So, after doing some research I was able to get it working, not without a small scare of course (got the phone bricked but managed to unbrick). My phone was still running the stock Gingerbread rom that which I installed some months ago.

According to the installation procedure from BrasilDroid, I had all the requirements in place, except having a kernel with ClockWorkMod (you used to need to be running a Froyo rom, but that’s no longer the case). Managed to find a Gingerbread kernel (Gingerbread BrD’s #2) on BrasilDroid’s Samsung Galaxy S kernel list. Followed the same procedure from my previous post to install the new kernel and here’s where I hit a bump on the road, the installation attempt failed and the phone got bricked, but  I was still able to get into download mode (whew). I think some of the USB drivers were missing, so I re-installed Samsung Kies (disabled it afterwards) and repeated the procedure, all worked like a breeze and now I had a kernel with ClockWorkMod.

With all the requirements taking care of, it was just a matter of following downloading the rom, the google apps, placing them on the root of the internal SD card and following the official procedure (slightly adapted below):

1. Turning off the phone
2. Boot into the ClockworkMod Recovery. (Volume UP and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key)
3. Once the device boots into the ClockworkMod Recovery, use the side volume keys to move around, and either the power or the menu keys to  select.
4. Select the option to Wipe data/factory reset.
5. Then select the option to Wipe cache partition.
6. Select Install zip from sdcard.
7. Select Choose zip from sdcard.
8. Select the update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-GalaxyS_B-KANG-signed.zip file (wait for it to finish).
9. Repeat the procedure with the gapps-gb-20110503-signed.zip file (wait for it to finish)
10. Select +++++Go Back+++++ to get back to the main menu, and select the Reboot system now option. The Samsung Galaxy S should now boot into CyanogenMod.

So far it is looking pretty sweet.

Material:

• Gingerbread BrD’s #2 kernel: kernel-odin.v2.tar
• CyanogemMod 7.1.0 RC1 for Galaxy S i9000b: update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-GalaxyS_B-KANG-signed.zip
• Google Apps: gapps-gb-20110503-signed.zip
• Odin: Odin3 v1.3 com 803.pit.rar (Unfortunately Odin is Windows only, there’s Heimdall which works on Linux and OSX but at this time I still didn’t had the time to give it a try)

Credits

• BrasilDroid team
• CyanogenMod team
• Samsung Galaxy S – OFICIAL community on Orkut
• André Ferrandis on Orkut for the Rooting tutorial

References:

• BrasilDroid’s CyanogenMod 7.1 Gingerbread 2.3.5 GT-I9000B Tutorial
• BrasilDroid’s Galaxy S I9000B kernel list
• CyanogenMod’s Samsung Galaxy S: Full Update Guide
• Orkut Article: [DICA] Root no Gigerbread 2.3.3 ou 2.3.4

Disclaimer:

These tutorials might brick your phone, making it unusable so be careful. Neither me nor the original authors are to be held responsible for what you do with your phone. Be warned that the processes described in some of them might also void your warranty.

Material:

• International Galaxy S Kernel with root: CF-Root-XX_JVP_AAD_RFS_aplica root no 234.tar
• Official i900b 2.3.3 kernel: KERNEL ONLY I9000BVJJV3_I9000BVJJV3_I9000BAROJV..tar
• Odin: Odin3 v1.3 com 803.pit.rar (Unfortunately Odin is Windows only, there’s Heimdall which works on Linux and OSX but at this time I still didn’t had the time to give it a try)

The Procedure:

1. On Windows, as an Administrator open Odin by right-clicking on the executable file and selecting “Run as administrator“. On XP you probably just need to double click
2. Select the the CF-Root-XX_JVP_AAD_RFS_aplica root no 234.tar file in PDA
3. Shutdown the phone by long-pressing the power-off button
4. Start in Download mode by pressing the Volume Down and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key
5. Attach your phone to your computer through the USB Cable. Odin should recognize it like by turning one of the ID:COM boxes to yellow
6. Click in start and wait for it to be done. If all goes well your phone will reboot with the new kernel and your touch-screen won’t work. But no panic. Shutdown the phone by removing the battery (since you won’t be able to select the shutdown option)
7. Start in Download mode by pressing the Volume Down and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key
8. Odin should recognize the phone again by turning one of the ID:COM boxes to yellow
9. Select the KERNEL ONLY I9000BVJJV3_I9000BVJJV3_I9000BAROJV..tar file in PDA
10. Click in start, wait for it to be done. Your phone will reboot.
11. That’s it. If everything went well you should the Superuser application on your Applications list:

Superuser on Gingerbread

Please note that some other apps will also be installed, such CWM, which won’t work so you can just remove it with a root uninstaller. The reason the touchscreen stops working is because of the international kernel. It seems that the i9000b is not different just due to the TV, but also by the touchscreen hardware. It is important to be careful to not disconnect the USB cable in the flashing process. I bricked my phone in the process (probably because of the cable) but was able to get it back working.

