Database Users

An interview with an android developer. MAXISMA

Hi guys and gals, first I'll introduce myself properly. My name is Chris, I'm 22 and live near leeds in england. I'm currently setting up a small blog interviewing android developers to give the general public a little look into the life of a developer. My aim is to try and help people realise that developers however great or small have a life beyond programming. It will also help advertise work created by some of the lesser known devs out there.
Currently I have only interviewed one developer and am uploading that at some point today, but I do have a list of others I intend to speak with.
I've even had a suggestion from one of those developers to interview an XDA moderator, to show you guys how much junk they have to put up with and clean on a regular basis to help give you the nice friendly happy community we have now. (Mikey, your name was mentioned but any mod can participate)
So without further ado, the blog address is interviewing-devs.blogspot.com
As a comic twist to the whole thing, I intend to do the whole thing from my G1 which is proving a little complicated as I seem to be getting a few FC errors with androblogger, and the blogger website looks a little funky on the G1.
As a quick note, there is no profit to be made by myself doing this, but I will be placing donation links for each developer interviewed.
So, if you're a dev and want to join in, let me know. If you know a dev and would like to see an interview, let them know about me and get them to contact me
Code:
Interview with Maxisma online now
Many thanks to all the devs on my list so far for making this whole thing possible, and also a huge thanks to everybody here for having a community worth joining.

You should interview the Wrecking Crew to show what we have to put up with too.

supremeteam256 said:
You should interview the Wrecking Crew to show what we have to put up with too.
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Mornin supreme.
And also interview some complete noobs to find out what the whole developer scene looks like from their pov.

Fingerlickin said:
Mornin supreme.
And also interview some complete noobs to find out what the whole developer scene looks like from their pov.
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Mornin I sent you a shout out in another post. It looks like it's gonna be me and you and codini today. Gridlock told me he ain't gonna be on til like 8 tonight. I think he just don't want to get flamed like friday.

Interviewing devs is nice but if you want to catch the entire view of the G1 hacking/modding/rooting whatever term you want to use world. Then you need the point of view from new users, seniors, and devs. Remember devs don't deal with problems unless the problem effects alot of people and is verified by themselves or people he trusts. Also there wouldn't be an interest in a dev's interview without the masses following his work. Get those interviews first so you can ask the correct, hard hitting questions to the devs.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm at work at the moment but once I get home, Maxisma's interview will be posted, and I'll move onto another dev. At the moment probably the biggest names I have are Cyanogen and manup456. I did ask haykuro but he hasn't got back to me, and I'm still asking other devs.
Your constructive critisism is greatly appreciated, and ideas taken on board

Ladies and Gents, the second interview is underway, and you're all going to be surprised at who I'm speaking to. Keep watching this space for more news. Hopefully I'll get everything asked and answered before Monday, but due to a time difference of several hours there may be a delay, just depends if my dev and I can get online at the same time.
But anyway, provided everything goes well, it should be finished by Monday for your reading pleasure.
If you have any questions you wish to ask a dev not already interviewed, let me know and I'll add it to my list

[DISCUSSION] ANDROID/MAEMO/LINUX on HD2 (Discussion Thread)

Okay I'm a lurker on the developer thread and I thought it best to create a separate topic where everyone can talk about it (or complain that people can't shoehorn an OS on a device fast enough for their liking despite the fact that people are doing it for free basically) without all this "DEVELOPER DISCUSSION ONLY AUGUGHGH" "but we don't know where else to post about it"-ism
so this thread is for the non-developer discussion of said project:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=578575
(won't let me past "outside links"(?) cos I'm a n00b for some reason)
so there's no excuse now for anyone who posts "when is it done?" in the other thread
Also, a few pointers since some people don't get it and I'd rather save a developers/non-developers civil war thing.
How long will it take? - You're looking at about a year at least. Remember, it's installing an OS on a system that isn't meant to even have it. It's going to take a hell of a lot of time to guesswork and muck around with this stuff.
(all the people moaning on engadget re: the US HD2 launch being all "HTC release an android update right now " and then being all "OH XDA WILL SORT IT OUT" (because apparently xda is their overnight miracle machine) annoy me something chronic for this reason.)
remember too that these people are more or less doing this for free.
Can't you just install the Nexus/Supersonic/etc. rom on there? - No.
from what I understand of the whole thing (I'm not a developer so take this with a pinch of salt) there's an awful lot of different code and such on these things which means it isn't as easy to just "install" it on another OS. It's like asking why you just can't fit a jaguar engine into a VW beetle. It could work, but there'd be a lot of work and rerouting etc. to be made and even then it would need a lot of tuning and sorting out.
Is it ready yet? - No. You will know when it's ready.
What's happening at the moment? - From what I've read of the whole thing they're trying to iron out kinks with the linux Haret thing thats going to run Android. After they've got it to boot, they're going to have to try and get android working with the HD2. This is why it's taking so long.
so yeah.

hey??
yeah but..
this is the xda DEVELOPERS forum
and this is the HD2 DEVELOPEMENT section
so i guess the linux android development thread does what its supposed to !!
i know its frustrating and you like me want android on the hd2 but to be honest i i find half the fun is the bloody long wait and the small progressions that are made, thats how we learn.
=====PEACE=====
edit >> ok looks like this thread was useful after all - my wrong !! ..

