Best Forum For Phone Homebrew And Emulation?

[klikklak]

So far I've just found dcemu's AHA section and forum. Are there any others? I'd rather not go to handset makers forums as they seem to be flooded with noobs and I'd rather just discuss homebrew and emulation.

BTW, I noticed that used E75 goes for measly 70-80€. Bargain fits my wallet quite nicely. Keyboard + ZeeMote should make it a decent emu for atleast C64 strategys and rpgs, infocom and spectrum text adventures etc.

 

[Jourdy288]

I imagine an Android based phone would be your best bet.

 

[klikklak]

Yeah, I suppose you're right. It's just that it's my hobby to (mostly) stay out of googles database. Not puritanical about it or anything, but I'd feel silly if I started feeding their behavioural ad mechanisms with my map search and communications data. But yeah, there seems to be plenty of places for android people to go to and I do feed their databases already quite a bit so I might have to bite the bullet at some point. Pity the internet is so small, as far as I know there isn't a place for freetard phone discussions similar to gp2x.

 

[Jourdy288]

Yeah, I suppose you're right. It's just that it's my hobby to (mostly) stay out of googles database. Not puritanical about it or anything, but I'd feel silly if I started feeding their behavioural ad mechanisms with my map search and communications data.

Just out of curiosity, what do you have against their behavioural ad mechanisms exactly? I think those are a brilliant idea. It could lead you to your next phone
Think about it; you've searched (via Google, of course) for certain terms... Phone, emulation, open source, but couldn't quite find what you wanted. A month later, a company comes up with a cell phone designed just for emulation! The trouble is you're not currently seeking it. This is where that kinda thing comes in handy.
Although on the other hand, they advertise to you via your map searches? That's a little... Disconcerting.
EDIT: Also, maybe the Palm Pre? It can run LJP using the app called Classic, which allows it to run older Palm applications. LJP covers loads of stuff, and there's Wiimote support. Not to forget about SNES, NES, Megadrive, GBC, and others
And IIRC, there's a PSX emulator for the Pre.

 

[Javacat]

You should check out theXDA Developers forum. They used to be mainly Windows Mobile based, but I've just checked and not only have they tarted the site up a bit since my last visit, but they also have a growing Android section.

They are a pretty busy forum, but from what I remember, they don't have much of a troll issue. I'm guessing that's more to do with them not covering iPhones or Blackberries though

 

[klikklak]

Just out of curiosity, what do you have against their behavioural ad mechanisms exactly? I think those are a brilliant idea. It could lead you to your next phone
Think about it; you've searched (via Google, of course) for certain terms... Phone, emulation, open source, but couldn't quite find what you wanted. A month later, a company comes up with a cell phone designed just for emulation! The trouble is you're not currently seeking it. This is where that kinda thing comes in handy.
Although on the other hand, they advertise to you via your map searches? That's a little... Disconcerting.

I'll skip the Palm, I'm all for underdogs, but I never saw the appeal. Or a single unit for that matter.
About ads: when I buy stuff I like to think that I make rational choices based on research. Obviously that doesn't always happen, but if I feed a database with a lot of data, the possibility of manipulation becomes a lot bigger. Also, I prefer to own my own data acquisition net, which is also known as reading blogs, forums and other discussions ie. I'd rather do the work myself, instead of hoping for an limited AI -wannabe to show me what I want. Obviously that might change as AI's develop. Yes, I regard advertisement as commercial brainwashing

I think even having a gmail address has proved to be over time a large commitment (contacts data, gtalk messaging and a lot of various updates from where-ever I spend time on the net, like facebook) so I'd hate to even think about what having a google phone would mean in a few years time.

@Javacat: I'll take a look, thanks.

 

[Jourdy288]

Oh, alright, I see what you're getting at. I, for one, don't mind targeted ads or anything, they have helped me find stuff I wind up liking, but of course I use common sense to determine if it's really something any good
Hmm.. Maybe you'll want a phone running Windows Mobile? I know it sounds like sacrilege for open source tech, but I have an HTC Excalibur from a few years back that does SNES. Perhaps that would interest you

 

[Javacat]

Just to comment on Jourdy's suggestion... Windows Mobile is awesome!!!! The actual code is obviously all closed source, but you can hack around and do anything to the phones running it and there are 0 restrictions. Once you start looking around it, it feels just like a full Windows OS. If you're wanting to write your own stuff then it's also easy to develop for.

