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[Q] New to Android; need customization tutorial

Longtime WinMo user (now with TP2). Just bought each kid an Android phone.
Been using XDA for a long time to modify my WinMo, add apps, etc...
Not familiar with the Android OS lingo and need to bone up so I can hook my kids up with some cool stuff
Did SEARCH but didn't find specific thread to read. Little help?

DLTempler said:
Longtime WinMo user (now with TP2). Just bought each kid an Android phone.
Been using XDA for a long time to modify my WinMo, add apps, etc...
Not familiar with the Android OS lingo and need to bone up so I can hook my kids up with some cool stuff
Did SEARCH but didn't find specific thread to read. Little help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well..
With android (especially with HTC Sense, HTC's UI) you can add plenty of little things to customize your phone. From the top
You can move application icons from page to page on the homescreen along with widgets. to add an application to the homescreen you can open the app drawer/list and longpress it and drag it to the homescreen. Once on the homescreen you can move it around.
Along with Apps you can add widgets to the homescreen, a widget is an app that runs in the homescreen it can do things like display a news ticker, enable/disable settings (power control widget), and other things like play music and search boxes. these can be very useful for getting a quick glance at information without opening up the app.
To change the background you can longpress the homescreen and select wallpapers.
If your phone supports it you can use live wallpapers, search for them on the market or on XDA.
One tip is dont install lots of apps! dont go and download every app you see it will slow down your phone, also dont use task managers as it messes with android native application closing process.
Also the biggest customization of all if your phone is rooted (IE: full permissions and access to the system) and has a hacked bootloader you can load custom roms that are themed or have a big performance boost.
Best of luck!
If you have any questions PM me and I will be glad to help!

Thanks
I spent the weekend tearing through other forums
Found a program called Sideload Wonder Machine that allows apk files to be put into the Aria without having to "root" the phone or otherwise dcik around with it. Worked pretty good after I found the USB Driver to sync it up with my laptop. that was a bit of a process in and of itself.
At the end of the day (weekend) I didn't really find too much to load into the phone that was not already available at the droid market. Swype, yes, but not for this phone. Loaded F-Secure anti-theft too but that, too, is not for this phone.
I am not sure how business savvy these droids can be but they are cool. Kids love them. The UI operates much like the iPhone and much less like WinMo.
I'll keep dciking around with it and see what happens. Thanks again.

DLTempler said:
Thanks
I spent the weekend tearing through other forums
Found a program called Sideload Wonder Machine that allows apk files to be put into the Aria without having to "root" the phone or otherwise dcik around with it. Worked pretty good after I found the USB Driver to sync it up with my laptop. that was a bit of a process in and of itself.
At the end of the day (weekend) I didn't really find too much to load into the phone that was not already available at the droid market. Swype, yes, but not for this phone. Loaded F-Secure anti-theft too but that, too, is not for this phone.
I am not sure how business savvy these droids can be but they are cool. Kids love them. The UI operates much like the iPhone and much less like WinMo.
I'll keep dciking around with it and see what happens. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They can be quite business oriented (IE: Exchange, Calendars, Productivity Apps) If you want help PM me
Cheers,
Cap'n Krtek

Captainkrtek said:
They can be quite business oriented (IE: Exchange, Calendars, Productivity Apps) If you want help PM me
Cheers,
Cap'n Krtek
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree dont let the inteface fool you, android works as a tool just as well as winmo if not better

Acer Netbooks with Insyde Android

Just got an Acer Netbook that's got Android installed as a bios quickboot OS.
It's provided by InSyde and is truely dreadful.
- No Google Apps or Market
- Icon spacing not fixed to cope with the bigger screen, so icons are about 5 miles apart.
- Some really pants apps added in, such as a hacked firefox that's used to access webmail (i mean, the normal android browser copes perfectly well and looks a lot better) and a really poor file browser.
- doesn't look like it's instructing all apps to run in landscape.
- no decent widgets and what's there is small and also stupidly spaced.
No idea which version it's based on, but it's really unimpressive. I mean, did Acer actually pay them for it?
As it is, I've added in the poor InsydeMarket and copied some apps over from my phone. Launcher Pro makes a decent stab at giving it a decent home screen, but the wallpaper doesn't quite fit and you lose the link to launch windows. Also, apps are hanging all over the place.
Anyway, I'm sure people here could do much better. Has anyone looked at doing a decent rebuild?

