don't see why that wouldn't work in a PDA environment.

This thread doesnt belong here.

msedhom said:
This thread doesnt belong here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with you. Android is a Rom-development for the Blackstone, so I agree his placement for this thread.
Back on-topic, I disagree with the fact of android being a spoiler to our Blackstone. Android is an open-source OS for Mobile Phones and I really would like a Android Rom for the Blackstone. Creating my own apps and stuff. I hope it will be developed some day

root said:
I am constantly reading posts about android here and i cant understand why everybody is so excited about it. Ok, its linux, but so what. Its open-source, but so what. How many of users that are so desiring it has ever change one line of code in any software? 0.0001%? How many times have you edit some config file as there was no GUI to set it up from there? Do you actually know what the file is? And how to edit it without Word ? So what is SO cool about it? What is this great thing where the touch hd would be so great with it? I thought it was bragging but you can brag with iPhone, i dont think Linux will ever catch its look AND stability (actually imho linux is one huge pile of bugs that works together by pure coincidence). The amount of software that could be used on a phone is very inferior to Windows Mobile and iPhone, and shell is quite useless as on screen keyboard typing can be only meant as a joke (i actually had to buy myself a folding keyboard)... You like it becoase it is google? Some privacy concerned people would raise eyebrow... You dont like the manilla? What about this: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/ ?
So what is so cool about android??
(running ssh to dragonfly bsd host and i really dont understand what linux on phone could be good for)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I want it because its smother than winmo, even the old halfworking port feels really smoth and more robust flipping through menues etc. It has that stable feeling Iphone-OS has.
That beeing said, i love where the new manila and Winmo is heading. If they just speed it up and get rid of the flickering and ****ty looking graphics when opening applications it would be more attractive.

my dad recently bought the htc magic and i can understand whats the hype with android.
its a very nice system for a phone.
what i dont understand is that if you want it, why not buy an android phone? my next phone will probably by android, but for now i'm happy with WM. and i can guarantee you that never will android on a device like blackstone be as good as windows mobile. without the help of the manufacturer it is not possible to get a stable and fully working android port. waste of time. go get a hero.

MOD EDIT
Already a discussing/testing thread on Linux. No need for another. I've already had to close one due to repetitive/useless posts.
Please try searching before creating new threads. Thread closed
Ta
Rick

HARet and Backtrack

What's up everyone?
(Mods, not sure if this goes in Rom Development or Software... I thought software... I could be wrong!)
Well I was looking at the massive development that has been made on porting Android to the Kaiser, and I started thinking, if HARet is a linux bootloader, would there be a way to use it to load a bootable copy of backtrack or the like?
Sorry if this is a ridiculous question... I'm not a computer engineer, nor a marginally intelligent monkey for that matter, so I thought someone with some knowledge could shed some light?

Well, you'd think it'd be possible if you somehow used a version made for ARM processor, but there are so many practical reasons that it wouldn't work well if at all. There's a reason that we're not all running Debian with gnome as our standard OS's, the hardware specs are simply too high, and so much work would need to be done to add drivers and get it booting. Even knoppix probably wouldn't work well. Plus, you can't really run a full desktop distro on a QVGA screen that's 2-3 inches across. In addition, Backtrack's whole purpose is for security and network penetration testing, and neither of those would work on a phone. You couldn't even get the WiFi chipset into monitor mode, let alone crack a network or inject packets. Even things like firefox would crawl at best. When you read this, you'll understand why the developers only port Linux distros optimized for embedded systems, like Maemo and Android; other ones simply aren't practical for use, and would be a waste of time to port. However, your question was a perfectly reasonable one (and you put it in the right section!)
If any developer would like to add further to this, they are more than welcome to.

