Related
Hi, this is my first post on this forum, so feel free to delete it if I obey any rules, which I believe I don't.
I'm absolutely new to the PDA thing, I never had one, I never held one, and according to that, I never used one.
I think about buying one, but I still have too many unasked questions no one yet answered.
I definately don't want to use Windows on this one. So if there is a, let's say, chance higher than 50% that I won't be able to get Linux working on it, I simply won't buy it.
What I searched for and what I still need is an elaborated progress report, of how stable, fast and reasonable a HTC Universal can be used along with Linux. I'm so newbie that I don't even know if it will be able to do phone calls with Linux installed...
My provider is T-Mobile germany, and I could get one (called "MDA Pro" or "MDA IV") for 133€ (about 1:1 dollar, correct me if I am wrong)
I would get the "MDA Vario" for about 1€, but I cannot figure out the real model name, here is a picture:
http://www.audioelektronik.com/images/MDAVario.jpg
But back to my question: Who can offer a progress report? It would be perfect if the author would be at the same provider as me, but it's not really important. I also accept any provider proposals, as well as PDA proposals. I just thought of the Universal because I like the feature list and keyboard, but it won't be a problem to use a touchscreen exclusively.
So how usable is the HTC Universal with Linux? What can I do and what can't I?
You don't have to answer me myself if my questions are, at least partially, covered by a website. If you have any beginner information about installing, using and developing Linux on and for PDAs, I would love to see them.
If anyone prefers to contact me via ICQ, he is welcome to, I listed my number.
My jabber ID is: [email protected]
Hi,
we are doing our best to get Linux working on MDA Pro
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=UniversalProgress
Splendid, fast reply and good link. I'm sorry I couldn't find it. Anyone who is capable of it; feel free to delete this thread.
futlib said:
Splendid, fast reply and good link. I'm sorry I couldn't find it. Anyone who is capable of it; feel free to delete this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can watch the detailed progress or help in this Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=35972&start=800
Hm, I would like to get in touch with development, but I cannot find a detailed introduction focused at newcommers in the development forum.
I never used assembler on a PPC, and though I wanted, I never wrote a Linux kernel module.
This is off-topic in this forum, but do you have a link?
Also great would be an universal emulator to try out ROMs and work on them a little. Is anything available/in progress/planned?
futlib said:
Hm, I would like to get in touch with development, but I cannot find a detailed introduction focused at newcommers in the development forum.
I never used assembler on a PPC, and though I wanted, I never wrote a Linux kernel module.
This is off-topic in this forum, but do you have a link?
Also great would be an universal emulator to try out ROMs and work on them a little. Is anything available/in progress/planned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, you should go around the corner, find the next T-Mobile shop and by your MDA Pro device :`)
After that, you can follow the instructions installing Linux on a SD Card from the wiki page. The first link, i gave you.
After that, you can ask more questions in the "Linux on Universal" Thread :`)
Maybe if you are familar with Linux, you can help building a rootfs image.
futlib said:
I never used assembler on a PPC, and though I wanted, I never wrote a Linux kernel module.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to. The main problems are in the hardware
area, wince driver operation, nice wince GUI installer,
nice windows GUI installer, fixing bugs in Qt programs.
Also great would be an universal emulator to try out ROMs and work on them a little.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are testing everything on the real hardware.
Creating a device "emulator" is even more complicated
than fully porting Linux.
Okay, I think I'll really buy one.
I added you to ICQ EyeOfTheStorm, since I have some more questions and really don't want to flood the forum. Just greet me if you online, and if it doesn't bother
<edit>
Programming GUI programs is indeed my task at work atm, I think I could be of help in that part. I mainly use C and C++ and python. But I'll first need to buy my PDA, so...
</edit>
futlib said:
Okay, I think I'll really buy one.
I added you to ICQ EyeOfTheStorm, since I have some more questions and really don't want to flood the forum. Just greet me if you online, and if it doesn't bother
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ups, my ICQ is depricated. Will never go online. So, if you have aditional Questions, ask in the Linux on Universal Forum.
Is there an IRC channel?
(this thread is so much of a chat ;D)
So, I'm only one step away from buying my device.
Now I only have some last questions I need answered before I buy it:
The root filesystem HAS to be on SD/MMC Cards <= 1024MB.
How do you guys exchange music etc.? Can I really not install the root filesystem on the internal memory of that device? Would 128 MB be enough?
I'm warned that my device could be damaged. If so, would the providers warranty apply? Or does it expire if I change the operating system?
The mini-howto tells me to do a backup, but I cannot find an explanation of how to do this.
