Database Info

[Q] Ubuntu or Windows 7

I've been reading up on this subject ... I really want to try Ubuntu but I hear it has major bugs ...which on in y'all opinions do you prefer and why?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App

i recocmend u try a dual boot its actually really easy if u follow the instructions.
i installed ubu about 3weeks ago and i love it because u can customize it to no end and it really dosnt have that many bugs.
i installed inside of windows and did a 20gig partition so its defiantly not my daily, but its still fun to mess around with.
and if you need help with the installation feel free to pm me.

You can try the live image, to test if it suits your purpose. Also, you can use virtual machine to install ubuntu with Windows to test it.

Id reccomend the liveCD or as mentioned running in a virtual machine if your pc can handle it.
This will allow you to explore Ubuntu without any major bugs or chances of wiping your hard drive
Personally i prefer Windows for a development environment, but Ubuntu has its advantages.

I suggest you to choose windows, the best ever, ubuntu is good but not like windows

I have test Linux one times per Year. I will never love it. I use Windows since 3.1. Linux/Ubuntu is not Windows. If you know how windows work use this.

Tri boot OSX Lion, Arch Linux, and Windows 7.
Ubuntu is bloated, and Unity is TERRIBLE.

actually ive been hearing really good things about linux mint isadora its pretty much the same as ubu but has a cleaner overlay and more user freindly.
arch linux just has way more repositorys than ubu and arch linux is more complicated to install.
man the geek radar just went off the charts with that one lmao.

I'm standing at the edge on this one as well. I really like the way Ubuntu looks and how it operates, I'm just not 100% sold yet.

it is what it is, its a love hate relationship with me i love the open source like android but i hate how it looks.
i would definitely recommend running it in virtual machine to try it first before you do any hdd partitions.
if you like mac youll probably like linux since mac is pretty much linux on steroids lol.

Bierce22 said:
actually ive been hearing really good things about linux mint isadora its pretty much the same as ubu but has a cleaner overlay and more user freindly.
arch linux just has way more repositorys than ubu and arch linux is more complicated to install.
man the geek radar just went off the charts with that one lmao.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LinuxMint is based off of Ubuntu, but, is much more user-friendly for beginner Linux users (comes will all codecs and what not pre-installed, saves having to play around with the Package Manager, etc).
With Linux, there are several different desktop environments. KDE, is the Windows look-a-like, so, choose a KDE version if you prefer and are used to the Windows layout.
I suggest to the OP to go to http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php and download the DVD edition. Burn it to a blank DVD disc, put it into the computer and restart, and start trialling Linux from there (yes, it's that simple). To get the best of both worlds, dual boot (we can help you with that if you're having difficulty ).
It's entirely up to you though. There are advantages and there are disadvantages for choosing one over another. But, there is a learning curve to Linux. It isn't like Windows and you'll just be asking yourself for a recipe for disaster if you just go straight in and expect it to be the same.

man i almost crapped myself the first time i installed ubu i did it without anyones help and the first time i did it i did what u said and restarted with the dvd then hit escape for options then somehow crashed my system it seriously took 2hrs for my computer to restore its self after that one but thankfully it did. once it fully booted again i just popped the dvd into the tray and ran wubi installer on my desktop and i was done in about 5min i was seriously punching myself on that one lol.
also if u dont have any blank dvds laying around im pretty sure you can use daemon tools to mount the iso if your installing inside windows like i did.

If you have to ask then I suggest Windows 7 (if you have sufficient hardware). If you're interested in getting to know Linux then Ubuntu, Mint or any other variation of Ubuntu would be best. Granted there are better distros out there but they require a fair bit of knowledge.
Someone suggested Arch to a noob!?! Why not Slackware??
I'm running Lubuntu on an old machine only because XP is too heavy for it. Bottom line as a Desktop I still like Windows (let the hazing begin...)

heres kde or kubuntu in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyEx3hVTGDk&feature=related
and heres ubu in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFCnNs8jbgw
both are not my videos fyi

just out of curiosity has anyone got tethering to work on ubu 11.0.4 because for me itll recognize the ssid but will never connect to it usb tether works fine though.

