Android On The Pandora


Hey wait a second.


My point was "we need a maintainer"


and people capable of maintaining such an OS have up until now not shown interest


after reading the link provided by OP and seeing how far they are on the beagleboard


http://code.google.com/p/rowboat/wiki/Roadmap <= EDIT: they can boot a beagleboard!!!! did anyone read these pages?


that ridiculously sounding porting guide i typed out before, i truly believe that might (somewhat) work


android is linux enough (on the console level) to follow linux guide's


android boots on the pandora/beagleboard omap chip, that we are sure, it probably only needs some good configuration file juggling for the pandora


now consider this:


i have my pandora


i somehow get android to boot into X (android does use X right?)


i release what i have


by the rules of the trade, that would make me the android pandora maintainer


i don't want to do that


if i release a quick hack and then don't maintain it, i'll look like a loser.


besides a quick hack is probably just the level i would end up with


tons of people would compare my work with their phone


and knowing how some realworld people react if i can't fix their pc from the top of my head for once


no, not intrested in porting/maintaining android


my interests are in exploring cool demo code


running prerelease main os builds <= especially this, some people do find peace in writing a good bug report.


"show me your sources" is supposed to be a cliché, i did (try to) explain the long version


somebody step up as maintainer and i might send you a well written bugreport or two


on a sidenote:


Google TV would be cool to run on a pandora, but plain android? nah.


EDIT:


TI's android toolkit


http://software-dl.ti.com/dsps/dsps_public_sw/sdo_tii/TI_Android_DevKit/02_00_00/exports/OMAP35X.tar.gz


dump this on an SD card


see what kind of kernel panic you get :p <= joke, should just boot


i don't own a pandora yet, i can't try it


EDIT2:


seriously, the hardest part is done, it is proven to boot on the right combination of chips. just needs decent configuration
 
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Mr_Loon said:
...


My inner geek would love to have an easy way of trying multiple open source operating systems on the Pandora. Just for the joy of tinkering about with them.
Click to expand...

My inner geek agrees wholeheartedly! :D I'd like to see Android as an option for the Pandora, but this won't be able replace to Ångström for what i'd like to do with a Pandora.
 
I thought the whole idea of the Pandora was an open os. I have an Android phone and it sucks. The Marketplace (which is the only thing most people want it for) is filled with 80% garbage. Apples AppStore by far out beats it in content quality, and I still wouldn't want it for the Pandora. May as well buy a tablet.


Keep Pandora open. It's why it was conceived in the first place.
 
kennyk said:
I thought the whole idea of the Pandora was an open os. I have an Android phone and it sucks. The Marketplace (which is the only thing most people want it for) is filled with 80% garbage. Apples AppStore by far out beats it in content quality, and I still wouldn't want it for the Pandora. May as well buy a tablet.


Keep Pandora open. It's why it was conceived in the first place.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry but I don't see your point. How would having Android as an option stop the Pandora from being open?
 
Nation.A.List said:
I'm sorry but I don't see your point. How would having Android as an option stop the Pandora from being open?
Click to expand...
If Pandora/Android becomes more popular than Pandora/Linux, some feel nobody will maintain Pandora/Linux and our truly open system gets turned to shit. I fear this - but, I don't see that happening anymore ;) .


Well, since there isn't a flamewar any more, I guess I won't be assassinated for this: To the tune of We didn't start the fire: We didn't start the flamewar! It was always burnin', since the world's been turnin'.


EDIT: Hey guys...did anyone see this?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hbFSv7lYuGg?feature=oembed
read from this page





Not only do we have it booting on BeagleBoard we have it booting on the Pandora! January 2010 also...I wonder how far that got - note the developer Pandora.
 
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doublebeta said:
If Pandora/Android becomes more popular than Pandora/Linux, some feel nobody will maintain Pandora/Linux and our truly open system gets turned to shit. I fear this - but, I don't see that happening anymore ;) .
Click to expand...

