I purchased a Razer Phone some time ago, thinking that it is a device designed by and for enthusiasts. I have been sorely disappointed. Where is the support for those of us who are not interested in just another device? Having no prior experience with Razer, a look at their web site (and the confusing attempt at "supporting" their user base) made me think that here is a company on a mission to differentiate their product by providing ground-breaking hardware along with hacker-friendly (in the positive meaning of the term) software.
It appears that I was seriously misled. Where are the factory images? Why must I say my prayers that I will not brick the device, since there is virtually no way to recover in case of a problem with rooting or the like? In addition, I cannot find a venue where their is any discussion with those on the inside regarding the ins and outs of the hardware design or the software implementation. The forum on the Razer site seems to be a place not utilized for useful interchange between users and the company, and absent the necessary tools to expand development, there is not much here either.
Razer is not about to challenge the likes of the big OEMs, so their only hope of success is to provide the kind of support we see from niche companies like Essential.
As an aside, all the hoopla surrounding Project Linda leaves me puzzled. It is not a ground-breaking product by any means. Look at Andromium, for example. There are several other devices further along than Linda and more universal in approach.
I'm fairly disappointed as well. Apart from what you said. Their forums is fairly draconian, I feel like most posts get removed under the guise of "this is not a technical support forum". A company that massively removes posts from their own forum doesn't seem hacker friendly at all.
Also, their own ROM has been very buggy. Why can't they release more incremental updates with security patches and minor fixes?
Related
Hi Everybody,
We noticed that there is some confusion when it comes to posting sensitive material on xda-developers.com and mostly about what can and can't be posted.
We would like to clarify our point of view through this post.
Since the start of xda-developers this has always been a site that once in while has some sensitive material online, through the years this site has grown so big it's no longer possible to check every file on our servers or every post on the board, we also feel it wouldn't benefit the community if we did.
However with increased popularity comes an increased amount of legal complaints when sensitive material is found on our servers. Which is the reason why we have been more careful lately. Recently some sensitive material has shown up on the servers and we received legal complaints from companies who have the copyrights for this material, although we all feel this is very interesting and valuable material we cannot risk the future of xda-developers by ignoring the legal requests we receive, therefore this material has been taken offline.
We understand that maintaining the balance between legal and illegal is sometimes confusing and/or difficult but that is unfortunately how it works.
When it comes to posting sensitive material there are a couple suggestions we can make:
- if possible do not post the files on the xda-developers servers.
- use your common sense (if you feel something might not be legal it probably isn't).
- always keep in mind when posting software of any kind, that we will take it offline if there is a legal complaint from the copyright owner.
Warez is in no way accepted and will be removed upon discovery.
I hope this post will serve as a clear and valuable guideline.
Greetz,
Flar
Site admin.
P.s. When you have any questions you can always contact me or one of the moderators.
anyone can contact me also if they have any questions about any files you want to post.. i apparently have no life and spend way to much time on the boards, so you should get a timely response!
I totally agree
It is very important to keep safe a site with so many knowledge and so many resources online. xda-dev and all of its users have done a lot for the community, and I think that if it wasn't for this site, windows mobile devices wouldn't have been so successful.
I agree also. I think you guys do a great job and as members of this family we need to do our part
actually whenever a person types words such as "crack" or "keygen", they should be automatically eliminated or turn into something like "i am a loser".
we've been getting way too much of thieves here recently
I'm still curious about the Dutty Kaiser WM6.1 Rom Link that got removed.
Was that just a link to A rapidshare/megaupload?
Or was that on XDA servers.
Have there been anymore legal complaints about wm6.1 Roms from Kaiser 5.2.19.199 Build now heavily available on many other devices?
need your opinion
hi,
i'm doing this 'directory' for dummies for prophet users.
i made it just because want to make it as easier as it can be to be understand by the beginners.
--> prophet directory for dummies
if you or any other moderators found it is not relevant, do inform PM me.
hoping that this thread can be sticky.
regards..
It's a very tenuous and risky fine line this whole Forum draws when you really look at it.
Every cooked ROM can be looked at as a hack! using proprietory software as its basis.
Every HardSPL can be looked at as a crack! unlocking a device that is specifically locked by a manufacturer.
A keygen is developed as a standalone piece of SW that generates a code that the user decides how he alone will use.
It's all very nice to say HTC "allow" this to happen for developement while not looking anyone directly in the eyes.
Realistically, this site should only contain SW actually and completely written line-by-line by the individual...
We are all guilty in one way or another as everyone here is an accomplice after the fact!
only HTC... ??
An observation ...
This site should be open to other device that HTC.
I had 4 devices HTC, and whenever quality has declined. I believe that the next device will no longer be an HTC.