ApplesRevenge said:
Id reccomend the liveCD or as mentioned running in a virtual machine if your pc can handle it.
This will allow you to explore Ubuntu without any major bugs or chances of wiping your hard drive
Personally i prefer Windows for a development environment, but Ubuntu has its advantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, everyone has his/her own taste of OSs (and any other things ), so I suggest you should answer by yourself.
In my oppinion, there no bug in Ubuntu. One difficult thing when using Ubuntu is: it cannot run our Windows software (for instance: MS Office, IDM, WinRar, etc)
You can try Ubuntu by use Live CD (download from ubuntu.com) or install it in dual mode. This way you can use Ubuntu w/u effecting your Win 7.
Enjoy.

I think window 7 is really good. Relatively easy to operate.

for common use windows,
for developing, ubuntu

[PROJECT] Debian for Galaxy 3

So you've no doubt seen all the people who've managed to put Debian/Ubuntu on their Galaxy S or their HTC Desire or something expensive that we poor people can't afford? Well this is the same deal but for our Galaxy 3!
I was bored and decided to try it for myself and well it seems to be working. I'm still configuring it but I'm not just gonna end it at "we've got VNC into it so it's done", I want to hopefully get it to be a full ROM that can be booted on it's own. It's ambitious, I know, but isn't it fun trying?
This is not a shoop.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
This is really me connected to my phone in adb, and I have apt-get (a major feature of Debian) is working, and you can see the kernel is our own G3MOD.
How does this work?
It's not a virtual machine or an emulator or anything like that, this is NATIVE ARM code. Real Linux. How it works is not by heavily modifying my system or anything, that is completely fine. In fact I can still ring people, SMS, use the 3G connection, all that fun stuff is still there. It's still an Android, but at the same time there is a process for bash sitting in the background on the phone which uses a totally different root directory (chroot) and this bash has surrounding it all of Debians files and such for the armel build: it is a full Debian install sitting there, but because there is alreayd a Linux kernel there (G3MOD) it doesn't need to run another one so it runs technically at full speed on top of the kernel, just in it's own little area off to the side, kind of like the kiddies pool.
Currently I am working on making Debian work on it's own so there will be no Android beside it.
Can it run X-Windows?
Yup. As you can see in the screenshot, X11 is outputting directly to the screen. It's using the framebuffer right now, and I want to see if I can make it hardware accelerated. You can't control it yet as I need the touchscreen to work right. I can access it, but it is outputting data in a format that X11 doesn't like.
Amazingly Awesome Video
What is working?
Base Debian (working both alongside Android and on it's own)
X11
VNC and SSH
Framebuffer
Buttons and touchpanel detected but not mapped
What needs to be done?
FIMG support (I need to see if it's possible to use the Android drivers or if X11 is not gonna work with that)
Support for controlling the WiFi (not needing Android)
Controlling the modem
Sound
Button mappings
Bluetooth
FM Radio
When will it be done?
Don't ask. I don't know. This project is a side-project for me and I only put in effort when I'm bored and need something to do, so I don't have a clue. When will it go alpha? Again, I don't know. I don't want to release it all broken and stuff, so we have to wait.
Again, this is not an emulator, it's not something whipped up in Java, this is REAL Debian Linux running inside my phone.
Any questions?

You just gotta keep pushing yourself to the absolute limits dont you?? Awesome work man.. Looking forward to it! Good luck!!

harkan89 said:
You just gotta keep pushing yourself to the absolute limits dont you?? Awesome work man.. Looking forward to it! Good luck!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually this is me relaxing. To me relaxing is just poking around with files and seeing what I can come up with. There was barely any coding required. The hard part is waiting for apt-get.
It won't be until I get into the nitty gritty of getting X11 to directly use the hardware rather than working in a box where I get into the hard part.

