Ok, I know much of what I'm about to ask has generally been answered or discussed in other posts, but I could really use some more direct/specific answers to my own questions.
My first question is about hardware drivers. To my understanding, a great many, if not most, of the more common wifi drivers are incorporated into the latest linux kernels. If this is the case, will more or less any Android system run on a device so long as the appropriate kernel is provided?
To be a little more clear on that, I'm actually trying to learn Android development (both for apps and building roms) on a cheap Chinese tablet that I picked up. Naturally it already has a version of Android 2.2 pre-installed. However, I have not been able to extract the contents of the boot.img or the system.img, I keep getting an error, whereas I can unpack the SDK img's no problem. So I was hoping that I can get away without compiling a custom kernel, use the already existing one, and go ahead with tweaking the system.img from either the AOSP or SDK sources. Getting the source code from the manufacturer may be impossible since I can't even seem to find out who the manufacturer is or get their contact info.
I'm actually looking to port CM7 to my wife's LG Shine Plus eventually, but I don't want to pull a Tim Allen on her phone so I want to get some experience and feel for working with Android's internals on my tablet.
So my next question is still about drivers, but what I want to know is how are things like the LCD, touchscreen input, audio output, wifi and the cell radio handled on a typical Android device? Is it mostly handled by the hardware itself with the Android framework or kernel just passing universal APIs or do the drivers for each individual piece of hardware need to be compiled into the kernel? As in the gkisystem for radios, is this handled by the kernel or the framework? Which kinda brings me back to my first question, if it is built into the kernel itself, can I not use, for example, the already existing kernel on the LG Shine Plus (it's running 2.1) to port CM7?
Any and ALL help is honestly and truly appreciated. I've been looking for detailed answers for these questions EVERYWHERE.
** just bumping this post so that it can get seen**
any help or advice at all?
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.
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Here is the thread in the Nook Color forums for ubuntu on the device:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055954
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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.
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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
Hello people,
after some conversation with early ICS-on the transformer developer paulburton, I have a git repository of a mostly working linux 3.1 mainline kernel with some patches from paulburton to make it actually work.
Icluded are (as of now) :
improved atmel mXT1386 touchscreen driver
tegra_v4l2 camera driver
ov5640 soc camera driver
prox_lds6202 proximity sensor driver
fm34-500 voice processor driver
asusec keyboard driver (for dock)
al3000a ambient light driver
The purpose of this is not to port things back from some linux 3.X kernel to our 2.X kernel, but to have a fully working 3.X source tree some day, from which we could port to further linux versions in the future. This can also be helpful if we want to port android 5.X in the future.
The github is at https://github.com/skirata/linux/tree/android-tegra-tf101-3.1 .
(It's my github, if someone wants to become a collaborator, please let me know, I'll add you to the collab list.
WE NEED EVERY DEVELOPER WE CAN GET.
I will spend some time on this, but I think I can hardly finish this project on my own.
Totally support this, looks promising!
Thanks for the initiative.
Are you and guever working on this together? I can test and maybe help make aokp or megatron versions.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2
Of course I'm willing to work, you know I've helped all I could.
My kernel has much of the code updated to 3.1, so may be we can use much of it.
This can be done in two ways, by modifying the code in paul whatever it takes, or modify mine. I have nothing clear which will be easier, because over time I have made several test on my code and unfortunately, when the kernel does not boot can not be debugged, so you have to turn back.
Until wednesday I will not be able to devote almost no time, so I think the first thing would be to check the operation of the kernel of paul (if not already done) with a current rom.
It is possible that the graphics drivers (most are binary system level) may not work with that kernel.
Well, it is what I think, that first we must see is what should be changed in the kernel to function properly (or whether to change the rom).
Teamwork is how it's meant to be done.!
I will setup a working kernel konfig in the next days to push this a little forward.
at Guevor :
I'm adding you in as a collaborator so we can work together on this.
Let's improve paulburton's drivers and add new ones based on latest nvidia images.
The advantage of upstream-porting rather than downstream-porting is we can port future kernel versions more easily with own written drivers.
Also, android 5.X porting will be a lot easier, as I think it won't support 2.6.X kernels at that time. And even if it would, we can have a massive performance boost if using 3.1 mainline kernel with improvements all over the world.
Glad to count you in, guevor.
