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[Q] Is there anyway to modify the samsung widgets to work for alternative launchers?

Would there be any way to modify the samsung widgets so that they would show up as android widgets and not be invisible to things like launcher pro?

Although I am not a developer, I'm fairly confident this is not possible.
Unless the developer of LauncherPro wanted to target each phone in particular... I still don't think it would work.
The framework of the 'overlays' on top of the bare android os don't allow for such things.
Even if they did manage to do this, I would imagine the phone would have to run LauncherPro with Touchwiz running in the background at the same time.. That is just asking for instability.
Plus, without a doubt Samsung would ream LauncherPro for using Touchwiz in that way.
Let's face it though, if they haven't done it for HTC's Sense yet. It isn't happening haha.

[Q] What about MIUI?

Soo.. I know the title isn't very specific.. but I would like to throw a question in here and get some responses..
So.. WHAT excatly is MIUI compared to other ROMs?
To me, MIUI is "just" plain (AOSP?) Android with every single "GO"-App available. GO Launcher, GO SMS.. and so on.
So.. what does MIUI exactly have, that e.g. CM with every app changed to some GO-App doesn't have?
MIUI is skinned to kinda "copy" Iphone-style..sure.. but is that really all?
Benchmarks show there are some differences..
So I wonder what's left of MIUI if you install a MIUI based ROM and change any GO-App to another one?
________
'Cause most ppl say they love MIUI for how it looks like. But honestly.. I could also use stock Android with e.g. Motoblur and change the launcher and so on.. so why going through the hassle to root and install a completely new ROM?
Ty everyone
And yes, I used the search, but didn't find anything relevant.. maybe because "MIUI" & "GO" are a liiiiittle bit vague

We need to know the history. MIUI just want to be like IOS, but in the Android enviroment. AOSP is just a plain OS, CM was loaded witb tons of tweaks but the UI not that eyecandy. HTC? Good but too dark to be like IOS and bloated. So MIUI with the UI mimic IOS with slight modification came. For me it is another CM with the stress more on UI.
Sent from my E15i using XDA App.
Ps sorry for bad English

Wasn't the first MIUI ROM was found accidently? IIRC, the dev passed away and his work was found and released. Maybe I'm thinking of something else?

dEris said:
Wasn't the first MIUI ROM was found accidently? IIRC, the dev passed away and his work was found and released. Maybe I'm thinking of something else?
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A renaissance artist perhaps? MIUI is developed by a Chinese team and someone came across it and started translating it.
There's plenty of info and screenshots etc. over at http://www.miui-dev.com which is the site run by the translating team.
Essentially it does largely look to be making Android more iOS-like. It's based on FroYo AOSP (Gingerbread soon) but with a _lot_ of alterations. It shares a little bit of code with CM as far as the addins.

In my opinion MIUI is the first Android Distro because it proposes a completely different way of Android where other ROMs are just forks.

Miui is the simple face of ios with the power of android.
sent from my MIUI HTC HD2

MIUI has the most powerful and easiest theme engine..I really wish it was open source so others could use the theme engine..Its really that nice and simple to use..such a shame..

MIUI is so much better then stock android:
here's a list of apps that avalible only on miui:
Monitor (let you block apps and see how much data you have used)
Theme manager (no more zip's, really easy to theme stuff)
Better mms app
file mamanger
Miui gallery and camera
miui music
special lockscreen - much better the stock
folders - better the stock
quick settings on the notification bar
better phone app
easier to use setting's
miui wheater (avalible for all now)
some widgets like conatcs and etc...
if you chineese you can use the update app which auto update your phone to the latest version.
battery monitor
and much more that I might forgot

I'll go ahead and toss my two cents in...
Simple version-- I rooted my phone about 6 weeks ago, I flashed several roms in the first two days. (Cyanogen, Mikfroyo, Myns) Then I flashed MIUI. That was the last time I flashed a rom...
(If you want to know more, PM me and I'll give you the L O N G version of why MIUI is the best in my opinion)
Not a single one of the "GO" apps I've heard of including the two your mentioned are a part of MIUI. The post above me outlines a lot of the features but there is also so much more. I just discovered a feature the other day I never realized was there.
Try it, if you don't like it, NANDROID!! Make sure to grab yourself a few themes off of the MIUI forum. Again, I've installed one theme since I flashed MIUI ignoring the other 100 simply because what I have, Elite HD by bustadroid, is the best damn theme (period)

I just started to use Miui Camera for my Milestone today. Awesome fast!
Maybe can someone compile a list of Miui's apps and post links here?