Credits

• Samsung Galaxy S – OFICIAL community on Orkut
• André Ferrandis on Orkut for the Rooting tutorial

References:

• Orkut Article: [DICA] Root no Gigerbread 2.3.3 ou 2.3.4

Disclaimer:

These tutorials might brick your phone, making it unusable so be careful. Neither me nor the original authors are to be held responsible for what you do with your phone. Be warned that the processes described in some of them might also void your warranty.

I have heard from some of my friends that they are not being offered Gingerbread on Kies (while running Froyo 2.2), if that’s the case you might want to consider following the procedure I have mentioned previously here to install the Froyo 2.2.1 rom from Argentina, and then connecting to Kies to update. Sounds like a hassle but might be worth it if you want a newer Android version.

Note: Please be aware that this rom is not rooted, and SuperOneClick Root at the time of this writing (version 1.9) doesn’t quite do the trick.

Gingerbread Screen

Gingerbread version info (in pt_BR)

O site do podcast, ainda em construção, está hospedado em http://www.geekout.com.br.

Material:

• SuperOneClick v1.7: SuperOneClickv1.7-ShortFuse.zip

The Procedure:

1. Turn on USB Debugging:  Go to Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB Debugging
2. Plug the phone to your computer, but do not mount the SD Card nor activate Kyes
3. On Windows, as an Administrator open SuperOneClick by right-clicking on the executable file and selecting “Run as administrator“. On XP you probably just need to double click
4. Click the Root button
5. If all goes well a prompt will be shown saying “Root files have been installed! Would you like to run a test?“. You can just click on No.

That’s it. If everything went well you should the Superuser application on your Applications list:

Superuser on Android

More information about the application, donating to the developer and a nice youtube video can be found on the XDA Developers Forum thread.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682

Credits

• “CLShortFuse” the author of SuperOneClick clshortfuseAAAAAAThotmailDOOOOTcom

References:

• XDA-Developers Forum Thread: [APP]SuperOneClick v1.7 (Root, Unroot, Enable Non-Market App)
• Youtube Rooting Video: How To – Root Your Android Phone (SuperOneClick Method) – www.TheUnlockr.com
• ShortFuse website: http://www.shortfuse.org/
• ShortFuse donation: PayPal Donation

Disclaimer:

These tutorials might brick your phone, making it unusable so be careful. Neither me nor the original authors are to be held responsible for what you do with your phone. Be warned that the processes described in some of them might also void your warranty.

• English
• Spanish
• Portuguese (pt-BR)
• An Asian language I am not able to quite define

It also comes with Swype 2.8.50.12867 supporting the same above mentioned languages and supports the TV receiver which is great. Most of the roms available on the Internet are for the international version and they don’t quite work on the i9000b version, breaking the TV, not having support for pt-BR, making the touch screen not work properly, etc. My hope is that this will solve the lag issue (and maybe make the GPS more operational).

Material:

• Rom: JPG_JP4_JPG.tar
• Odin: Odin3 v1.3 com 803.pit.rar (Unfortunately Odin is Windows only, there’s Heimdall which works on Linux and OSX but at this time I don’t have any experience with it and the tutorial I followed was written using Odin. Hopefully in the future I will manage to give it a try)

The Procedure:

1. Shutdown the phone by long-pressing the power-off button
2. Start in Recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key
3. In recovery mode: Select wipe data/factory reset
4. In recovery mode: Select wipe cache partition
5. In recovery mode: Select reboot system now
6. On Windows, as an Administrator open Odin by right-clicking on the executable file and selecting “Run as administrator“. On XP you probably just need to double click
7. Make sure the only options set are “Auto Reboot” and “F. Reset Time“. Click on the PDA button and select the rom file JPG_JPA_JPG.tar. In the end it should look more or less like this
8. Shutdown the phone by long-pressing the power-off button
9. Start in Download mode by pressing the Volume Down and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key.
10. Attach your phone to your computer through the USB Cable. Odin should recognize it like by turning one of the ID:COM boxes to yellow
11. Hit the Start button. It should take some minutes as the rom is loaded, but if all goes well Odin will finish it’s job and the phone will reboot. The successful screen for Odin is something like this
12. Shutdown the phone by long-pressing the power-off button
13. Start in Recovery mode by pressing the Volume Up and the Menu keys, followed by the Power key
14. In recovery mode: Select wipe data/factory reset
15. In recovery mode: Select wipe cache partition
16. In recovery mode: Select reboot system now
17. Enjoy your Android 2.2.1 (Froyo)

