Could anyone answer my few questions to help me get a grip whether the idea is feasible?
* How different is Android kernel from standard Linux (ie. Maemo) kernel?
* Is most of the hardware abstraction handled by Linux kernel, or the Dalvik VM internals and library?
* Is the kernel accessible? Ie. can I supplant my own init script and run custom binary in place of Dalvik?
* Is the Android hardware hackable? Ie. can I get direct access to the root partition and put custom content in?
I'm asking because I would like to get a better piece of hardware than N900 (namely HTC EVO 4G) and port Maemo 5 (ie. Mer) on it. But if Android hardware is a closed black box, I won't bother.
I don't have experience with Android (I like Maemo so much better) and I wouldn't like to spent a lot of money on hardware I could not hack.
Some android hardware is more open to changes, such as google's devloper phone.
People have managed to run Debian GNU/Linux on the nexus one, but not all the hardware is functional as of now.
There are some binary only libraries and drivers for some vendors, meaning you might not be able to use all of the hardware.
I do believe it is possible to port the Maemo OS on the nexus one, and I would love to try it if you gain momentum on this.
Unfortunately I do not know Maemo OS enough to be of any assistance apart from telling you that Android use a standard ARM Linux kernel with some modules added to enable the special IPC that Dalvik uses.
As the owner of an N900, I would love to see this project gain momentum. I don't dislike the N900 hardware, it is actually quite decent but I would prefer a smaller, thinner and lighter phone with a capacitive screen.
Maybe MeeGo is the other option to consider since that OS will be designed much more in the open which would possibly make it easier to port to various devices. (Keep an eye on the meego website for the May release, which will be the first release with UX)
Also, my brother owns a Nexus One by my recommendation so porting Maemo to his phone would be great. (Unfortunately I'm not a developer so I would rely on this forum for a guide)
I am considering getting Nexus One. As I understand it supports messing with rootfs without restrictions. (Of course you loose warranty this way.)
Byte_76 said:
Keep an eye on the meego website for the May release, which will be the first release with UX.
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Click to collapse
Starting with MeeGo base is a viable option.
But the upcoming UX release will be a direct port of current Moblin UI. Maemo is a different beast.
And I am against Maemo 6 migration to Qt, so I would like to stick with current Maemo 5.
With Maemo 5 being a fully functional OS I think it makes sense to try to port it directly first, however if that doesn't work then MeeGo might be another option.
After some research I found that nor Qualcomm MSM7200A, nor Samsung S3C6410 chips have open 3D driver available.
Since Maemo 5 UI requires working OpenGL ES acceleration for its desktop and window management, I guess this project is in a dead-end until I find viable platform for experimentation.
Maybe Mer is another option:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=565480
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=626287
http://mer-project.blogspot.com/2010/02/mer-project-just-bunch-of-redshirts.html
http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer
Without Maemo 5 visual effects it's soooooo stone age, that I don't really care for.
Related
I'm wondering if it is possible to Dual Boot/Multi Boot Nook Tablet?
e.g. Android + Windows (of course the one for Tablets) OR Linux OR even iOS OR any other?
Anyone interested?
I can be part of this development, though i'm newbie in android world and mostly i'm playing with MatLab, C, C++, Jave (very less) etc. But i think i still can be useful somehow and i am also ready to use my NT for development/testing purpose (provided that i get some solution of backup/restore with apps installed)
thanks
I would consider looking up this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21323255
Adam provides a little bit of insight about dual booting from sdcard and more!
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
windows 8 doesn't work on the Nook. Only the devices which come out with windows 8 can actually run windows 8. ios also doesn't work because there's no source code out there. Linux is under development, I think it's Adam Outler who does that.
yes, for windows/ios, may not possible but i think, linux is possible. i have been going through the threads. actually due to some hardware issues, like processor etc. NT can't be generalized. also, even with rooting, we are still far behind in using its true capabilities.
CM9 is on it's way. Currently sound doesn't work, the kernel paniks sometimes and some minor bugs are the problems for the devs.
well, looking forward for CM9. i hope it will give more freedom than existing root...
I looking forward for CM7, maybe alpha version will be release few next days.
I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I moved on to another phone a while ago. But I have always loved my Atrix... Has anyone ever thought about seeing what kind of linux unit our phones could be? I mean, minimal phone code & use both processors for Ubuntu or whatever popular arm linux is available.
My main deal here is that the phone w/ the lapdock has always been an awesome wifi terminal. I just feel like half of it's processor is wasted running the phone UI. Anyone have any plans for a full linux Atrix project?
& yes, I already have ubuntop on my Atrix & have had it since it came out.
& yes, I know Canonical has already stated they are working on Ubuntu for phones, but the stench of their Vaporware is hurting.
It all comes down to the kernel. With the limited support we have for our device, it's hard enough trying to run android on the thing (ICS); an operating system which is "native" for phones, it'll be that much harder to port desktop Linux. Standard Linux kernel is starting to come with android stuff, but it's still going to need device specific patches.