I owe you so much already.
EDIT : Just in case, be sure to use the 3.1 branch of the linux repository, as the master branch is forked from torvalds (linux 3.4.X) and will get some love when we get the 3.1 kernel to work as good as we are satisfied.
Well, the main problem I see, thinking about future versions (5.x) is that we do not have the source code for video drivers, only a small part that exists in the kernel. This added to the fact that nvidia does not provide (at least I do not know) the binary drivers for android (as they made for linux), I think that may be, we do not see tegra2 drivers for 5.x. That does not mean we can not do something, but will be less optimal and more complicated.
Hopefully I'm wrong and nvidia make things easy , but I think no manufacturer will use tegra2 for new products, and do not think they will update current products to that version ....
guevor said:
Well, the main problem I see, thinking about future versions (5.x) is that we do not have the source code for video drivers, only a small part that exists in the kernel. This added to the fact that nvidia does not provide (at least I do not know) the binary drivers for android (as they made for linux), I think that may be, we do not see tegra2 drivers for 5.x. That does not mean we can not do something, but will be less optimal and more complicated.
Hopefully I'm wrong and nvidia make things easy , but I think no manufacturer will use tegra2 for new products, and do not think they will update current products to that version ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried contacting Nvidia about this?
For the record, I am not a Linux user, even with what Im going to say, keep that in mind... My history is firmly routed in WinBlows land!
This has me all sorts of excited, I remember saying it back in paul's thread before it fell off the face of the earth (read, first few pages of the forum).
As stated at the top, while NOT a Linux user, I was trying to build CM9 for one of my tablets, to do so, I had setup a Linux box (tried a few distro's), and kept having issues, so a friend of mine walked me through updating to a 3.4.x kernel (3.4.0.-5 iirc), and things definitely FELT smoother vs the 3.0 (on the distro I was using before he berated me for it and moved me to a different one) and then 3.2 kernel in use (ill note hardware issues where also at play with the actual issues, but the smooth feeling after updating was definitely something I noticed).
I have no benchmarks or performance statistics to back that up, but as I said in paul's thread, and have now experienced in a "full" Linux environment, the future with Kernel v3.1 and up has me VERY excited as to what can be done with the OG Transformer! (vs mass backports to 2.x)
On that note, Subscribed thread, and time to get an RMA for my Tablet... the top basil part is starting to come off the unit
I haven't coded a lot with linux and android source, but I do have experience with coding and especially with reading through source code and finding syntax and other errors i.e. proofreading
So if you want me on the team I'm game!
Orkeren said:
I haven't coded a lot with linux and android source, but I do have experience with coding and especially with reading through source code and finding syntax and other errors i.e. proofreading
So if you want me on the team I'm game!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every help is welcome !
Please tell me your github name and I will add you as a collaborator
If my help is welcome i am willing to test your builds on my TF101G B90 with dock. So let me know if you have to do something.
ajohn117 said:
If my help is welcome i am willing to test your builds on my TF101G B90 with dock. So let me know if you have to do something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do for sure, but it could take some time until we can push out the first build for testing.
rayman33 said:
Hello people,
after some conversation with early ICS-on the transformer developer paulburton, I have a git repository of a mostly working linux 3.1 mainline own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With my git every things works but usb hotplug,cam,hdmi-audio. ( usb works fine when insert add boot ) , also i will stop dev for it as i'm selling my tab :crying: but would be nice if this got finished.
also major thanks to paul
Do you started the project?
I tried some things yesterday, but it did not boot. I will have a look into spark rom and try some other things, I think I have some ideas.
Btw, kernel compiles fine, zImage is there, perhaps some early device drivers have to be updated. I will look into the ramdisk I created and fix some things ...
Just to let you people know. Progress is being made.
First progress
I managed to make it boot on revolver 4.1.1 rom. I modified the video drivers to be compatible with the actual binary drivers.
The touch screen is not working, but I really have not looked at it, maybe even compile options I chose are not the most adequate, but just wanted to get it to boot with video graphics working.
We better get each other updated via pm in the future ..
What touchscreen driver did you define in the kernel config ?
The new mxt1386 or the old one from the 2.6.39.4 kernel?
Maybe we need to rewrite the mxt1386 drivers.
rayman33 said:
We better get each other updated via pm in the future ..
