Re: Android phones
On יום חמישי 24 פברואר 2011 22:46:54 Shachar Shemesh wrote: > On 24/02/11 08:42, Diego Iastrubni wrote: > > Can you explain how those "roms" are done? What does does it mean > > "binary patching"? Points to FMs are OK, search terms are OK as well. > > FMs? Fabolous manuals of course. > There is an open source version of Android. If you own a recent enough > development phone, you can use the standard Android Open Source Project > (AOSP) to compile a system image and flash it to your phone. It will > download a few proprietary user-mode drivers from your phone, but will > otherwise be completely open source. It will not, of course, contain any > of Google's proprietary additions (no Market, Maps, Gmail etc.) > Alternatively, there is a fork of Android called "CyanogenMod", which > brings the latest version of Android to just about any Android phone > (and some non-Android phones) in the market, provided you manage to root > the phone so you can load it. Again, some of the drivers would be > proprietary. Wait. The market is not open source? No re-implementation? Does anyone know how does the GalaxyS stand from this poit of view? How much closed source propietary drivers does this phone need..? (just for us to remember - http://geekz.co.uk/lovesraymond/archive/linux- doomsday ) > If you are importing your own phone to Israel, you have two options. You > can either install CyanogenMod on it, and lose all of your phone's > unique attributes, or you can try to add proper BiDi support by patching > the binary. The interresting question is how much the standard ROMs have hebrew support compared to the local ROMs we see in the field. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: Android phones
On יום חמישי 24 פברואר 2011 11:48:17 Tzafrir Cohen wrote: > On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 08:39:10AM +0200, Diego Iastrubni wrote: > > This might be related to the low quality of the call. The cellular > > networks use these days a heavly compressed GSM codec to save bandwith. > > If you are on an area that has low cellular coverage the codec gets more > > aggressive. > > Nowadays it's mostly AMR, IIRC. Still compressed. > > OTOH, is there any usage of a higher sample rate than > telephony-standard? Don't konw. I still hear cat vomit each time I speak on the phone. I assume the sample rate is still 8khz 16bit - for compatibility issues with older networks. Compressing voice data at those rates will explain why most of our heads hurt when we speak on those devices. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: Android phones
On 25/02/11 10:48, Diego Iastrubni wrote: Wait. The market is not open source? No re-implementation? There are open source alternatives to Google's Market, but none that carry the same breadth of applications. The interresting question is how much the standard ROMs have hebrew support compared to the local ROMs we see in the field. Not much. A phone you bought abroad shall, generally speaking, carry the stock Android BiDi support and no more. Once Ice-Cream starts arriving for phones, this will probably be enough, though. Shachar -- Shachar Shemesh Lingnu Open Source Consulting Ltd. http://www.lingnu.com ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Samsung Galaxy S, Big Brother, and an unsolicited review [Was: Advice Needed - Bye Bye Nokia!]
Amichai Rotman writes: > I also heard about some kind of a "Big Brother" issue with Android > devices? I am a very privacy-conscious type so I'll be glad to hear about "Big Brother" issues if anyone has more information. As far as I know there are a couple of issues to be aware of. 1. You are dealing with Google. They want as much info as they can get, even as they "don't do evil" and maybe don't even know what to do with the info. My understanding is that by default most Android phones sync contacts, calendar, Gmail, with Google. This is what most people want and like, because they do not pay attention to the fact that their private information and their *friends'*, *acquaintances'*, *business partners'* private information ends up on Google's disks. This is the main "Big Brother" issue I can think of. I had a mandatory requirement that my contacts or calendar should not be synchronized with any external device or service (backup is a separate issue). So I put quite an effort into finding out (before getting an Android phone) whether this was avoidable. Long story short - it is avoidable on Galaxy S - you need to disable synchronization before you input any information to the phone. With contacts it is usually not a problem - I didn't see any requirement to create or sign into a Google account. You cannot use the calendar without first registering with Google though. This is were you need to be careful. Luckily, Orange (or, I suppose, other operators) cannot transfer calendar data from older phones so there is no risk they'll do it before you stop them. Galaxy S specifically has a local calendar (called "My Calendar") that is not synchronized. When you start the calendar application the first time it is not shown, and you are required to sign in to Gmail or create a new account (create a new one - it will be empty). Once you do that, My Calendar is actually the default, so if you do not want to sync it works out quite smoothly. If you do want to sync then the fact that My Calendar is the default may be a bit baffling. Here is a good description: http://kollerie.