Any 'must do' actions following a NookManager root/install? - Nook Touch General

Hello,
After rooting with NookManager are there any 'must do' (or highly recommended) actions? For example, I've seen other items in the 'Nook Touch Android Development' and 'Nook Touch Themes and Apps' sub-forums including the likes of 'NoRefresh'. Which of these come recommended to do/install following the root? If it matters; the use case for the Nook is *solely* as an eReader following the root. I would not want battery life to be impacted for the benefit of using the device as a more conventional tablet, for example.
Additionally (though a separate request/question) are there are any particular recommended applications - Perhaps those that have been modified for use on an eInk display, older versions which have better compatibility or any other reason to install direct rather than from the Play Store?
Thank you.

LavaChild0809 said:
Hello,
After rooting with NookManager are there any 'must do' (or highly recommended) actions? For example, I've seen other items in the 'Nook Touch Android Development' and 'Nook Touch Themes and Apps' sub-forums including the likes of 'NoRefresh'. Which of these come recommended to do/install following the root? If it matters; the use case for the Nook is *solely* as an eReader following the root. I would not want battery life to be impacted for the benefit of using the device as a more conventional tablet, for example.
Additionally (though a separate request/question) are there are any particular recommended applications - Perhaps those that have been modified for use on an eInk display, older versions which have better compatibility or any other reason to install direct rather than from the Play Store?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did all this stuff a few days ago, so bear in mind im no expert, but then again, my nook hasnt broke XD.
I would assume you have installed gapps? you wont be able to get anything on the market without it, well you can just download the apks but you may as well get the apps, you can delete the ones you dont want after. I think you arent meant to install gapps if you have deleted any b+n apps so do gapps first anyhow.
So what i would really reccommend is delete a load of the useless apks which have no use now, things like phone and camera do this by getting root browser from the play store, and navigating to system/app/ x. There is also dumb b+n stuff like social.apk which can go. You can move apps out rather than straight up delete if you arent sure if its safe to delete, one that i would avoid deleting is latinime, thats the keyboard. Look around the forums for some lists people of made for what you can delete, i cant list them off hand.
Something i would also recommend is getting a slightly better library app which someone in the forum made, you can get it here http://www.temblast.com/android.htm, its much better than the b and n library app, to install just put it on your sd (the apk) and launch via the homescreen on relaunch (its a file browser) then it will install. This is the same for any other apk's you want to install. Other apps which i like, super sudoku, works great and the browser is decent in all honesty. Advanced task killer is also handy for killing processes which are running, the stock android one is a bit pants.
I would reccomend sorting out your buttons as hotkeys, you should have nook touch mod manager, what i personally have done is left top button (android back) , left bottom button (relaunch) , left bottom button long press (to reader/currently reading) , the buttons on the right are default, n opens up library and my long press n doesnt do anything currently.
Thats all i can think of at the moment, if you have any questions, shoot away!

Thanks for the reply. I intend to remove B&N Apps using NookManager - Am I okay to do this after installing Gapps? Any reason why installing Gapps after removing the B&N Apps would cause an issue?

LavaChild0809 said:
Thanks for the reply. I intend to remove B&N Apps using NookManager - Am I okay to do this after installing Gapps? Any reason why installing Gapps after removing the B&N Apps would cause an issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im not sure, but it is stated in the gapps thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086582, i would just follow the instructions word by word to be honest, i didnt have any issues.

