The Bear-Bonz Blog
I had a few ideas for the third "reserved" space in this thread, and have finally decided to turn it into my own personal soapbox. Well, kind of... I have often noticed that when I am searching through a lengthy thread, that I am interested to see what the author has to say, but that I have to wade through a lot of other material to find it. So this spot is going to be a place for you to find my thoughts on developments with the rom, new apps, or customizations, etc...
I hope you find this useful... my fear is that by doing this I may generate a lot of off-topic discussion in the thread, which is not my intent... so please help me out by avoiding this. If you do want to reply to something I have to say in the blog, please, for gosh sake's, don't quote the whole post.
Thanks.
5/27/09
- Well, we have been thru the 21234 sys. While I found the performance of this sys to maintain more stability after being up for longer periods vs. the 21232, I had to port a lot of stuff over from the previous sys to get it running and I was never completely happy with the overall quality.
- I am preparing to release the first version of the rom based on the 21725 sys (thanks Indagroove) and I find the overall quality to be much better than the 21234. I am pretty hopeful about this one. I have been able to get MyPhone working, but still working on Messenger. Neither of these apps was working in 21234.
- We talked not too long ago about troubleshooting and I'm gonna do a couple tips on that subject now.
If you are having a problem that no one else seems to be reporting, the first thing you want to do is to look at things you are installing to see if any of them might be related. That part I wrote about previously... however, the next step in the troubleshooting is to actually test it to see if you can fix the problem on your own. The way you would do this is the hard reset and then NOT install the item that might be causing the problem.
Here is another tip I have for some of you new guys that are trying this rom, or in fact, any other rom, for the first time. The items you are installing on this rom will not all be necessary, and in fact, may break things if you install them all on another rom. That's why I highly recommend that you DON'T do an auto-install with Sashimi or whatever method you use the FIRST time you are trying a new rom. Install your items manually to find out which ones you want to keep, and which ones don't work on the new rom. Only set up an autoinstall once you find a rom you want to stick with.
Rom hopping is fine... I used to do it a bit myself... it's fun to try them all out... however, lump installing all the same stuff on every rom you try and expecting it to all work is a party foul.
5/27/09
- Lots to do today! I have a new final kitchen from Calkulin and a new sys (21232) from Indagroove to sort thru and integrate into my kitchen. I am already well into the setup work, but it's time to go get some coffee!!! I will keep everyone updated on my progress. It should be a fun day.
5/14/09
- I am currently working on prepping the new 21231 sys for my kitchen... flashing my first build with that sys now. Testing and prep work may or may not delay the next release. Don't know yet. I will try to keep everyone updated.
- sys 21231 is looking like it is going to be another good performance improvement, at a glance. Looks like the blank dialog box that pops up when switching to Titanium is gone with this sys... also, looks like the update profile is working properly.
- Released version 2.5.
5/13/09
- I have been using the last couple days to let some of the loose minor bugs settle and to re-evaluate what needs to be done next. Thanks to some great feedback and troubleshooting from Bear-Bonz users I think we have eliminated a few things, most notably the media freezing issues. The WMP memory leaks seem to have been squared away thanks to a couple reg edits I read about via da-Reeseboy (thanks for that) and we isolated the audiopara cab (not available thru me) as another culprit. Great job to everyone whose efforts and feedback are improving this rom!!! I encourage everyone who is having issues that don't seem to be reported by other users to follow suit and do some troubleshooting on your device. Look through things you have installed, cabs and reg edits... and for gosh sake's tidy up those Sashimi folders... it's easy to have stuff auto-installing that is was relevant previously, but now is just causing problems for you.
- I am slightly changing the default nueDynamicClock settings to eliminate clock speed slow down when the device is idle, while keeping the backlight off and suspend settings the same. I am finding this to have a minimal impact on battery life and it may give us a slight performance improvement.
- I am currently evaluating an RC for version 2.5.
5/07/09
- I found out that we can save on ram and battery life by simply turning off the push internet. What an easy performance increase. It will be disabled by default in the 2.4 version. Turning it back on is just a 2 click process on the internet tab.
5/07/09
- Released version 2.3.
- My main goal right now is to eliminate the brief pop-up at the start of an incoming call. It's pretty minor but I want to get rid of it.
5/06/09
- I'm currently testing a new build with the 21222 sys. I am happy with this sys so far and, while the speed improvements are not as huge as the step from 21501 to 21502, they are definitely there. It also seems to have eliminated the little "messaging" pop-up after a soft reset. While it was nothing more than a minor annoyance, it is nice that it's gone. I have rolled back to Opera 15954 for a couple of reasons... mostly minor glitchiness in the Tachi build... and I am noticing an improvement in Opera performance. The 21222, I have been reading, is from a release branch coming from HTC, and this newest one is supposed to have some built in flash improvements, so I am wondering if this is related to Opera improvements. Regardless, we will take it.
- My initial impression is that battery life will be better on 21222.
- Currently playing with the default WM dialer. Using this dialer, at this point, will get us full use of the WM lock and slider to answer, free up storage space by removing the bulkier HTC dialer and fix the annoying incoming call pop-up box. I'm not sure if it will make the 2.3 release because there is some stuff I want to get right and there is skinning to be done before I am comfortable with it.
