lets break it down Barney style

[joebow666]

1) what's the purpose of a ROM?
2) what's the purpose of a kernel?
3) what is rooting?
4) what is your mothers maiden name? J/k LOL

I am very interested in learning about Droid hacking and just want to know the pros and cons of doing it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[christim]

1) what's the purpose of a ROM?
2) what's the purpose of a kernel?
3) what is rooting?
4) what is your mothers maiden name? J/k LOL

I am very interested in learning about Droid hacking and just want to know the pros and cons of doing it.

Thanks in advance.

Think of the kernel as the core operating system that interfaces with the hardware: win95, win98, winxp, vista, win7, win2k, etc. Think of the rom as the base software running on top of it. Office95, office2k3, itunes, the background on your desktop, your theme, etc . You can then run more software as long as the kernel supports it. We were told Flash needed Android 2.1

Rooting is gaining root (or admin) access to the system. If you are not logged in as an admin you can't install things (usually). The android community figured out how to gain root access so we can now change kernels so we can overclock them and install software we originally could not.

 

[joebow666]

Pros and cons?

 

[Abe21599]

1) what's the purpose of a ROM?
2) what's the purpose of a kernel?
3) what is rooting?
4) what is your mothers maiden name? J/k LOL

I am very interested in learning about Droid hacking and just want to know the pros and cons of doing it.

Thanks in advance.

Think of the kernel as the core operating system that interfaces with the hardware: win95, win98, winxp, vista, win7, win2k, etc. Think of the rom as the base software running on top of it. Office95, office2k3, itunes, the background on your desktop, your theme, etc . You can then run more software as long as the kernel supports it. We were told Flash needed Android 2.1

Rooting is gaining root (or admin) access to the system. If you are not logged in as an admin you can't install things (usually). The android community figured out how to gain root access so we can now change kernels so we can overclock them and install software we originally could not.

very well put christim

 

[pc747]

1) what's the purpose of a ROM?
2) what's the purpose of a kernel?
3) what is rooting?
4) what is your mothers maiden name? J/k LOL

I am very interested in learning about Droid hacking and just want to know the pros and cons of doing it.

Thanks in advance.

Think of the kernel as the core operating system that interfaces with the hardware: win95, win98, winxp, vista, win7, win2k, etc. Think of the rom as the base software running on top of it. Office95, office2k3, itunes, the background on your desktop, your theme, etc . You can then run more software as long as the kernel supports it. We were told Flash needed Android 2.1

Rooting is gaining root (or admin) access to the system. If you are not logged in as an admin you can't install things (usually). The android community figured out how to gain root access so we can now change kernels so we can overclock them and install software we originally could not.

that was a good explanation; good job.

 

[joebow666]

where is a good place to learn?
What is super user? If the account is in your name does that mean you don't need this?
What is a simple definition of a widget?

I am posting the questions as I think of them and I apologize due to the lack of structure.

 

[Abe21599]

where is a good place to learn?
What is super user? If the account is in your name does that mean you don't need this?
What is a simple definition of a widget?

I am posting the questions as I think of them and I apologize due to the lack of structure.

read the hacking section of the forums here or check out my signature
superuser - equiv to an administrator on a computer; lets u edit a lot more
widget- a dynamic (changing) icon that goes on the homescreen
ie. i use beautiful widgets and the home one has a clock and a weather spot

 

[christim]

Pros and cons?

Sorry, I missed that question. This is a very subjective topic.

Ever seen a heavily modified jeep or car at a show? There are lots of the stock versions of the vehicles around and then some nice souped up ones as well.
Ask the person who bored out the engine, added a lift kit, spent some big bucks on a nice paint job, etc what the pros and cons of tricking out his car and you'll get similar answers.
It's pretty much guaranteed that if you modify the engine, swap out the axles, and beef up the shocks that you would have probably voided the warranty on your car. You'll learn some things and hopefully have fun doing so. You might even learn that the grass is greener and it really wasn't worth the effort....but at least then you will know.

btw, if you are asking for pros and cons, I can gaze into the Magic 8 Ball and see the answer that bubbles up to the top is "it isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when"

pros: you learn something new and pick up a new hobby that can lead to increased Linux, graphical and troubleshooting skills....not to mention the coolest phone on the block.

cons: you brick your phone and all your friends look at you funny as they say "I told you so" - disclaimer: while a bricked phone may exist somewhere I have posted in many (I mean many many) "I bricked my phone" threads and not one was truly bricked.

or: you don't root and you still have the coolest phone on the block!

 

[joebow666]

what can you achieve by doing this? as in what type of things can you do? Where do you get roms/make them? Where would you go to get Kernels? How many roms can you use? Or is it pending the Kernel? I have a background in Html and a slight understanding of java but in this case I feel it doesn't help me much.

 

[Abe21599]

roms - here on this forum

Android Roms - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

or go look in the development section at alldroid.org

 

[christim]

Yup, the roms are here. Click "forums" up at the top of the page and then take your time to read what each section here has to offer. Read through those or read through the 3 links in my signature. You don't have to do anything, just reading through them will give you a taste of what is out there. Follow the links within each of them to dig a little deeper. Then you will know if the pros outweigh the cons for you.

As for what can you achieve: one of those pros vs cons will be "is this going to be interesting/fun/worthwhile for me? After doing some reading you'll have a better understanding of it all and then can make your own mind up.

 

[joebow666]

What does rom stand for?

 

[christim]

What does rom stand for?

A ROM image is a computer file that contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip.

This term definitely applies to gaming roms, where an image was flashed (copied, built, created) from the chip on a gaming cartridge.

There is a similarity in what we are doing to our phones. We get an update.zip or a file.rom.tgz, etc which is a single file and then we flash it onto our phones. Likewise, we can flash an image of the phone into a single file. The difference is we then rip that file apart and create (build) new roms. Apps get swapped out, enhanced, and graphic files might get swapped around too. So in a strict sense of the word or concept they aren't really roms because they aren't read only memory chunks of data. I would be more inclined to call them images. eg: I flashed a new image onto my phone just like I'd ghost a new image onto a hard drive. However, I think the term ROM will be sticking around for a while and won't be going away anytime soon.

 

[joebow666]

How do you like smoked glass?

 

[christim]

How do you like smoked glass?

It was easy to put on. I went from stock to SG4.5 then installed SG5.0 shortly after. Those were both 2.01 apps so I didn't have to wipe any data. All my apps were there and my icons were still on my desktop. When SG6.0 came out I migrated to that. It is a 2.1 rom so I had to wipe all cache and data, as per the instructions. The whole install process took 5-10 minutes. I backed up with Astro so reinstalling my apps went fast. I had no data for them so I had to set them up again on my desktop at all. That was 3/15 so I've been using it almost 2 weeks. I've felt no need to move onto something else so far. Everything works and I like the look. I'm using the HelixLauncher app that was included with it, but that is in the market for free too. Have you tried it?

I will say that you can easily find a similar testimonial for every rom listed in the forums here. Everyone will have a favorite.