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CyanogenMod Drops ROM Manager In Favor of OTA Updates
sfcrazy writes "There's some great news for CyanogenMod fans. The CM team has decided to drop ROM manager, which was the de facto standard of getting CyanogenMod updates."
Instead, the CM team is building its own updating method, explained (with screenshots) at Android Police.
For those who were as confused as I was:
CyanogenMod is a community-maintained, enhanced version of Android, which you can replace the regular Android operating system on tablet and smartphones with, by flashing the ROM.
ROM Manager is an app for, well, managing Android ROMs. Until now, CyanogenMod has relied on it for installation and updates. However, it is 3rd party and not open-source.
OTA, contrary to the implication, is not a CyanogenMod-specific technology, but a general way of manufacturers pushing updates to their smartphone/tablet ROMs. See here.
CyanogenMod will now be using OTA updates to update its ROMs, so it should look to users more like a "regular" phone, which updates itself through the normal mechanism, instead of relying on this third-party ROM manager. (At least, that's my attempted decoding of this story; corrections welcome.)
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
I don't know. I never had a working camera app with CM. It would take anywhere from 0 to 3 pictures before forcing me to reboot the phone, and when I tried to take video, the visual quality was so bad that you couldn't recognize the people in the videos. That kind of killed one of the major benefits of having a smartphone for me.
Maybe they've improved it since then, but the last thread I read on the subject (maybe 6-12 months back) was "Well, the camera still doesn't work, but..." Needless to say, when I upgraded my phone, I chose NOT to install CM.
My camera works great with my Evo 4g. In fact, everything but 720p video record works great with CM 7.2.
I have never enjoyed a phone as much as I have enjoyed this one and CM is one of the main reasons. I wish the prices of these phones would drop (consdering their age) so I could get my wife one.
The fact that so many of roms use it as a base is great as well. I only wish that less people would use icecream sandwhich as a base since that one lacks 4g and video playback for netflix (but I get the appeal of using it if these things don't matter - I am sure there are people who can't live without 720p video record.)
I am currently using MokeeOS SharkBoy Edition.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1779534
I don't know. I never had a working camera app with CM. It would take anywhere from 0 to 3 pictures before forcing me to reboot the phone, and when I tried to take video, the visual quality was so bad that you couldn't recognize the people in the videos. That kind of killed one of the major benefits of having a smartphone for me.
Maybe they've improved it since then, but the last thread I read on the subject (maybe 6-12 months back) was "Well, the camera still doesn't work, but..." Needless to say, when I upgraded my phone, I chose NOT to install CM.
I choose to disregard your post, because every time some journalist or blogger writes about how great the latest iPhone is, the quick responses of legions of android fans claiming that the Android phone du jour kicks the iPhone's ass (if running CyanogenMod), is the only thing that allows me to maintain my world view, in which my personal self-esteem depends mostly on the perceived superiority of Android to iOS.
If I allow myself to believe that you are anything other than a paid shill for Apple, my self-esteem will plummet and I will likely do something extremely rash and ill-advised, like commit suicide, or even worse, switch to iPhone.
That's not true at all. You need a custom recovery, like Clockwork Mod Recovery (same dev as ROM Manager, but not the same thing), Team Win Recovery Project, or 4EXT (etc.), but you don't need to have ROM Manager installed at all to use any of these (they can be flashed from the terminal or ADB). Also, you can revert to stock by placing an update.zip on the root of the SD card and booting into HBOOT on most phones, or by using Odin on Samsung phones as previously mentioned.
Awesome!
Can't wait for this.
I run Cyanogenmod 9 on my Galaxy S II, everything works great, and battery life is excellent.
I run 10 on my Transformer TF 300, it works well, a little bit buggy.
I run 7 on my HTC Inspire, works fine.
Cyanogenmod is the ONLY way to run android, IMO.
But then again, I'm a linux user on desktops.
jaz
Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. No-one sees motorcycles
Really, i am an escalation manager for ATT in a call center for ATT. My last few weeks since the Iphone 5 release has been about whiney bitches complaining that their phone does not have good battery life or connection to the network. God forbid Apple lied about a shoddy product. Yet I rarely get a call from a CM user bitching...
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
As a non-supertechie Android user, I sure would welcome a more simplified way to root and install these files. I attempted it a month ago, following instructions laid out on Androidforums for my LG Virgin Mobile phone. Got it right up until the final step when it refused to accept the code that I know I was inputting exactly. Had to give up in frustration, glad it wasn't bricked, though. I'd love to have full control over permissions on my device, and to securely lock it down from any hack attempts. Thanks to /. for this heads up story.