**shrug**
A mod can move it elsewhere if needs be, I was just getting sick of all the feuding going on between people who wanted to talk about it and the developers yelling at the people who aren't posting about developing and thought it best to make a separate thread so non-developer people can talk about the project and developer people can drop in and give advice

yeah
actually you got a point.
theres a fair ammount of flame grill on the other thread that does get annoying
i subscribe to the other thread so i get an instant email for every post and i get my email on my hd2 just as you would a text message so it can be a pain.
=====PEACE=====

Ha finally found again this topic.
I am wishing you all my best to port Android to the HD2 because with all the **** around WinMo 7 comptability, you look the only one able to save the HD2 in the future!
I really hope everyday that Android will be working on our HD2...
Btw, the HTC Desire is going to be out soon, and it has the same specification than the HD2... Does it increase the chance got Android on our HD2?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594
Good luck and all my best !
Zepiii

i hope we get android on our HD2's with spb mobileshell 5.0

Zepiii said:
Ha finally found again this topic.
I am wishing you all my best to port Android to the HD2 because with all the **** around WinMo 7 comptability, you look the only one able to save the HD2 in the future!
I really hope everyday that Android will be working on our HD2...
Btw, the HTC Desire is going to be out soon, and it has the same specification than the HD2... Does it increase the chance got Android on our HD2?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594
Good luck and all my best !
Zepiii
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All about Gizmondo.com or Gizmondo.fr its bull**** !!
This web site works for Apple its sure !!
Edit : mistake but im sure about Gizmondo

Ok

Too bad we're stuck with low level developers who can't get it done. We need real developers who actually know what they are doing.

simranjits said:
Too bad we're stuck with low level developers who can't get it done. We need real developers who actually know what they are doing.
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Like Android would be wounderfull to have WebOS runing on HD2...a beautifull simbiose with outlook and Itunes integrations.....and push notifications...and light apps for everythink.
I dreaming with that.

simranjits said:
Too bad we're stuck with low level developers who can't get it done. We need real developers who actually know what they are doing.
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Careful now mate. Watch what you say!

simranjits said:
Too bad we're stuck with low level developers who can't get it done. We need real developers who actually know what they are doing.
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Why don't *YOU* take the lead then if you're so capable of passing judgement on other people; as to do that you must have some amazing development skills in getting an operating system running on unknown poorly documented hardware.
Obvioiusly everyone will bow down to your uberleet level of skill when *YOU* present all of the fine work *YOU* have done!
otherwise...
stop being so bloody rude!
Dcordes knows a fair bit more than most people about linux hacking for ppc devices, I suggest you give him the respect he and others deserve!
if this post upsets you think about what you wrote...

I'm hopeing that it will not sound total idiot, but:
why it's not possible to use NexusOne rom dump, and using it for HD2. Hardware is nearly same except buttons and screen size.
thanks

zabique said:
I'm hopeing that it will not sound total idiot, but:
why it's not possible to use NexusOne rom dump, and using it for HD2. Hardware is nearly same except buttons and screen size.
thanks
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Ooooh dear...i´m still wondering why people are that damn lazy these days, not reading just one line in threads that are having 709 posts at this moment...don´t you people think that there should be a 100 percent-likelihood (in a developers-forum!) that another big brain spits out such ideas? exactly 1.000 other so called "newbies" have mentioned this point in the past few weeks...sometimes in every third post, again and again, without having read what other people have posted one line above. This is not about beeing a newbie or not, this is just about a little respect to the developers, serving nice presents to all of us without getting paid for it. what you guys can do for them? well, the first step should be not to spam around questions that already have been answered 1000 times before...instead go and read through the replies and at the end, when you are sure that there is no answer yet (after using the search function too, of course)...THAN ask your question or type in your comments and I think everbody will thank you for your participation in this community.
Sorry zabique, of course this is not against you ...but after reading exactly the same line for the 20st time/last two weeks there was no inhibition of my fingers typing these lines possible

i have a lot of respect for those developers, i die a bit inside every time a noob asks how it is going and **** like that.. anyway its nice they are working on it and i hope they succeed! dual boot windows / android would be really cool to have! i will surely donate if its working.. but to who should i donate? maybe its an idea to make a sort of bounty (lets say i will give $20 for getting android on hd2) and someone else also $20. thats 40 in total. if that 40 is shared and given to the developers that have worked on that project it would be a stimulation for them i guess.. only i dont know what developers are working intensively..
anyway my reward will be $20
more of you are going to join?
maybe its an idea to add the totall's of the $$ and the name who gives what in the first post?