Related

[Q] How to sideload apps on the Desire Z

I know this is a pretty retarded question but I did some googleing and found nothing on the desire z about sideloading and I'm not sure if following the steps for another phone would be a good idea. I was also wondering about getting rid of the bloat ware, what kind of apps do I need to do that and do I need to sideload those apps?
This is my first android phone. My last phone was a palm pre and all their homebrew stuff was very simple and put into 1 app you can download and get everything from (apps, overclocking, themes and custom kernels all from 1 place) so this is kinda big step because it seems to involve a lot more then 2 or 3 taps on a screen.
Thanks for any help you can give a newbie!
if you search you will see some info about how to remove bloatware, but its not pretty (IMO) and I think you need to root your phone.
As for side loading, if you go to setting>applications>manage applications there is a check box that allow you to load apps from any source. Just be sure its checked. I downloaded an app (TN5250 emulator) from www.mochasoft.dk and it installed just fine.
After you downloaded it did you have to move it to the SD card? Or are you able to download right to the phone?
Edit: Also, does anyone know if you can install stock android? What benefits would you get from doing so? The only thing I would care about is not having 40 pre loaded useless app/shortcuts. A few of them are uno, tv & radio, tunes & apps, twitter, superuser, search people (i can just go into people and press the search button, what is the point of this undeletable sortcut?), peep, navigation, lets golf, learn more. This is an awesome phone but there are so many useless things added and it makes it hard to find the handful of apps that I would actually use. Some of these "apps" are just shortcuts to webpages, why do I need this and why can't they go away?!

[Q] Go back to stock system?

I will hopefully be getting a Nook Touch in the coming weeks, and I have some questions. I want to root it and install things like my Twitter and Bible and use it for more than just reading ePub files. But I have also read that more than a few things can act funny after the root. So is there a way to restore the Nook back to the stock system? Also, what are some of your opinions on using the device with things like Twitter and Facebook? Is it just better to use them on my EVO?
Yes, there is a way to restore Nook to its original state.
The best what you can do is to use noogie image and make a backup of whole nook storage.
Unfortunately many people doesn't do it...
Backup of linux system is described on this site (process is until the "dd if=/dev/<nook> of=nook_touch_backup.img bs=1M" command, rooting follows)
http://nookdevs.com/NookTouch_Rooting
steve19137 said:
Also, what are some of your opinions on using the device with things like Twitter and Facebook? Is it just better to use them on my EVO?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps that rely heavily on scrolling doesn't really work that well on e-ink as you have to wait a while for the screen to "settle" after scrolling. I find myself using my X10 for the social apps.
Thank you both for your feedback. I think I'll use the Nook just for reading library books, and keep the scrolling apps on my phone. I prefer the nice little package B&N has built for the Touch over an alternative launcher anyhow. I wonder if there is a similar interface for normal android phones.
Wait, I have an idea. In some other thread in the development section, I remember seeing someone post a piece of the keyboard layout for the Touch, and it said that the side buttons are technically scroll up/scroll down buttons. If I was to use those in conjunction with an app that uses scrolling (Twitter), wouldn't that technically reduce the amount of refreshing of the screen needed?
Those buttons don't work in normal apps, so you'd have to remap them and that would break their function with the Nook reader app.
Even if you did remap them, only a few apps support paging (usually trough volume up / down)
There's a related thread here
I figured it wouldn't be that easy. Thanks for the info.