What touchscreen driver did you define in the kernel config ?
The new mxt1386 or the old one from the 2.6.39.4 kernel?
Maybe we need to rewrite the mxt1386 drivers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I tested whether simply boot and graphics drivers failed as expected, and I've tried to change it and make it working. I think that is the basics (make it boot) to further adjust problems.
About the drivers, yes, I used mxt1386 but not detected coordinates, just click. I used a USB mouse to verify that the graphics drivers work.
I updated the repository with my changes.
Did you get a log cat already ?
It may reveal if the mxt1386 driver fails to load.
rayman33 said:
Every help is welcome !
Please tell me your github name and I will add you as a collaborator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easy as pie!
Code:
orkeren
Hello, I was just wondering if anyone had any tips. I'm converting my son's HP Mini 110-1012nr into a multi-Linux project just for fun. I have Ubuntu 12.10, Chromium OS and am attempting to add Android-X86. The problem is my son's wifi adapter: It's a Broadcom 4312 and does not play nice with Linux. I was successful with the Ubuntu and Chromium builds, but just can't get it set up on any x86 version of Android I can find. It helped that I could get the ethernet working in Ubuntu and program on USB before actually installing Chromium. Anybody have any tips? Builds? Pointers? Or if you would just like to discuss my project (which I am having fun with in my quest to move my family out of the Bill Gates dependency), then feel free. Thank you in advance.
JPB
Well it is going to be hard to get Android x86 working with a WIFI Adapter especially BCM4312
Anyways here you go.
http://groups.google.com/group/andr...b?lnk=gst&q=Dell+Latitude+XT#f5149f6341621b6b
You may have to remove specifics about Dell Lattitude XT and simply
use the script that download the driver from Broadcom web site and
patches the build system...
In-short, you have to compile your own Kernel to get it working
Thank you for the reply. I was thinking that too, but am hoping to avoid building my own. It might be fun to take on though. Your link is one I hadn't seen before. I know Broadcom released the drivers to a dev from dell (that's how I got Chromium to work). I am too new to post the link, but hit me up if anyone is interested. I'll find a way to get you the link.
The link that I gave should help you out without even having to Compile your own Kernel, bcz I did come across one such post
Hi All,
I have been a long time XDA user, and follow and utilize a number of threads for my android devices!
(
For the first time ever i have not been able to find what I'm looking for and so I send out a plea for help (or lay out a challenge if people prefer them) !!
I have a lenovo yoga 13 and can run a live version of android 4.2 however i do not want to complete a hard drive install due to the lack of support for the wifi and BT.
I was wandering if anyone would be able to create a yoga 13 ROM including the driver for the realtek RTL8723a wifi/bt chip.
This has been working on Ubuntu elsewhere.
My knowledge does not extend passed installing ROMs so the process to learn this is beyond my grasp. I am happy to donate to developers should this help!!
I would love to do this myself but would not even know where to begin.
I have managed to install the relevant version of android and touchscreen etc works brilliantly, i just need the ability to connect to the internet.
I guess there are two options and some advise would be great:
1 - could i use a usb wifi adaptor that would be supported by Android rather than the built in realtex card.
2 - where should i begin to look or research if i wanted to learn how to modify the install in order to include the correct kernal or support for this version (I am assuming using the working ubuntu drivers in some way). Any recommended reference materials to get me started. I appreciate this option may require quite some time to fully understand android development.
Thanks
ussasx said:
I would love to do this myself but would not even know where to begin.
I have managed to install the relevant version of android and touchscreen etc works brilliantly, i just need the ability to connect to the internet.
I guess there are two options and some advise would be great:
1 - could i use a usb wifi adaptor that would be supported by Android rather than the built in realtex card.
2 - where should i begin to look or research if i wanted to learn how to modify the install in order to include the correct kernal or support for this version (I am assuming using the working ubuntu drivers in some way). Any recommended reference materials to get me started. I appreciate this option may require quite some time to fully understand android development.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am still really struggling with this and some help would be massively appreciated :/
For those interested
ussasx said:
I am still really struggling with this and some help would be massively appreciated :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For anyone that is interested in android on the Lenovo yoga 13 check out console os
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mmv/console-os-dual-boot-android-remastered-for-the-pc
I am a backer and it looks like it will be funded.