fards said:
Why don't *YOU* take the lead then if you're so capable of passing judgement on other people; as to do that you must have some amazing development skills in getting an operating system running on unknown poorly documented hardware.
Obvioiusly everyone will bow down to your uberleet level of skill when *YOU* present all of the fine work *YOU* have done!
otherwise...
stop being so bloody rude!
Dcordes knows a fair bit more than most people about linux hacking for ppc devices, I suggest you give him the respect he and others deserve!
if this post upsets you think about what you wrote...
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Click to collapse
If i wanted to do it myself , would i be bothering myself with these amateurs. At least i know i can't do it, but these guys don't know when to stop. Like i said we need real developers. All they are doing is guesswork and their debuging techniques are crude.

simranjits said:
If i wanted to do it myself , would i be bothering myself with these amateurs. At least i know i can't do it, but these guys don't know when to stop. Like i said we need real developers. All they are doing is guesswork and their debuging techniques are crude.
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Of course with the guy who have your thinking psychologically, we have the desire to continue working.
Maybe now you know guys who are better and who are willing to take the trouble to come and work for free for fun, to the delight of members!
If this is not the case, then dont write!
I think you're not an adult, easy to dictate but to do the works is another thing.

simranjits said:
If i wanted to do it myself , would i be bothering myself with these amateurs. At least i know i can't do it, but these guys don't know when to stop. Like i said we need real developers. All they are doing is guesswork and their debuging techniques are crude.
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all you know is nothing...
so please shut up and let people who do know what they are talking about get on with it..

fards said:
all you know is nothing...
so please shut up and let people who do know what they are talking about get on with it..
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actually he is quite right. if you have any idea what developers are talking about then you can see that all they do is guess in trial and error style. but aparently you dont have any idea

From the viewpoint of a software architect, it's indeed hard to watch the other thread without crinching every once in a while. On the other hand, the plan of attack there seems to be part of a culture that has done stuff like this quite succesfully with other challenges.
So i won't be surprised if we eventually get a nice port of android running on the HD2.
Mind you, i do believe that an undertaking like this would need the infrastructure, tools and mindset like the main android project has in place at the moment. But that would require a "DEVs and Testers only" door policy.
Simply put, the other thread here lets the lesser gods put their 2 cents in too. I'm cool with that.
BTW, i do not approve of any condescending remarks about the the other thread, nor do i wish to make my own through this mail.

QAM 0.0 Alpha, AKA, The Agile Android Manifesto

EDIT, 12/12/10:
It looks like there is a ton of desire here and drive to get some major work accomplished. I just spoke with ferman via PM regarding the future of this project. I wanted to throw the idea out there, and I want to be a part of it, but I am (obviously) in no way equipped to lead such an effort. As I told him, I am much more the monkey-behind-the-keyboard writing code than the project manager at this point, and would happily contribute to any group that desires to further the Captivate's development.
So, without further ado, I hand the reins over to ferman and anyone else that congeals together as communal guidance. I'll be happy just to contribute code.
I thank everyone for their patience while I haven't been here to answer anyone's questions or even acknowledge everyone's involvement. Once I am done with release season at work, I only hope there's still room on the team for another monkey behind a keyboard!
I struggled with whether to post this in "General" or "Development" - I settled on "Development" as it is regarding, well...development.
If enough people are interested, I'd like to start the group development of a ROM, tentatively named "QAM". Cornerstones of QAM? No donations accepted, except for git submissions ("Free and In the Clear" - get it?); group development with specialization based on the team members' skill sets; widely accesible code with an emphasis on sound open source development practices; and clearly documented, well tested changes and updates.
With all of the drama here recently, especially regarding Axura, I think it's time that some of us try to steer this place back to what it used to be.
I'm an enterprise dev in my nine to five. As many have voiced, I have no doubts about my ability to develop a nice ROM for my own personal use. But I value my time, recognize that I am not as efficient in some areas (UI and UX, for instance), and understand from my professional life how much better of a result can be achieved when you've got a diversified team developing together.
Anyone that is a fan of Agile Development Practices will know where I am coming from. If anyone is interested in working together, let's start a dialogue here and now. If you're merely interested in flaming and thread crapping, move along - this isn't the thread you're looking for.
[EDIT - 12/06/10, 8:51PM] Posted an update within the thread. I didn't anticipate this much interest, but I'm glad it's there. I'm going to go through the thread tonight and start assembling names, etc.

i'm interested, but i dont really have any skills in relation to creating a rom or anything of the like. but if can help let me know!

Intresting...

hansmrtn said:
Intresting...
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very.
i will gladly help where i can. i think this is a great concept and definitely brings us back to the roots of OpenSource Development.
lets please get this going. what do you need?