The manufacturer is rude with its customers (problem of video drivers on Kaiser and Cruise, etc.). HTC does not respond to e-mails. I was a fan of this brand. My next machine will probably be the Samsung SGH-i900 Omnia, which I hope the quality higher than the lasts touchphones HTC ...
It would be really pleasant-XDA Developers focuses on the characteristics of this Samsung Omnia ... and that we produce some new ROM test for this new phone.
But this site is perhaps subsidized by HTC?
Excuse me for my bad English (I only speak french)
well if i may interject myself,
the site should be open to all devices carried that are or will be carried by XDA. Thats the name, and thats how it ought to be. Anachronistic, but elegantly interesting
jeannot61 said:
An observation ...
This site should be open to other device that HTC.
I had 4 devices HTC, and whenever quality has declined. I believe that the next device will no longer be an HTC.
The manufacturer is rude with its customers (problem of video drivers on Kaiser and Cruise, etc.). HTC does not respond to e-mails. I was a fan of this brand. My next machine will probably be the Samsung SGH-i900 Omnia, which I hope the quality higher than the lasts touchphones HTC ...
It would be really pleasant-XDA Developers focuses on the characteristics of this Samsung Omnia ... and that we produce some new ROM test for this new phone.
But this site is perhaps subsidized by HTC?
Excuse me for my bad English (I only speak french)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If HTC Phones where perfect, well there would prolly be less of XDA
But at least Samsung understands what the word Samera Means.
And there is some Unlocking and Cooking going on for a few Non HTC hardware Based phones out there. (Unless i'm wrong and they are HTC hardware base anyway)
But sort of back to the subject.... How about some people selling ROM's made by anyone but themselves on Amazon and whatnot?
That is beyond unsensitive.
If people are doing this. They prolly do this because they can make money of of it.
arent all roms illegal? i mean the phone statment "sorry t be so blatent forgot the actual statment name" but dealing with cellphones the statment, protects people allowing them to return the phones to there original state but not to modify the programing? just wondering probably isnt, hope it was relevant
This thread has aually raised a few questions in my mind.
what is the legality of cooking roms. Obviously cooking an ubuntu mobile rom or an android rom is perfectly legal since that software is under GPL. But my tilt has windows mobile 6 on it with no current upgrade path to winmo 6.1, other than custom cooked roms.
Since at&t has not licsensed winmo6.1 for the tilt yet (or at least hasnt offered it to the public yet) are we basically pirating software it seams likes its the same thing as having a copy of winXP and upgrading with your friends vista disk and a crack.
As far as using SPL cell phone co's have to unlock your phone on request so i dont think theres any issue with that.
I am really looking forward to the new nvidia phones coming out, im hoping they have a big user base like HTC. I must say love my kaiser but its a bit slugish an unfunctional compared to the dell axim i30 i have from 03.
Yes i can imagine as the site has grown it can be harder to keep on top of everything flying around the servers.
Plus with files like you say companies can warn you it it breaches copyright.
I will add again here i am thankful to the mods and members on xda, a very top world website.
Noonski said:
If HTC Phones where perfect, well there would prolly be less of XDA .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry just thought i would point out the spelling mistake, I'll let you edit it.
I have quite good spelling and see some horrible spelling on some websites, not your little spelling mistake but some really bad stuff. I sometimes do the odd mistake more so when i am very tired.
I'm with boorishid on this one
If someone could make this a tab bit clearer to me I would be very appreciative.
Just don't understand where the line is drawn??
In all of the international conventions/treaties as well as demestic laws from various countries regarding the protection of copy rights and intellectual property rights, EXCEPTIONS are always outlined. And always For Educational & Research Puppose is one of the top exceptions.
As far as I understand, Xda-Devs site is mainly a platform for developers to exchange research information. But seems we are lack of DISCLAIMERS to make it clear on nessecary cases.
Certainly 'common sence' is important for every poster to decide what to do.
What I have found out during my stay here is, well basically everything is allowed except cracks / warez.
Anyway M$ knows about this site and has not complained, that means ....
Can chefs add warez / cracks in their ROMs ???
Some how I feel they can!
Check this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=531181
Although I don't know whether SPB Mobile shell / coreplayer come as standard package with Hermes or not
Addicted2xda said:
Can chefs add warez / cracks in their ROMs ???
Some how I feel they can!
Check this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=531181
Although I don't know whether SPB Mobile shell / coreplayer come as standard package with Hermes or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No,
I've Removed the links and sent a PM.