Now if ubuntu comes out with a universal arm/tegra kernel, that would be kind of amazing.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app
http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone
Ubuntu for phones uses Android as its base, so does that mean features that are broken in ICS and JB builds would still be broken in UFP?
Not really. I've spent a lot of time with these as I hope to bring it to the Atrix. But it's not based off those builds, In the video he describes that it is ment to be compatible with any devices that run android. It is actually built off their operating system simmilar to windows 8 and windows 8 RT. It will be released for the samsung galaxy nexus. It will function similar to how their OS runs on computers, where it comes with one OS, but it will be compatible with another. Ubuntu Phone will hopefully be able to run on devices that run android. meaning that as long as you don't have an iphone, or windows phone, you should be able to run it. Which to me is really exciting as I see a lot of promise with this OS, especially along side our lapdocks
That would be amazing if we could get a full supported ubuntu for the atrix. Im looking to reutilize mine (despite its broken digitizer)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Unfortunately, almost nothing stated in here is accurate.
The only Android dependency is the Android Kernel. So any issues we have, would still exist in Ubuntu for Phones.
I do hope the Ubunutu OS will be able to run on my atrix 4g. But yes, all android issues will exist if we have to stick with the atrix 4g kernal.
IF ported Galaxy R 3.x.x kernel gonna fully working before late Q4 2013, I assume, ubuntu for android will working flawlessly on our atrix
Hi there,
I'm currently studying Software Development and Engineering in college. I'm planning on building something with android OS. I'm just wondering how Android handles hardware.
Does it detect the available hardware on a device it's installed on? or does it need to be set up for a specific configuration of hardware. Say I install android on a tablet with no phone capibilities or GPS for example, does Android handle the fact that these features aren't there and just get on with it's job? Or does it need to be tweaked for the device in question?
It needs to be built from source for the device, with all hardware drivers and binaries. Unlike Linux and Windows, you can't just install Android on a phone and have it work with most hardware. Computer OSes have years and years of driver support and backing from manufacturers. On smartphones, with the exception of a few manufacturers, a lot of them are very stingy and secretive with their proprietary drivers and other essential files, and they're not really supportive of third party development. This sucks, but it should change in future and smartphones could be just as open as PCs (I hope).
Android has a HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) for handling the hardware. Technically it's capable of detecting and enabling the device hardware in a modular way. But since the Android phone's hardware doesn't change typically throughout the life of the phone, the manufacturers tend to tweak it for each device so that you get the optimized version which can run only on that device. While PC like functionality is certainly possible with Android OS itself, it's not needed on a phone since there is not much scope for hardware addition / removal / upgrade.
So the whole idea of having a phone that can be put in a dock and used as a computer is really cool, but me and my friend came up with an idea to expand on that. Would it be possible to have both android and Linux on the phone and then have an app/desktop icon to switch operating systems? I know this can be done on other devices. My mate has a chrome book and installed Ubuntu on it. Just a keyboard shortcut will switch operating systems. So would it be possible to do the same thing just on an android device. Hardware wide, there shouldn't be any problems. His chrome book has a cpu that's low spec enough to not have any sort of cooling system/unit whatsoever and only has 4 gigs of ram. Since the ROG phone has a top of the line smartphone processor, an actual cooling unit, and double the ram I don't see why there should be any issues related to the hardware. The thing I'm not so sure about is software issues. From my perspective it should be possible to do something like this, but I'm not at all familiar with software and programming so I wouldn't have any idea if it were possible or not.
Oske829 said:
So the whole idea of having a phone that can be put in a dock and used as a computer is really cool, but me and my friend came up with an idea to expand on that. Would it be possible to have both android and Linux on the phone and then have an app/desktop icon to switch operating systems? I know this can be done on other devices. My mate has a chrome book and installed Ubuntu on it. Just a keyboard shortcut will switch operating systems. So would it be possible to do the same thing just on an android device. Hardware wide, there shouldn't be any problems. His chrome book has a cpu that's low spec enough to not have any sort of cooling system/unit whatsoever and only has 4 gigs of ram. Since the ROG phone has a top of the line smartphone processor, an actual cooling unit, and double the ram I don't see why there should be any issues related to the hardware. The thing I'm not so sure about is software issues. From my perspective it should be possible to do something like this, but I'm not at all familiar with software and programming so I wouldn't have any idea if it were possible or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do it with linux deploy afaik.
Honestly, it would be much better to get a fully OpenSource build running on this hardware, no chroot env, no android kernel, no android libs, no proprietary closed drivers.
Since Asus is going with the ROG branding on this one, maybe they will make source code (drivers, libs etc) available for the the linux hackers in the ROG fan community to build images for it.
There is already a lot of linux use on ROG notebooks and a pretty decent following in the ROG fanbase as it stands but if we can't get a pure OpenSource build, at least a libhybris supported port using LXC and the android kernel as a start.