Nice
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

hansmrtn said:
Intresting...
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I would like to offer my services. I loved supporting the Axura users and would love to support yours. I have a little programming experience, I mainly deal with ISS day in and day out though. Let me know what you think. I really think this could turn into something great!

vbhines said:
I struggled with whether to post this in "General" or "Development" - I settled on "Development" as it is regarding, well...development.
If enough people are interested, I'd like to start the group development of a ROM, tentatively named "QAM". Cornerstones of QAM? No donations accepted, except for git submissions ("Free and In the Clear" - get it?); group development with specialization based on the team members' skill sets; widely accesible code with an emphasis on sound open source development practices; and clearly documented, well tested changes and updates.
With all of the drama here recently, especially regarding Axura, I think it's time that some of us try to steer this place back to what it used to be.
I'm an enterprise dev in my nine to five. As many have voiced, I have no doubts about my ability to develop a nice ROM for my own personal use. But I value my time, recognize that I am not as efficient in some areas (UI and UX, for instance), and understand from my professional life how much better of a result can be achieved when you've got a diversified team developing together.
Anyone that is a fan of Agile Development Practices will know where I am coming from. If anyone is interested in working together, let's start a dialogue here and now. If you're merely interested in flaming and thread crapping, move along - this isn't the thread you're looking for.
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Sounds great. Even though I font know much about development myself, I would love yo help somehow(maybe I could be one of those highly cautious/thorough testers you were talking about).
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Sounds interesting. I'm interested in at least testing for you guys. I'd love to start coding for Android (BSc in Computer Science, but enjoy coding every once in a blue moon), but never got around to learning. I'll def keep my eye on this thread though, and help where I can

@OP:
Think this is an amazing idea! Definitely can see a lot come from this.
Idea though: you should maybe put up some slots to be filled so we can get some development teams, focused on their own individual part of the rom, together, so we know for sure that this will be great.

The most I can help with is being the app-writer-assistant XD.
I have yet to see a rom with its own app(s)(not counting DG's lbs launch) and I would love to see one with its own music player,notes,messaging, etc. I'm not experienced at all, i just know some java and I'm still learning android developtment(i got 3 big books next to me right now).
In fact I wouldn't be offended at all if you just say "no, thank you". I just really like the idea and I thought that if i proposed this it would at least give some initiative to develop custom apps with the custom roms and make this project that much more...unique

i'd like to see and participate in some REAL developement. A lot of these "devs" (especially the ones complaining) arent doing much developement and instead are just piecing together different things REAL devs have created into these roms and then trying to extort "donations" out of people. There's a select few developers frontlining the kernel developement that are doing real, good work.
imagine if we had multiple people creating roms like cyanogenmod on here...

I would be interested. I have done some android programming as well as some Other stuff. Never did any rom development but would like to give it a shot
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I can do 'modem testing'.. I travel for a living and encounter the various Freq's, EDGE, 3G, and believe it or not the pre EDGE network (cant think of the name at the moment, long day) almost every day.

Hey I wouldn't be much help in terms of development but I am willing to test anything you guys build
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

whitesox311 said:
i'd like to see and participate in some REAL developement. A lot of these "devs" (especially the ones complaining) arent doing much developement and instead are just piecing together different things REAL devs have created into these roms and then trying to extort "donations" out of people. There's a select few developers frontlining the kernel developement that are doing real, good work.
imagine if we had multiple people creating roms like cyanogenmod on here...
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This is exactly the sort of thing this thread and concept will help avoid. The Rom builders that are causing drama do alot of work. And we all benefit. Even if they are getting more traffic and donations than the ones doing the kernel and other mods and making them available for the Rom and kernel builders.
I don't mind seeing a little competition in the thread titles. And each dev has an opinion as to what's best and thus we have several different roms. But the bickering I've seen is ridiculous. But understandable. There are no rules in place. No required donation. No licensing on much of what's up. Its a bit of a mess.
Id love to see what a captivate oriented community effort will produce. Team whisky is great but not all that works on the vibrant works on the captivate.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897

is this like the android syndicate in epic4G threads lol?

I'm in, PM me

i'm willing to flash as many iterations of this as you may develop. no technical expertise on my end though ...

I can test and am willing to learn any thing that will help with developing. I have strong computer background. Just new to android.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

im in for testing

Its time dammit, for a change...

i have a rooted fascinate, no im not posting where my 2.2 update is, it'll get here when it gets here, more that this is a call out to any devs and end users like myself that are tired of the same old rom styles and themes. Some roms are straight beautiful, like Thatdudebutch's super dark v1, and sos3 blackhole, whereas some just seem too stock-ish to me.
Where is the imagination? The creativity? I know devs are always working they're ass's off to bring us the next best port or rom based off insert other rom name here... but im ready for the dev that says hey i created this from scratch...
Maybe its just me, maybe im being a whiney ass lol, but i think its time devs started using what they think is cool, not what everyone else thinks is cool. If the enduser doesnt like the rom/theme, then boo ****in hoo and they can use something else.
Like i think SONOFSKYWALKER3's idea of build your own rom was a huge breakthrough in end user controlled customization, but its still using whats already available to us in either stock, or from the select few top 3 roms.
Please guys, (devs too) Show us what you can really do, make that rom that takes our breath away. We will love you for it...i will love you for it (metaphorically speaking of course lol)

Show us what you can do too
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Progress is progress. The devs are porting gb to the Fascinate, that's a start in real customization. Just wait, the devs are already working hard. If your pushing them so hard, why don't you help? Seriously, its this disappointment in devs that ruins a devs commitment.
Rockin' DJ05, Minimal Icognito, Clocked at 1.3Ghz

Why must everything be taken so negatively? I read this first post and saw it as inspiration. I can see that the devs who make roms make it for the general public not for themselves, and I think thats why they make them so similar to each other, as thats what most people like. I feel that a dev isn't really ready to go out of his/her way to bust they're ass and make a rom that only they and a handful of others are going to use.
All in all, I think the OPer made a good point in "challenging" the devs to 'unleash' their creativity into the atmosphere and make somthing of their own that they are truely balls to the wall about.
Just my 2 cents.