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/samsung-galaxy-s-peculiarities-01/ This is not a problem for me. I hope synchronization can be disabled on all Android phones, but I don't know that and I could not find out. "My Calendar" was a major reason for choosing Galaxy S. 2. Another issue that was reported recently is not so much "Big Brother" but just a security flaw that sounds very serious. I have not verified it, but it seems that even if you set your Google account and/or Facebook account to "always-on SSL" some of the traffic to/from Androids is still not encrypted (passwords are safe). In particular, Google Calendar data was reported to be sent as cleartext to accounts configured to use SSL. If you plan to co-ordinate anti-government activities using Google Calendar Big Brother may find out. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/24/android_phone_privacy_shocker/ Configuring email accounts with incoming (POP) and outgoing (SMTP) gmail.com servers allows you to choose SSL among other configuration opions, I have not seen any reports of unencrypted mail to/from Google. > Any of you know how to get out of the Nokia purchase? The Galaxy wasn't > available at the time. Who is your provider? Orange are promoting a "double reimbursement" scheme - if you get a smartphone and your monthly bill is high enough (not very high) you get compensated for both the new smartphone and whatever you still need to pay for your old phone. I don't know the exact terms, but it should be easy to find out. I am not trying to advertise them in any way, of course. > Is it really a good phone? I can only share first impressions, but since there seems to be an interest (the other thread seems more interesting, actually) then maybe someone will find a review useful. I'll include some points that I could not find out from the net, from talking to Orange Suport, asking Samsung employees, or from playing with SIM-less Galaxy in a shop, despite significant effort. I have not tried to root the device (yet), so these are "out-of-the-box" impressions. [NB: it turned out long, stop reading now if you are not interested.] The phone is slim and light, and I don't mind the largish screen. It is gorgeous, by the way, and it is sort of worth having in 4 inches rather than 3.5 (that's 30% more area). Ladies with small hands may mind the size more than I do. I didn't want a large phone, but in the end my technological curiousity told me that I would never lug a tablet, and a 4 inch approximation with a similar OS and an ability to make calls seemed worth trying. Galaxy S II sounds too large. The screen is a fingerprint magnet, but there actually is a tradeoff - the fingerprint-repelling coatings reduce the quality (extra reflection, etc. - I am fam
Completely OT: Where can I find Hebrew etymology?
Geeks, help me here! Where can I find the etymology (word root) for non-Biblical Hebrew words? Words such as "petria", or "mivreshet"? An online source would be great, but I'm willing to buy a book if need be. Thanks! -- Dotan Cohen http://gibberish.co.il http://what-is-what.com ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: Completely OT: Where can I find Hebrew etymology?
alkeli comes to mind, but i don't have one handy i can check. On 02/25/2011 04:01 PM, Dotan Cohen wrote: Geeks, help me here! Where can I find the etymology (word root) for non-Biblical Hebrew words? Words such as "petria", or "mivreshet"? An online source would be great, but I'm willing to buy a book if need be. Thanks! -- Michael Shiloh KA6RCQ www.teachmetomake.com teachmetomake.wordpress.com Keep informed at http://groups.google.com/group/teach-me-to-make ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: Completely OT: Where can I find Hebrew etymology?
On Saturday 26 February 2011 02:01:17 Dotan Cohen wrote: > Geeks, help me here! Where can I find the etymology (word root) for > non-Biblical Hebrew words? Words such as "petria", or "mivreshet"? An > online source would be great, but I'm willing to buy a book if need > be. > > Thanks! Dotan... Can you be more specific about the problem; can you give a concrete example of a problem you would have to solve, and what you would expect from "the book"? Is it to trace words from foreign-language origins (like Nanas from Greek, for example)? Or something else? I'm sure you have googled and found the lots of hits from to be inadequate for your purpose. If that's the case, my own reaction would be to write to the Hebrew Language Academy and ask for a list of books. Or perhaps to walk into the University in Be'er-Sheva and find which professor can point you to the right place. Or maybe to go into their library and talk to the librarian. -- Stan Goodman Qiryat Tiv'on Israel ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
