Mods The root club [Root only]

[zuben el genub]

Where can I find a discussion IN NORMAL ENGLISH about some ROMs for rooted phones?

I understand what rooting does, why it does it, but I will be damned if I understand the jargon that devs and rooters use to describe things. The place I truly get lost is with radios. I've rooted both my phones.

I rooted since I am a social rebel. The more I get pushed to do things the normal way, the more I push back. If I read reviews of ROMS - all I see is glowing fanboys.
Looking at JB - everyone is drooling over Google Now. There's nothing in Google Now I would ever use.

I can't seem to find how JB actually does with speed of opening apps if apps have large databases with images, nor how it does with battery life.

I'm not exactly happy with a lot of the stuff that CM10 put in the ROM, so I'd like to look at some other ROMS but can't find anything on searching or in other groups. XDA is no help. They are good, but they have the bad habit of using phone shorthand which I find hard to understand.*

I'll be looking to replace the Nexus S. I bought it used and I like it. I just happen to have my own uses which don't seem to coincide with what most normal people do.

Where do I start looking?

*With acronyms - we discussed ATM once.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Automatic Teller Machine
Adobe Type Manager

and so it goes.

All ATM.

 

[EarlyMon]

Two that you'll see often are EQS and APM. EQS is extended quick settings - more stuff on status drop down so you don't have to wade through settings.

Here's an example -

View attachment 44045

APM, advanced power management. When you hold the power button, you get a menu with more choices, example -

View attachment 44046

A rom is a colloquialism. If it were truly read only memory, you couldn't change it. Feature phone operating systems some time back were burned into rom and couldn't be changed. Now, the full operating system is bundled into an easy to install payload, so that's called a rom.

The actual hardware being used is the same as an sd card, nand (not-and logic) flash memory, so installing becomes flashing and backing up becomes nandroid. That's where those terms come from.

The operating system includes a low level component called a kernel, said to tie hardware and software together. Mostly true. Your phone radios are a combination of hardware and programmable firmware. The kernel will tend to connect with the programmable radio firmware.

So, some updates will require radio firmware updates to preserve the correct working of the chain: phone app, Android virtual machine (Dalvik), Linux os, Linux kernel, radio firmware, radio hardware.

Radio firmware installation techniques vary by phone, might install like a rom, might require a different way. Often looks complicated until you do one.

Radio firmware is also called RIL for radio interface layer.

IME - a keyboard, probably making fun of Microsoft calling it an input method editor.

AOSP, Android Open Source Project, the code repository maintained by Google for pure Android. CM, CyanogenMod, is said to be an AOSP type rom, as opposed to a phone maker type rom.

There's a start, hope this helps!

 

[EarlyMon]

Attachments failed.

EQS -




APM -



Will merge later, sorry.

 

[zuben el genub]

Thanks - but that still doesn't help me much with customization and performance in phone. I can find plenty of speed tests for upload and download speeds - that doesn't interest me as much as how fast a large app with a stored on phone graphic database will open. I've never seen that speed tested.

I've watched some of this over the years with my computer. It's a very upgraded 286 and kept very basic. I just had hardware upgraded as I needed it, and could see speed differences in performance of Adobe Photoshop. I'm assuming phones work much the same way.

Your settings look much like what is on my phone. I like your advice. It makes sense.

I've bought quite a few apps which I find better than the default. I won't use the built in browser - it's frozen. I like Boat, and I use both Startpage and Duck as search engines. I like Handcent. I also bought Aquamail. I bought ADW. Since the last update to ADW, I deleted Nova and that other popular one. I bought TB. I want to make sure that these will be compatible on any upgrade. No one seems to review this in any one spot.

I took a couple of courses on technical writing, that's why some of the instructions drive me nuts!

 

[ajdroidx]

Well, your phone is using a stripped down CPU compared to your PC. Very stripped down even though it is using two to four cores, the instruction set is very limited. Your phone is already optimized for speed. To help speed up for phone a little bit you can try to keep your cache cleared, and perhaps run a program to keep your ram free, but other then that, I don't believe there is a way to make your phone faster then what it already is. The bad thing about this is there is a chance of eating your battery because of running in the background.

The programs on the phone is running stripped down programs and are already light weight for the SOC cpu in the device.

If your device is really struggling, you may need to do a factory reset and baring that, breakdown and get a new device or send the one in for replacement.

 

[chrlswltrs]

I'll join the club. All of my phones for the last couple years have been rooted. I'm going to stick with stock Android on my Nexus 4 for a while. I really like JB 4.2, so no need for a custom ROM... Yet

 

[D-U-R-X]

I'll join the club.

As long as you know that the first rule of root club is "make a back up" and that the second rule of root club is "make a backup!!!"

 

[chrlswltrs]

As long as you know that the first rule of root club is "make a back up" and that the second rule of root club is "make a backup!!!"

I learned that the hard way a few years ago.

 

[D-U-R-X]

I learned that the hard way a few years ago.

I just liked that comment, so I could unlike it!

I think that, at some point, all of us have done something without backing up and then instantly regretted it though!