TheSonicEmerald said:
Progress is progress. The devs are porting gb to the Fascinate, that's a start in real customization. Just wait, the devs are already working hard. If your pushing them so hard, why don't you help? Seriously, its this disappointment in devs that ruins a devs commitment.
Rockin' DJ05, Minimal Icognito, Clocked at 1.3Ghz
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I agree completely...remember the devs don't have to do what they do for us...if it was as simple as 1,2,3 then everyone would create their own roms for themselves...
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

The problem is, there's more worth in porting gingerbread and then porting other roms like cyangenmod which are easier to customize, than customizing samsung's firmware updates.
Rockin' DJ05, Minimal Icognito, Clocked at 1.3Ghz

jdkzombie said:
If the enduser doesnt like the rom/theme, then boo ****in hoo and they can use something else.
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Yeah.. so what was the point of your post again?

Not at all trying to be negative, but what exactly are you looking for?
Sent from my SCH-I500

you are all missing the point of my post
its not to bash devs, its not to berate anyone, nor was it to solicit "why dont you do it yourself" comments. But since thats how everyone is going to take it, i guess i need to clarify. What i meant by devs making what they think is cool is for them to use their imagination and make their roms and themes unique. Too many roms out there have been sourced from others...not that this is a bad thing as there are beautiful works of art available to all who wants to flash them..
These devs bust their ass to make these things for us and i respect that with all my being, and i appreciate all that they do. My hats off to all of them. But, again, wheres the creativity? Why must they be forced to use what is already in the eclair, froyo, and Gingerbread roms as their inspiration? These guys can take 0's and 1's and turn them into something beautiful that cant be taken seriously in just pictures. In the last 3 days i have flashed more things to my phone than i can hardly count, yes i have screwed my phone up and recovered, but im not here explaining without experiencing the world of flashing.
Why dont i help out....i'd love to yet im not programmer. I have zero idea how coding and programming and bitmapping works. Thats why we have developers. Im not here to bash anyone. I go to school currently to be a master mechanic, therefore computer programming is worlds different from installing and tuning a greddy turbo, or replacing a radiator, or even doing a tune up on (insert friends name here)'s car.
Im calling out to devs to stop being restrained by the limitations we as endusers have put on them, to indirectly force their hand in creating something they may not like but we will because otherwise people out there will gripe and complain. Devs, make what YOU want. There are limitless capabilities to be had in android because its so open. As developers you are the ones who provide for us when the manufacturers fail to hold up their word/rumor/promise/ etc, i dont want you to think that you have to make these for us, i want you to want to make these for us. Without you developers we would all be stuck to a basic android existence harkening to that of apple and its lockdown on whats what.
I wanna see creations from your darkest fantasies about android. I want to see the rom that gets you all hot and bothered. I want to see the theme that you got the inspiration for while you were driving around town or watching a movie. Dammit guys, make what you want to see android be, enough being the lambs, its time to be the lion. When phone manufacturers fail, where do we turn? To you devs. You. I cant even begin to describe how much respect i have for what you do for us.
I'll finish this off with something for the people who will no doubt bash me and flame because i need to do it myself, or im being to hard on them, or i'm just being a whiny little *****. boo hoo. get over it. Its my post, regarding my OPINION. I didnt force any of you to view it. to read it. to comment on it. the fact that you did shows that each one of you feels the same way i do. We all love android. We all love what the devs do. Why should we hold them back from what their imaginations can design? What gives us the right to do that....
Respect devs...always and forever from me....respect.

jdkzombie said:
Why dont i help out....i'd love to yet im not programmer. I have zero idea how coding and programming and bitmapping works. Thats why we have developers.
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Well, you don't have to be a programmer to be "creative". In the design process all sorts of people are involved, and you could think up a concept. You could design a concept so great that a programmer would like at it and think it's great and decide to bring it to life. But asking people to be creative on your behalf, and using "i'm not a programmer" as an excuse to be a spectator is simply selfish I gotta say. Not trying to bash you too much, but simply saying there's many ways to be useful.