linux

Hi all of you
I am a n00b when it comes to Linux and all related stuff. I want to install one this weekend with intention of developing, and learning it to level when i could start working on my own, or helping with other ROMs out there. So there it is my question:
is there any significant difference between linux distros that one would benefit me more with completing above task or i should just grab any it it would be ok?
I have a fedore 13, ubuntu and slackwware 13.1 ready to install. Is any of them good or i should look for something else?
Thanks to all of you in advance for replying and helping me here.
Sorry if i double posted.
Regards
Kirior

kirior said:
Hi all of you
I am a n00b when it comes to Linux and all related stuff. I want to install one this weekend with intention of developing, and learning it to level when i could start working on my own, or helping with other ROMs out there. So there it is my question:
is there any significant difference between linux distros that one would benefit me more with completing above task or i should just grab any it it would be ok?
I have a fedore 13, ubuntu and slackwware 13.1 ready to install. Is any of them good or i should look for something else?
Thanks to all of you in advance for replying and helping me here.
Sorry if i double posted.
Regards
Kirior
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always start with Ubuntu as it is pretty user friendly and well supported/documented then later move onto other distros as you see fit.

Well, I don't know what Slackware's release cycle is, but 13.1 came out last May. It's nearly a year old now.
Fedora 14 is the current version, and (when my PC is actually functional) it works extremely well. You will want to refer to:
mjmwired.net: Fedora 14 Personal Setup Guide (this covers almost everything you need to get started);
mjmwired.net: MPlayer - Fedora Guide (this gives you the process of D/Ling, compiling and installing the LAME encoder, amongst other useful things); and
The Unofficial Fedora FAQ (which is another excellent resource for answering questions and setting things up, but I'd start with MJM's stuff first).
Ubuntu has two simultaneously-current versions: 10.04 LTS (which means it is the Long Term Support version that many businesses and individuals standardize on and is good for 2 years) and 10.10, which is the most current 6 month release version. Ubuntu releases in April and October of every year, which is why you get x.04 and x.10 version numbers. You will want to refer to help.ubuntu.com: Restricted Formats and I would also recommend going into the Synaptic Package Manager and installing all three of the following: Ubuntu Restricted Extras, Kubuntu Restricted Extras, and Xubuntu Restricted Extras, because each has a couple things the other doesn't.
As far as "which would I recommend", that's a really wide-open question, and I guarantee as others weigh in here, you will get a LOT of varied opinions from people. In general, I would simply tell you this:
Ubuntu is based on Debian's core components. Debian is noted for stability and wide ranging hardware support. Canonical has done a really good job adding a lot of "spit and polish" to this, and it is actually a very good distro, but they have rubbed a good portion of the existing Linux community the wrong way because of their "embrace and extend a huge tent" philosophy (the objection here generally being that the Linux community really doesn't want a bunch of "Windows idiots" and "Mac OS X idiots" as members) and because they have often not contributed their enhancements and other development efforts back up to the project sources they're using (this is referred to as "contributing upstream") like they should have. Nevertheless, Ubuntu does have a lot of positive things to recommend it.
Fedora, which is actually a spun-off project from RedHat, is amongst the older distributions, and is somewhat more cutting-edge than other distros, such as RedHat itself, or Ubuntu, etc. It is an RPM-based distribution and has one of the largest communities of users out there next to Ubuntu. It is renowned for contributing upstream and is a good and reliable distro. However, as you can see from the list I posted above, you will have to do a LOT of extra initial configuring work because Fedora's philosophy is to ship with pretty much only F/OSS components. Though they certainly don't prohibit or flat-out discourage their users from adding in other non-F/OSS components, such as commercial 3D graphics drivers, video/audio codecs, etc., they don't include them.
Whichever you decide, good luck!
Oh, and one more thing: Whichever you go with, become a member of the associated message board (Ubuntu = ubuntuforums.org; Fedora = fedoraforum.org; etc.) because there is a WEALTH of information and WIKIs and many many many questions already answered.

i would suggest linux mint.
it's a polished version based on ubuntu with its own, just excellent, control center.
It also has a bunch of nice graphical gimicks.