Don't need anything but the Kindle app working

I bought a nook Simple touch, I read it can be rooted. I know people look to get gapps and a bunch of other stuff working. The only thing I want to work (on top of the regular nook) is the Kindle app. Is there a build that is good for that?
Thanks,
Shadow.
shadowhawk2020 said:
I bought a nook Simple touch, I read it can be rooted. I know people look to get gapps and a bunch of other stuff working. The only thing I want to work (on top of the regular nook) is the Kindle app. Is there a build that is good for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any rooting method that lets you install 3rd party apps -- either from the Android Market or via sideloading of the .apk -- will work. You don't HAVE to install all the extras, though they're pretty much invisible if you don't use them. Gabrial's TouchNooter doesn't load a whole bunch of cruft, and installs the essentials in one easy pass. You could get rid of Gmail, YouTube (only used for initial setup anyhow) and even Market if you like, once you have the Kindle app installed. I suppose you could skip the Google registration process, though I've not tried that. Be aware that registering the NST with B&N is generally recommended, whether you intend to use their services or not. There have been reports of the battery being impacted by background checks or similar if you don't.
You might want to use NookTouch Tools to remap one of the QuickLaunch menu buttons to launch the Kindle reader.
I'm not sure how Google Market works, but I couldn't guarantee that apps loaded from the Market will continue to work if you delete the Market app.
I know that deleting the Amazon Market app will prevent some (most?) apps downloaded from there to continue to work, even if they are free apps.
That's why I hate all this "Market" stuff.
Nobody distributes apps on their own website anymore.
Renate NST said:
I'm not sure how Google Market works, but I couldn't guarantee that apps loaded from the Market will continue to work if you delete the Market app.
I know that deleting the Amazon Market app will prevent some (most?) apps downloaded from there to continue to work, even if they are free apps.
That's why I hate all this "Market" stuff.
Nobody distributes apps on their own website anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlike amazon apps the market ones do NOT require market to be installed.....additionally not ALL amazon apps require it but many of the more popular ones do.
By the way, does the kindle app read RTL language? any one tried it. thanks.
bobstro said:
Any rooting method that lets you install 3rd party apps -- either from the Android Market or via sideloading of the .apk -- will work. You don't HAVE to install all the extras, though they're pretty much invisible if you don't use them. Gabrial's TouchNooter doesn't load a whole bunch of cruft, and installs the essentials in one easy pass. You could get rid of Gmail, YouTube (only used for initial setup anyhow) and even Market if you like, once you have the Kindle app installed. I suppose you could skip the Google registration process, though I've not tried that. Be aware that registering the NST with B&N is generally recommended, whether you intend to use their services or not. There have been reports of the battery being impacted by background checks or similar if you don't.
You might want to use NookTouch Tools to remap one of the QuickLaunch menu buttons to launch the Kindle reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the great information. This is great. I got a great deal on the Nook, but since I have had the Kindle for so long I pretty invested in them.