I also bought this one, but I have some different thinking points with you.
- The Android is design for X86 platform and it's not easy to porting than your thinking. You can check the android-x86.org for more detail information if interesting.
- The Android Marketplace just only can use on OHA member devices such as smartphone not for tablet and netbook. You may found the Samsung Galaxy Tab is also using their own app market.
- The original android doesn't provided the "File Manager" and USB devices support. It's good for me due to I can access some files from USB storage. Of course, I can root my phone to install the third party app as file manager. But now I don't have do this and got the same function with USB support.
- What kinds of widget you need?? Something like HTC Sense?? Nothing is perfect I think. As I know, most of the widgets are developed by third party not OSV.
Do you use the other Android devices with white box? It's really bad than your thinking.
- Most of phone apps are using lower resolution for small LCD panel display, but this one is using 1024 x 600 for display. As I know, the apps should be re-art design and size for high resolution display.
It's my personal thinking for your reference.

I'm not asking the earth from a current Android on a netbook, but what has been delivered is markedly behind anything else I've seen (and I have 3 different Android phones)
As I said, Launcher Pro already improves the experience dramatically, but it would need a few tweaks to get it to work smoothly. I'm sure other alternative launchers would be able to do the same thing.
My expectations from a quick access os would be:
- switch on quickly (kind of obvious, but Android isn't that good for this)
- set to work in landscape for everything
- nice looking, useful desktop that covers the bases, i.e. clock, calendar, browser, notepad, filemanager. Widgets are good for this because it leaves things out in the open - if you need to wait for an app to open you could likely have got into windows in the same time.
- GMail, Google Maps - i mean, it is Android.
- Market, which can run on pretty much any device, but needs a profile option to restrict the options down to what works. That way you retain the reviews that have been built up. There is no point in doing a different one.
- At least a few video codecs
For your info, a good few of the apps I have loaded work fine. The browser's good, Astro runs fine, and i could go on. The apps pretty much always run full screen, so the screen size doesn't make that much difference. And, if you run web apps with your browser agent not set to Android, those work great. Indeed, I'd be tempted to strip most of this os down and just run things via a decent browser - ie dolphin.
So, going back to my original post, I'd love to see that someone was looking to improve this woeful experience. For now, I'm thinking of scrapping Android for Unity.

[Q] A must have list of apps

Hello everyone.
I just bought my Razr HD and I felt in love for him (received offers of a GS3 and an Iphone 5 and refused)
But I am trying to improve his performance to the edge. For that, it will be great to count with the expertise of all you.
I am not rooted, so my idea is to improve his performance as much as I can, if I do not feel happy, I will root.
Best Browser (in terms of usage and speed):
Launcher?:
Ram management (to have free ram as much as it is possible):
AntiVirus: wich one?
If there is any other app recomendable to have, or a easy tutorial where I can root my mobile without unlock the bootloader, it would be perfect.
Please let me know,
Regards,
Heitor Amat
BRAZIL!:good:

Heitor Amat said:
Hello everyone.
I just bought my Razr HD and I felt in love for him (received offers of a GS3 and an Iphone 5 and refused)
But I am trying to improve his performance to the edge. For that, it will be great to count with the expertise of all you.
I am not rooted, so my idea is to improve his performance as much as I can, if I do not feel happy, I will root.
Best Browser (in terms of usage and speed):
Launcher?:
Ram management (to have free ram as much as it is possible):
AntiVirus: wich one?
If there is any other app recomendable to have, or a easy tutorial where I can root my mobile without unlock the bootloader, it would be perfect.
Please let me know,
Regards,
Heitor Amat
BRAZIL!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Razr HD Utility
Use this utility to root, unlock bootloader, download a few "root essentials" apps, and other fun stuff!
In my opinion, best browser would be the stock chrome browser or dolphin browser.
Launcher: Go Launcher, or Nova launcher free are probably your best bets in the free launcher category.
RAM Management: Just use the app manager included with the phone.
Antivirus: As long as you are smart while browsing the web and are careful with where you get your apps from, there is no real need for antivirus. But if you really want it, I would just use the free version of norton.
Once you root, I HIGHLY recommend using "Pimp my Rom". Its a root utility that works on any ROM, and can make all kinds of cool tweaks to your phone to get the most out of it!
If you need any more tips, just PM me!
Good lck!