Dave
Hi all,
I'm just a junior member and have no autual authority in the XDA-Developers Community so I hope this is the right place to put this thread. Moderators, please move it if I've got that wrong. I've just read this thread in the Development and Hacking forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=425167
and it raised some concerns in my mind which could present some fairly serious threats to the nature of this forum (i.e. developers' willingness to get involved). Here's a copy of what I posted, entitled "We NEED to see the bigger picture":
OK, I have read through this thread fairly quickly and I have some observations and some suggestions to make. Let me say that I am more of a “user” than a developer but I have made a few very small contributions on XDA-Developers. Please check my stats if you want to. Let me also say that I always look at the “bigger picture” in these situations.
Unfortunately what has happened to A_C over S2U2 is a consequence of capitalism. Businesses exist for the purpose of making money and extending their business. It is not so much a matter of trust or character but that the very purpose of a business is to make money and nothing else. The situation we’ve been presented with does however raise some concerning issues.
There are technicalities and more technicalities which people will continue to use to make money out of products and items of value they did not produce themselves. I don’t think anything we can say to businesses will prevent them doing this. For all the arguments we can present, they will have others and there would be little we can do to stop them TRYING to use freely developed software in this way. Businesses will have more money than we have to promote “their” products, and as we’ve already seen, unless we have a pro-bono lawyer, they will have more money for to defend their business and sales through the law and search engine optimisation (which is a very big business by the way!).
The point I am trying to make is that while this may be an isolated incident right now, there’s nothing to stop this happening again and again. We may well have “lost” A_C despite all the genuine and heart felt encouragement directed towards him so it seems to me that if we want to protect what we have, an environment where developers feel free to develop software for themselves and “us” with our support, we need to do more. What can we do?
We do have two critical factors on our side:
1) Community
2) Technical Expertise
Community - A community has a much greater power to change it’s destiny than any one individual – as demonstrated by the unfortunate situation A_C finds himself in. If we all pull together, or even just those of us more committed to this community, we will be able to overcome much more than we currently realise.
Technical Expertise – As stated above, I am not a developer but I am convinced that there is more technical ability available to this community than many software businesses could pay for with their entire budget, or even turnover.
I believe we must make use of these two strengths or suffer the consequences.
My basic suggestion is that a working group is set up from developers who contribute to this community with the sole purpose of writing a code which can be inserted into any ROM or software which clearly states that the software/ROM has been developed free of charge, and that if the “customer” has paid for it then they should ask for a refund and contact XDA-Developers to report the licence violation and receive the full free version of the software. Once developed this code can then be made available, with instructions, to any new developers who start to submit work to the community so that they don’t fall foul of the same experience as A_C.
Additionally could this code be hard coded into the software/ROM so that unscrupulous software sales companies can’t take it out (I.E. not just a .gif or .jpg splash that can be changed or removed)?
As this is a forum, the next step would be for people to share their views on these suggestions and we’ll see what happens!
Best wishes to A_C – hope you’re not feeling too bad.
I’m going to post this in the general forum as a new thread if there’s not one there already.
andrew-in-woking
I hope that this thread will engender some constructive discussion and lead to a better community for all of us.
Best wishes,
andrew-in-woking
the problem with adding code, is that it adds bulk. the classic example is Cubase audio software, where it is estimated that 50% of cpu power can be wasted in it constantly checking it's protection; and even this has been cracked by geniuses, though i think they have since 'retired' from the scene. anyway, i digress. with space at a premium with phones, getting into copy protection, nag screens, etc. is removing that space. plus from own experience and feedback from users, nag screens and reporting fraud options will get ignored. as 9 times out of 10 they have seeked the software out through unscrupulous sources. add to that, a developer has spent months streamlining their code, only to bolt on some fugly security, kinda depressing.
i dont think there is or will ever be a clear cut solution to copyright im afraid, i mean, look at windows lol.
I had no idea this was happening. Thanks for the heads up.
badaas said:
the problem with adding code, is that it adds bulk...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the OP's suggestion is a good one. It doesn't need to be anything complicated or over the top. Simply text in the About screen will suffice.
I.e.
Help>>About>>"Widget v.1.xx, Developed on XDA-Forums as FREEWARE - If you've paid for this please report the seller to the proper authorities"
i think adding in the freeware statement would be a plus i think if A_C decided to add it in down at the buttom when you first start up S2U2 where it states what verison this is and A_C name would be a good time to have it scroll. If there were some way to have it keep marqueeing while the program is running or for it to do it when the screen wakes up i think as users of A_C's product it wouldn't affect me seeing this because the programs are just that great
It seems like there are a dozen new Android phones and tablets coming out every week from unknown manufactures. Most of these are cheap Chinese devices, but they're not all junk, and smaller manufacturers from other countries get thrown into the mix as well. Right now, any discussion of these devices ends up in the Android General forums for lack of a better home. This makes these forums quite crowded with orphaned-device-specific posts, and useful general posts hard to find.