For new users I would recommend ubuntu our linux mint.
Sent from my Shoe.... I mean my Samsung Epic

Ok
Thanks guys, I will go with Mint for now.
My next question is what would be the best way to learn how to do everything from the command line level? I was thinking of opening one in background and searching, doing stuff in GUI. That way i should be able to see what commands open, copy and so on so on. So if i would go to settings and change something i should be able to see an line of commands in terminal window, is that correct or i am lost and this will never happen?
Thanks for bearing with me and all the advices.
Regards
Kirior

I've been using ubuntu for about 3 years. During this interval I tried other distros, but I found Ubuntu the best. I also develop on it and I don't have any problems.
Sent from my GT-I5700 using XDA Premium App

i went for ubuntu after all. Trying to get my head around. I have no idea if i have set my mount stuff correctly.
I did it like that
ext2 for system files mount /
ext 3 for jinkl something filesystem (or such) mount /usr
ext4 for same as above mount /usr/local
and swap and there was no mount stuff to assign.
hope it is ok.
is signing up to ubuntu one a good idea?

I'm using Debian (previous distribution Ubuntu) and I'm satisfied.

I use fedora, but I think ubuntu will be the right choose for you!

kirior said:
Ok
Thanks guys, I will go with Mint for now.
My next question is what would be the best way to learn how to do everything from the command line level? I was thinking of opening one in background and searching, doing stuff in GUI. That way i should be able to see what commands open, copy and so on so on. So if i would go to settings and change something i should be able to see an line of commands in terminal window, is that correct or i am lost and this will never happen?
Thanks for bearing with me and all the advices.
Regards
Kirior
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The terminal will not display what happens in the gui. The best thing to do is find a linux wiki that tells you basic commands and use them as often as possible. Even though Ubuntu uses Synaptic to install programs, you should learn to install things from source.

kirior said:
i went for ubuntu after all. Trying to get my head around. I have no idea if i have set my mount stuff correctly.
I did it like that
ext2 for system files mount /
ext 3 for jinkl something filesystem (or such) mount /usr
ext4 for same as above mount /usr/local
and swap and there was no mount stuff to assign.
hope it is ok.
is signing up to ubuntu one a good idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will work fine, but it's a little odd, imo. You should definitely read the Ubuntu wiki and learn what you're doing. All of this stuff is explained all over the internet. I recommend using www.google.com/linux for all of your linux-related searches.

Even if you decided to go with Ubuntu, you can find a lot of info in the wikis of other distros. I use Archlinux myself, and their wiki is one of the best out there. The Gentoo wiki is also very good.

I've used Arch Linux as well in the past, and out of all the distributions I've tried it was my favourite. The only thing with Arch Linux is it's not a simple click and install process, you have to pretty much build the graphical interface yourself (which is half the fun in my opinion).

Not only do you have to build the GUI of your Arch system, but you have to decide on multimedia backends, networking tools and many other things that make a desktop system work. I agree that this is half the fun, and what you learn about Linux by installing and running Arch makes troubleshooting a lot easier when you run into problems.

thanks guys i will definitely have a look into that disrto.
thanks again to all that replied and still open to new suggestions
regards
kirior

Captainkrtek said:
You can always start with Ubuntu as it is pretty user friendly and well supported/documented then later move onto other distros as you see fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linux Ubuntu 10.10 FTW​

[Q] Don't like Android :( alternatives? (ångström?)

