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Ars Checks Out CyanogenMod's New Installer
Ars Technica runs through the pretty and simple (but Windows-only) installer that is one of the first big fruits of the newly commercialized CyanogenMod project, and finds it very worthwhile. However, and despite being far easier for ordinary mortals than the error-prone process of the old way to put on CyanogenMod, it's not perfect: reviewer Ron Amadeo ran into troubles using it on his Nexus 4, and cautions: "If CyanogenMod Inc. really wants to lower the barrier to entry, they next thing they need is a way for users to just as easily go back to the setup they had before installing CyanogenMod. Currently, the installer is a one-way street. If the user decides CyanogenMod isn't for them and wants to go back, they're stuck. Even worse, they could run into the situation I did, where CyanogenMod installs but everything is broken. I've done this enough that I know how to go back to stock, but for a novice, they would have been abandoned with a broken phone."
uh ... go ask your carrier for upgrade then .
waiting ..
waiting.
waiting.
Unlocked phones are becoming more available, and more carriers offer "bring-your-own-device" plans. So this should be offered as something you get installed by small phone retailers or, for more volume, bulk importers of phones and tablets. It's useful for people who don't want to be tied to Google or Apple online services.
Unlocked bootloader is not the same as network unlocked, unfortunately.
And considering the legislative environment, it may never be the same. Thankfully, unlocked phones (both network and bootloader) are becoming quite common - thanks, in part to google (and the nexus devices). Also, it's been "a thing" in europe for some time, I hear.
- Nec Impar Pluribus, or so I'm told.
uh ... go ask your carrier for upgrade then .
This is a fair point. CyanogenMod's strength is that it offers an upgrade path to a great many devices that have been abandoned by their manufacturers.The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, for instance hasn't seen an upgrade from my carrier in well over a year. CM also offers a clear way to de-googlify your phone, for those worried about Google's monitoring their activity. If you want the benefits of (say) Google maps and navigation, you have to consciously download and install the gapps.
That really IS silly. I get so tired of greedy bastards who think that their "intellectual property" is worth quintillions of dollars. But - people DO need to eat, they need homes, some of them hope to raise kids, some like to have their own private transportation.
A company isn't evil just because it's "for profit". They may BECOME evil, in the pursuit of profits, but profits aren't evil.
Real life has a way of destroying idealist's dreams. Unless, of course, you are posting from some alternate dimension in which no one needs or wants profits. How does everyone eat over there? You should share your secrets with us!
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Unless, of course, you are posting from some alternate dimension in which no one needs or wants profits. How does everyone eat over there? You should share your secrets with us!
Its easy. When Mom stomps twice on the floor above his basement lair, it means dinner is ready.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Unlocked bootloader is not the same as network unlocked, unfortunately.
True, although Google is slowly repackaging Android such that you can update things without waiting for the
carriers, and as soon as they complete this process by kicking the radio and screen drivers outside the kernel
you will be able to do this easier.
(It was only desperation that got them into that mess of monolithic software loads in the first place. The damage
they had to do to linux while shoehorning it into Android was mostly in destroying Linux's hard won kernel packaging.)
Right now Cyanogenmod has to tiptoe around a bit to avoid pissing off the patent trolls that own the
radio drivers when they complete replace everything else, but attempt to leave your radios intact.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
For that matter, we can't expect normal users to spend a couple hours researching anything, even if they do understand search engines. Normal users expect to push a button or two, and get instant gratification.
which is the way it should be, justifying needlessly complex processes is stupid as is blaming the user for not wanting to spend hours researching shit like that.