Jdkzombie is right...when linus developed the linux kernel he basically said....here it is, go forth and multiply...,now we have tons of different flavors and styles of linux. Android is awesome in its own right but we are only customizing something already there. (Devs....i definately mean no disrespect... ). The only thing i've seen so far that has bent that rule is MIUI. but that is too close to an iphone for me. I think what jdk is trying to say is...,where are the truely custom roms with wild and crazy user interfaces. I don't think jdk is asking the devs to stop what they are doing by no means...but maybe jdks asking why can't we all b more creative and come together as a community and come up with one ourselves with ideas from all of us...,and then find devs to take the plunge and make it happen. It all starts with an IDEA. So why not...,instead of bashing in this forum... ,let's start posting things we might want to be different in android and see what happens.
Think about it...,ubuntu linux- "your name here" android?
Thanks to all, devs, themers, and the users who have donated and contributed feedback over the years to make android what it is.
I may not post here much, but when i see something worth posting about i have to add MY opinion....and that's all it is.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

i think the op has a nice idea, but this probably isnt the phone to realize it on.
we have a handful of very talented devs, but really there time is mostly tied up in attempting to right the wrongs that samsung has done to us, by working on aosp/froyo/gb whatever.
the n1/ns community (or i9000) might be the guys you d want to bring your ideas to, as they have a global base of devs and their communities dwarf ours to the point of ridiculousness

See tho, one of the first lessons they teach you in most programming courses nowadays is "why reinvent the wheel?" It's there, it does it's job, why not build on top of that framework that already exists. This is the foundational principle of software engineering.
Think about it like this: you are in the woods and need to build a fire. You have plenty of dry wood, small kindling materials, and matches. Why would you go to the trouble of locating a striker stone and a piece of Flint to use to try and start the fire when you already have matches. You wouldn't unless you had no alternative or just liked to take the inefficient route for the sake of itself.
Another way to think of it is like this:
If I needed to drive from here in Mississippi to Nevada, I wouldn't build a car to drive if I already had one.
Devs are trying g to give us the most bang for our buck and that means using the tools and frameworks already in place.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

CrushD said:
Well, you don't have to be a programmer to be "creative". In the design process all sorts of people are involved, and you could think up a concept. You could design a concept so great that a programmer would like at it and think it's great and decide to bring it to life. But asking people to be creative on your behalf, and using "i'm not a programmer" as an excuse to be a spectator is simply selfish I gotta say. Not trying to bash you too much, but simply saying there's many ways to be useful.
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Why must you assume i havent already given my thoughts and ideas to several devs and "themers" on IRC. I have frequented that site for a good amount of time the past handful of days, both getting assistance with "de-bricking" my phone when i flash a no no to my device, and helping out who i can with their own problems.
It isnt just just me that should be "expected" to come up with new ideas here. I expect everyone to have something to contribute if you are going to post your comments (i use the word "your" in reference to everyone, not just anyone in particular)
You want a bit of my idea? I wanted to see a rom where the screens scroll vertically. Not horizontally like they "all" do. Where when you swipe the screen from left to right it open "your" favorite app. Swipe the screen from right to left and it opens the app try. I have also mentioned that a quick 3 tap on the home screen would zoom out showing a carousel of sorts that you can scroll through to select 1 of 9 home screens that can be filled to burst with your favorite widgets and apps. I dont have a preset color idea. Instead that we be afforded a color "wheel" to choose ourselves what collor basic things are. Be afforded to opportunity to make multiple themes like with ADW, that can installed "into" the rom. I assume everyone has seen the DROID commercials where the two robots select a few apps in the giant app "planet." That would be a sweet app tray wouldnt it? Would it be impossible? I dont know, since i have no idea how programming works. But im sure it would be quite the undertaking.
I would hope that this could be a place for anyone to post their ideas as well, not just mine. I also have this distinct feeling that as of my posts i will be held to a "imaginary" standard that it will be my obligation to post ideas and inspirations. But then therin lies my issue with roms today in general. These roms arent being made for me. If a developer makes anything like my idea, i want it to be something they want to see in android, not just because someone else said hey you develop roms, why dont you make this so i can have it.
This isnt/wasnt/never will be a thread to bash anyone including devs, themers, end users (other posters, but thats my point.) I wont bother to say im not going to be the only one. I dont have to post that. The sheer fact that you (the general population that bothers to read this thread) shows that wish there was more creativity, more originality,....hell....more of the "DEV" in his/her creation than anything else. It would make a developers rom/theme so much more their creation. So when someone says hey i have (for example) ThatDudeButch's new theme, its unique to HIM....the developer... and someone else that has a theme by Adiliyo (also for example) its going to be unique to HIM. Im really hoping all of you have the mental capacity (i used that term for lack of a better one, no offense intended for anyone) and the maturity level to understand that this is a challenge to all who design, develop, or theme, or even just dream to no longer be limited by the general public. Design whatever makes you get a stiffy if thats what it takes. What with the new 2.3 android os out, why should we hold the devs to make different copies of whats out. Why cant we encourage them to make the unthinkable....the un imagined...the roms that arent bound to a single line of influence.
If you (everyone and anyone) are going to post here simply to flame me for speaking my mind about what i would love to see roms and themes become, then perhaps you should consider keeping your comments to yourselves. BUT, this being a public forum, and i am no moderator, i cannot make anyone not post here, nor what they post about, so with that i will only ask that you not just post for the sake of singling out a line of any of my posts to make a snide comment on how its up to me/i need to design it/being too hard on devs ruining their commitment/etc etc. If we werent hard on engineers/developers/programmers in world-wide view considering the design of everything we use today, we wouldnt be in possession of the technological breakthroughs that we have now. We would all still have bag phones. Model A fords, if even that, we would still be riding horses....might i even be bold enough to state we wouldnt even be out of the stone age if it hadnt been for someone somewhere pushing those who build to do bigger and better things.
Please, use common sense people. Im simply issuing a challenge to devs/themers to not be constrained by our ideals. Again, to make what THEY want to make. Remember, they dont have to do this for us, so why cant they build what they want. And thats why i respect what they do.

