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Android Fork Brings Froyo To 12 Smartphones
jj110888 writes "CyanogenMod has just been updated to version 6.0, bringing Android Open Source Project 2.2 (Froyo) to several devices. This fork includes enchantments to many of the built-in apps, Ad-hoc network connectivity, OpenVPN support, Bluetooth HID, Incognito browsing, extensive control over audio and UI elements, and more found in the extensive CHANGELOG. The CyanogenMod team uses an instance of Google's gerrit tool for code review and patch submission, helping make this former backport of Android 1.6 to T-Mobile's G1 into thriving development for the G1/MyTouch/MyTouch 1.2, Droid, Nexus One, HTC Aria, HTC Desire, HTC Evo 4G (minus 4G and HDMI output), Droid Incredible, and MyTouch Slide. HTC Hero (including Droid Eris) are coming soon for 6.0, with Samsung Galaxy S devices expected to be supported in 6.1."
Don't buy "An Android Phone".
You'll need to buy a phone that is supported by CyanogenMod (or the modding community in general), and unfortunately, this number is not only small, it's dwindling.
It seems like manufacturers are moving more in the direction of Motorola (encrypting bootloaders to make booting a kernel like CyanogenMod's impossible) and locking down their devices completely. Even my HTC Desire has some (so far uncrackable) form of protection that prevents users from writing to the system partition when the phone is running - even though the phone is rooted. I don't know about you, but I'm interpreting that as a pretty bad omen :(
I guess the next round of HTC devices should give us some idea of what to expect in the future. If the Desire Z/Desire HD/T-Mobile G2 are all locked in the same way or even worse, bootloader-encrypted, Cyanogen and the rest of the modding community might be in for a rough time - not to mention the poor users.
No offense, but who gives a flying fuck what your technophobe mom thinks? If I wanted my life to revolve around what the dumb unwashed masses liked I would drink nothing but bud light, only read the sports, celebrity, and horoscope sections of the newspaper, and believe that evolution is an evil lie and that the world is 6000 years old. Most people are fucking stupid. Android forks are probably not for them.
Is Android right for people who are terrified by tech? Fight amongst yourselves because I really don't care what the answer is. I know that it is certainly right for people who like tech and don't wet themselves at the thought of customizing their phone a little for their needs. I mean holy shit, Apple didn't allow you to change your fucking background until iOS4. How stupid does your target audience need to be if you think letting them change their background is just too much responsibility for them to handle?
No offense but who gives a flying fuck whether you can change your background on a phone? I don't put stickers on the lid of my laptop, hang gonks from the mirror of my car, tattoo my shins or graffiti the nearest public wall. A sense of self worth shouldn't be reliant on decorating things. You don't speak for people who like tech. You speak for immature people who like tech.