The only problem I really have with it is that there are never any updates released. In general, whatever software versions are on the device when you get it are what you're stuck with. The phone manufacturers do occasionally release new firmwares, but it's pretty rare. You normally have to rely on homebrewed firmwares (there are loads on the XDA Devs site).

 

[klikklak]

I don't mind 'old' input interfaces/not looking like iphone, but I fail to see what is in windows mobile that you can't have on symbian. Symbian is eclipse public license, so for a gnuhead like me that's important. But really, enlighten me, what exactly is better about windows mobile than symbian or say blackberry? is there really more homebrew? is it for free, 0€? or even for free, gpl? All that javacat said I can probably do on symbian, the only problem is that there ARE software updates, so jailbreaking the phone requires old firmware versions etc. Have you got a signing/authentication system on WM? And since we're on a games-centric site, off the top of my head there are mame, snes, nes, gba, megadrive, msx, spectrum emus for symbian. Actually theres only some of the older more rare ones missing, like colecovision or wonderswan. OK, newer arcade like CPS-x and neogeo too. Is it a lot better on WM?

Jourdy, yeah, I know I'm quite extreme when it comes to hatred of advertisement, but you asked

 

[Javacat]

I've not looked, but I'd be surprised if all of those emulators (and many more) weren't available for Windows Mobile. It's been around for years in one form or another.

App installers for windows mobile can be signed by Microsoft to show that they are safe, but for ones that aren't signed all you get is a warning saying that there could be something dodgy about the app. As far as I know, there's only really basic DRM available to people that want to use it, although it's usually just something like locking an app to a certain SD card.

Before Android and Symbian (went open source), I'd say that Windows Mobile was the most flexible mobile software available. For some reason it was just never picked up by the masses for what it opened up your smartphones to. I guess people have only really started seeing the possibilities since iPhones popularity, which has lead onto Android and the current forms of the Palm thing and Symbian.

BTW, I'd really avoid any form of blackberry. They have only actually become usable in the last 3 or so years and they are still a PITA and buggy. I had a couple for work, before my HTC HD, and it did my head in. It ended up literary flying across the room on a weekly basis and in the end I willingly paid the huge fees to change the phones on the contract early. It was the best thing I did.

I've almost had it two years now and will be looking at what is available soon, although I am tempted to not bother changing phones as this one is still sexeh and awesome. I might just get a new one for the hell of it and sell whatever I get if I'm not impressed enough. I've already outright decided that I'm not touching an Android based phone. I might be wearing a tin hat, but I'm not too keen on Google things and only use their search engine as it gives the right results
I'd quite like something Maemo/MeeGo based, although I don't know what handsets are coming out that run that. I'll admit that I am also quite tempted by the iPhone 4 now that the iPhone's are more business usable (ie, Exchange integration ).




Psst... one thing I've just remembered about with Windows Mobile, I :wub: how well it 'just works' with other Microsoft products. ActiveSync is great when syncing with a desktop and the Exchange integration is awesome.

 

[Jourdy288]

I don't mind 'old' input interfaces/not looking like iphone, but I fail to see what is in windows mobile that you can't have on symbian. Symbian is eclipse public license, so for a gnuhead like me that's important. But really, enlighten me, what exactly is better about windows mobile than symbian or say blackberry? is there really more homebrew? is it for free, 0€? or even for free, gpl? All that javacat said I can probably do on symbian, the only problem is that there ARE software updates, so jailbreaking the phone requires old firmware versions etc. Have you got a signing/authentication system on WM? And since we're on a games-centric site, off the top of my head there are mame, snes, nes, gba, megadrive, msx, spectrum emus for symbian. Actually theres only some of the older more rare ones missing, like colecovision or wonderswan. OK, newer arcade like CPS-x and neogeo too. Is it a lot better on WM?

Jourdy, yeah, I know I'm quite extreme when it comes to hatred of advertisement, but you asked

WinMo phones have much more power than Blackberries, i.e. you can crash a BB with an NES emulator... And I mean crash, like lose your data end of the world type stuff. I'm not totally sure about what they want with BB as far as signing/approval goes, but I know that on WinMo you can do what you want.
I'm not sure about some of the other things emulated on Windows Mobile, but on WinMo 5 I know for a fact that there's SNES, NES, GBA, Genesis, and quite a few others. Seeing as Micro$oft came out with WinMo 7, I'm pretty sure that list has grown quite a bit.
Maybe a Zodiac is in order if you can find one, although maybe not, seeing as they don't have a phone function.