agsded said:
"why reinvent the wheel?"
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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Im not asking for a new wheel, only a more efficient one. Thats such an over-cliched term anyways and has no merit (in my view) If we never reinvented anything, we'd not be in the possession of these beauties of creation we have today. I bet someone told Henry Ford why reinvent the wheel when he said lets have a car that can be available to the common man. Do you think Ford would be the automotive supergiant they are now if he had followed that advice? Do you think we would have Windows OS, Mac, or any of the other available computing OS's that we have now would be available now if the designers had followed your sage advice?
Please realize, im not bashing you, any of you, im not going to stoop that low. We are all adults here, and even some teenagers, whom i hope utilize that powerful muscle between their ears before they use their fingers, so why must we criticize? Why cant we , as so eloquently put in an earlier post, come together as a community and share ideas.
Just saying.

Yeah, but see all those things you mentioned arent revolutionary leaps of accomplishment, but simply evolution of existing products... refinements..
Henry Ford simply took the concepts of mass production, the assembly line, and interchangeable parts, and applied them to the automotive field. He didn't invent something new, he "engineered" something better from what was already there. He made cars more affordable, available, and easier to repair.
Technology is no different... mechanical switches to electric switches to vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits, they are just extensions of what's there.
We don't still use carburetors because fuel injection is more efficient, largely because it can meter the fuel more precisely, especially at idle. But..the first fuel injection setups were just electronic carburetors, with the old central port fuel injection systems... even the newer ones still do the same thing, just more precisely...
I'd love a smartphone that could read my thoughts and had a neural interface with zero lag. Is it coming.... who knows....is it a reinvention... no, just another step in between a previous one and the next.
Something to ponder.... at the core of all operating systems is basic math.
Add one value to another and put the result here. Stick the right combo of values in the right set of registers and a pixel lights up on the screen. That's the way machine language works...so all software is an evolution of ones and zeros...
A switch is on, 1 a switch is off, 0... so basically computers are just a big ginormous pile of light switches, lol..
Anyways.... I agree, I'd live to see some real neat stuff for android, but at some point, you'd have to throw out android to make it radically different, and then it would just be yet ANOTHER attempt at a mobile os to further fragment things....instead of moving forward, we'd be moving sideways....not as bad as moving backwards, but not progress either....
That's
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Just curious, but... How do you know devs aren't creating what they want? Why would they waste time building something that they didn't want to do?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

agsded said:
....instead of moving forward, we'd be moving sideways....not as bad as moving backwards, but not progress either....
That's
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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I totally agree with you, but yet i also disagree. Which isnt a bad thing, at least we are agreeing to disagree i suppose lol But the point still stands. Why....why must we make do with what we have? Why not bring forth innovation? Is that not how progress is made? Im not looking for an overnight change in the way roms are designed. I only asking that the devs make it a challenge for themselves. Make something they havent done before. Im just winging this without black and white information, but how do we know that manufacturers dont look at these roms for their inspiration?
I'm only asking for that one ambitious dev who needs a challenge to strive for that next peg. The next rung on the ladder of progress. Yes Henry Ford didnt invent the automobile, but with his bringing the assembly line to his own needs he created something huge. Thats what im hoping devs will do for android. When we tire of out normal phone interfaces, to whom do we turn? Yes. thats right, these hard working devs. A vast majority of them create wonders with whats available to them. Others simply tweak and twist certain aspects to their own taste.
A phone that reads out thoughts with a neural interface with zero lag would indeed be a nice addition, but im certain 10 years down the road such a thing may come to be, but thats 10 years from now, if not more. Don't sell yourself short however, all ideas are welcome to me and to this thread. Its odd though, that with all the posts here i seem to be the only one who has put idea to page.
And to mr kevin gossett, How do we know they ARE. We dont. Its as simple as that. All that we can do is hope that there is a dev or 2 or even 3 out there that are willing to bring forth the new age of roms. We turn to these men and women because we are bored with our phones stock rom/theme, so why must the devs and us as end users together suffer the same style in the aftermarket themes and roms? Again not bashing devs here, just stating my opinion, that they need to make something that they love. there WILL be end users out there that will use their roms/themes. I still think some of you are missing my point with all of this, and instead strive to create some echelon of conflict purely for conflicts sake.
View my thread and posts as possible inspiration for the future. Not a bashing, or flaming of those who design for us. The DEVS create the roms, but the devs didnt design what they wanted to see, instead what we wanted to see. And i would love to see that reversed. The DEVS create what THEY want to see, and we use whatever we find to our tastes.

my head hurts

I think I understand what the OP is saying... But at the same time I kind of understand the other side of the fence. Coding is hard, and you must be very precise, and most of these guys are doing it for free. But I know what jdk is meaning....
I think he feels that the devs are limited in what they can create because they are branching off of other works and what people like. I think he wants to see what crazy ass stuff devs can come up with. he wants their creativities to explode all over his face. He wants to see what people can imagine and create. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as he understands the devs, that they have lives, they do this for free, and its hard work, which I think he does understand. I think he's just trying to inspire some folk.