MrDSL said:
MIUI has the most powerful and easiest theme engine..I really wish it was open source so others could use the theme engine..Its really that nice and simple to use..such a shame..
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MIUI isn't open source?? Why the heck did they do that? :-/

Need some terminology defined

While I'm sure this has been covered, the search function yielded results that assumed I already was capable of understanding what was going on, so...
Question time!
What is the ROM? I know, literally, what ROM stands for. Is it equivalent to the BIOS on a computer?
Is the kernel is different from the ROM?
I'm fairly sure that the ROM is phone-specific...are kernels?
I googled AOSP, but that doesn't explain what "getting AOSP" for a phone is.
Is there a way to go back to stock Android, from what the OEMs put on?
I've read that some things, like launchers, are always running on top of, rather than overriding, the stock launcher. Is this true of all types of "skinning" apps, or do some actually replace the code whose functionality they override?
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer any or all of these. I'd like to be a member of this community, but I feel it would help to be able to understand what's going on first!

A rom is based on android, but is changed. For example. I have a samsung galaxy s with samsung software. A custom rom changes some things of the samsung software and makes it better.. or gives it another style and look.
You can choose yourself what kernel you like to use.
And yes you can back to stock android. You only have to download the package of the stock android and install it.
Launcher changes nothing.. it's only an app.

AOSP= Android Open Source Project
It is the source code that ROM's get their base from.

lowandbehold said:
AOSP= Android Open Source Project
It is the source code that ROM's get their base from.
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Yea...I figured that out by Googling the term. But what does it mean to "get" AOSP on a phone? Why does it seem difficult to do?

What is the ROM? I know, literally, what ROM stands for. Is it equivalent to the BIOS on a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When talking about ROMs here this means a complete operating system for your device. This includes apps, kernel,modem, etc. you could take a look at www.romkitchen.org to see what they are made up from.
Is the kernel is different from the ROM?
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Sometimes, sometimes not. ROM makers usually don't make kernels and people who do kernels usually don't make ROMs. Often there is one very good kernel for a device and this one gets included in most of the ROMs. If there are several it depends on the ROM developers preference. Usually you can also switch kernels after installing a ROM.
I'm fairly sure that the ROM is phone-specific...are kernels?
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Click to collapse
Yes
I googled AOSP, but that doesn't explain what "getting AOSP" for a phone is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP, as alread stated means android open source project.
Getting AOSP means getting android in its natural flavor. If you have a samsung android device, you will have an android modified by samsung in certain ways. I believe only the google phones (i.e. Nexus) run aosp.
Is there a way to go back to stock Android, from what the OEMs put on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but sometimes this requires some tinkering.
I've read that some things, like launchers, are always running on top of, rather than overriding, the stock launcher. Is this true of all types of "skinning" apps, or do some actually replace the code whose functionality they override?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't under stand what you mean with all types of skinning apps?
You can get rid of the stock launcher, i have uninstalled touchwiz launcher and installed launcher pro.
Some touchwiz files are still on the device because i believe they are used by other applications.
But usually the reason for having both on the phone is because if you have no working launcher your device will not be usable.
So some people keep the stock launcher as backup.