hillbeast said:
Actually this is me relaxing. To me relaxing is just poking around with files and seeing what I can come up with. There was barely any coding required. The hard part is waiting for apt-get.
It won't be until I get into the nitty gritty of getting X11 to directly use the hardware rather than working in a box where I get into the hard part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey... Just kinda curious.. But if I look into the system utilities of my mac.. I can see an X11 there.. Is it the same thing?? The X11 terminal??

harkan89 said:
Hey... Just kinda curious.. But if I look into the system utilities of my mac.. I can see an X11 there.. Is it the same thing?? The X11 terminal??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
X11 on Mac is a utility for Macs so you can run X11 applications inside Mac OS X (I'm not sure what the technical name for the window server is in Mac OS, Cocoa or Carbon or something like that). Basically think of it as an emulator but without emulation. It's there so Linux users can move onto Mac and keep their programs, or so you can run Linux utilities such as Wine. But X11 isn't necessarily a Linux thing, it's more a UNIX-based thing as I believe it works on UNIX and BSD and such.
I think Mac OS X is BSD based.

as a non techie i really dont know wat it means or wats the use, but all i know is u have done something cool for the phone...cheers

hillbeast said:
X11 on Mac is a utility for Macs so you can run X11 applications inside Mac OS X (I'm not sure what the technical name for the window server is in Mac OS, Cocoa or Carbon or something like that). Basically think of it as an emulator but without emulation. It's there so Linux users can move onto Mac and keep their programs, or so you can run Linux utilities such as Wine. But X11 isn't necessarily a Linux thing, it's more a UNIX-based thing as I believe it works on UNIX and BSD and such.
I think Mac OS X is BSD based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. Mac is BSD based.. And I guess the window server is Carbon..

deadwood01 said:
as a non techie i really dont know wat it means or wats the use, but all i know is u have done something cool for the phone...cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically, the Galaxy 3 can now run pretty much anything you can run on your desktop computer, provided you can be patient with it. It's kind of slow.
Also I have X11 working now. Gonna see what I can do.

AMAZING!
Very good job hillbeast, very good!

Great!
When i saw Ubuntu installation on an android phone on youtube, i thought this could be bigger than Android (U know wht i mean)
Then i saw the desktop UI on a small phone and the VNC deal, then thought eeh i dont think this is practical, I wish there was a versin of Ubuntu specially for fones, (any phone) like a universal Mobile OS, (That way we wont have to deal with (i hope) problems like porting, driver compatibily issues etc anymore!
This is great man, All the best Best!

While I think that the screen of our phone is to small to actually do something useful with a full featured Debian, I really like that you are trying it

Shree_Jamdar said:
When i saw Ubuntu installation on an android phone on youtube, i thought this could be bigger than Android (U know wht i mean)
Then i saw the desktop UI on a small phone and the VNC deal, then thought eeh i dont think this is practical, I wish there was a versin of Ubuntu specially for fones, (any phone) like a universal Mobile OS, (That way we wont have to deal with (i hope) problems like porting, driver compatibily issues etc anymore!
This is great man, All the best Best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the interface is not... perfect. However for various tasks here and there that you wouldn't normally get from Android, I think it could be handy to someone.
Benjamin_L said:
While I think that the screen of our phone is to small to actually do something useful with a full featured Debian, I really like that you are trying it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well there is a zoom capability, but yes I aagree that our screen is a little too small. But you /can/ VNC into it from a computer if you want a big screen and if I get this fast enough we could technically use our phones as a portable workstation. Not sure what's wrong with a laptop, but what's the point of the XDA if not to push the boundaries of what's possible?

Added video to first post.

When this is fully working and such, maybe it's an idea to try and create a simple mobile UI made for our screen size.
I would surely be interested to try and create something like that!
Keep up the good work Hillbeast ;D
Dympy.
Ps. So this is your definition of resting? xD

dympy said:
When this is fully working and such, maybe it's an idea to try and create a simple mobile UI made for our screen size.
I would surely be interested to try and create something like that!
Keep up the good work Hillbeast ;D
Dympy.
Ps. So this is your definition of resting? xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I think a nice UI would be handy. And this actually is me resting. Me resting is me just playing around to see what comes up. No deadlines, no requests, just me making stuff happen.