I am also very happy with mine (xt925)!
I recommend Nova launcher as good reliable launcher. This is the one I go back after having played with others. If you want to experiment with a new launcher try Buzz launcher. It is quite interesting. You can also try zeam launcher for a super simple (but fast) launcher. Haven't tried it on razr hd yet though but good experience with it from another phone.
If you are into customization you can install zooper widget to make you own widgets fairly easy. I have made may own clock, battery meters etc. with this. I even use a "homemade clock" on the lock screen via widget locker. Note widget locker is only worth it if your rooted though (otherwise you will see navigation bar).
Llama is also fun to play with.
If you want to root without unlock bootlock you should be able to so by using motochopper:
http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/t...-android-root-exploit/?pid=244281#entry244281
I used this to root my xt925 with German o2 4.1.2 firmware.
BR

...and of course rooting or unlocking voids the warranty in case you've been asleep.
But if you're going to root:
Tasker along with Secure Settings and Secure Settings Helper (download from within the app). Its money worth spent but takes patients. I bought it over a year ago but couldn't really get my head around it after a few tries. Recently, though, I've been adding all kinds of stuff and it replaces a lot of individual apps that I'd previously paid for.

Heitor Amat said:
Ram management (to have free ram as much as it is possible):
Heitor Amat
BRAZIL!:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you want as much free RAM as possible? This isn't Windows. Let the Android system manage the RAM. If there was any advantage in have free RAM Google would have made that happen long ago.
The only time you need to screw with the apps that are in the RAM is if one isn't behaving and using CPU when it should be asleep.

I'm using Nova Launcher right now just to try it out (it seems fine) but I'm a Go Launcher guy. These two seem to be the top choices, from what I've read. As long as the Chrome browser makes it easy to share your bookmarks among all your devices (tablet, laptop, PC) I imagine I'll always use it in Android. That's just a killer feature for me. I don't use any anti-virus, I don't use a task killer/RAM manager.

[Q] First Tablet - Where to Start?

Hi all
just got a shield tablet. first time with Android. Got it for portable gaming, and to explore the many possible ways it could be of use in my life. it seems like an endless horizon.
used Windows and mac OS a fair bit, i like tinkering. but this is new.
iv been exploring structure, it seems to be very open.
Iv been looking around for guides and tutorials for Android, but most seem to be centered toward smartphone users. many of the Apps they suggest seem to be optimized for phones and seems a bit naff on tablet.
on top of that, i'm starting out with Lollipop, which has made it trickier to find applicable tutorials.
I would be grateful if anyone could point me towards an Android/lollipop tutorial geared toward Tablets.
many thanks
pw

Not sure what you mean by tutorials. You should just play around with the settings, see what features the tab has. Try out the default apps installed etc. The stylus is pretty fun to use with the Nvidia Dabbler app. Other than that, try connecting an Xbox controller to it using a USB OTG cable. Works pretty well. Connect it to the TV and try out console mode(I still haven't done that ?)
Setup your Gmail account, since that is central to keeping everything synced on your tab. Email, contacts, photos, etc. It is also required for access to the play store, where you can download apps, games, movies and music.
Other than that I generally do the following with all my devices -
1) Root it - Rooting is just getting superuser permissions for your device(which I personally believe should ideally just be a setting which the user can decide to turn on/off). This allows you to backup/restore your app data, uninstall system apps that you don't need, tweak/add certain features (though xposed is not yet working on Lollipop I think), block annoying ads, etc.
2) Install Titanium Backup and restore my data from my previous/other device. A lot of apps still don't have cloud syncing, so you still have to transfer your data. But since this is your first device, you don't really have to worry about this.
I'd suggest posting specific questions about stuff that you'd like to know, as it will be easier for people to help you.
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using XDA Free mobile app

Couple of app suggestions for you to try -
Nova/Apex Launcher - Has lots of added features, like organizing the app list, swipe gesture shortcuts, customizable icons, etc.
Bring! - Really good shared grocery list.
MX Player - Plays almost all formats. And has swipe gestures for playback and volume/brightness controls. Pretty awesome.
Feedly - Get your dose of the latest news
Soundhound - Great at identifying a song playing on the radio or even one that you're humming!
Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using XDA Free mobile app