Here’s a screenshot of the default home screen:

Froyo 2.2.1 home screen

Credits

• Samsung Galaxy S – OFICIAL community on Orkut
• “Ranchos Zappa.” on Orkut for the Odin tutorial
• “Gustavo Rech” on Orkut for linking the Froyo rom
• @TheARC77 from @GrupoAndroid for posting the rom

References:

• Orkut Article: [NEWS] ATUALIZAÇÃO FROYO 2.2 “NACIONAL” (ODIN)
• Orkut rom post: [ROM] Original para GT-i9000b Froyo 2.2.1 – Aro
• TheARC77′s post: New Firmware 2.2.1 for SGS 9000B Argentina

Disclaimer:

These tutorials might brick your phone, making it unusable so be careful. Neither me nor the original authors are to be held responsible for what you do with your phone. Be warned that the processes described in some of them might also void your warranty.

Samsung Galaxy S i9000

Foreword:

A couple of months ago I got myself a Samsung Galaxy S Smartphone, the Brazilian version (i9000b). It came with Android 2.1 (Eclair) and a decent hardware: 1GHz processor, 512MB of Ram, 2GB internal storage, 6GB internal SD, 2GB external SD, Super Amoled Screen, back and front facing cameras, GPS  and a digital TV receiver.

Overall though my feelings towards it are mixed. Despite the nice hardware, it proved itself to be quite slow and laggy after it was upgraded to Android 2.2 (Froyo), with a barely functional GPS. On the other hand, the OS in general is very nice, the applications available on the market are good and the back camera is sweet for daylight photos (it doesn’t come any sort of flash though and the dark photos are generally bad). If you use Google services like I do the integration is just awesome.

As I go around toying/hacking with the device and following tutorials here and there, I decided it would be interesting to document my efforts in case I ever had to do them again without having to keep a million bookmarks to several websites. Also, it would be a way to share with other i9000b users my experiences. What I intend to write here are the tutorials and steps I have followed, properly credited. Most (if not all) of the material won’t be my own, so kudos to the nice folks over the Internet that took time to hack, brick, break, document and try to improve the system of this interesting piece of hardware.

Disclaimer:

These tutorials might brick your phone, making it unusable so be careful. Neither me nor the original authors are to be held responsible for what you do with your phone. Be warned that the processes described in some of them might also void your warranty.

É triste, mas de dois em dois anos o nível de sujeira das cidades aumenta brutalmente, são panfletos, jornaizinhos, adesivos que são socados carro-adentro quando você está parado no sinaleiro e o pior de todos, os famigerados “santinhos”. Chega a ser irônico que o próprio processo de renovação política que são as eleições já começa com sujeira.

Sujeira na frente de uma zona eleitoral em Curitiba

Na última eleição para prefeitos aqui de Curitiba, amigos meus testemunharam uma mulher passar na frente de uma zona eleitoral de carro e largando pela janela uma nuvem de santinhos e panfletos, pois afinal é proibido fazer propaganda eleitoral em zona eleitoral, mas interessantemente fazer isso não é.

Me pergunto qual seria o objetivo disso, quem vota conscientemente não vai mudar de candidato apenas por ver santinhos largados no chão. Creio que o objetivo sejam para as pessoas ignorantes que vão votar simplesmente porque são obrigadas mas não sabem que é possível votar nulo. Imagino a pessoa passando e olhando no chão “Nossa! Vou votar nesse candidato cujos cabos eleitorais são responsáveis por essa porcalhada!”.

Aparentemente nenhum partido escapa, nem aqueles que teoricamente estão lutando pelo meio ambiente como o PV.

Mais sujeira.

A solução? Talvez não votar nesses candidatos. Creio que tornar isso um crime seria uma possível solução, mas de nada adiantaria se não fosse fiscalizada, o que não tenho certeza se seria, afinal as pessoas jogam lixo na rua normalmente e aparentemente ninguém se importa, sem contar que não duvido do que os cabos eleitorais começariam a jogar lixo eleitoral na rua com o nome dos outros candidatos para prejudica-los. Acabar com o voto obrigatório seria outra possível solução, como disse no início do texto esse post não é sobre isso, mas, as apenas as pessoas que querem votar iriam, e quem quer votar tem o seu candidato e com certeza não seria influenciada por lixo no chão.

Fico feliz que não vivo em São Paulo, se aqui em Curitiba já fica problemático o lixo na rua eu não quero imaginar como fica em São Paulo com os bueiros entupidos de santinhos. Talvez seja até de propósito, contribuir para piorar o problema das enchentes me parece como uma boa maneira de prejudicar o candidato de ocasião.

Aos que não votam nulo, sugiro que comecem a levar esses pequenos detalhes em consideração quando forem escolher o seu candidato, apesar de achar que no final não sobrará nenhum!

