Root Any ROMS with the good Blur parts?

[SaurusX]

With the recent rush of new ROMS ( Apex, ZapX, RubiX, Fission) there's the drive to expunge all things Blur at all costs. IMO, the good parts of Blur that I'd like to keep are the Alarm/Timer, the camera/camcorder, the 3G Hotspot w/ hack, and the gallery (at least for the HDMI out functionality). All the social networking crap can go right out the window for all I care. Now, do any of the recent ROMs allow me to keep the good Blur, but get rid of the crap Blur at the same time? I want to try some of these ROMs out, but I don't want to lose these items.

 

[Deleted User]

You can "roll your own" if you want. Install the ROM and just copy the utilities to your phone.

ApeX actually includes scripts to allow you to install files to the /system partition, which is a great little feature. Copy the hotspot app, alarm, or whatever over to your SD card and use the installer.

Probably no two people are going to have the exact same opinion on what the "good blur" and "crap blur" components are, so your best bet is to take those good parts and install them yourself.

 

[travishamockery]

how exactly do you install .apk's to /system without the script ApeX has? I just installed fission and want to put the blur alarmclock back on. thanks in advance.

 

[SaurusX]

A guide for reinstalling missing blur components would be extremely helpful. As it is I know that there are problems when trying to add missing parts. I don't think you can just run and install the missing apk.

 

[Deleted User]

Sure, it's pretty easy. For example, here's the script:

mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
busybox cp /sdcard/"$1" /system/app/"$1"
chmod 755 /system/app/"$1"
sync
mount -o ro,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system

All it does is copy the file ("$1") from /sdcard to /system/app, and then it does chmod 755 to the file. The mount commands are just to make the system writeable.

You can do this from an adb prompt if you like, using that script (replace "$1" with the appropriate filename), or if you'd like to use Root Explorer:

- Navigate to where you've stored the APK on the SD card.
- Long press the file, select copy
- Navigate to /system/app
- Click the button that says Mount R/W and paste
- Long press the file and change the permissions to:

Everyone: read/execute
Group: read/execute
Owner: read/write/execute

For more information on the chmod 755 command, look here:
How to make a file executable (chmod 755)

 

[travishamockery]

thanks. so I tried the root explorer way with blur alarm. I see it in the app drawer, but when I go to run it, nothing happens. It looks like it is going to work and then just closes. Any ideas?

*edit* I checked and permissions are definitely right, owner/group is root.root. Not sure why, but the app just won't open. press to open, instant close.

 

[travishamockery]

oh also, when I click on it and select install, I get install failed, not sure why this file won't get back on....

 

[Deleted User]

Hmm, not sure. I'd try rebooting. Other than that, it may be relying on some other piece of the blur framework to do its thing?

 

[Deleted User]

I don't have the APK but if you want to upload it/send it to me, I'll see if it works for me.

 

[travishamockery]

Can you PM me your email and I'll send it over? Curious how it works for you. It may depend on something else though like you said, but we'll see! Thanks I appreciate the help.

 

[jreed2560]

Rubix has a blurry version that keeps all the blur. But if you root the OTA, you basically have the same thing.

 

[Kevmueller]

Like it was said earlier it is all preference. I tried the new Fission ROM on Saturday (not the new one that went up last night) and I hate to say it, but I missed a little of the blur. Also there was a big battery drain that they were working on. So yesterday I switched to the new ApeX and am loving it, just enough blur that everything I like works and not too much that it drags the system, plus amazing battery life.

 

[Deleted User]

Can you PM me your email and I'll send it over? Curious how it works for you. It may depend on something else though like you said, but we'll see! Thanks I appreciate the help.

So, just to keep the discussion in the thread in case someone else learns from this, I'm not sure what your issue is. I'm running ApeX ROM.

I copy BlurAlarmClock.apk to my SD card on the PC.
Copy it.
Navigate to /system/app.
Mount R/W.
Paste it.
Long press, set options to:

User - R/W/X
Group - R/X
Other - R/X

Then reboot. (you could also use a shell to type "sync")

I can then open the Alarm Clock app in the app drawer, no problem.

What ROM are you running? Try deleting it and copying it/setting permissions again.

 

[travishamockery]

So, just to keep the discussion in the thread in case someone else learns from this, I'm not sure what your issue is. I'm running ApeX ROM.

I copy BlurAlarmClock.apk to my SD card on the PC.
Copy it.
Navigate to /system/app.
Mount R/W.
Paste it.
Long press, set options to:

User - R/W/X
Group - R/X
Other - R/X

Then reboot. (you could also use a shell to type "sync")

I can then open the Alarm Clock app in the app drawer, no problem.

What ROM are you running? Try deleting it and copying it/setting permissions again.

That's really strange. I do the same exact(though the permissions you show there do not match what the rest of the apps are in that directory, but I've done both ways) and it doesn't work. I do see it in the app drawer, however when I click it, it looks like it wants to open, but then just closes.

I'm running the Fission RC1. I'm gonna try another ROM though, maybe ApeX tonight. Thanks for the help though.

 

[Deleted User]

Fission has none of the Blur framework whatsoever, so perhaps it is looking for some kind of dependency? Maybe something in the /system/framework directory - I don't know a whole lot about the Android filesystem but there are a lot of Motorola specific files in that directory.

 

[travishamockery]

Fission has none of the Blur framework whatsoever, so perhaps it is looking for some kind of dependency? Maybe something in the /system/framework directory - I don't know a whole lot about the Android filesystem but there are a lot of Motorola specific files in that directory.

Yeah that's probably what it is. I'll give ApeX a whirl and see how it goes. I could live without the blur alarm, but I really like how it slowly raises the alarm volume. Thanks for the help though on this I appreciate it.