Dark3n said:
I don't under stand what you mean with all types of skinning apps?
You can get rid of the stock launcher, i have uninstalled touchwiz launcher and installed launcher pro.
Some touchwiz files are still on the device because i believe they are used by other applications.
But usually the reason for having both on the phone is because if you have no working launcher your device will not be usable.
So some people keep the stock launcher as backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I erred in calling a launcher a skin? I know it provides "additional functionality" but considering the number of people I've seen complaining about the OEM launchers' appearances, I assumed it was mainly for the sake of looks.
I'll try to be a little more clear with my question.
Say I have a stock phone, but I hate the color scheme of the UI. I then download a skin to fix it. Is that a program that runs always, or is it just a utility that changes some already existing code?

There are no skins for system applications. If you install a different color one, i.e. gingerbread keyboard. It is the complete app where someone decompiled it, edited the images and re compiled it.

[Q] 4.1 launcher on 4.2?

Hi guys!
Recently i switched my tf101 from eos3 to eos4 (i did it after TeamEOS introduced tablet ui mode) and i stuck with "phablet" UI of stock launcher itself. I tried to replace launcher2.apk from 4.2 with apk from 4.1 but all i got was force closes =(
Are there any means to set 4.2 stock launcher to tablet UI or install 4.1 stock launcher?
p.s i know about Apex and Nova launchers, but they all have small annoying flaws.

As far as I know, it's not possible without modifying the apk package. You can give it a shot, there's some decompilers available, but it was beyond my coding skills and time I was willing to invest. The launcher is usually tied with the version of android due to lots of differences in the code in major versions, so I'm assuming modifications needed to work properly are extensive... but I could be wrong.

Lethe6 said:
As far as I know, it's not possible without modifying the apk package. You can give it a shot, there's some decompilers available, but it was beyond my coding skills and time I was willing to invest. The launcher is usually tied with the version of android due to lots of differences in the code in major versions, so I'm assuming modifications needed to work properly are extensive... but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your suggestions.

TeamEOS 4 #116 ROM has returned the Tablet bar style launcher like 4.1 had, you just change to "Tablet bar" in settings

*Detection* said:
TeamEOS 4 #116 ROM has returned the Tablet bar style launcher like 4.1 had, you just change to "Tablet bar" in settings
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I can confirm this, works well.

Samsung stock ROM motification (TouchWiz removal)

Hello,
While searching for a stable ROM for my "Samsung Galaxy S2 9.7" tablet (because I don't like TouchWiz) I got an idea. Instead of building a full custom ROM for the tablet, with all the bugs/repairs to go with it. Wouldn't it be easier (in my case) to just take the stock Samsung ROM and replace the UI only? I mean could the stock Samsung TouchWiz ROM files be replaced with the stock Android version of files? (e.g. System UI and/or UI framework)
This with the end result of having a already working stable ROM and there by minimizing the bug fixing to just the UI. I'm wondering, is this a stupid idea because this basically requires to rewrite the whole ROM or? I'm willing to study for Android development and develop this myself if it is worth it. (I don't have any experience with Android development but I do have experience with programming in general)
I know it is possible to replace the launcher and/or delete the stock apps, but the notification area and the settings app would still be TouchWiz. I would like to replace this also.
Thanks in advance,
Feonx

Why would you replace the stock ui, when you can get an entire new (and better) ROM with a different ui out there, I personally use CM12.1 which uses the Trebuchet Ui and it made my 4.2.2 android version into a 5.1.1. CM along with other ROMs out there come with some pretty great customisations that you can't get in a stock ROM (even rooted). But if you really want to develop or look for that specific type of ROM out there then go ahead and good luck.
Using CM12.1 on my SGH-T999

Thanks for your response AlienDrew!
Well the basic reason I want this is because CM 12 versions take a while before it is stable. My experience with custom ROMs is that it can be buggy or the ROM is a phone type of ROM on a tablet. I don't see the need for the whole ROM to be replaced if the "core" of Samsung is stable enough. All the work on making the ROM specifically for the hardware needs to be redone if CM is building it. I think Samsung is doing good work for optimizing the experience like for example the battery consumption.
I guess it would be very time consuming to do this. With my idea in mind, Samsung does the core maintenance and the only maintenance left to do (for CM or myself) is the UI witch would be much less work. I would really like to know a Android developers view on this.