I know that feeling, the thing is, I can't say no to stuff friends ask so I don't end up with lots of free time.
After the G3RM site I'm going to take a break (vacation is coming for me, just one week) and then I'll try messing around to see if I can create a nice simple UI
My Archos 43 also has the ability to boot Debian, but the desktop UI is just annoying on a screen smaller then at least 7 inches, so if this actually works I can also use the UI for that device
Good luck with getting it to work!
Dympy.

dympy said:
I know that feeling, the thing is, I can't say no to stuff friends ask so I don't end up with lots of free time.
After the G3RM site I'm going to take a break (vacation is coming for me, just one week) and then I'll try messing around to see if I can create a nice simple UI
My Archos 43 also has the ability to boot Debian, but the desktop UI is just annoying on a screen smaller then at least 7 inches, so if this actually works I can also use the UI for that device
Good luck with getting it to work!
Dympy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Right now I want to cut as much out of Android so I can free up some RAM for Debian. I think it's running slow because Android is nicking all the RAM.

Impressive!! Good Luck With Your Work

Hillbeast maybe can You give us some info how to install and run debian on our G3 to test it a little? can you upload your files, I mean install.sh, boototheros etc? It will be nice to try it

djmaxis said:
Hillbeast maybe can You give us some info how to install and run debian on our G3 to test it a little? can you upload your files, I mean install.sh, boototheros etc? It will be nice to try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once I have finished fiddling with it I will package it up. It's pretty massive.

PC emulation on Android - OS XDA project links.

So in this thread it tells you how to install pc operating systems like windows and linux on the Evo 3D.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459153
This, is freaking awesome. This one is a big breakthrough.
----
Here is the thread in the Nook Color forums for ubuntu on the device:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055954
----
These two threads are native installs, not using some client to access the installation, the device itself is the client as it should be.
This is not some chrooted virtual OS simulation, but the real deal installed to the device.
----
In the back of my mind i've wanted to play with ubuntu installed on the MT4GS, but not a virtual installation I want it installed and running on the device natively.
I definitely don't have the time to do this and a lot i'm trying to do around here even if I wasn't in my busy season for work.
Dropping this information so I can find it later when I do get to trying to get ubuntu (and now windows XP looks like a possibility) installed on this device.
If anyone else feels like looking into this, here's a good place to start. If anyone comes across any other projects that are the real deal and not virtual installs please post links here.
Have fun!

Blue6IX said:
So in this thread it tells you how to install pc operating systems like windows and linux on the Evo 3D.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459153
This, is freaking awesome. This one is a big breakthrough.
----
Here is the thread in the Nook Color forums for ubuntu on the device:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055954
----
These two threads are native installs, not using some client to access the installation, the device itself is the client as it should be.
This is not some chrooted virtual OS simulation, but the real deal installed to the device.
----
In the back of my mind i've wanted to play with ubuntu installed on the MT4GS, but not a virtual installation I want it installed and running on the device natively.
I definitely don't have the time to do this and a lot i'm trying to do around here even if I wasn't in my busy season for work.
Dropping this information so I can find it later when I do get to trying to get ubuntu (and now windows XP looks like a possibility) installed on this device.
If anyone else feels like looking into this, here's a good place to start. If anyone comes across any other projects that are the real deal and not virtual installs please post links here.
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless of what impression you may have, it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to run MSWin on ARM hardware natively. The reason for this is that MSWin is x86 and ARM is... ARM. The approach used in the first link is to use BOCHS (pronounced "Box"), which is a VIRTUAL HARDWARE EMULATOR. It requires a host operating system to be functioning in the background, in this case Linux.
As for Ubuntu... well sure. No problem. Its Linux and the phone runs Linux. Not that big of a stretch to replace the Android parts with GNU.
Note that NONE of this is any kind of "great breakthrough". Bochs has been around for a VERY long time. First OPEN SOURCED in early 2000. Yeah, 12 years ago. As for Ubuntu... well I suppose that the main reason that most people aren't making a native android replacement out of ubuntu, is that not many people are all that interested in it. Cute in theory, but not practical.
What would be a more worthy project would be to upgrade android to GNU libraries and utilities. This would afford us an actually USEFUL balance between the two. Also the ability to run X *through* android without having to do stupid things like VNC. Have the proper interface ***AS AN ANDROID APPLICATION***, leaving Android to work (i.e., phone calls, etc.) while simultaneously offering the standard Linux applications.
My thought though, is that this is becoming less and less important. Firefox is on Android now, the Document foundation has announced LibreOffice for Android -- supposed to be by late 2012 to early 2013... GIMP has no place on Android... That certainly covers the basics.

