(REVISED) PPCGeeks Unified ROM Project: Process Proposal

[seashell11]

Originally Posted by Glossman

BartPE is an interesting concept. I'm not sure how it would work in the WM environment. Perhaps some of the gurus can weigh in.

As for the bullseye, perhaps the key is ensure that all files are hosted outside of PPCGeeks so the site doesn't take the hit if MS tries to pull the plug.

Isn't that why XDA-Developers had to pull their stuff down...Because the hosted the files?

Ok, now I know this is the first time I have posted. I have been around on sprintusers.com for a while, and I just got me two ppc-6700's so now in the last two weeks I have spent an average of 4 hours a day on this site reading through past threads. I also have been around in linux forums, so I know what a n00b is!

But, here is my idea. On sprint users you will frequently run across a post that has something in it about "The Site That Must Not Be Mentioned". This is a site where users will post stuff, but the site isn't listed on sprint users anywhere! After much searching, you can finally find enough information about it that a search in google will find it. Or, you can just PM any member that has been around for a while, and they will gladly tell you where to go.

Now this is what I was wondering if we should do. Someone set up a site, and we could just pm the address around. Or, maybe we could come up with a tricky way to post it on the website! Would this help the problems with Microsoft any? (I have a Linux Web Server with a 768KB upload speed, would this be fast enough? I know I havn't been around long, but its an option......)

[m2maynard]

Originally Posted by ng_homer

I've been using several of the roms and I'm currently enjoying saridnour's 3.5 as his tweaks are very much in line with what I need (finally a REAL remote desktop client on our phone that can do custom ports without reg hacks).

My biggest worry is all this effort is being put forward on setting up a web based or unified rom builder only to have MS come back and stomp on us and send us a cease and desist letter from posting roms. I feel like we are painting this giant bulls-eye on ppcgeeks.com website. My personal opinion is that we paid for the phone, which means we paid for the OS and we're doing nothing different then slipstreaming the updates into the OS and reinstalling. But there's the thing. The people that make slipstreamed ISOs of windows don't redistribute them so they don't get nailed by MS, they just tell us how to do it.

How can we setup our work in such a way that we are left alone? Much like Bart PE takes your personal Win XP disk and makes a PE environment from it but does not redistribute the resulting ISO files (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/). Is there a way to do this with our phone's OS?

Oh, and feel free to count me in as a tester. I'm a computer tech and like living on the edge

Nate

I have configured a few BartPE disks myself and still use them for technical work when necessary. I think if something like that could be setup maybe utilizing the web kitchen that someone else mentioned (sorry cant remember who right now) that it would be a viable option.

[josh33_unc]

Originally Posted by seashell11

But, here is my idea. On sprint users you will frequently run across a post that has something in it about "The Site That Must Not Be Mentioned". This is a site where users will post stuff, but the site isn't listed on sprint users anywhere! After much searching, you can finally find enough information about it that a search in google will find it. Or, you can just PM any member that has been around for a while, and they will gladly tell you where to go.

Now this is what I was wondering if we should do. Someone set up a site, and we could just pm the address around. Or, maybe we could come up with a tricky way to post it on the website! Would this help the problems with Microsoft any? (I have a Linux Web Server with a 768KB upload speed, would this be fast enough? I know I havn't been around long, but its an option......)

that site , is ringerpost.com , referred to as rp. you can request movies, wallpapers, vid ringers, and reg ringers, and gurus make them for you on that site for free. also, ppl buy games and apps and stuff from sprint and crack them to where they dont expire then host them on rp.com . sprint loses out on money from subscribers because ppl just download their stuff from rp.com . thats y its called the forbidden sight, cuz theres a lotta sprint employees on su.com i, myself am on both su and rp, i used to be a ringer guru on rp.

but yeah enough of that, as far as your secret site proposed idea, i think thats a great idea, that is if the forum ROMs get cracked down on, but yeah good suggestion.

[thallanor]

I have a university degree in Information Systems, Mathematics, and Psychology and have 11 years quality assurance and limited programming experience with SEGA, Origin Systems (prior to being acquired by Electronic Arts), Westwood Studios (prior to being acquired by Electronic Arts), Activision, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft.

If you are interested in my participation in this project in a quality assurance capacity, I would be more than happy to contribute my time and effort.

[Elbimster]

As I mentioned in an earlier thread about this, i'm happy to donate my time as a tester, and help out donating money as necessary for this project to succeed. If i'm not a tester, might I request that the forum for this be publicly viewable, but only postable for certain people? I'd love to keep track of the happenings, and have no desire to interfere with the people who actually know what they're doing with ROM's. Thanks!

[brightedge]

Count me in as a QA Tester. I'm happy to help.

Paul

[Glossman]

Originally Posted by brightedge

Count me in as a QA Tester. I'm happy to help.

Paul

I'll add you to the list!

[evilgenius]

Originally Posted by luv2chill

If legality becomes a problem then bittorrent is the solution. But let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

umm I know I'm in forum environment, but has anyone thought of using MIRC for the development process or as other avenue for support.


Anyway love the work thats going so I'll pay it forward.... QA tester

[psiphi]

So what is the criteria for "passing" a QA test? Do we go the Microsoft way and pick the top 100 apps downloaded for WM5 and say we are done when they work, do we poll our own list of apps to focus on, or do we just create a large feature list?

Note the list of apps would only be for compatibility certification, not necessarily for inclusion in a ROM... For instance, I would like GSPlayer compatibility for MIDI support, but think it would be silly to include it in a ROM due to size of the sound samples... Reality is that this app would probably NOT be a priority for compatibility testing anyway because it's just too small a nitch, but thats where a poll or a feature list might make an exception...

Thoughts?

[thallanor]

Originally Posted by psiphi

So what is the criteria for "passing" a QA test? Do we go the Microsoft way and pick the top 100 apps downloaded for WM5 and say we are done when they work, do we poll our own list of apps to focus on, or do we just create a large feature list?

Note the list of apps would only be for compatibility certification, not necessarily for inclusion in a ROM... For instance, I would like GSPlayer compatibility for MIDI support, but think it would be silly to include it in a ROM due to size of the sound samples... Reality is that this app would probably NOT be a priority for compatibility testing anyway because it's just too small a nitch, but thats where a poll or a feature list might make an exception...

Thoughts?

What you are describing is compatibility testing. While a piece of software might not work due to a bug in the operating system, I feel that in a project like this, QA is more focused on problems with the actual OS. Does the Start Menu not come up? Does removing a program cause the OS to hang? Is there a memory leak causing the device to slowly run out of memory until it freezes? Those sort of things. I think that issues like that must be eliminated before application testing begins. At that point, that sort of testing can begin, but I still think it is different than pure QA.