Well I played with my first android device for a while now (Nook Color of course) and I really like the device but to be honest am not too impressed with android. I tried a rooted stock rom and more recently cyanogenmod7 but I am not that impressed. I guess I was not really sure what to expect with the android experience.
What I would like to do is get something more like a "real" gnu/linux distro installed (with a touch screen interface of course). Is this possible at all? I know debian has an Arm port that supports this kind of CPU but what about drivers for the screen and other components?
It seems to me that getting a booting os should be as simple as installing U-boot or something and just compiling the kernel to fit the hardware..
Thanks!
/mrintegrity

In my opinion, the Nook Color isn't the greatest example of android, most of the roms available aren't so stable and none of them run a "real" honeycomb, which is how android is supposed to be on tablets (Ever used a Xoom? The Honeycomb GUI coupled with great hardware is much, much smoother and user-friendly than the Nook's "phone" GUI scaled up.) Also, the hardware in the Nook Color is somewhat lacking even compared to some mid-range android phones;things just aren't as smooth as they should be and the user experience is seriously degraded as a result. Don't let this very hacky device turn you off from android entirely.
I don't know much about Linux distros, but this seems relevant to your interests. These developers seem to be pretty far in their work on Ubuntu. Looking at the screenshots, it looks great! However, this linked thread is old;you may want to find a more up to date place but this will hopefully point you in the right direction. (Hopefully work didn't cease!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=899037

Unfortunately the Ubuntu on NC project appears to be long dead.
I'd also love to see someone getting a working linux distro on this device, and I'd love to help, but I don't have near enough knowledge on the subject to do it myself.

I am going to give it a shot getting a debian kernel up and running.. I wonder if the display works with a straight VESA driver?
/m

Just out of curiosity, what is it about Android you don't like?

Good question.. it just doesn't feel like unix (because it really isnt). I was probably a bit missguided in my beleifes.. that if it was a "linux box" (the hardware) you could more or less install any distro on it you want. I'm seriously considering trying to put u-boot on it and load up a debian arm kernel and gnu userspace.. no idea how it will work though if there are missing drivers etc.
/mr

Ubuntu on the Nook Color is a cool trick, and a testament to the power of open source software. That said, its basically a tech demo.
In my opinion Ubuntu is at least a revision away from having it so that the entire interface can be driven by touch. The extensions needed to do that are in heavy development. Even if Ubuntu was ready 100% for touch screens, the Nook lacks the power to take advantage of that. A Nook Color only has 512mb of RAM (any Netbook has more), and out-of-order 1.1GHz CPU (aka Celeron would eat it for breakfast), and a lacking set of hardware drivers.
If you want to actually USE the Nook Color, Android is the only option. You should try the soon-to-be-released final release of CM7 with tablet tweaks before giving up, I find it makes the Nook Color a much better device.

poofyhairguy said:
If you want to actually USE the Nook Color, Android is the only option. You should try the soon-to-be-released final release of CM7 with tablet tweaks before giving up, I find it makes the Nook Color a much better device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets be fair - tablet tweaks adds some buttons, but it certainly doesn't change much of the experience. it nice, but the system works the same.
That said, i would love a linux build running on the nook, simply for the sheer neatness of it. I will also say that for a lightweight linux build, 512MB of ram is more than enough, though yes, the CPU may be perhaps lacking a bit. Still would be fun to try...

Is anyone else excited about the thought of Ubuntu for Bionic?

I keep thinking, we'll have convergence on the Bionic. On stock, it already had convergence, but with hardware acceleration and a stable build, we could get performance similar to that of a Chromebook in a Phone. In addition, we can dual boot, so we have Android AND Ubuntu. Is anyone else excited about it, or is it just me who's a fan of convergence?

Convergence could be very cool
I would love to see Ubuntu on any phone. The Ubuntu Edge idea looks awesome, but I think having the ability to use my Android phone and then run Ubuntu by connecting to a tv or monitor would make my phone even more useful.
Someone smarter than me should make it happen!

ifly85 said:
having the ability to use my Android phone and then run Ubuntu by connecting to a tv or monitor would make my phone even more useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gingerbread on the Bionic did this, with webtop (2.0?). The original/stock build was quite clunky and slow, but a very cool idea. Some people even stripped the build down, added in the rest of the arm build of Ubuntu, set up swap partitions, and ended up with amazing and ideal setups.
I would love to see this idea come back around in android devices. Alas, chroot with vnc is the closest to that dream at the moment.
sent from a Bionic