Appreciate the post. I didn't have time to dig into it too deeply, so took it at face value for the impression I got. Happened to come across it in passing and didn't want to lose track of something vital to the future dev of a project like this on the doubleshot. (but definitely this doesn't belong in the dev section at this time - just clutter there.)
I was hoping people would add to it, especially the way you have, who had more of an understanding of what's going on there - I didn't realize that it was a virtual environment for the windows stuff, but it did seem to good to be true.
Even if no one responded I figured the thread would get pushed down out of the way, but still be here when I got the time to come back to it.
----
My reason for running native linux on the device itself is to be able to use the Android SDK and tools without needing a computer to do so. I have 2 of these phones and a Nook Color. The NC has USB host support, so I could plug the doubleshot into it without frying either device. (yes, i'm blending android and linux concepts here - but usb host support in android shows that it's capable of doing it)
Even from one doubleshot to the other I could use wifi adb for a lot of stuff without plugging them into each other through USB and frying the phones. So that would be a victory as well.
The lack of a hardware charging circuit in the doubleshot makes the worry of frying the phones a big deal, power transfer through USB is a big hurdle to jump in management.
Beyond that - the doubleshot is powerful enough on hardware specs to be able to compile a kernel, but that's not gonna happen through a virtual linux install because the overhead is too much. A native install might just be able to do it though. Won't know until I try, but it's worth the work to get to the point of trying, even if it doesn't work out.
The Nook Color probably won't be able to compile a kernel - it's asking too much from a device not really able to handle that.
Getting what I mentioned above to work would mean I could do all my dev work with what fits in my pocket, and let me keep working wherever I am.
I do like the idea of an app to work with this through Android itself - but I don't see how I could use the SDk and variety of user-created tools without a native linux install. Worth pursuing either way though.
If anyone has anything to add, i'd be welcome to hear it. Just understand this is not a project i'm working on or actively pursuing right now - but fully intend to down the line.

Actually blue. There is a thread somewhere that has a step by step on installing ubuntu on gingerbread. I meant to add it when I added the backtrack link. For some reason I didn't, I probably forgot, I actually think the link for it is in the backtrack thread in the sticky.
If I do find it ill let you know.
Sent from my ICS Splashed using Tapatalk