[Q] Going after minimalistic set of programms/feature on N7

Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help 
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum! 
_Diver said:
Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help 
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum! 
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the energy right now to address every app one at a time, but I'll nudge you in the right direction. That should help you start tinkering.
The Nexus 7 is very popular in this community because it's intentionally more open, and less bloated, than much of the competition.
That being said, sure there are apps you could uninstall if you decide to. Some of the custom ROM's will have probably already have done this for you, but may create little unexpected quirks here and there.
The first thing you'll want to do is backing everything up thoroughly. I would use Titanium Pro (you'll see it referred to as Tibu a lot), to backup all apps and settings. Then I would use the Google Nexus 7 toolkit (found in the forums here) to do a backup, as well as make a nandroid backup.
Ok, so you're ready to tinker. Well, if you bought Titanium Pro from the app store, you've already got all you really need. First, use titanium to freeze an app you don't feel you need, and don't think is required. Re-boot, go about your daily routine, and see if all is ok. Continue on in this manner. Once you've frozen everything you're interested in, and made sure all is well, you can probably go ahead and uninstall them through Tibu. Freezing them should generally make them not start up anyways, so unless the tiny amount of space they take up is a concern, that's really all you generally need to do *.
* Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.
littleemp said:
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy
_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
As far as a whole bunch of apps being in your list, that's sort of the way Android works. Think of it like "superfetch", or whatever that term was in Windows Vista. Basically, two things happen when you boot. Android looks at a list of apps that are designed to start on boot, and also apps that it expects you may want to run in the future. Both of these are designed to make the device run smoother overall, and it will kill apps if extra ram is required and they are not in use. Certain Android apps require themselves to run at all times. Some of these are apps like Tasker (if you're using tasker profiles), some of these are system apps that make the device function, some of these are apps that maintain widgets or background monitoring (weather apps, gmail, calendar).
Now, there are two ways to go about sorting what is bloat, and what is there because Android decided to load it. You can install an app called Autostarts, that will give an insight into apps that start up when certain criteria are met. You can also use it to stop those apps from queuing up at those trigger points. This is another root required app, and while I purchased it long ago, may have a free version as well. It's time consuming to use, and not perfect, which is why Tibu is better for flat out locking down unwanted apps.
Back to my initial thoughts though, you will see apps in your system list that you haven't touched since boot, because Android tries to anticipate your needs. People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again. "Task killer" is a dirty word around XDA, unless you're using it to close an app that doesn't just go into the background like a good little app should.
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting. You can reduce it, via various methods, and if this were a device from say "insert-name" brand, and was loaded with bloat apps, by all means you should clean those out. However, I think you'll find that while google does install things that aren't needed, or even used by everyone, it's mostly not a big issue.
Check out Better Battery Stats, in the XDA forums. It's an app that shows a pretty good picture of what is actually going on when you're not looking, and can provide data on how to improve your performance. It's probably a better way to start delving into what processes are actually being used, and which ones are just basically harmless. You'll also learn a good bit about how Android works from the Dev's explanations of many of the processes.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
_Diver said:
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model. There is a separate development section in the Nexus 7 forums, for those of us that have the HSPA+ version. We are the minority, as the Nexus 7 was initially released as a wifi only tablet.
bladebarrier said:
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do have SU privileges, so what i was talking about was disabling an app thru N7 setting screen and then when i deem the app ok to remove, going to adb shell and removing the actual file.
i just did this:
mount -o remount rw /system
rm iWnnIME_Kbd_White.apk
rm iWnnIME.apk