- Trying to get the WM dialer the way I want it is driving me quickly insane. Sticking with the HTC dialer.
5/05/09
- Well, it's been a few days since I have updated the blog, and a lot has happened in the mean time. Most of this time I have spent working on the WM 6.5 build for the 2.0-2.2 versions of the rom. As it turned out, the thing I had to spend the most time on, and that was the biggest pain, was figuring out how the 6.5 themes work and integrating a default theme into the kitchen. I spent a good bit of time trying to make the transition from 6.1 to 6.5 as visually seamless as possible. It didn't really all come together until the 2.2 build, but I am pretty happy with where it is at right now and will continue to fine tune.
- The first 6.5 sys we used, for the 2.0 version was 21501, which seemed to be pretty fast, at the time. The real surprise, however, was the upgrade to the 21502 sys, where we saw a really big speed improvement.
- Happy belated Cinco de Mayo. I spent the evening at a great local Mexican restaurant with a few friends drinking margueritas... so not much posting happened.
4/29/09
- I have been working on a 6.5 21501 build and I am starting to really like it. It still has some problems... is not as fast as the 6.1 and takes up a little more main storage space, but offers some nice new functionality. I am torn as to whether to adopt 6.5 for the 2.0 version of the rom. Decided to post a poll to get user's opionions, and so far the results of the poll have been overwhelmingly in favor of going to 6.5.
- Put the finishing touches on version 1.9, which is mostly a minor costmetic update. While playing with the 6.1 build again I am even more torn over 6.5. lol
- Released version 1.9.
4/27/09
- After running 1.8 for a while, I am really happy with it. I am really seeing the effect of the improved battery life, and with the nueClock glitches ironed out, I think we have hit a sweet spot that I hope I can maintain in future versions.
- I really appreciate all the good feedback I have been getting from people who are using the rom. I honestly wasn't sure if I would enjoy maintaining a public rom, but so far I have been having a lot of fun with it. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this a really enjoyable experience for me.
4/24/09
- I am unhappy with the 21043 sys. I had problems... seems like some other people had some problems. I don't see any reason, at this time, to give up the 21028 sys, which is working out great for us.
- New version of nueDynamicClock is out. However, there are problems with no2chem's OEM. Will work on it later today.
- Another new version of nueDynamicClock just released that should fix the problems I was having earlier today.
- Testing Calkulin's updated 21043 sys.
- Pulled nueDynamicClock 1.2 at the last minute due to some significant bugs.
- Released version 1.7.
4/23/09
- I have decided to drop MMS Converter and the HTC calculator in favor of 1-Calc calculator, which also has unit conversion functionality. I used to use this calculator and loved it, but switched over to the HTC calculator when it came out because it looked better. I have decided to go back with the more functional app, and clean up a little space while we are at it.
- Changing the SMS/Email notification bubbles from red to green to better match the other highlights on the taskbar, etc...
- Just cleared 8 GB of old .nbh files off of my hard drive... lol.
- Playing with the 21043 sys from the topaz. Everything else so far from the topaz has been great, so I am hopeful about the sys.
- Bunches of stuffs to sort thru for the next build... it may be a couple days. I want to make sure things stay stable when the next version gets released.
4/22/09
- Topaz comm manager is fully skinned b&w, and fully functional in what is shaping up to be version 1.6... and man is it sweet. The new connection dialogs are finger friendly and awesome.
- Here's a thought to drool over... imagine the quality of the topaz notification enhancements and comm manager vs. the rhodium stuff. Now try to imagine the topaz contact manager on our devices... oh man... I can't wait.
- Anyway... as for nueDynamicClock... battery life improvement does seem to be there, but may be minimal... but hey... we'll take it, right? We may see better results once we are all on 1.6 and testing it out.
- Released version 1.6.
4/21/09
- Still trying to get wallpaper cooked in correctly. There are some conflicts with other manila files. Getting a little frustrated with it... not sure if it is worth the effort, as soon as I get this fixed the topaz manila is probably going to show up.
- Added nueclock. This is designed to lower cpu user when the phone is not being used, and in turn improve battery life. Let's give it a shot.
- FDC TaskManager does not like nueDynamicClock. I'm assuming because when it measures CPU speed (one of its default functions) something is going on that it doesn't understand. So I am not gonna include nueDynamicClock for now... don't want to break any functionality and FDC is a really useful tool.
- Got sick of trying to cook in the wallpaper so decided to take a new approach and go for a new screen rotation app. Initial results with ChangeScreen are awesome!
- Released version 1.5
- FDC TaskManager conflict turns out to be with ChangeScreen and not nueDynamic clock, so the next version will feature nueDynamicClock with preloaded modified defaults and PHM Reg Editor to compliment FDC (which can still be used if ChangeScreen is temporarily disabled).
- Tried 21501... still not happy with 6.5. Wanted to like it, but ultimately was relieved to be back on 6.1. Maybe it's better without manila but I am not interested in dropping manila, not even a little.
