I was curious if it's possible to create an Android ROM that runs the minimal amount of Android: uninstall all system apps, no systemui, no Google services, no notification drawer, etc. When you booted up you'd only be presented with two apps: Terminal emulator and Hackers keyboard. From there you could install a Linux distro to run on top of Android.
Why?
There are already apps to allow you to run a distro on top of Android; however, Android can use a lot of RAM and resources, but provides the gateway to the hardware. Being able to run a very stripped down version would allow you to convert an old phone into a server, use as a small computer (like Raspberry Pi), etc. Also potentially you could keep the Dalvik (or ART) so that it could still run Android apps, which you'd invoke through a terminal.
Any thoughts?
Anyone got any updates on this?
Thread closed!
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OK, I hope this isn't breaking any forum rules ;-) System dumps aren't considered warez are they?
I'm just now moving from developing applications on android to working on the system itself, but I need a little bit of help. I've never been much into hacking (well... we could go back to college days but lets not ;-)
I've developed a few android applications for my business; which is very exciting - they should be launching within the next few months, but I want to work on my own Android roms and ports and I have a complete newbie question.
I've got my development environment set up - I've got the AOSP 2.1 (android-2.1_r2 to be specific) source, GIT, REPO and everything I need from HTC's Kernel lists, I know how to sign a package, etc, etc, but I've run into a problem I can't seem to fix with Google search (HONOES!)
What the hell do I do with a system dump from another device? Whats the typical process most developers use to get these dumps up and running? Am I missing something blatantly obvious? (Don't flame me, I've been stuck in javascript, PHP and C# for nearly 4 years, I'm rusty :-( )
You don't have to write me a book, but a link to a guide would be helpful.
Hello
I have a couple of ideas for applications that would be useful to smartphone users, and am only getting started gathering information.
Of the two ideas I have, one could be developed as a web application (so that a single application can be used on a PC and a smartphone) and the other probably needs to be written specifically for each platform (because it needs to handle calls).
I checked the sticky posts in the General forum, along with the wiki, and the home page, but didn't find an article for newbies that would provide a short, 10,000-feet view of what the options are, etc.
So to make an informed decision, I'd like to know what, at this point and in the near future, the main options are to write applications, with advantages and disadvantages for each.
Thank you.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
Please direct my question, as the 'similar threads' feature for 'XDA Assist' shows there are no 'hits' for 'oprofile'.
One of my Android phones (the second in my signature), with limited /data partition storage size, shows a large subdirectory, 'oprofile' in /data/bin/oprofile. Running out of space in this partition seems to be a common problem, so I'd like to keep it as lean as possible.
Some research shows oprofile to be a tool for 'tuning' an Android setup -- but exactly when it's useful is not clear, from what I've been able to find.
My question is, is oprofile purely useful during development stages, while Android is being configured for a specific phone's harddware? In this case, perhaps someone just forgot to delete it, after it served its purpose -- and then, there's no harm in removing this subdirectory and regaining the space it consumes.
Or, does oprofile serve an continuing purpose, being used by the OS to continue the 'tuning' -- as the user adds new apps? In this case, that directory is functional and should be left alone. Or, is there data in these files, created during the initial 'tuning' that must be retained, for the benefits to continue?
Into which forum would this type of question be most productively posted?
I have answered this question and posted a link to the Q&A Forum on your other thread. We generally prefer not to have multiple threads by the same user, if you have more questions, please mention in the other thread.
Hello, I have installed a custom ROM (6.0.1 w/ root access, etc) on my Android TV device (Google ADT-1) and I have some general Android questions (I think they are general questions) about adding some specific apps, as well as customizing the view on my TV. Here are my questions:
- Can anyone recommend a task killer app? I'm looking for something simple that just closes all of the open apps. Basically an app that once I click on the icon, it just closes all of the open apps (I don't need it to do anything fancy like closing system apps, etc).
- Can anyone recommend a reboot app? I'm looking for an app that once you click on it, it will ask you if you want to reboot, power down, etc. Simple and easy again is all I need.
- For the next one, I'm not sure of the correct wording, but I'm looking for something that will allow me to resize (make smaller) the Android viewing screen on my TV. If you look at the attached photo of my TV, you can see that when viewing something simple like the clock settings, you can see that it is cropped. Is there an app, or setting in Android that I can make the viewing area smaller?
- Lastly, is there are way to add a app 'shortcut' an desktop? Currently, if I want to open an app (speedtest, vpn app, etc), I need to go into the 'App Drawer' to open any of the mentioned apps - is there a way to create a 'shortcut' to add to the 'desktop' (again, I'm sure this is the incorrect wording).
Sorry for asking so many questions on one thread.
gil_happy said:
Hello, I have installed a custom ROM (6.0.1 w/ root access, etc) on my Android TV device (Google ADT-1) and I have some general Android questions (I think they are general questions) about adding some specific apps, as well as customizing the view on my TV...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the Chromecast but, the following area of the forum is specific to this device.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-tv/chromecast
With that stated...
Your best bet is to post this question within the following thread.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2563143
Good Luck!
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I DO NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT VIA PM UNLESS ASKED/REQUESTED BY MYSELF.
PLEASE KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Ibuprophen - thank you for you reply. I 'think' most of my requests for apps are general Android ones. I don't think they need to be specific to Chromecast, Android TV, etc. That being said, I will definitely keep the link and thread in mind for my questions.
Hi All,
I have some experience when it comes to PC reverse engineering, and I'm interested in getting into Android RE.
If you've already been in the trenches and reverse engineered Android system components and 3rd party APKs then share what your setup looks like, which programs you use, what pitfalls to avoid, etc.
My setup is so far a mess since I'm trying out different tools.
I do have one specific question as well. In Android development options you can selecta debug app and make the system wait for this debugger. This feels an extremely powerful ability for RE, but after searchingI could not find out how to use this. I assume it's 2 parts, one is an apk i push to the system and select in dev opts, and the second part is a debugger i run from my PC. I've attached a picture of the Android screen.
1) Experienced Android RE hackers please share your development environment and toolkit, including any specialized scripts or tools you made yourself.
2) Point me to some information on how to use Android devopts debugging.
I feel like this belongs in the dev forum, but the rules clearly state i should post here.
note: i attached the image but xda seems to have trouble loading it