and it removed the japanese keyboard. however when i go back to app screen under settings, i still see it but now it has a grey icon with a SD symbols in the corner. so it appears it recognizes that the app is gone, but it's still referenced in the list. i pushed the files back using NRT and it all back to the way it was. so looks like my idea of cleaning the list by removing the apk might not fly.
and now I wonder how Tibu uninstalls the apps.
bladebarrier said:
People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the notion of apps being in the cache and being removed when more RAM is needed, however the purist in me just doesn't want the junk apps to be there in first place However there is a lot of validity to these of your words:
bladebarrier said:
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife got Kindle Fire HD recently and she's been using it happily. While I was thinking why would anyone want a closed up system (well, more closed up system then Nexus), she's been using it and I've been frustrated with my N7 so i might just let it go and enjoy the japanese and korean keyboards anyway
bladebarrier said:
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm wifi only
ngshniq every
i think i found what i was after: http wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/barebones (url modified since i still can't post urls). this wiki page has the list of app with a short description and if it's safe to remove. it also has additional information that explains why i still saw the reference to the app in the list when apk file was deleted:
looks like i need to pay attention to 2 additional files:
/data/system/packages.xml
/data/system/packages.list
i bet I would find a reference to the apps in these and i would need to remove it in order to have the app disappear from the app list. i'll play around a bit more and report back
One thing, could you explain your reasoning behind wanting to delete everything but the essentials? Do you have a particular goal in mind or is it because of your windows background? Because if so, you should know that android operates very differently when compared to windows, and such, the requirements to keep your device working in tip top shape vary greatly.
In my opinion, with your current limited knowledge of each process/app inner workings, what you're trying to do surefire way to break something beyond repair and needing to use a factory image to get back to zero. A custom ROM will be much safer and yield the exact same results that you're looking for. (Eventually, once you understand what each thing does, then this manual approach could satisfy your needs)
Note: GApps are the basic Google apps to flash on top of the barebones system. Gmail, Play store, and the framework.
Nightlies are experimental builds compiled nightly by a bot with the latest CyanogenMod code available.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later 
_Diver said:
My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later 
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what you've done manually, you're clearly far ahead of a new user when it comes to understanding linux/unix.
If you want to lock down parts of what google implements, purely to keep it minimalistic, I would agree with the above poster. Go for one of the popular ROM options that are available, like CM, and work your way backwards. The Nexus 7 only has as much bloat as you allow it to have via the settings. This is another reason why Better Battery Stats is an excellent way to make sure your device isn't draining battery, yet isn't locked down. The other day I noticed an app that kept fetching my position, even though the case was closed (magnetic sleep mode). It turned out I forgot to disable the tracking in google maps (why it was defaulted to ON, I have no idea). BBS showed me what was running during the sleep phase, and I fixed it when I woke up the next morning after wondering why my battery dropped.
The Kindle Fire is a great option, because it doesn't require any of this fussing about. My woman loves hers. LOVES IT. Personally, I like to tinker a bit, and I'm too invested in Android apps to not have access to the play store. The Nexus 7, is for people like what you find here. We like to tinker, and make everything custom. At the same time, you could spend all day trying to figure out why EntriesRefresh_wakelock is your highest partial wakelock count, at 60seconds per 7 hours, or you can find that you just went 7 hours and only used 6% of the battery, even though you've been connected to wifi, texting, emailing, and checking the weather and news, the whole time. Not bad, honestly.
The biggest investment you can do for your Nexus, is probably getting a case that magnetically puts it to rest when you close it. After that, learn about the settings that drain battery in the background. Then, get Tasker and play around that (it's like programming, without the need to learn the code). After that, go to a custom ROM, or dig out Tibu, and basically start customizing which apps you will use. If that doesn't pass the time long enough, you can literally make your own ROM and put together exactly what you want. Whether the performance will be that much better or not, and whether you'll spend most of your day trying to look for coding errors, is up to you. I don't have the patience to code, but you're a coder, so what is broccoli to me, may be bacon to you.