Mac Users&Android

Recently I've been trying to teach myself how to develop for our phone, but I'm using a Mac. I have a Windows Partition, and can run Windows on my Mac, but it's a pain to have to restart just to use a single program for whatever it is that I need done. So I've done some research and thought it would be nice to share all the programs that I've found that help in Android Development.
It would also be nice if other Mac Users would share what they have found as well or what they use when trying to accomplish certain tasks when working with android. So here goes:
--Android SDK--
This is rather obvious…that being said you can download this from android.com. However, if you chose to install Eclipse I find installing the SDK from Android to be rather Redundant, if you agree go on and read the part about Eclipse.
--Wine/MacPorts/xCode--
First, sometimes it's useful to use Windows programs on Mac, and an one quick way to do that without having to reboot is with Wine. It takes a while to set up, but it is useful for running MOST executables. The last two programs you install as part of the tutorial, so follow on:
So here is the website I used to set up Wine: http://www.davidbaumgold.com/tutorials/wine-mac/
All of his instructions are accurate excluding where he talks about installing xCode. It is OK to install xCode through the App Store, all you have to do afterwards is install Command Line Tools. To do this:
1. Open xCode
2. Open Preferences (cmd+,)
3. Click the Downloads tab
4. Use the link to create an Apple Dev account
5. Click Command Line Tools
Now you can continue to follow the rest of the Tutorial
--Eclipse--
This program is useful for creating Android Applications on your phone. If you choose to install Eclipse I would follow this guide once you're done. I realize it is for creating Android Applications but it also explains how to set up a working environment.
So here is the website I used to set up Eclipse: http://www.vogella.de/articles/Android/article.html
I would start at section 5.1
Also Eclipse can be used for compiling .9.png files…I found a good tutorial for this on XDA: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=487001
Go hit damnitpud's thank meter if you find his thread useful
--APK Manager--
I found this tool extremely useful for pulling APK's and pushing them to your phone. This app can be used for Themeing apks, or editing the XML files.
I found this application on XDA as well: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1285130
Go hit s0niq3's thanks button, maybe it'll convince her that people actually care about her program.
--android-utility or AU--
This little program looks to be extremely useful, I found it while searching for a way to compile .9.png files without having to use Eclipse. But it also has a host of other applications and uses. Make sure you read the thread thoroughly and follow all instructions.
I found this application on XDA as well: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1167623
Go hit tommytomatoe's thanks button as well, he gave us a marvelous little program. There is also a version for windows now, well at least part of it.
[For windows, and Linux Users: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1272513]
Go hit kakomalo's thanks button
If you download the version 1.0.1 and you try to compile a .9.png file, and you receive an error telling you that aapt is missing, all you have to do is drag and drop the aapt from the Android SDK into /android-utility/utility/
--xUlitimate--
I'm not sure if this one is worth mentioning for Mac, but it would be kinda cool if someone figured out how to get this to work with Wine…so here it is:
So here is its link: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/47283-release-xultimate.html
This one has some theme tools. I found it specifically for the Draw9Patch Compiler, but I could not get it to work nicely with wine.
--Gimp--
This one is well known, so I don't think it needs much explanation…but it is image editing software.
Here is the download link if you don't already have it: http://gimp.lisanet.de/Website/Download.html
---Finally
After spending hours searching, downloading, and finding out what works I thought I would share to save someone else the expense of having to go through the trial and error. I would love it if other Mac Users, or any one else would share their knowledge on programs they use when working with Android; to theme, compile ROMs, or any other activity related to Android while pertaining to Mac.
Also, if you mess up your computer while doing this it is your own responsibility

Don't know why you haven't got any thanks for this, here's one from me for a very detailed and informative post. I am not a Mac user but thanks for your contribution.

Well I guess I just gave you your first thanks!
This post should be a little useful for Mac users... especially those that don't understand Unix.
Developing on Mac can be very similar to developing on Linux. Mac is just slightly more GUI oriented. Unix commands are the same, though.
So Linux users could use this guide as well!
EDIT: After I posted... I noticed 4 more users had thanked you as well... o-o that was fast

Haha oh thanks guys! After the first couple of days I thought my thread was going to get swallowed up. I'm starting to think that Mac Users are rare amongst Android developers. I do realize that other Unix OSs like Ubuntu are favored more, but sometimes it's a pain to run these back and forth. I've even tried to VM UBUNTU, but I had a problem getting the USB to interface with the program, whether it was how I sent it up, or the program itself I have no idea. So I went out looking for alternatives. There is always triple booting I suppose.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727

I'm use a Mac at my office, and not by choice. Thank you for this extremely helpful post!

Great guide for anyone who is looking to start developing for Android. Better yet, for people who need to get the jist of what is going on in UNIX!