I think it should just be a dd of the device when mounted on my workstation, but I prefer to have an explanation anyway.
Would I be able to reinstall this windows CE whatever thing whenever I want if I do a backup?
futlib said:
So, I'm only one step away from buying my device.
Now I only have some last questions I need answered before I buy it:
The root filesystem HAS to be on SD/MMC Cards <= 1024MB.
How do you guys exchange music etc.? Can I really not install the root filesystem on the internal memory of that device? Would 128 MB be enough?
I'm warned that my device could be damaged. If so, would the providers warranty apply? Or does it expire if I change the operating system?
The mini-howto tells me to do a backup, but I cannot find an explanation of how to do this.
I think it should just be a dd of the device when mounted on my workstation, but I prefer to have an explanation anyway.
Would I be able to reinstall this windows CE whatever thing whenever I want if I do a backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, we still have the 1GB SD Card limit. Yes, you have to install the rootfs on the SD Card. 128 MB are enough for hosting the basic rootfs image.
Well, I just bought this device. I will get it on the 20. of juni. (It's my birthday, and this is no coincidence ;D)
There is only one thing left of this list I really need to know:
Can I reinstall this windows CE thing?
I will perhaps hit a situation were I need something fully functionaning ASAP, so I'd love to know.
But I allready bought it, this is just important for my decision to install Linux on it. If I can somehow backup or reinstall this windows CE thing, I'll definately follow the guide and help development as good as possible for me.
I got my device, followed the guide, installed opie and gpe on it (first tried opie, didn't like the look and then switched to gpe. Found out that GPE cannot manage the universals monitor-spin and switched back to opie.) and now I have got everything up and running.
Couldn't find anything non-working yet too, though I still need to figure out how to make (at least the keyboard layout) german.
Now I also know that Opie/GPE can coexist with WinCE without problems, which makes me very happy.
But there is one thing that still bothers me:
I cannot go online via GPRS or make/accept phone calls when Linux is booted.
Is this possible at all? Neither Opie nor GPE do seem to have any software for doing a phone call.
Is there a guide on how to set up telephony and GPRS internet?
<edit>
Found some funky new resources:
http://handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/Universal
Is the page I have been searching for a while and
#htc-linux (@freenode)
is the channel I have been searching for a while.
The guys just told me that it is not (yet) possible to do phone calls, but they are working on it. I will try to compile and make the winCE installer working now.
</edit>
Hi!
Im sorry if this is a dumb question but I googled some stuff about it and never found a straight YES/NO answer.
Im a student in my final year and as a semestral project I have an electronic voting system built on Java Enterprise technology with enterprise java beans (EJBs) running on Glassfish.
For my final work id like to create an app for android that could communicate with those beans on a Glassfish server and thus a people could vote by a cell phone.
My question is Is this even possible? Over the past three days ive been googling stuff concerning this matter but nothing really helped. Id really appreciate a straightforward answer because my time for choosing a final project is almost up and I dont want to end up doing something that is impossible.
Don't take it bad, but it looks like you are a student who doesn't even know what he's working with. Not that it surprises me, but I'm willing to help you.
Answer these straight questions.
1. What is an EJB?
2. Who "runs" an EJB?
3. Where does an EJB "live"?
If and when you answer these three questions you'll know what is needed for a project where "people could vote with a cellphone".
What I can tell you in the most straightforward way is that it is possible for you to have people using their android phones to vote with your Glassfish server.
Android <-> Glassfish
I am looking for the same thing - to write Android apps that communicate with session beans on an app server (i.e. Glassfish). Since I will own both ends of the app, I am looking for a simple approach (e.g. RMI) as opposed to a lot of unnecessary bru-ha-ha (e.g. why turn Java objects into SOAP, just so we can turn them back into the same Java object ... not that Android really supports SOAP).
It looks like Google, for some reason, crippled the Android's ability to communicate. About the only built-in mechanisms I've found are REST (and I don't like REST) or writing my own protocol and using servlets.
Surely, by now, someone has come up with a simple, concise, mechanism for addressing this issue ... I just can't find it.
I am using a phone that has a Windows 6.5 operating system on it.
I wish to disable all the features on my phone other than GPRS connectivity,Wifi connectivity and Camera features.i.e.I shouldnt be able to make or receive calls,text anyone,play games,or use any other default feature.
Either it must be completely disabled or i should be able to give so kind of password protection to these features.
Please help me at the earliest,i require it for a project completion,and i am not able to figure it out as how this can be done.
Thank You in advance
i dont know whether this is the right place to post as i am a new user,so i am extremely sorry if i have made a mistake.
