FAQ
Contents |
TouchDroid Frequently Asked Questions
What is TouchDroid?
The TouchDroid project is an effort to port the Android operating system and environment to the newly released (and newly discontinued) Touchpad tablet.
Who is doing this project?
ZOMBIES!
(Considering that hardly anyone even has a tablet yet, and some the developers umm, don't yet realize they are going to be developers... it's hard to say.)
What version of Android are you gonna use?
The latest version of Android for which the source is available is Gingerbread (2.3). This is the current target. However, things are expected to change soon when Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is released. When that happens, ICS will be the primary focus of the developer efforts.
Additionally, there have been various expressed "flavors" or distributions of Android discussed. Some on the team have said they want to port to the standard Android Open Source Project (AOSP), ie vanilla plain-jane Android as it is distributed by Google. However, some of developers are committed to bringing Cyanogenmod 7 to the touchpad, which offers some advantages, such as Tablet Tweaks modifications. Some members of the Cyanogenmod development team are known to have purchased touchpads (particularly from the nook/encore group), so this is a very real possibility.
In short, as this project is so new, nothing has been settled, and there may be simultaneous efforts undergone in parallel.
What are the steps in making this port happen?
Well, roughly the following will need to happen.
1. Compile the current kernel and bootloader and get them running with WebOS. Make sure everything works.
2. Get the Android kernel running instead. [THIS IS ONE ITEM BUT IT IS A POTENTIALLY HUGE PROJECT.]
3. Build the Android environment for the touchpad and get it up and running with the Android kernel from step #2. Nothing but the touchscreen will work at this point.
4. Once the android environment runs with the kernel, all kinds of features will need to be added-- 2d acceleration, sound, accelerometers, camera, video codec support, wireless support, gps support, bluetooth, etc etc. Each of these components will require careful examination and they will likely be added bit-by-bit.
How long will this take?
| Cardinal Rule #1 |
|---|
| DON'T ASK FOR ETAs! |
There's a very important rule over with at Cyanogenmod -- it is the cardinal Rule #1: Don't ask for ETAs. The same applies for this project. There is no way to know how smoothly this will progress. It may get hung up on an unexpected issue and suddenly progress will stop for a while. One thing is for sure-- it will not be instant. Considering that hardly anyone even has a tablet yet, and some the developers umm, don't yet realize they are going to be developers... figure this will take a good long while. And if it doesn't, well then won't we all be pleasantly surprised? Keep your expectations very low, and for now enjoy WebOS.
If you ask for ETAS or progress reports, you will be kicked/banned and the developers WILL deliberately take a week off. We will also make you famous as the person who asked for ETAs. You will be banned, mocked, and your children will forever hate you.
| Cardinal Rule #1 |
|---|
| DON'T ASK FOR ETAs! |
I am a developer, how do I help?
IRC: #touchdroid on freenode. Introduce yourself as a dev and let people know what you can contribute, etc.