I'm not sure what you want either
If you have a keyboard you can activate Improved accessibility to reassign some keys.
I have Siderbar Pro, so i can swap and open apps has i want.
Adaptative rotation lock free, i use it to force app to open in landscape mode, useful if you have your tablet in a case keyboard.
Floathing Stickies, i use it to write my ideas while I'm reading or browsing, is a floathing resizable window.
Darker, to low the screen brightness and use a color filter.
Ingles(i speak Spanish), i guess you could find it like English is a Livio english dictionary.
WPS its a word, excel PowerPoint PDF editor.
Ivona Text to speech, is the best i have found
Mouse keyboard 2 touch free, i use it to emulate keyboard keypress as touch points, useful to play with a keyboard, but it didn't reconogize my mouse USB or wireless. I had tried other alternatives but this is which works best. Need root permissions.
Thumb Keyboard, is a very customizable keyboard but it seems that it doesn't have further support.
As you can see there are no limits, but has i said i don't know but you want.

I'm with the people who say explore every aspect of the tablet from start to end. Tapping just about anything in some of the most central screens yields interesting results.
From there you'll just sort of have to decide what you want to explore... the Play Store is still a great place to find apps that do a whole lot of things. Do you, like me, want your phone to be kinda like your desktop? There are office suites and sliding keyboards and a whole lot of apps with cloud functionally and desktop like power under the hood.
Oh, about those keyboards... the Google one treats gliding with extreme respect. Would recommend using it like that,maybe trying Swype or SwiftKey if you want to see what else is out there. Heck, even gestures like sliding from Shift to G or just holding down the shift key work kind of in ways you'd expect.
But that's just me... Android can go in a thousand directions. Maybe one day I'll make a YouTube channel called Android is Awesome and show why.

Like most members said, ROOOT IT. Then your endless horizon will be more like space exploration. Once you root, you can ask those questions on what an android can really do. Using a Nvidia shield too, and theres a lot of bloatware that you probably don't want. If you want to uninstall those, you'll need root! If you want to maximize your tegra k1, you'll need root!

Ok....i give...need some solid information.

I have googled and searched my fingertips to the bone. Whenever i ask a technical question, i get answers from the clueless and the blind. I am beginning to hate this game.
So here we go. Stock android 4.4.2 ....rooted. How do you control which apps autostart and load in the background? Right now I have been trying to kill the Music app. Nothing works. It always restarts. So that means there is a sticky setting in some file somewhere in the system that needs to be edited that more than likely can not properrly be controlled from the childish controls android offers. In windows this is controlled in the registry and the startup process. Where is this in android? Why does no one share this information?
Yes i know it's dangerous. Yes i know not to putts around in the operating system. But if youre rooted, give us the data to control things.
So i await a learned response that probaly only one of the "developers" can answer. Because it sure as s€£%t ain't out there to be found.
Signed, royally frustrated

I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

muzzy996 said:
I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry. I did not intentionally want to come off as charged or spraying vinegar. Quite the opposite. But I have found, after reading tons of post, that we are living in the land of the blind and hardly anyone with sight is actually participating or for that matter even providing a modicum of usefull data. Beginning to think that I don't blame them.
It seems, after deep searching and research that children are actually in charge. What other explanation can you give for an operating system that is struggling with "basic" features found in DOS or windows 3.1 from 20 years ago. Similar to the slow evolution of linux, itself which only now, barely, is win xp like in its features after decades as a skeletal nightmare to load and setup.
You may not have caught the news a few months ago, but Samsung was floating the idea of abandoning android for a flavored and skinned version of linux for future devices, both phones and tablets.p, starting with the China market.
Tell me that Microsoft did not head that off by providing reciprocal licensing to Samsung for windows 10 to abandoning linux. Would not be suprised if we start seeing win10 handsets in the near future here.
Once android looses support from major manufacturers, then it is DEAD.
Read every other post and you will see the lament about the quality of google store apps.
So when I ask a specific, technical question requiring a precise answer.....which requires actual proframming skill.....which has yet to appear...you can see how the lack of response to that colors the situation.
If I offended anyone, I apologize. I get excited sometimes. Repeatedly slamming ones head against the wall, figuratively tends to make you anxious.
At this rate, my raw participation on these boards may be curtailed if I continue with this sense of useless effort.
Sorry to make anyone upset. You can let the kids back in the room. I think there is ice cream.

Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?

ShadowLea said:
Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.

mjkurke said:
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?

