Android Developers See Opportunity, Hacks - Getting to the Root (
Page 2 of 2 )
Meanwhile,
some members of the group began discussing various hacks to the
Android, including how to gain root of the system and to add things to
it that were not intended by the Google developers, such as the Debian
Linux system. The Android phone was not designed to install Debian or
use custom firmware, but various members of the development community
have devised ways to do both. By getting root of the system, developers
can update bootloads and install custom firmware. However, to get root,
developers need to be running Android OS RC29 or lower, which is
available in some circle, some said.
The reasons for getting root and running custom firmware are many,
such as to put in bug fixes, change the splash screen, install Debian
or applications such as BusyBox, add useful kernel modules, or to put
in multitouch or phone tethering hacks, among other things.
For his part, in a presentation to NYLUG members, Gupta said he
believes Google chose Linux as the platform upon which to base Android
because there is a critical mass of developers in the Linux community.
Gupta highlighted several features of the Android platform that stand
out to him and noted that the Android "Cupcake" development branch of
the platform brings in new features and bug fixes. Google maintains a
public and private branch of the Android code.
"Google says they will always maintain a private branch" to do such
things as support new, unannounced hardware, drivers and such, he said.
Gupta said the primary development platforms are Ubuntu Linux, both
32- and 64 bit -- though 32 bit is preferred -- and the MacOS X
environment. He also suggested that developers consider the Android
Developer Phone 1 or ADP1, which can be run with not only T-Mobile
service but with others.
Gupta also suggested that developers consider the x86 branch of the Android code, which will enable Android to run on netbooks.
Meanwhile, in other phone news, Neowin reported that at the Mobile World Congress, Google demonstrated offline Gmail capability for the iPhone.
Also, Miguel de Icaza, vice president of developer relations at
Novell and founder of the open source Mono project, blogged about Mono running on the Android G1 phone.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