You should get a SIM card that only supports data access for your project. This will prevent any circuit switched (i.e. voice) features and linked services like SMS. There are also options to activate call barring features for a normal SIM (so you can steer what is allowed or not) - but his is then again part of the SIM card subscription (and can be used on any phone likewise).
There are no default options which could cripple your device in such way as you have asked for.
How to make changes in security policy of Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional?
i was browsing through the net and i found this matter:
4102
Unsigned Applications Policy
SECPOLICY_UNSIGNEDAPPS
This setting indicates whether unsigned applications are allowed to run on Windows Mobile devices. If a signed application does not have a matching root certificate in the Privileged Execution Trust Authorities or the Unprivileged Execution Trust Authorities certificate store, the application is unsigned.
You should always use SECPOLICY_UNSIGNEDCABS together with SECPOLICY_UNSIGNEDAPPS policy. This means that when you block unsigned applications from running, you should also block unsigned cab files from getting installed on the device.
Default value is 1 for Windows Mobile.
The following list shows the possible values:
0 indicates that unsigned applications are not allowed to run on the device.
1 indicates that unsigned applications are allowed to run on the device.
Any value other than 1 is treated as 0.
The required role to modify this policy is SECROLE_MANAGER.
i think this will help me as i can make the applications that i dont need as unsigned applications and then make it 0 which will serve my purpose...but i have no clue how to make these changes in my mobile..
Can u please help me with this???
the solution that is given wont work for me because if anyone changes the sim then the settings i require will change and thus the solution is not full proof. i also dont know i will get any sim dat only offers data transfer.
thank you for the quick reply and i am expecting the same in future too!!
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Sneha
Let me write you this last reply to your query, please do not expect any further from my side.
This forum deals with understanding restrictions and enabling previously hidden or restricted functions mainly - learning from each other's experience.
The subforum you have chosen (chef central) deals with understanding how the Operating System is constructed from packages and how these can be recombined to new (cooked) ROMs.
There is no intention to cripple the existing functions of the operating system itself or to restrict the Radio part of it in any way.
You may think that the snippet you took from a MSDN page delivers something you could use for your purpose (which you have not outlined) without understanding the security concept of Windows Mobile. This is quite complex and often (for simplicity) simply disabled completely on several levels - so no security either for whatever you want to do.
The existing packages of the OS do not have separate components that you could omit to disable your desired functions.
Even if so, these core packages of the OS are usually delivered as modules (another special concept of Windows CE/Mobile) that do not need any security or signing - so they run anyway without restrictions.
So finally good luck with whatever you want to do, but I believe that you cannot achieve this with a crippled Windows Mobile - at least not fool proof.
Hello Sneha,
Welcome to the forums.
Unsigned Applications Policy is totally different then what you are looking for. More info here. When enabled, you will be allowed to install or run unsigned aka untrusted apps.
But the inside apps or features are already signed so you cannot stop them from running by enabling or disabling Unsigned Applications Policy.
The really thing you need is to make a custom ROM, remove all the unnecessary things and flash it to your device(s). That means you should change/modify the built in OS (in a simple word) but you cannot do within the device
However, its not a day, week or even a month task. It takes many months to learn things and then you can finally do it. I'm 99% sure that all of your needs can be fully filled but :
1. Takes many months to learn.
2. You need to get the stock ROM, Modify and flash to the device.
BTW; which device you really have?
Thanks...
Best Regards
Closed environment is something that should be done in bsp: kernel to be precise. Also it is possible via custom certmod.dll.
BUT. Little problems:
1) no bsp sources unless you're OEM
2) no certmod.dll sources.
Please look at the initial request on the restriction of radio features. This is handled in the radio layer and this cannot be cut in pieces. So there are no components to sign/restrict/omit for that query.
Cooking can do a lot, but it does not go inside one component.
Cutting all other things may be feasible - but not for radio relevant parts imho.
tobbbie said:
Please look at the initial request on the restriction of radio features. This is handled in the radio layer and this cannot be cut in pieces. So there are no components to sign/restrict/omit for that query.
Cooking can do a lot, but it does not go inside one component.
Cutting all other things may be feasible - but not for radio relevant parts imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of courses its a lot of work but its possible. Within the OS functions. Radio thing is just for input and output but the way its handled is under OS itself. Am I right or wrong? Think of removing packages depending to what you don't want.
i.e to disable messaging, Remove all things which are related to it. I'm sure you know it.
Though its a plenty of work and have to be expert so not messing around things.
ultrashot is right but if we had the source, every thing would have been different and even easy.