4/20/09
- Currently playing with cooking wallpaper into manila files.
- I am interested in adding a geocaching app to the rom, but I was not happy with BasicGPS. Will keep looking.
- Have decided to add a unit converter app. The one I like is MSS Converter. There was a recommendation for it in the software forum. It's not extremely streamlined aesthetically, but it has many, many conversions that it can do.
- Attempting to add the new topaz comm manager. It's very nice, but I can't seem to get the buttons to connect with the new connection dialogs. Will keep working on it.
4/18/09
- I was going to wait for until I checked out the changes in Calkulin's new kitchen and make a larger update, but was up early today and saw that rstg has posted a completed OEM package for the topaz notification enhancements, so decided to throw a new build together. It's the only change in this build, but it is looking very good. You will notice that when you tap on the taskbar now everything is properly sized and there are options to check the battery and signal strength now. I'm looking forward to playing with this today... hope you enjoy.
- Want to mention a thanks to vboyz103 for the ezoption file changer tool that has made it so much easier to make these small frequent updates without making a lot of mistakes.
4/17/09
- Busy day today... working on testing 6.5 21501 and then going to reflash without manila and test out supposedly leaked copy of SPB Mobile Shell 3.0.
- Ran SPB Mobile Shell 3 for about 2 hours, and then was ready to go back to TouchFlo. SPB is nice, and people that are currently running 2 are going to freak out over it, but it wasn't for me. (Please no discussion about Mobile Shell in this thread).
- Problems building with the new 6.5 21501 sys. Will check into it later tonight.
- Thought I would share that the default wallpaper used in Bear-Bonz rom is a photograph I found online of some volcanic ash. I thought it was a great pic and that the colors would look nice on the phone so I ran it through photoshop a bit, and I really like it!
4/16/09
- Noticed graphical glitches with iContact... must remember to investigate further (Rorschach voice).
- I'm currently working on building a kitchen I can call my own. It's going to involve a lot of testing on my part and I can't say when you will see a new product, or that there will be any sweeping visible changes. My goal is to find a good solid base that will stand up in the midst of all the new stuff that is coming out. I will keep you all updated on my progress.
- Initial results from my first test build after major changes to the kitchen are pretty promising.
- Ran into some big road blocks while deconstructing the kitchen... it's gonna be a big job and I have a lot to learn. Have decided to make this a background side project and continue to develop using the kitchen that has turned out the first few builds.
- Graphical glitchiness with iContact is too funky for now. I have dropped it and am in contact with the developer... will continue to monitor its progress.
4/16/09 - 1.2 in the wild
- Version 1.2 of the rom was just posted, and I can say that I'm pretty pleased with the way it's shaping up. You may notice, as we go forward that I am making small releases without too many sweeping changes. My goal, for the rom, is to be stable and reliable, and I want to make releases that introduce as little weirdness as possible. This may not always be the case, especially with the Topaz stuff somewhere out on the horizon, but it will still be my goal as much as possible. I am not interested in adding all the newest apps and customizations 2 days before they come out, but if this is what you are looking for the good news is that there are lots of great chefs that pack their roms with the cutting edge stuff. I hope to maintain a balance as much as possible.
- The games folder on the program launcher is something I hope you will like. It is meant to save you some space, as you don't have to put separate games on each button. Please be aware that if you delete this button you won't be able to get it back without hard resetting. I hope, but can't promise, to be able to add a setttings menu button at some point too.
- Did you know?... That you can back up your program launcher buttons by exporting this registry key: HKLM>Software>HTC>Manila>ProgramLauncher to the Sashimi auto>reg folder, using FDC TaskManager, which is included on the rom? Once you get your buttons the way you like them, just do this and you won't have to manually change them each time you flash.
4/15/09
- I have been, and will continue to evaluate 6.5 systems as they are released. I will not incorporate 6.5 (or a new 6.1 sys, for that matter) until I feel it is an overall better option than the sys that we are currently using.
- I like keeping things updated, but I also want to offer what I feel is the best available option, not just what is the newest. The 6.5 systems seem to be progressing rather nicely, and I will keep an eye on them.
- Same goes for app updates, etc...
4/15/09 - Demystifying the Wizard Behind the Curtain
- I'm a complete noob technicaly, and most of the stuff I have learned about cooking roms, I have learned here at PPCG. When I first started flashing, not long after I got my Diamond, I was totally under the impression that the guys making these custom roms must be some kind of technical, code writing geniuses... and some of them are. The reason for this entry is to let people know that the rom making that I am doing is not difficult, and most anyone could do it. Most of what I am doing is compiling and borrowing stuff that other people have made into a package that I like, and hope that you might like too.
- The only thing that I, personally, am really contributing is the time that it takes to learn how to do this (which I am still in the process of doing) and to evaluate the many different products that are compiled in this rom.
- There are a lot of other wizards behind this particular curtain, but the one I wanted to mention is Calkulin. He has put together the kitchen that I am using to make this rom, and even though I have added some stuff, and will continue to do so, his work is what made this possible. So many thanks to Calkulin for all his hard work. He does accept donations, so if you are so inclined, and not as broke as me, I encourage it.
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