Rooting Nook Simple Touch 1.2.1 Reccomendation

Hello! I have not rooted an android device in a lot of time, and I am basically a noob, but I do read a lot, and my first rooting more than year ago turned out to be a complete success, as far as my knowledge goes.
Now I have A Nook Simple Touch model BNRV-300 with current firmware version 1.2.1 and I would like to add more features to it, because for the price I got it it gives me NOTHING I need.
B&N Forcing updates over the air and registration using the Internet when I first start the device is RIDICULOUS and is evenworse than a DRM protection!
product containing such DRM should be banned for sale at least in Eirope by the Customer PRotection, for limitations they imply on the users!!!
now lets return to the topic and my QUESTION
I already said I have a Nook Simple Touch BNRV-300 with current firmware version 1.2.1
My question is: Currently what is the best method to Root this device in order to get access to more features software? I am looking for method that includes making a BACKUP. Is there currently and entire Custom firmware released that will REPLACE the existing useless firmware on the Nook Simple touch?
What custom apps, kernel, and roms can you reccoment me?
Also If you know any interesting guides I will be happy to read them!
Thank you in advance and have a nice reading!
NookManagerand NTGAppsAttack; latuk's latest kernel for overclocking, ondemand governor and Class 10 SD card fix; old versions of Kindle (3.2.0.35), Google Books (1.0.16), Kobo (3.3.1517), Aldiko (200081), Perfect Viewer (1.9.2.2), iTriage (4.00), Springpad (3.2.7) and ReadItLater (1.3.0.1). From the market; Aardict (with full text of Wikipedia etc.), APV PDF Viewer, BBC News, Channel 4 News, Checkers, Chess, ColorDict, ConvertPad, Cook Recipes, Crosswords, Depth of Field Calculator, Dreams Interpretation, ElectroDroid, FastMode2, FBReader, Four in a Row, gReader, Guardian, Independent, Laters Pro, Google Maps, Nemo Picross, New Scientist, OpenSudoku, Opera Mini, Photo Tools, ReadIt, RealCalc, Reversi, Shelves 0.0.0.1c, Sky News, Super sudoku, SuperCHM, UK Newspapers, WebMD, Wikitravel Offline, Wikivoyage offline, World Newspapers.
I've just got a Nook simple touch. I want to root it. Need the best procedure to do so.
Nook Simple Touch
Model Number; BNRV300
SW version: 1.2.1
sameee781 said:
I've just got a Nook simple touch. I want to root it. Need the best procedure to do so.
Nook Simple Touch
Model Number; BNRV300
SW version: 1.2.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look up, or start here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35267728
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
Ditto what OverByter said. The NookManager is, in my experience, a very simple and foolproof method. Whether you decide to pursue GoogleApps, etc., is up to you. But for root and a simple initial set-up, NM is the way to go, IMHO.
Just rooted and installed google market
nmyshkin said:
Ditto what OverByter said. The NookManager is, in my experience, a very simple and foolproof method. Whether you decide to pursue GoogleApps, etc., is up to you. But for root and a simple initial set-up, NM is the way to go, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, following the advice from this thread, I just rooted my Nook Simple Touch GlowLight. I have previously rooted nook simple touch with the same process.
The market is working, gmail is working. What I dont understand is how to make it user friendly etc. How do I make it like a tablet. I installed some launchers but I have to go into apps and then select it to run it everytime.
I am just wondering what should be done once you have rooted and googlified the nook.
Any recommendations on launchers, themes any other enhancements and ideas to use a rooted nook will be really helpful.
Thank you!!
I tried a bunch of launchers when I first rooted and finally settled on ADW. For me it was easy to set up (once I got over the "I don't know anything about Android" feeling) and I initially used the selected app screen as my "Home". There are two ways to do that. One, after installing ADW and rebooting the Nook it will ask which app you want to use to open "Home" and you will have a chance to set that one as default (either the B&N stock Home screen or the ADW app drawer). And/or, you can use NTMM to assign the QuickNav "Home" button to ADW Launcher.
Pretty much any launcher should provide you with the same options once installed when you reboot.
So that's what I used to do but I eventually went back to the B&N "Home" screen on boot and then after that I can access it from a long press of the "N" button (again, you can assign that with NTMM). I've almost completely reassigned by QuickNav buttons (except for Library). See this post (result in #4).
I've also done the multi-touch enhancement (nice for Opera Mobile and some other apps), No-Refresh and FastMode2 (contrary to what the posts seem to indicate about FastMode2 I have found that the app does indeed toggle the mode on my NST so I assigned it to one of the side buttons and No-Refresh to another one).
Lots of info on various apps out there. Here's my "short" list of what worked for me (in no particular order):
Cool Reader (I only use this to set the screen saver to my current book!)
Perfect Viewer
Crosswords
Amazon Kindle (the enhanced version posted elsewhere on XDA)
Orion PDF viewer
QuickPic
PrinterShare
Kingsoft Office
Dropbox
ES File Explorer
Places (Google Maps variant)
Email (gave up on Gmail--this app is found in another XDA post as well)
Opera Mobile
NewsHog
BBC News
Those are on my ADW home screen along with the GenieWidget for local weather and a widget for Clean Master. I've divided the app drawer behind the home screen into two categories, "everything" and "utilities" which is where I leave my focus and there the following are found:
ADB Konnect
Clean Master
No-frills CPU Control
Nook Touch Mod Manager
No Refresh settings
Root Browser
Rotation Locker
Search Market (got rid of Amazon Market which was giving me a lot of trouble)
Settings (B&N)
Tasker
WiFi File Transfer
Other apps that hide in the "everything" section because I almost never need to access them are:
ADW Config
AdAway
FastMode2
News and Weather (Genie Widget)
No Refresh
RockPlayer
Superuser
etc.
I also did the triple Flash installation described elsewhere but it really only works with SWF files as far as I can tell and only with Flash-able browsers like Dolphin (which has other issues). And I did a Framework-res.apk mod to slightly grey the backgrounds of menus so that some of the "invisible" menu options that come with many apps can actually be read).
I don't know how many times I've made backups and redone things, trying to find what works for me (mostly reading, some browsing). My Nook is still fully B&N functional, as far as I know. The only thing I have not tried is logging on in the store. Except for the inadequacy of Opera Mobile (I've tried every other browser known to humans and aliens), the set-up actually is pretty nice
nmyshkin said:
I tried a bunch of launchers when I first rooted and finally settled on ADW. For me it was easy to set up (once I got over the "I don't know anything about Android" feeling) and I initially used the selected app screen as my "Home". There are two ways to do that. One, after installing ADW and rebooting the Nook it will ask which app you want to use to open "Home" and you will have a chance to set that one as default (either the B&N stock Home screen or the ADW app drawer). And/or, you can use NTMM to assign the QuickNav "Home" button to ADW Launcher.
Pretty much any launcher should provide you with the same options once installed when you reboot.
So that's what I used to do but I eventually went back to the B&N "Home" screen on boot and then after that I can access it from a long press of the "N" button (again, you can assign that with NTMM). I've almost completely reassigned by QuickNav buttons (except for Library). See this post (result in #4).
I've also done the multi-touch enhancement (nice for Opera Mobile and some other apps), No-Refresh and FastMode2 (contrary to what the posts seem to indicate about FastMode2 I have found that the app does indeed toggle the mode on my NST so I assigned it to one of the side buttons and No-Refresh to another one).
Lots of info on various apps out there. Here's my "short" list of what worked for me (in no particular order):
Cool Reader (I only use this to set the screen saver to my current book!)
Perfect Viewer
Crosswords
Amazon Kindle (the enhanced version posted elsewhere on XDA)
Orion PDF viewer
QuickPic
PrinterShare
Kingsoft Office
Dropbox
ES File Explorer
Places (Google Maps variant)
Email (gave up on Gmail--this app is found in another XDA post as well)
Opera Mobile
NewsHog
BBC News
Those are on my ADW home screen along with the GenieWidget for local weather and a widget for Clean Master. I've divided the app drawer behind the home screen into two categories, "everything" and "utilities" which is where I leave my focus and there the following are found:
ADB Konnect
Clean Master
No-frills CPU Control
Nook Touch Mod Manager
No Refresh settings
Root Browser
Rotation Locker
Search Market (got rid of Amazon Market which was giving me a lot of trouble)
Settings (B&N)
Tasker
WiFi File Transfer
Other apps that hide in the "everything" section because I almost never need to access them are:
ADW Config
AdAway
FastMode2
News and Weather (Genie Widget)
No Refresh
RockPlayer
Superuser
etc.
I also did the triple Flash installation described elsewhere but it really only works with SWF files as far as I can tell and only with Flash-able browsers like Dolphin (which has other issues). And I did a Framework-res.apk mod to slightly grey the backgrounds of menus so that some of the "invisible" menu options that come with many apps can actually be read).
I don't know how many times I've made backups and redone things, trying to find what works for me (mostly reading, some browsing). My Nook is still fully B&N functional, as far as I know. The only thing I have not tried is logging on in the store. Except for the inadequacy of Opera Mobile (I've tried every other browser known to humans and aliens), the set-up actually is pretty nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great list! Didn't know about Wifi transfer. Very usefull.
What version of Crosswords did you get to work on your nook. I couldn't get any of the ones I tried to work?
richardcoop said:
Great list! Didn't know about Wifi transfer. Very usefull.
What version of Crosswords did you get to work on your nook. I couldn't get any of the ones I tried to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I really like WiFi Transfer. Saves a lot of wear and tear on that USB jack. The only limitation I could find (beyond the 5 MB file size limit for the free version) is that transfers to the internal My Files folder are not updated in the Library unless you reboot. So I just use the sdcard.
You're right, no market crossword apps work properly on the rooted Nook. I accidentally stumbled across a version of Crosswords that does, however. Check your PMs.
nmyshkin said:
You're right, no market crossword apps work properly on the rooted Nook. I accidentally stumbled across a version of Crosswords that does, however. Check your PMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PMs? I don't understand.
richardcoop said:
PMs? I don't understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your personal messages on the site.
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
I moved my question to the help thread, I think it was the wrong thread here...

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