Ah... I wasn't going to say it but this was always in the back of my mind as why I thought people pushed back so hard from this.... thanks for confirming it. I can see clearly now.
 
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Heh, well...maybe I should not have said 'some', it was how I felt (before) and I just assumed that was on the others' minds...
 
sebt3 said:
Let me show you that using Android as base OS will reduce my freedom.


With Android as base OS, I can only launch Android Apps. I woudnt even be allowed to use the normal and standart market place but only the alternate one as you already pointed.


A Neuvoo extend should be possible and will allow us to use the gentoo repository too... So we have access to all the linux app stack already...
Click to expand...

Actually, Neuvoo is running on the Pandora already, javaJake has been running it for a month or two now... needs some refinement, but it works.


I actually have a Motorola Droid and I was thinking about how I can have my cake and eat it too.


1. Gentoo already has an interesting system call "Prefix" which is essentially what people around here are calling an extend. It allows you to overlay the Gentoo base system on top of an already existing OS. javaJake has used it on Mac OS X, many others have used it in a variety of other Unix environments.


2. Neuvoo has a working library of software from the beagleboard, touchbook, pandora, etc environments and we are continuing to expand it, I have an alpha ebuild for libpnd now and I'm sure I can get it to work on Neuvoo here shortly.


3. Installing Android as a base system is possible, but will need some tweaking to get all of the Pandora-specific stuff to work but it may become easier if we expand the linux-based software beyond a default Android build.


So, I was thinking that you *may* take a default Android build, say Froyo (2.2), map out all of the existing software apps and libraries. Make the applicable entries in the Gentoo system to protect them so Gentoo doesn't try to overwrite them (such as the base OS, toolchain, etc: which is already a feature) and then put a Neuvoo overlay on top of android to expand the system and give it more of a traditional linux capability and functionality. You would have all of the software of the Portage system (pretty extensive) along with the ability to use either normal linux apps, android apps, and hopefully soon pnd apps.


Some immediate issues without running any code or compiling I can think of immediately....


1. Making a map of the existing system and making a Neuvoo profile to protect it from being overwritten


a. Neuvoo's profile tree is already much more modular than standard Gentoo, this should be manually intensive, but not difficult to accomplish.


2. Figuring out how to merge Gentoo's init system with Android's.


a. May be trivial, but I have a feeling this will require some work to make it smooth, this can always be done manually anyway.


3. Rebuilding Neuvoo images to be toolchain compatible with a specific Android version.


a. Not sure if Android uses standard gcc, if so, trivial


b. Neuvoo's uses Funtoo's Metro system to build images, already established, can have working images in a matter of days.


4. Will need testers.
 
I would generally agree that using Android as the primary system of Pandora would be a bad idea, although the current system certainly exceeds its functionality requirements right now (it's basically a normal Linux distro).


Perhaps porting Android's DalvikVM and SDK would be good though, since then most Android apps would (or could be rebuilt to) run on Pandora.
 
I just wanted to post some of the "best of" apps for android in no particular order maybe to gain some support from a potential porter. Sorry if I missed some, I compiled this list in about an hour or so.


emulators


-snesoid (snes emulator)


-psx4droid (psx emulator)


-gameboid (gba emulator)


-gensoid (sega genesis emulator)


-gbcoid (gb/gbc emulator)


-nesoid (nes emulator)


-gearoid (sms/gg emulator)


-ataroid (atari 2600 emulator)


-tigerarcade (mame emulator)


-zxdroid (zxspectrum emulator)


-mobile c64 (comadore 64 emulator)


-apple][ (apple 2 emulator)


-uae4droid (amiga500 emulator)


-rom buddy (rom finder for most of the above systems *to find games you own*)


non-emulator games


-pocketlegends (stripped down mmo similar to WoW)


-angry birds (physics based game destroy towers)


-gish (unique physics based platformer)


-fruit ninja (chop fruit with gestures)