Radio is special and never dealt with in cooking. The Radio lower layers are treated with code in a dedicated partition (GSM) and accessed via an interface Layer (RIL = Radio Interface Layer) from the OS.
On top of that are applications like messaging or MMS - these can be cut.
I see no option to prevent e.g. only speech calls but allow data calls. On RIL level these are just different GSMBCIE elements (look up the relevent 3gpp specs). Of course you could find dirty ways to cut off e.g. the GSM speech codecs, but this would possibly not prevent to set up a call - creating cost but not having success when connected.
Tweaking these parts has not been of anyone's interest and thus "in theory" possible but hardly practically feasible.
How can i make changes on the OS?
Thanx a lot Cracing for the positive advice.I was planning to consult the OEM to make changes in the security policies.
I am working with the Synqe device .My main aim is barcode scanning and sending the data via GPRS or Wifi.and at the same time i want that all others connectivities and applications are to be deactivated.
Moreover i wish to restrict the usage of GPRS strictly for my application.
As u mentioned that i will have to make changes in the OS,will the OEM be able to do that for me or should i consult a good Mobile OS developer?
sneha6689 said:
Thanx a lot Cracing for the positive advice.I was planning to consult the OEM to make changes in the security policies.
I am working with the Synqe device .My main aim is barcode scanning and sending the data via GPRS or Wifi.and at the same time i want that all others connectivities and applications are to be deactivated.
Moreover i wish to restrict the usage of GPRS strictly for my application.
As u mentioned that i will have to make changes in the OS,will the OEM be able to do that for me or should i consult a good Mobile OS developer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see
Going with OEM should be better idea. They have the sources to do anything. Its not so easy for 3rd party Mobile OS developers (i.e here ). Need things and takes long enough to R&D and finish the project.
Hope you will find a good solution for your project soon.
Thanks...
Best Regards
Hello! overflowers? I'm a beginner android developer and I have developed several apps that use the "basics" of android and java (for college requirements)
Now, I need to develop a new project that consists of making a web app which stores the records of all students from my college and the students will be able to check their records and other information from the college from their android phones.
I have done a lot of stuff with Android but I haven't done anything incluiding web queries, pulling info from a website to display into the device, etc etc.
So I want some advice here and/or tutorials that focus on this.
also, I have some important questions: 1. Can I pull information from the actual website from my college? If so, do I need to recieve some sort of permissions?
2. In case of not being able to pull information from the actual website from my college (for any reason whatsoever, like them not giving me permissions to do this), I could create a website that imitates its behavior, I would appreciate some tutorial or guide which could help me to achieve this.
Your help is very appreciated.
Btw, excuse if I'm breaking a rule here but something is not making sense to me.. the forum title says Q&A but when I mark this as a question it says this is not Q&A. I am aware this might be moved somewhere else but I dont know where.
Granolaa said:
Hello! overflowers? I'm a beginner android developer and I have developed several apps that use the "basics" of android and java (for college requirements)
Now, I need to develop a new project that consists of making a web app which stores the records of all students from my college and the students will be able to check their records and other information from the college from their android phones.
I have done a lot of stuff with Android but I haven't done anything incluiding web queries, pulling info from a website to display into the device, etc etc.
So I want some advice here and/or tutorials that focus on this.
also, I have some important questions: 1. Can I pull information from the actual website from my college? If so, do I need to recieve some sort of permissions?
2. In case of not being able to pull information from the actual website from my college (for any reason whatsoever, like them not giving me permissions to do this), I could create a website that imitates its behavior, I would appreciate some tutorial or guide which could help me to achieve this.
Your help is very appreciated.
Btw, excuse if I'm breaking a rule here but something is not making sense to me.. the forum title says Q&A but when I mark this as a question it says this is not Q&A. I am aware this might be moved somewhere else but I dont know where.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would look into hosting an sqlite3 database on a server, and access it to retrieve the data from within your app.
But the problem is, by default you cannot access an online database on Android, so you'll need to add some kind of RESTful interface, the easiest way probably being a php script which will retrieve the data from the database and return it into a JSON object for example, that you can then pull from within your app.
You'll need to expose some kind of syntax from your php script so that your app can request the data for a specific user (ie row X / column Y).
There's probably a better approach, but this is what comes to my mind.
Hi All,
I'm a software developer, reasonably comfortable with compiling apps in Linux, though still got more to learn on inner workings of the full system.
I've been thinking about following the Linux from Scratch book for a while - and also about converting my Nook e-reader into a useful device for developing on when out im the sun.