I suggest an new forum section for off-brand or generic devices. This section should have four sub-forums: phone general, tablet general, phone development, and tablet development. This would give these low-volume devices a home and declutter Android General significantly. It may even cut down on the requests for dedicated forums for obscure devices.
Not a bad idea actually. I like it, though not sure what the admin will think. I've suggested your idea to them and linked here, so we'll see what they say
Yea, I'm going to go ahead and throw my support behind this as well. Considering there's a new Android device released every week, it seems prudent to give those few users a spot to call there own.
I also support this, especially since I'm unable to afford larger-brand products, so I own a Coby MID1125 Kyros tablet and would love for there to be space specifically for it.
Thrade said:
I own a Coby MID1125 Kyros tablet and would love for there to be space specifically for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, it would be a space for your Coby and other low-volume devices as well. It should be easier for you to find coby-specific posts there though.
Nice idea. If there were any type of voting going on then I'd be raising my hand straight away. This would surely benefit both the users without specific forums and the general lurkers, like myself.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
Support cost-effective products
This is a great idea, many "off-brand" or "cost-effective" device development ends up in the Android OS fora scattered randomly.
this would be a great organizational addition for future posts and back-cleaning other forums.
XDA has always been a developers forum. We add devices depending on the amount of development and how good the device is. We don't support Chinese knock devices at all as they are not official devices with official firmware versions. Half the time a Chinese knock off will state it has certain hardware and it really doesn't. Remember only recently have we even added non HTC devices.
Well the admin thought this was a good idea and will be implemented in a day or so
I've already posted this on the Oppo Forums and it is completely open to suggestions, improvements, clarifications and anything else necessary to make this hardware superior in every way to the crippling it suffers from the current software on it.
I want to get the idea out to everyone possible that it would be an incredible turn of events if Oppo more fully supported third party development for its phones than I'm currently aware of. I'm dreaming of a phase where this company took the humongous step forward in increasing its ability to please as many paying customers as possible. Different people have different tastes and variety really is the spice of life. I won't call any one firmware offering better than another or worse, I will only beg for the software version of what the Ara Project(www.projectara.com/) is for hardware. Yes I want to see Oppo openly and firmly officially support third party firmware and software development for the Find 7 and other handsets in a fashion where things are developed in a way where there's numerous possibilities for further expansion of the software running the hardware for different purposes and for maximizing the function of the hardware and, most importantly, fitting the different needs of the many different types of people that own the handsets. I want the developers that are working without pay but only to pursue their ideals of crafting a better time with a phone to have the ability to work alongside the Oppo developers and together be able to more quickly bring out stable and efficient kernels, firmware and apps for the phone owners. This would be a much more cost efficient way for Oppo to continue to develop its products and popularity. No one cares about a "perfect" rom, it doesn't exist. Many variations of "perfect" do exist which is why there's so many flavors of everything in a supermarket. People need options so they can find what they do like. People, let's make the magic happen!... Also, Oppo support for developing full support for unified storage in all Third Party Development is a must!!!
I really liked what I saw in the OnePlus 7 seriese. My HTC 10 has had a rough go of it and since 5G hasn't matured enough, I decided that another multi-year use 4G phone should replace it vs some cheaper hold over. I was bouncing between the 7 Pro and 7T over the Pixel 4 series for all the reasons that everyone else was - better hardware (for the most part) for a cheaper price.
Then I started reading about security concerns and the whole "typical Chinese company" types of posts. I understand that OnePlus is relatively new and made mistakes (like the one just recently...) but how much truth is there in malicious intent? I read discussion of the 3 series and later 5 series had some kind of hidden communication of data occurring outside of user consent. Even so, I would expect more exposure if there was some malicious activity discovered. Is the opinion of this community that the company is trustworthy? Or as trustworthy as any other mainstream player (Apple, HTC, Google, Samsung)? I am not worried about the typical data collection that all phones do for stat gathering or bug reports. I only really care about actual sensitive personal information, passwords for banking apps (your bank, Venmo, PayPal), etc being compromised. I get there are super paranoid people out there that fuss over any data sharing and that tends to get blown out of proportion or confused in threads. Some have suggested that the first thing one should do is install a custom ROM (and firmware!?) to eliminate potential hidden embedded malicious software in their Oxygen OS flavor of Android 10. Is that something that I should actually consider with this device? I have rooted and used custom ROM's on all my HTC phones since the Thunderbolt and planned to eventually play around with the device, but I never would have thought to do it because I didn't trust HTC.
Anyway, I fear I may have read too many uninformed and paranoid posts to make a meaningful decision so I figured I would poll this community for incite. If there was something real being hiding in the bowls of OnePlus 7 series, I am sure the devs would have picked up on it immediately.
Thanks!