 

[jhawkkw]

Yay, another thread to follow. I've rooted every android device I've ever had except for this Logitech revue. It's so limited that it really isn't worth it and it's incredibly hard to do on top of that since it requires hardware mods.

 

[B2L]

I'll join the club. All of my phones for the last couple years have been rooted. I'm going to stick with stock Android on my Nexus 4 for a while. I really like JB 4.2, so no need for a custom ROM... Yet

Reminds me of the Nexus S days, you and I were always hanging out in the All Things Root subforum.

I'll have to join this group as well. Surprisingly enough, I kept my Galaxy Note stock for around 8 months before finally caving in. I'm running Paranoid Android now and now I wonder what took so damn long.

 

[argedion]

Can't imagine using a device with out rooting it. May keep the same ROM but must root to kill bloat

 

[tube517]

I am definitely in this club. Every android device I have had is rooted. My signature shows my history. Wouldn't have it any other way

 

[zuben el genub]

Well, your phone is using a stripped down CPU compared to your PC. Very stripped down even though it is using two to four cores, the instruction set is very limited. Your phone is already optimized for speed. To help speed up for phone a little bit you can try to keep your cache cleared, and perhaps run a program to keep your ram free, but other then that, I don't believe there is a way to make your phone faster then what it already is. The bad thing about this is there is a chance of eating your battery because of running in the background.

The programs on the phone is running stripped down programs and are already light weight for the SOC cpu in the device.

If your device is really struggling, you may need to do a factory reset and baring that, breakdown and get a new device or send the one in for replacement.

Not struggling. Doing very well, but close to EOL since it was used to begin with. Looking for new phone and simply can't find that type of spec. I like to start reading early so I can find all the info I want and need and not wait until a crisis.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Reminds me of the Nexus S days, you and I were always hanging out in the All Things Root subforum.

I'll have to join this group as well. Surprisingly enough, I kept my Galaxy Note stock for around 8 months before finally caving in. I'm running Paranoid Android now and now I wonder what took so damn long.

That was the last ROM is was running on my GSII. I liked it the best of any ROM I found.

 

[Adauth]

Can't imagine using a device with out rooting it. May keep the same ROM but must root to kill bloat

Well said!
Rooted my razr, but still running stock rom and ICS 4.0.4. Got rid of all the bloatware and phone runs amazing! Just using Apex pro launcher for now until I decide on a ROM.

 

[zuben el genub]

Is there any list that compares ROMS? Not so much technically, but like those tables that compare the free version of an app with the paid. They list each function in a header. Also in one table. Not all over different pages.

 

[argedion]

Is there any list that compares ROMS? Not so much technically, but like those tables that compare the free version of an app with the paid. They list each function in a header. Also in one table. Not all over different pages.

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[dan330]

i have rooted all my android phones...

got my S3 and had it rooted within 3 days.. had to test make sure it was 100% working before I go and mess with it.

my S3 is running "the people's ROM" .. very nice! and the Dev is soo active in this support.. helps each person's posted issues fast.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Is there any list that compares ROMS? Not so much technically, but like those tables that compare the free version of an app with the paid. They list each function in a header. Also in one table. Not all over different pages.

Not that I know of, also it would have to be phone specific. There are the ROMs like AOSP, AOKP, CM10, PA, etc that could be done, but other than the big ones most ROMs are phone specific. Eventually someone will probably get around to doing it, but it is going to be quite a task

 

[zuben el genub]

Just the big ones would be fine. I'd love to have all the info so I can ask decent questions.

 

[argedion]

Just the big ones would be fine. I'd love to have all the info so I can ask decent questions.

for me its been a trial basis. don't know of any comparison chart except the one in my head and that is just how it works on my particular device. What works for me may not work for you. That also works the other way around. All the info I can give you is that MIUI is more Iphonish where Caynogenmod is pure android with no Google Apps. As far as any real comparison it really boils down to how it works with your device and your personal preference. To be honest it changes when you add in kernels.

The best comparison chart you will find will be here in the forums by just asking your questions and letting us answer them the best way we can. I wish I could be of more help but I'm not much of a comparison chart maker. I'm just a user who know's what he likes and how he likes it.

 

[scary alien]

Is there any list that compares ROMS? Not so much technically, but like those tables that compare the free version of an app with the paid. They list each function in a header. Also in one table. Not all over different pages.

I know this is only for the GNex, but AF Guide Petrah has created this:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AggpxyzXBu--dEZMWnZTUWtMVXBpdHNteW5zTXpRVmc#gid=1

There's a link in her signature, too (don't know where the thead is that introduced this, though).

It at least gives a good template for what others could do for their devices.

Cheers!

 

[zuben el genub]

Just what I was looking for! Now I have some idea of what's available, and what questions and where to ask.

BTW - Damn Google Docs thinks that FX ESR is an outdated browser. I had to use Iron.

 

[poriggity]

I finally broke down and installed a custom ROM. I flashed the ParanoidKANGdroid ROM... I am loving it so far!
Scott