Just disassemble the bootloader starting at breakpoint 0x10C08000 and look for the argument to CLD R0.
Once you've found that, you only have to patch the configuration file with the new value and reassemble the kernel userspace.
Then just flash the ROM with the resulting srecord file and you're good to go.
Anyone can do it.
Interestingly enough, it works great on the females in the clubs.
I believe you just described how to brick a POS Windows Phone.
That's because stupid people don't put CM on their phones. Stupid people do, however, buy iPhones.
I hate grammar Nazi's.
Is that a nightly, alpha, beta or final? Did they list camera app not working in the release notes? If any of the answers is yes, than I have no sympathy for you.
CM does not necessary guarantee that everything will work. Also, depending on the popularity of any device among the developers, some of them do get left behind, while some are not picked up, and some devices are just awesome with CM.
>I chose NOT to install CM.
Congratulations: Now you know you have a choice.
That's not fair. I know plenty of smart people with iPhones, and a quick look at forums will show you many people in far over their head trying to root and install ROMs.
But it's very apparent that what you do rooting etc. is not officially supported, and more than clear that official lines of support are useless if you have issues. Now, if people were calling AT&T to complain about their jailbreaking gone wrong or something, that would be different.
I vote based on politicians' actions, unless contrary to my preconceptions. Often wrong, never uncertain. #iamthe99%
More than likely it's not a "bug" of CM per se, it's just that they don't have the proprietary bits they need to make it work. The code for the OS is mostly open source, drivers depend on the manufacturers.
It doesn't make it okay, of course, but not all phones are that way. You need to do a little research before you buy (or get a Nexus).
I vote based on politicians' actions, unless contrary to my preconceptions. Often wrong, never uncertain. #iamthe99%
It all depends on the phone you choose, the developer interest, and your level of patience. Some phones are inherently easier, some phones have more developer support to help, and if you wait long enough usually GUI-based "1-click" programs show up, if feasible.
I vote based on politicians' actions, unless contrary to my preconceptions. Often wrong, never uncertain. #iamthe99%
No, dipshit anonymous coward, It means I'm willing to put up with a bit more configuration/troubles then the usual user if I perceive an improved user experience.
Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. No-one sees motorcycles
i actually get tons of people who try to jail break their phones and end up bricking it. And they are clueless on how to fix it. and they expect ATT or Apple to fix it. Not to mention the large amount of users who went to IOS6 and their phones bricked...
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
That's because stupid people don't put CM on their phones. Stupid people do, however, buy iPhones.
They also know to lie to the CSR about what they did when there is a problem.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
If you've "flashed dozens of phones" than you're heads and tails above the average smartphone user. Sorry, not everyone is a geek. 99.99% of the people out there who own smartphones would have no clue to even understand where to begin to flash a phone. Hell, they probably don't even know what the term means.
As far as trolls? No, there are people who've heard of flashing from G4tv or some random podcast and think it's the thing to do. The number of geek wanna-bes is astounding. Real geeks are definitely outnumbered in this case. Why is it that anyone who is clueless about anything the majority of Slashdotters consider hip but who is interested is a troll?
Next you'll be telling us that anyone who's had a positive experience with Windows 8 is a shill. That kind of bullshit has played out. Move on.
You can easily screw up your device trying to get CM on it...
Hopefully, you'll have made a backup of your original image before doing that.
In my case however, I've actually saved my device from sending it back for warranty repairs because I actually had it rooted.
...and on some devices will lose functionality.
Yes, but that's usually not a problem. Once you've rooted your device and installed one ROM, trying different ROMs is super trivial.
CM may not be the ROM for you, for instance it wasn't the ROM for me, so I just moved on until I found a ROM that had all the functionality I desired and all the wrinkles ironed out. Of course, the availability of good ROMs for your device will depend on the popularity of your phone model, and its first initial public release date.
If your device just came out, like the iPhone 5 for instance, you may have to wait a couple of weeks before you'll find the right customized Android ROM for it. So please be patient.
Wrong slogan: "Have you tried it yet?"
A black screen, failure to boot is not a brick.
You can still force update firmware, even if the phone doesnt boot.
Get a clue, read the FAQs.
You're asking an awful lot of an AT&T CSR.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Well, if you were on chans like #cyanogenmod or #revolutionary on freenode, you'd see a lot of n00bs comments like "I've screwed my phone trying to root it".
I'd rather say stupid people don't manage to install CM on their phones.
I suppose it's stupid to say that here on /. but you have to be very careful when rooting your phone ... Make frequent backups in case it goes wrong ... and above all think twice before doing *anything*