Quote:
Originally Posted by rfox
With my Palm, adding and removing programs and files is really easy. There's a desktop quick install utility very simply lets you add whatever files you want either directly to the device or to the memory card. It will automatically install itself to the right directory on the device. I only have to look at making sure a Palm app runs for my OS version and the display resolution.
I've been reading up as much as I can about WM, and I'm finding it may not be as simple as that I think because there are so many different PPC devices and not all WM apps will work, which then means I can't just get any WM device I want, but I have to get a popular one. For example, I see a lot of app development at the xda-developers site, but it looks like they are for HTC devices.
So does that mean HTC apps will only work on HTC machines? And I have to look for apps made only for my device?
And I've looked over some of rstoyguy's tutorials here, and it doesn't look like it's simple to add files to your device? You have to hack the ROM in some way? I can't just add/install apps? I have to customize the ROM to add them?
The main reason I wanted to get a WM device in the first place is because I thought I there were all these 3rd party WM apps already that I can use.
So there's this business with custom ROMs, the core OS (WinMO), and the GUI layer on top of that. I guess I can't just look at an app that says it's for WM 6 and assume it will work? Do I also have to make sure it's for my device's GUI layer, and then hack the ROM, and I still have to worry about registry edits like in full Windows OS's? And to uninstall, I have to do all that in reverse?
And I think I know the answer already, but will WM 6.5 be backward compatible to run 6.1 apps? I'm thinking not, but maybe it will be?
I'm a fairly technical person, so I can pick up on all this stuff, but truthfully I would really prefer something much easier to customize, and I'm big on customizing things to work exactly how I want them to, so software compatibility is a big issue for me.
Thanks for you input in clearing this up for me.
I did try searching through the forum first, but most threads are more specific.
So please point me to a link if I've missed something.
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Welcome to Geekdom! First off, adding apps is a piece of cake. Two ways to do it: 1) D/L the .cab file OTA directly to your device and run it, or 2) d/l the app to your PC, attach your PPC and install using Windows Mobile Device Center (if a Vista PC) or via ActiveSync (if an XP PC). Most apps can be used on any device. Those created for WM 6, will run on 6.1, and probably 6.5.
As for adding files to your ROM, that is something that is done in the cooking process. As I've told many a new Geek, get comfortable around WM before you start cooking ROMs and/or flashing custom ROMs to your device. One sure way to brick your PPC is to improperly cook a custom ROM or not understand the flashing process completely.
Coming from the Palm OS, you'll find somewhat of a learning curve, though not a huge one.
Enjoy