Samsung/XDA part2

I haven't forgot about you guys. Today we had a meeting with XDA owners via telephone. Were just getting everything ready before we make a huge announcement. I told you guys I'm NOT going to let you guys down. Just be a little patient.
Thanks
TwitterSamsungJohn

Nice to hear from you John. Looking forward to hearing the news.

Interesting to hear.. But I wish it wasn't so "hush hush", because otherwise it starts to feel less of an equal community.

i guess i missed the part1.
what is this all about ?

I guess that instead of making another threads/parts it would be good to pin this thread down.
I, honestly, am very happy and interested in seeing how this cooperation will progress in time (and of course I'm not the only one here).
It's very encouraging to see company such as Samsung to start a cooperation (at whatever level) it gives kind of "legitimacy" to what people do here (although legitimacy might be too strong word, but still).
Either way I'm thrilled to see what the feature brings.
Regards,
Pawel

Hi there, John!
I personally am happy to see this sort of reach from a big company toward the ”little people” who often do more that a giant.
I also am wary regarding any possible positive outcome, considering you still have to overcome a strict and rigid hierarchy, while independent devs here are free to move as they please.
But it's nonetheless a great thing if Samsung really wants to be ”more open”.
Only one question: why, of all Sammy subsidiaries, has Seoul chosen Dallas (or any other US city for that matter), given that the most powerful and fruitful development effort was and still is directed towards Europe (SGS's biggest market to date)?
Cheers and all the best,
V.

Does the XDA-site administration actually produce anything on its own? Most (all?) of the people doing the actual hacking are members of the forum rather than working for it. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with... Coding/Hacking challenges? Can't really see much else that would actually need a collaboration with XDA instead of with the coders/hackers directly.

we're doing something but we won't tell you what!
but it's exciting i promise you!! we've discussed it with VIPs (which you are not part of, noob xda forum user!) and you may or may not see something about it later and it may or may not be exciting at all in the end (such as: oh look we opened a sgs 2 section !11)
oh god how much i dislike marketing lol
please, if you're going to do something for the community, just say it straight or don't say it at all

very good step by samsung

bilboa1 said:
we're doing something but we won't tell you what!
but it's exciting i promise you!!
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Last time someone told similar things I had to pay more tax, the kindergarten was more expensive and the atomic power plant contracts were extended instead of using cheap and tiny water power from Norway.
just say it straight or don't say it at all
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+1
Straight talk - that's it.
If it is confidential keep it confidential until a result is ready to be announced officially.

bilboa1 said:
we're doing something but we won't tell you what!
but it's exciting i promise you!! we've discussed it with VIPs (which you are not part of, noob xda forum user!) and you may or may not see something about it later and it may or may not be exciting at all in the end (such as: oh look we opened a sgs 2 section !11)
please, if you're going to do something for the community, just say it straight or don't say it at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent points!
+1.

hopefully good news to come!

i'll keep this topic open as long as XDA members behave themselves in a polite manner
lets try to be constructive, and make the best of this endeavor with Samsung.
It's not an every day chance that you see Big corporations willing to listen.

AllGamer said:
i'll keep this topic open as long as XDA members behave themselves in a polite manner
lets try to be constructive, and make the best of this endeavor with Samsung.
It's not an every day chance that you see Big corporations willing to listen.
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There are only two now open, because of all the bashing - I'm cautiously hopeful that this is going to be a great thing, Samsung actually listening.....

I'm sure the bashing and mob mentality being displayed here will endear the manufacturer to this community and force it to listen to us. People use some common sense and stop advertising just how uneducated and uncultured you are. Here we potentially have a manufacturer reaching out and testing the water, hoping to gather information from it's user community to better it's device and service to us but you idiots seem hell bent on driving them off. MORONS!

Thank you so much Samsung for this recognition of our community, it means a lot and we all are thankful. Can't wait to see what comes of this.
Please keep us informed
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I'd like to think 2.3, with input and improvements from the 'XDA elite' (I'll name no names ).
But I won't be upset if this is not the case, nothing bad can come of this joint venture...
(and I know I shouldn't, but I had to laugh )

If ever something does come out of this, I think xda should have a "developers only" sub-section where devs can collaborate with manufacturers. Regular users can still read, but only devs can post. We shall leave it to the owners to decide who is a "dev" and who isn't. That should help keep the riff-raff out. I'm tired of seeing threads in the dev section filled with the same stupid questions over and over again.

locked per OP request
new event coming up soon...