I guess there are some significant challenges here - device trees and commercial secrets, perhaps some crypto keys used for signing update images to boot (I'm familiar with these problems, but not solutions or good workarounds).
What I'd really like is a good understanding of:
- what tool chain I need to setup
- What has been tried already and what the problems were
- any further help/datasheets that can get me going
I'd have posted this in the 'android development' area as the closest forum for what l'm trying to do, but apparently I'm not allowed until I've got my post count up - so I'm being forced to post in 'general'. If someone agrees and can move it, that would be great.
P.s. I have searched the xda site, but I'm not finding what I'm looking for. I'm sure it must be here somewhere, so any pointers/links on where it is would be appreciated.
SimonSimpson said:
Hi All,
I'm a software developer, reasonably comfortable with compiling apps in Linux, though still got more to learn on inner workings of the full system.
I've been thinking about following the Linux from Scratch book for a while - and also about converting my Nook e-reader into a useful device for developing on when out im the sun.
I guess there are some significant challenges here - device trees and commercial secrets, perhaps some crypto keys used for signing update images to boot (I'm familiar with these problems, but not solutions or good workarounds).
What I'd really like is a good understanding of:
- what tool chain I need to setup
- What has been tried already and what the problems were
- any further help/datasheets that can get me going
I'd have posted this in the 'android development' area as the closest forum for what l'm trying to do, but apparently I'm not allowed until I've got my post count up - so I'm being forced to post in 'general'. If someone agrees and can move it, that would be great.
P.s. I have searched the xda site, but I'm not finding what I'm looking for. I'm sure it must be here somewhere, so any pointers/links on where it is would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried to get info on such things three times over 2 years for different devices, no one every seems to point me in the right direction, the most i have been able to find out is how to make compile cm and a little bit of how to customize roms, not to be a downer but i think the process is often so different for ever device and difficulties usually happen that the only people that build roms are people that have either have experience I n some form from their job, just edit existing source for cm(updating to a new version, customizing roms ect...) or have screwed with the stuff for years till the point that they just figured out alot of problems themselves. Wish a could find a good guide myself to atleast get the basic dependencies required for a device to boot together, if i could get something to boot the rest of the issues could be worked out with trial and error, boot noone on xda, Android authority, Reddit or cm's own forums goes into enough depth to make that possible.
Hi jaykoerner,
Thanks for your reply - good to know I'm not alone with my echo!
I've discovered some useful links if anyone wants to begin getting to grips with all this...
1. XDA Devs has a wiki (not sure how to find from the forum links...?)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/BN_Nook_Simple_Touch
2. There's a (atleast one) customized kernel (and probably a dev-tool chain) available on GitHub:
https://github.com/javifo/NST/tree/master/kernel -- including kernel compilation instructions
https://github.com/javifo/NST -- root of the repository.
3. Parallel to Raspberry Pi kernel compilation (so you may want to learn from that as it probably has more articles)
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/linux/kernel/building.md
I'll post more when I next do something with the information (Still want to understand more on the android HAL)
Hope that helps someone!
SS.
SimonSimpson said:
Hi jaykoerner,
Thanks for your reply - good to know I'm not alone with my echo!
I've discovered some useful links if anyone wants to begin getting to grips with all this...
1. XDA Devs has a wiki (not sure how to find from the forum links...?)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/BN_Nook_Simple_Touch
2. There's a (atleast one) customized kernel (and probably a dev-tool chain) available on GitHub:
https://github.com/javifo/NST/tree/master/kernel -- including kernel compilation instructions
https://github.com/javifo/NST -- root of the repository.
3. Parallel to Raspberry Pi kernel compilation (so you may want to learn from that as it probably has more articles)
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/linux/kernel/building.md
I'll post more when I next do something with the information (Still want to understand more on the android HAL)
Hope that helps someone!
SS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My initial thought was that toolchain should match the underlay Linux kernel of Eclair (2.6.x.y) for us to be sure it could be run on NST. This info that I still have to search through is certainly helpful. Thanks!
SimonSimpson said:
I guess there are some significant challenges here - device trees and commercial secrets, perhaps some crypto keys used for signing update images to boot...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither the NST or the newer glows use device trees.
In the Glows this is all handled by the custom ntxconfig which allows simple configuration.
For building Android apps, you use the straight Android SDK, possibly also the Android NDK (for native code).
You'd also use the NDK for building command line utilities.
I've never built a kernel from scratch, but I have binary modified/patched them.
There is the simpler bit of patching system image ramdisks which can be conviently handled by my imgutil.exe in the signature.
If you want to do audio, you really are better off with the Glow4 (7.8") which actually supports it.