Options like freezing in Titanium or using Greenify have already been addressed. Tasker is good for starting things but not so good at keeping things killed, not the proper tool to use for the job of keeping apps from loading.
My strategy:
1) Freeze anything that's safe to freeze that I know I'll never use in Titanium first. That way they never pre-cache into memory.
2) Greenify applications that I rarely use so that they don't pre-cache, taking care not to greenify applications that need to stay loaded to operate properly (like email clients, weather apps or messaging apps).
In the end on a clean boot my application/precache list is full of my commonly used apps. I worry not about how much free RAM I have, as long as the list of apps in RAM/cache is populated with the stuff that I commonly use.
NOW, all of that said if you're looking for something that works like windows startup manager then installing Xposed Framework and then BootManager is the way to go. I've done this in the past but find that employing freezing and greenify is good enough for my own needs so I've stopped.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am starting to suspect you have greatly misunderstood the meaning of root access. From what it sounds like, you seem to think it miraculously gives you access to settings and functions that non-rooted users can't see. Which is why you can't seem to get the answers you seek.
There is no such thing as a root-menu. Android does not have that functionality build into its GUI.
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.

ShadowLea said:
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right and even with a custom ROM you can't run away from using 3rd party utilities to make the tweaks. Custom is usually a good start though as they are typically debloated. Civato's is good for lightly modified stock with xposed baked in.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.

globalsearch said:
Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.

firefly6240 said:
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I would clarify a bit here, I know how confusing it can be coming from windows, I made the switch myself not so many years ago and had a lot of the same questions.
to explain root, the closest comparison I have imperfect as it may be is that root access is similar to windows admin access.
the noticeable difference in a lot of cases is what comes pre-installed.
for example in windows if you have an admin account it automatically unlocks access to the command prompt which was already pre-installed.
in android root access gives you the option to use a terminal but often one is not pre-installed, in fact even a file manager is often not included.
this is actually not a limitation of android so much as a limitation put in place by the specific device manufacturer as to what comes pre-installed.
for example a lot of cheap android tablets running google AOSP (Android open source Project) code actually do come with terminal apps and in some cases even come pre-loaded with root access.
in comparison a lot of more well known devices do not come with this pre-loaded to prevent people from breaking things. (For a windows comparison, its hard to delete the system32 folder without admin access, a file browser and command prompt right?)
As far as samsung abandonment, its a bit trickier there.
Basically what you would normally be used to is the Microsoft scenario.
1. Microsoft - Microsoft makes the OS but it runs on hardware made by others.
a. hardware issues go to the hardware manufacturer for as long as they support it.
b. OS updates are handled by Microsoft, they have more or less full control of the OS as it is closed source.
2. the Samsung Scenario - The hardware is made by the manufacturer, the bootloaders are locked, the OS is made by Google and then tweaked by the manufacturer.
a. all official updates come through the manufacturer (In this case Samsung) after google releases the open source code, samsung then alters it as they like and then they release an update.
b. Samsung is the sole support for the hardware and software as google no longer supports the software for the most part after its been altered.
c. it takes a lot of time and work for samsung to develop an update and push it out and then deal with all of the issues that come with updating the OS.
d. its often easier to leave a device that comparatively very few people bought on an OS that they knew was usable rather than spend all the time and money updating it and dealing with all of the related issues.
With that in mind this tablet has been out for about 2 years now which is a huge amount of time for this type of hardware.
All that being said Samsung very recently released the update to android 5.1.1 for this tablet
so it is definitely not abandoned yet, in fact its had more attention than even other devices by the same manufacturer but I suspect 5.1.1 will be the last official update we see.
if you have one of the note variants with an unlockable bootloader as well as a bit of time on your hands I would very much recommend trying a custom rom if you are worried about samsung abandonment.
you may have to try several different ones though, as you'll find a mix of roms that may seem almost half baked, more alpha release style but are cutting edge (I like those ones myself) to roms that are even more stable than the original.
My apologies if some of this is redundant information, I just thought I would throw in my two cents in case it helps

Two points . . for what its worth . . 1) the use of package manager's disable command effectively does the same thing that freezing in Titanium does, the main difference being that you're using a GUI to do it (there can be differences in how the apps are flagged though and using the pm command means not having to rely on yet another app); 2) disabling/freezing means you'll be unable to ever launch said application unless you enable the app again manually (using the package manager PM commands or Titanium).
Main reason in my initial response I didn't go straight to freezing/disabling apps is because that approach isn't exactly the same thing as managing startup in the context of the example given about managing what apps start up on boot in Windows (i.e. msconfig command and unchecking startup options). When someone takes an app out of startup in Windows the software isn't permanently disabled (unavailable) it is merely prevented from preloading when the system is started. So . . in reference to the music app referred to in the original post, if the goal is to be able to use the stock music app but just not have it load itself into memory on its own then the solution isnt disabling it or freezing it, its to hibernate it with something like Greenify or prevent it from starting using something like Boot Manager and Xposed Framework.

Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420

globalsearch said:
Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420
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OK good, then I misunderstood the question. Hibernation has its place, it's just not what you wanted, you wanted complete uninstallation basically.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

like it or not, OEMs, even Google cannot just give the public ready-made controls to such things because the way a lot of (non-essential but) pre-installed apps are designed they depends on other apps being present and/or running.
AppOps was a classic example cuz once ppl found it and made public how to take advantage, a lot of dependant apps and services were affected and people called in to their OEMs complaining of broken phones when it was simply tinkered permissions.
there is no mobile OS more robust than android. all have their forms of depth, appeal, features and restrictions but none embrace admin access & leaving open the ability to do it more than android (just need the carrier and sometimes OEM to leave the bootloader the hell alone lol)
if you want a smartphone with admin privileges out-of-the-box and full control of all system services etc, I would recommend an Ubuntu phone. they're about a year into commercial availability which is still kinda fringe but stable and will lack certain major perks of owning either iOS (yuck!) or Android. there is a couple Ubuntu/android dual boot phones out there too, and that comes with the issue of storage space after holding 2 OS's
in another year or 2 Ubuntu phones should be more plentiful and bring over some popular apps and active development but I don't anticipate seeing it take off quite like other mobile OS's cuz when it comes to feeding the masses, more options and less restrictions can have the same effect as asking an 80 year old to put in an address on your navigation in the car while you're on the highway. it's a learning curve simple to some that seems too simple not to understand but can be bad for business.
I think android and iOS beat this problem initially because when they started, there weren't any other well-established alternatives. BlackBerry and some fringe PDAs were about it...

Note pro 12.2
I was/am dealing with the Note Pro 12.2 specifically. Not other handsets. This device is coming up on two years and support has been waning. When I bought it all was well. Less than a few months later the damned KitKat update came and suddenly I found myself without proper access to the external sd card, that had worked perfectly when i purchased the unit. I was furious. Especially when we where being told that it was for our own good and google was pushing internal memory over external. Damn them. I bought samsung BECAUSE it had the sd slot. And when Samsung did not provide the fix to the platform.xml file I was livid. 5.01 came out and Samsung destoyed support for most external blue tooth keyboards. And so it goes, one stupid blunder after another. Their updates destroyed my workflow.
So yes, damned right I want full control of my device, because they have shown they have NO regard for our needs and DO NOT ADDRESS our concerns. Just buy our stuff and shut up. Well in this case, i was sold a product that they later incapacitated.
I can not abide with that. I tried so hard not to root, for a year and a half. I shut off automatic updates on EVERYTHING because even updates from google play would sometimes destroy a goid priducy. I started saving apks from versions of apps that worked. I stayed stock 4.4.2 because everything worked but the sd write. How many threads do we have here where people upgraded to marshmellow and then begged to get back to kitkat? Last week after reading thread after thread of problems and convoluted fixes and a gazillion rom versions each of which has its own imperfections and then reading that the new samsung tablet was released windows 10. I knew it was over.
At that moment the decision was inevitable. I rooted and IMMEDIATELY fixed the sd write issue. And i unrooted. Two days of random reboots and i roited again, this time to take the bull by the hirns and control this thing. I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of displayed technical knowledge here at xda and the tons pf advice from also clueless posters. I tried everything. Even got scolded by an admin who has been here less time than me. (Follow the rules, follow the rules...don't you dare to ask the important questions)
Not till the reply from firefly6240. Now he knows something. And he shared a little with me. Which i greatly appreciated. I have a direction now. And the tweaks I have done have increased my battery tije, the screen reojse time and overall improvement of the environment. All on 4.4.2.
I still have some minor issues, but google and android code monkeys WILL NO LONGER CONTROL MY DEVICE, MY PROPERTY.
It is time people take control of the ELECTRONIC items which we purchase with OUR hard earned money and stop letting manufacturers turn those devices into nothing more than sales portals to make more money and deny us control or the ability to JUST SAY NO.