-racing live (mmo racecar game)


-robo defense (tower defense game)


-radiant (top down shooter)


-dante (action-puzzle game)


-zenonia (top down action rpg)


-caligo chaser (side view action rpg)


-cesto (mmo marbles game)


-homerun battle 3d (baseball)


-galcon (unique space rts like game)


-armored strike online (muli-player worms/scorched earth)


-shootU (hand-drawn physics game)


-castle warriors (3d version of galcon with medievil theme)


-finger dance (dance dance revolution clone)


-legends arcana (diablo-like rpg clone)


*countless "mmo" mafia wars etc clones*


entertainment


-pandora (internet radio)


-last.fm (internet radio)


-slacker (internet radio with offline storeage)


-rhapsody (internet radio with offline storeage)


-winamp (media player)


-shazam (uses mic input to identify songs)


-gallery 3d (3d image/photo viewer with online sync cloud sites)


-adobe flash (flash)


-youtube (dedicated youtube client)


-greader (rss feeds syncs with google reader)


-kindle (ebook reader)


internet


-opera mobile (web browser)


-dolphin broswer (web broswer)


-google voice (web based sms/voicemail)


-connectbot (ssh client)


-sipdroid (voip & video chat)


-vnc viewer (remote desktop client)


-dropbox (cloud file storeage)


I did my best in attempt to remove the gimmicky web browser in an app apps. Things that can be better/as easy done in a webpage. Also tested most if not all of the apps I mentioned and a keyboard works fairly well as the main form of input. Some apps (mainly emulators) allow you to customize the action on mapped keys. Global key mapping can also be done by modifying the OS it's self.
 
DJKoma said:
Android as an alternative OS on the Pandora is one of my dreams. I can't understand why it seems to be such a nightmare for others, since they can simply ignore it.
Click to expand...

It's that simple.


I'm grouping with some friends. We plan to develop some games for Android. Man, I`d LOVE if I could dev/test/play everything in my Pandora alone. A complete dev-in-the-go experience.


Not to mention that having Android as Alternative OS would unlock a whole new field of apps. Just as we have .pnd , we could have all those .apk as well.


And if someone doesn`t like it, as DJKoma wisely said, just ignore it - it's just another supported distro, like any other Linux distro!


I certainly don't have the skills to port/support Android on Pandora - but I'm really hoping to see Android coming to Pandora!
 
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Near Kstor said:
And if someone doesn`t like it, as DJKoma wisely said, just ignore it - it's just another supported distro, like any other Linux distro!
Click to expand...
As has been mentioned before, not many people are actually against it as another option (the few that do seem to be violently against it are the crazy exception, I hope), but people are against it being officially supported by OPT for good reasons: it's additional work and distraction that could otherwise be put into the primary OS.


Liken it to the cases: the cases were backburnered (presumably) by the plastics manufacturer and worked on at a slower pace because they were working on other projects at the same time. There's a finite number of resources and people shouldn't be expected to just ignore when resources for one project are cut in favour of another.


That being said, hopefully a third party picks it up: we've already got people working on Ubuntu and Gentoo and a few other alternatives. It's actually quite surprising that no one has stepped forward yet, though maybe the right person just hasn't received a Pandora yet.
 
Getting stuck on starting kernal screen


any ideas thanks
 
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And... what about iOS on the Pandora?


Naah, just kidding, don't start the flame war :p
 
Just to let people know, this doesnt seem to work out of the box for the pandora (thought someone mentioned that it did, but that was on the beagle board)


gets stuck at starting kernel
 
Last edited by a moderator:
McP said:
Just to let people know, this doesnt seem to work out of the box for the pandora (thought someone mentioned that it did, but that was on the beagle board)


gets stuck at starting kernel
Click to expand...

*someone* could be me.


depending on your definition of working, you could argue that the kernel is doing it's job by getting stuck ;-)


prolly just a driver issue, but i am not a driver debugging guru :(
 
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