Around December this year, I had upgraded Slackware on my notebook to the latest version (12.2), and since it would take a little while for the GSB and DLG teams to get a working version, I have decided to try out KDE 4.1 which could be found on Slackware’s -curent testing repository. I must say that, despite the title of this post, I was surprised in a very good way.

KDE 4 is far, far better than KDE 3. The overall interface improved a lot, some of its highlights to me are:
- The menu application launcher is cool
- The “plasmoid system” is interesting
- Simplified configuration menu, a lot better than the usual “boing 747 panel” on old kcontrol
- Good looking default theme
- The file manager dolphin is very good, reminding me a little of nautilus

There were also some other interesting things, but unfortunately they are escaping me right now. Nevertheless, what really drove me back from KDE 4 were the bugs, like:
- Dolphin crashing all the time for aparent no reason
- Very very slow window redraw and moving (kwin)
- Slow overall performance (playing some stuff like UT2004 with KDE running was simply impossible)
- Not being able to map several of my keyboard’s special keys (play, stop, etc)
- Screwed up icons on the notification area

Now mind you, KDE 4.1 is more or less on a testing state, I am sure most of those issues will be resolved on 4.2. And I also like more Gnome’s polished interface in general , so, it is good to be back home.

Kudos for the KDE4 team!

Now we come to the second part of my notebook misadventures, this time with a Toshiba Satellite.

After I managed to get to refund for my defective HP dv6000, some friends of mine suggested that I should get a Toshiba Satellite. I have had found one with a decent price and a good configuration on a local shop here called KG Info. It was an A250, not sure about the exact model, but it was 46-something. It had 250gb of HD (4200 rpm), 4GB of Ram, C2D 1,66 processor, 15″ wide screen, fingerprint reader, memory stick reader and a 1.3 mp webcam. All nice and dandy.

So, I went to the shop to pickup the notebook and they bought it to me, it was a little odd, instead of the regular blue top with the Toshiba logo, it had a plain dark purple top, which was odd so I asked if there was anything wrong with the Notebook and the vendor told me Toshiba ships some of those like that, but since I tested it and it seemed to be ok (and had a good price) I bought it.

Now, when I got back to use it, I was amazed by their recovery system, which even included the recovery DVD (nowadays you have to record them yourself so the big manufacturer can save a few pennies) that allowed you to set the partition size you want to install the default system, perfect if you also want to install Linux or some other OS.

The system was working perfectly, besides a little something, the Webcam, which I did not tested on the store. So, it turns out the web cam was either “not connected” nor broken. By looking through the USB bus where it was supposed to appear and found nothing. Then a guy at the office arrived with a notebook he bought that was refurbished, and well, it had the same purple top cover, so I called KG Info asking if the notebook they sold me was refurbished, which they denied, saying that they don’t deal with refurbished notebooks and all that. So I decided to call Toshiba to check it, and they told me how to spot a refurbished notebook.

1 – Below the notebook, there’s a sticker with the Serial and Part numbers. It’s supposed to have a sticker on top of it saying it’s a refurbished notebook and the part number is supposed to end with a “b” chracter. Mine didn’t, but there were clearly glue marks on the serial parts, indicating that something was removed.
2 – In case of doubt, go to http://gedb.toshiba.com and enter your Part Number and Serial Number, if it says it doesn’t exist, add a “b” character in the end of your part number
3 – If you had to put a “b” for it to work, you will notice that the manufacturer warranty is only 90d, as in opposed to the 365 day warranty of an actual new one. Therefore your notebook is a refurbished one.

Well, so it was bullshit, I checked and my notebook was refurbished, and they sold me as a new one, they even removed the sticker saying it was refurbished! Plain dishonest if you ask me. So I returned it and they said they would try to get me a new one in 30d, which they didn’t, so they gave me the money back. The reason they couldn’t was clear, the price they were selling was low because it was a refurbished, so if they were to get a real new one to give me by the same price I paid for the refurbished one, they would loose money.

So, to make it short. I KG Info in Curitiba, Brazil (www.kginfo.com.br) sold me a refurbished notebook as a new one, and they refused to admit the fact, saying that it was probably an “error” with their suplier. I don’t buy it, I think they do stuff like that on purpouse, afterall not everyone knows how to differ a refurbished notebook from an actual new one. Not that refurbished notebooks are bad, mine had a problem, yes, but I think they tend to have less problems since they had to be re-reviewed, and people can return notebooks for all sorts of reasons, my problem was KG Info trying to sell one as a new! Which is a bad bad bad bad thing in my book.

I won’t be buying more from this vendor and I do suggest that others don’t unless they are really sure their notebook “is for real”.