Linux/Android help for a beginner

Hey all-
I'm very interested in learning Linux in order to not only do cool stuff at home with my own computer, but also to perhaps be of service in developing ROMs and give back to the devs who've helped breathe life into my ol' OG Evo for nigh-on two years now. If I ever got to the point of doing some 'grunt work' and helping out on a project, that'd be awesome for me.
Here's where I'm currently at with Linux: I've followed instructions to dual-boot Ubuntu on my Windows 7 laptop (yay!!!!), but other than installing Chrome and using all my Google services (Gmail/Docs/etc.) through that, I'm not really sure what else to do in order to become fluent with Linux. It's kind of like reading a book on how to build a car, but not knowing one end of a wrench from another.
Here's where I'm at with Android: I can follow instructions to root my phone, flash ROMs, install the Car-O-Dope tweaks on GB ROMs using System Tuner and ROM Toolbox, and most basic things that include using Smelkus' recovery (flashing, wiping, nandroid/restoring, etc). I'd say I know more than the average Android user, but certainly not as much as the experts here.
I've looked on a variety of forums both here and on Ubuntu's site, but I'm not really sure how people got their start using Linux and how they progressed from there in terms of fluency with Linux, applying that to Android developing, and also generally using it as a 'one-stop shop' for home use. I've read about people being able to build HTPCs on the cheap, using a computer as a file server/web site host (my wife's a graphic designer, but hates technology, natch)/media streamer/home security server, but as soon as the instructions get to "Ok, now open up your command line and follow these 28 steps......", I get a bit gun-shy.
If anyone's got any helpful tips on how they got started, any good beginner's guides (project-oriented would be great, just as reading a book on speaking a foreign language is no substitute for conversing with a native/fluent speaker), and how they grew in fluency or just any general advice, it'd be greatly appreciated. I'm putting this here and spreading it around in the hopes that some of the WAY talented XDA devs and members I've read so much from will toss a bone in my direction.
Thanks for reading and for any help!

Get very familiar with Terminal. For Android dev or otherwise, it is essential. Reading man-pages is also good to learn new commands better. In Terminal, just type "man man" minus quotations. That will get you going.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

You should definitely make an effort to become comfortable with the Linux command line environment (also known as Shell, the most common Shell currently is BASH).
Try giving yourself some useful activities to do, such as: setting up a home file server with Samba, setting up a media streaming server (DLNA - Plex Media Server is a great program for this), just little things like that.
Before you know it you'll be a pro

markinaus said:
You should definitely make an effort to become comfortable with the Linux command line environment (also known as Shell, the most common Shell currently is BASH).
Try giving yourself some useful activities to do, such as: setting up a home file server with Samba, setting up a media streaming server (DLNA - Plex Media Server is a great program for this), just little things like that.
Before you know it you'll be a pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, is Bash something I download/install, or should it be already 'packaged' in with Ubuntu?

go to the development forum on ubuntuforums.org and find out how to upgrade to ubuntu 13.04. As that version is currently in development you should get a chance to learn a few things. That's how I learned modern linux distros. Also setting up and playing around with Ubuntu server edition might be helpful.
For app development Google some Java tutorials. Once you get the beginners stuff out of the way you should be ready to learn android development with your new Java skills.
Sent from my GT-I5500 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 06:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:47 AM ----------
just using Ubuntu for your day to day tasks should also help. When the other Guy was talking about bash he was talking about the terminal in Ubuntu. its a command line that lets you enter various commands. Google 'Ubuntu terminal' for more info
Sent from my GT-I5500 using xda app-developers app

Joshmccullough said:
So, is Bash something I download/install, or should it be already 'packaged' in with Ubuntu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Bash is something that is already packaged with Ubuntu, it is one of the most essential elements of Ubuntu (and Linux in general) because it gives you a means of interfacing with everything else. If you have a type of Linux with no graphical interface, then the shell is your only means of interfacing with the operating system at all.
So in short, yes Bash is packaged with Ubuntu and every other kind of Linux out there (if it's not, a different shell will be packed with it, but Bash is the most common one).

Maybe something for later but I have seen a number of different Dev threads about getting started with AndroidDev, I know that I have seen at least about 10, all from different perspectives/starting points. One that I could find easily was the following:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1778984
Check it out. Basically, says ... Linux (fundamentals), CLI (command line interface or shell, fluent), Java (fundamental), XML (medium), SDK (medium) and Time - to start with at least. Hope that is useful.